Translations

Discussion Questions:

• What do we mean when we say something is "lost in translation"? How does this get explored in Friel's play?
• What is the connection between Yolland's budding romance with Maire and his developing love of Ireland?
• What is the significance of naming? Do/should names carry history with them?
• Is language a vessel for culture? In other words, without the language, do you lose the connection to a culture and its past?
  
• Do you agree with Owen (that the Irish locals should learn English) or not?
  

W writing contest!

ATTENTION CURRENT “W” STUDENTS!

Contest for all current “W” students – One entry per student

Submit entries to 215 Spes Unica by Wednesday, December 16th.

Please include on the title page:
The title of the class and name of instructor
for whom the paper was written.

Awards are presented at Honors Convocation on May 2, 2010.

Contest sponsored by the Saint Mary's College Writing Proficiency Program

Final Exam Location

Your final exam will not be held in our regular classroom. Instead, it will be upstairs in Spes Unica:

Dec. 16, 4:15-6:15
Madeleva 206

Power Discussion Questions

Here are the questions you generated in class:

• How does the relationship between Ama and Omishto change throughout the story? (beginning, the hunt, the trial, and beyond)
• Does beauty say something about power (p. 18-19)? Is beauty powerful?
• How do people who belong to different worlds be faithful to one or both…especially in regards to what is lawful?
• Why does O’s mama call her Omishto for the first time on p. 117 when they arrive at the courthouse?
• What leads up to O admitting she’s in two worlds (p. 97), as compared to her opinion on p. 13 where she doesn’t seem to think she’s in two?
• In her autobio, O begins her school essay with “I am a Taiga.” What is the purpose of this statement?
• How do the differences between O and her sister, Donna, parallel those between her mother and Ama?
• Why does Ama take the tracking bracelet home so they can find her when she can easily get away with it?
• What constitutes “life” in a house? (Ama’s house as “dead” yet it enlivens)
• How does the environment at school allow O to understand more about herself and what’s going on around her?
• P. 105: the panther as both loved and hated; the idea of the panther

Power Reading Questions

One place to turn to learn more about the author, Linda Hogan, is at the NativeWiki website. There, you'll also find valuable resources pertaining to many indigenous populations and native peoples.

Reading Questions (optional):

• In what ways does Omishto feel torn between different worlds? How does she describe these worlds?
• How would you characterize her relationship to place?
• How are her ties to other people/characters distinct from her ties to animals and nature?
• What kind of a narrator is she?
• Why is the novel titled "Power"? What different kinds of power are at work here?

Extra Credit: Play

You are invited to attend the world premiere of Confessions of the Chaff. This compelling play, set in Ireland in 1942 centers on the secrets that that are about to explode around the Mahan family, the community and the church. Come out and support many members of the SMC community including:

A cast of students from SMC, ND and Holy Cross

Playwright: Susan Brabant Baxter, Lecturer in Communication Studies, Dance and Theater

Actors: Katherine Sullivan, Asso. Professor in Communication Studies, Dance and Theater
Richard Baxter, Director of Special Events

Extra Credit: reading

Please come enjoy a fiction reading by novelist Joshua Cohen TONIGHT at 8pm, in Early Meeting Rm. E in the Student Center.

Born in 1980, Cohen is the author of four books. He has been compared to the likes of Kafka, Joyce, & Beckett. This is reading you don't want to miss!