Written Homework Assignment #5: Year of the Elephant
- As you read Year of the Elephant for Wednesday’s class, please consider the questions below and write a 1-page response (Times 12, one inch margins) to the question assigned to you. Be prepared to share your response in class and to discuss the questions not assigned to you as well.
- Questions:
- What do you believe are the underlying causes behind the extraordinary reception that this novel received after it was initially translated into English and published in 1989? What specific elements or aspects of this novel do you believed resonated with its new, English-reading audiences? Do you believe that this response is in any way open to critique? (Mayed, Toni, Jordan)
- Do Zahra and Hamida (from Midaq Alley) bear any resemblance to one another? May they both be read as allegorical stand-ins for “the nation”? If so, how? If not, how not? (Becca, Oakley, Kathleen)
- Midaq Alley is often described as belonging to Mahfouz’ “realistic” phase. How does Year of the Elephant compare to Midaq Alley as a work of literary realism? Which of the two do you prefer, and why? (Rubi, Lorenzo)
- We’ve spoken about “literary commitment” as an unalienable aspect of the novel; that is, novels inevitably embrace a form of social (or political or economic or religious, etc.) critique. We’ve seen how this played out in Midaq Alley. How does Year of the Elephant constitute itself as a work of literary commitment? How is its expression of literary commitment distinct from other imaginary prose works that we’ve encountered this semester? (Nathaliah, Alex)
- The notion of a “women’s literature” has been repudiated by many cultural theorists and writers, even as it has been embraced by others. To what degree could you describe The Year of the Elephant as a work of “women’s literature”, and to what degree does this novel defy such characterization? For both cases, please draw examples directly from the text. (Clair, Kizzy)