Split into groups of 5 (two groups of 4 in 3rd).
Your Journal:
- All group members will make note of magical realism in the novel and make note of ideas regarding its significance.
- Each group member will be in charge of tracking ONE motif/aspect in their journal.
Motifs:
- Repeating, cyclical history
- Family relations and love
- Solitude vs. the outside world
- Significance of various characters or names
- Biblical Allusions (groups of 4, split this between you)
What You Should Note:
- When you notice items or passages that relate to your motif--page number
- How the author seems to be using that motif or symbol
- What point does the author seem to be making at that point?
As a Group:
- Determine your reading schedule. You have designated discussion days in class, but you can decide how you will “chunk” the novel for those discussion days.
- Determine who will track each of the motifs. Everyone is responsible for reading the whole book; you’re just focusing on your own motif rather than all of them.
- I would recommend a page in your journal for each of the motifs (even those being tracked by others) as an easy place to jot down your own emerging ideas based on your reading and/or discussion.
Discussion Items as a Large Group:
- Each member will share out what is going on with the motifs--open up discussion to see what other members think or have noticed. Also discuss the ways some of these motifs overlap.
- Magical realism and its Significance
- Significance of the Title
- Insight gained from considering various lenses
- Your ultimate goal is two-fold: Theme of the novel and how all the various literary elements help Marquez achieve that argument.
- In the end, you’ll design some kind of project to present to the class that represents your group’s interpretation of the novel with support from the various motifs and literary devices. This can be formal or informal, academic or creative in nature. Though you’re not writing an essay, this is still literary analysis. Therefore, you still need a clear theme with depth and textual evidence to support your interpretation. I will grade the group’s analysis as you are presenting so make sure your theme AND support clear at that time.
Dates:
April 16 Hand out books; assign groups
April 19 Group discussion day
April 25 Group discussion day
April 30 Group discussion day
May 6 Book completed. 1-pgrs and class discussion
May 7 Group discussion day
May 8 Group project work time
May 9 Present group projects
