• Read James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room and for each prompt prepare an informal, critical response for discussion:

1. Select 1 word from Giovanni’s Room that most encapsulates the novel as a whole: how/why?
2. Select 1 line or brief passage from Giovanni’s Room that most encapsulates the novel as a whole: how/why? Do a close-reading.
3. Select 1 controlling metaphor/image/symbol in Giovanni’s Room. How does it function in the narrative?
4. What is the most important scene in the novel, and why?
5. What is 1 question that Baldwin’s novel raises? Write it down. (Note: this should not be a general, simplified question such as “What is love?” but rather one that Baldwin—through his characters, through the way specific ideas are represented, through stylistic choices that shape our reading—compels us to ask about the text.)

NOTE: You are not required to post/print these responses, but you MUST bring responses to discussion, as you will be asked to share.