Respond to one of the following topics:
1) Unlike most memoirists, Harjo mixes her rhetorics. Sometimes she writes a very
detailed, concrete, vivid narrative; sometimes she is allusive, poetic, and mythical. Why does she do this? How can poetry and myth be incorporated into memoir?
2) What is the significance of animals in Harjo’s memoir? Focus on the alligator dream at some point in your essay.
3) The title of her memoir, “Crazy Brave” seems to have multiple meanings that play out throughout her story, both about herself and her culture. How does Harjo embrace all of these possibilities in her book?
Sample Solution