Video Lecture and Short Paper #3/Conversation Paper #2 !

Be sure to watch the short video lecture on In Cold Blood, parts 1-2, since it sets up your next two paper assignments. Remember, this is what I would normally do in class to help you understand what to write about, so if you skip it, you might be a bit confused and you won't see some of the connections I want you to think about. Beneath the video, is the next two paper assignments, though they are linked. Read about it below and let me know if you have any questions! 

Short Paper #3 and Conversation Paper #2

Your Short Paper #3 is an abstract, meaning it merely states what you are going to try to do in your Conversation Paper #2. In a way, it is your thesis and your basic pre-writing before you actually start writing the paper. This way, you know what you want to say from the beginning, and you can do more focused research rather than trying to figure it all out in the end. So it’s not even a paper, but basically an e-mail (see below).

THE ABSTRACT: I want you to e-mail me the response to this question: both Maus and In Cold Blood are ‘true stories’ about tragedies that happen in the middle of the 20^th century (between 1939 and 1959). List 3-4 similarities that each story shares in its approach to history—what it shows, reveals, explains, and tries to reveal about why horrible events occur to ‘normal’ people. In other words, when do you get moments of déjà vu when reading these books that make you go, “oh wow, I’ve read this before…the same thing happened in Maus (or vice versa).” This is due no later than Monday, August 27th (so you can start focusing on the CP#2 below). 

CONVERATION PAPER #2: Your conversation paper is going to take us through the similarities in your abstract to answer the question, “according to both authors, what went wrong in the 20^th century? How could such violent, criminal acts occur in civilized countries where people live normal, decent lives? What are the similarities between the Nazis and the Holcomb killers? What illusions about ‘real life’ do both books shatter, and why could this happen again in the 21^st century in our own back yards? What ‘truths’ do these books reveal about the nature of horror and why human beings continue to punish each other in unspeakable ways?”

In answer this big question, think about the following:

• The similarities between both works: how do they use history to reveal our own present?
• How do they use fiction to tell the truth we couldn’t otherwise see?
• What do they reveal about history that we didn’t know or were told wasn’t true (or simply weren’t told about)?
• What parts of the story are hardest for the authors to explain or write about? Why is this?
• People always say “those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” If so, what is being repeated today? Or has history never stopped…are we still living in the same world as Maus and In Cold Blood?
• What characters do the authors want us to identify with the most and why? What can we learn from their story?
• What do other writers have to say about these historical events (the Holocaust, Holcomb) or the novels themselves? Think about naysayers or merely other voices at the table. Use them to help you discuss the conversation.

NOTE: Conversation Paper #2 is your final assignment, so I always meant to treat it as a final exam. Therefore, it will be due on the last day of Finals, FRIDAY, MAY 8^th