NORMA CANTU’S CANICULA
The way to approach this assignment is –still–by ‘hearing’ what Norma, in this case, is telling you…whether you agree, or whether you don’t; whether you can ‘relate’ or whether you can’t. We’re often told that writing is either ‘opinion,’ or it’s fact. The trouble with this either/or thing is that, if you are given room to express an opinion, you might think that you then have a ‘green light’ to say whatever you want, without any proof of anything. So the writing becomes only opinion. It takes off from the text, instead of sticking with it. You certainly can have an opinion, & I encourage you to express it….But don’t go off on a riff. At least, if you do & you can’t help it, come back often enough that your reader knows that what you say is still grounded in the text you are reading. Choose ONE of the following questions: How does Norma’s memoir inform your idea of what a border is? I think Norma transmits her idea of what it’s like to live in this Borderland through imparting a set of feelings….what are these, & how does Norma effect this? Norma tells us, right from the beginning that things may, or may not, have happened quite the way she tells it. Why does she ‘fictionalize’ her own experience? Maybe this is only another way of asking the same question but, why is Norma sometimes Norma—ie, herself–& then sometimes Nena—a made-up character? Why do this? Have a look at the memento mori idea. For me, this is maybe the clearest thing in Norma’s memoir. How does it play out for you? You need detail from your chosen text, & you also need to say what you think those details mean….as before. The way to approach this assignment is –still–by ‘hearing’ what Norma, in this case, is telling you…whether you agree, or whether you don’t; whether you can ‘relate’ or whether you can’t. We’re often told that writing is either ‘opinion,’ or it’s fact. The trouble with this either/or thing is that, if you are given room to express an opinion, you might think that you then have a ‘green light’ to say whatever you want, without any proof of anything. So the writing becomes only opinion. It takes off from the text, instead of sticking with it. You certainly can have an opinion, & I encourage you to express it….But don’t go off on a riff. At least, if you do & you can’t help it, come back often enough that your reader knows that what you say is still grounded in the text you are reading. Choose ONE of the following questions: How does Norma’s memoir inform your idea of what a border is? I think Norma transmits her idea of what it’s like to live in this Borderland through imparting a set of feelings….what are these, & how does Norma effect this? Norma tells us, right from the beginning that things may, or may not, have happened quite the way she tells it. Why does she ‘fictionalize’ her own experience? Maybe this is only another way of asking the same question but, why is Norma sometimes Norma—ie, herself–& then sometimes Nena—a made-up character? Why do this? Have a look at the memento mori idea. For me, this is maybe the clearest thing in Norma’s memoir. How does it play out for you? You need detail from your chosen text, & you also need to say what you think those details mean….as before.