Medea (A Modern Retelling) By Christa Wolf

  Medea (A Modern Retelling) By Christa Wolf Read Christa Wolf's Medea Specific Boolc MEDEA a modern retelling by Christa Wolf Compose a paper, 2 pages in length, that addresses an aspect of the novel. The primary purpose of the assignment is to encourage you to read the text closely and to engage the ideas contained in it. The secondary purpose is to help you practice your analytic and writing skills in a highly disciplined manner. Be concise- Organize your thoughts coherently- Required: 1. Identifiable thesis sentence. 2. Topic sentences at beginning of each paragraph- 3. A title - something meaningful, not "Medea." Papers that fail to conform to these and other standards of good expository English prose will receive a sunmary gade of F. Spelling, grammar, and everything else you learned in English 111 counts- Strategy: Read the text Medea is a modem stream-of-consciousnees novel. It offers snapshots of the thought process of several characters at different points in the plot. The novel is not particularly difficult A cast of characters is offered at the front The monologues proceed in chronological order- Stream-of-consciousness is not radical or even postmodern. It is modern, perfected by James Joyce in the 192os, and characteristic of twentieth-century psychological fiction. This version of Medea (1996)is structured very much like William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury (1929)- Flead the text- If you don't read the book, there isn't much we can do to help you. Write on whatever topic you think you can argue best- Formulate an argument. That means: " Have something to say-" This should not be difficult if you have read the book- Support with lots of evidence from the text- Citations: Footnotes, endnotes, bibliography are not necessary. Simply indicate the page number in parentheses. Rules: Two pages Typed in a font not smaller than 10 point Double spaced One-inch margins all around Grades: Papers will be evaluated on their: reasoning clarity organization use of specific evidence from the text Do NOT merely summarize the text-Writing: When you finish reading the novel, write a first draft where you try to develop your ideas for the first time. After completing the first draft, set the paper aside for a while- Think critically about your own work, and if possible have a friend or family member critique your draft- Then write the paper a second time- Before tuning the paper in, proofread it for errors. And above all, use your spell checker Possible essay questions- Choose the one you can write on the best of, if none of these suit you, formulate your own- 1.Why was Medea exiled? 2.To what extent were the Colchians kept separate from the Corinthians? To3- what extent were the Colchians themselves responsible for that separation? 3-How did the Corinthians view the Colchians? 4-How did the Colchians view the Corinthians? 5.Why did Medea flee Colchis? 6.Why did the Corinthians trump up accusations against her? 7-Christa Wolf's characters often find meaningfu lives away from the centers of power- Medea was a prims of Colchis and a woman of dignity in Corinth- Explain what she found among the foreigners on the outskirts of the city- 8-Discuss human sacrifice in this boolc Iphinoe. Aspyrtus- The dithyramb on p. 156- Medea's own children. (At the end you wish she had murdered them herself)- 9.Guilt is a principal theme among the major characters- Only Medea seems free from it. Choose one character and discuss the sowce of that guilt and how he or she dealt with it-