Zeitoun, Parts II and III

Part II and Part III Questions (p. 95 – 212, in the hardcover edition)
Due: Wednesday, November 3rd
Please note: This is a ten point assignment.

Your next Friday reading (Nov. 5th) will be an analysis of an editorial cartoon. This week’s cartoon does NOT need to be about a current event. In fact, I’d prefer one that deals with past historical events: Some suggested topics: September 11th , The Challenger Explosion (1986), Pearl Harbor, Hurricane Katrina, the Civil Rights Movement, FDR’s “New Deal”, the Women’s Right movement, etc. Please bring in TWO printed copies of the cartoon to pass around because we will discuss them as a class.

1. Make a list of TEN images Eggers presents about the flood. Select the image of the flood that was most vivid to you and analyze the appeals of that image. This site is a good online source for photos of the devestation and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. (Just be sure to analyze Eggers' presentation, not the images you see here).

2. Analyze Zeitoun’s strong, almost poetic, feelings about his canoe, and his travels in it.

3. Despite living in the United States for many years, Zeitoun is heavily influenced by his past.
a. Which of Zeitoun’s brothers do you think influenced him more: Mohammad or Ahmad? Justify your answer by including citations from the text.
b. What do the stories of Zeitoun’s past add to the book?


4. Cathy’s family doesn’t hide the fact they see her and her children as a burden.
a. Would you have gone to Phoenix, as Cathy did? Was it a wise decision? Do you have a friend like Cathy’s friend Yuko:” I’m your sister. You’re my sister. You’re all I have.”

5. Imagine yourself to be Zeitoun and write a letter to Kathy utilizing intensify/downplay in which you explain your reasons for staying OR imagine yourself to be Kathy and write a letter to Zeitoun, in which you explain your reasons for wanting him to leave. Your letter should contain at least four examples of intentify/downplay. Each example should be underlined. At the end of the letter, identify the specifics of the technique (repetition, association, composition, diversion, omission, confusion) and explain how these techniques help achieve the purpose of the letter.

6. Kathy’s relatives in Syria urged her to leave the United States: “Syria is so much safer,” they said. You need to move back here.” Most of their concerns were based on the portrayal of New Orleans by the media.
a. Did the media overstate the chaos of New Orleans?
b. How did the portrayal of the disaster create stereotypes for those not in proximity to the disaster? Did you notice similarities between the myths presented in the media about Katrina and the myths presented in the media about Columbine?

7. Was it correct for Mayor Nagin to assert to the world that New Orleans had become an “animalistic state.” In your answer, be sure to discuss the connotation of diction used by political leaders (including President Bush, who compared the hurricane to 9/11).