FINAL LITERATURE CIRCLE

You are reading a text by a Canadian. We are thinking about the over-arching question “What does being a great Canadian look like? For this week’s conversation on your book/play, I want you to think about the connection or intersection between your characters and the idea of being a great Canadian.

Everyone in the group prepares individually by considering the following quote:

“To be Canadian is to always be searching for meaning, place, purpose, in our own country, in the world. I think all humans do this. The details in our writing are not only what make us relate to each other, but what place us in time and sensibility. Ultimately, we write about the human experience, not just the Canadian one. But that Canadian experience, because of our origins and changing culture and constant questions of identity, and our observations of daily life as well as our ability to imagine outside our boundaries, defies being boxed by its very definition.” from Bella’s Bookshelves

Choose two of the following questions to answer in the chart below. Use your text. Cite page references of the text that will support your thinking.

1. Do you agree with the above quote? Why or Why not?
2. Do you consider your text to be Canadian literature? Why or Why not?
3. Does a novel/play/text have to be set in Canada to be considered Canadian?
4. How did your novel/play/text  represent Canada at the time it was written? How does it represent Canada today?
5. How might the lives of the characters in a story change if the story were set in a different part of the country, or a country other than Canada?
6. What influence did geography have on the character’s development?
7. What character traits does your protagonist have that make him/her a great Canadian?
8. Who is represented in your novel? Which voices are privileged and which are silenced?

Literature Circle Assessment.

BUILD

Last class to work on build. It’s due on Friday.