2016-17 Summer Assignment
The Devil’s Highway Summer Reading Project
In-coming freshmen: you will quickly discover that I have very high expectations of myself and that I hold myself to an almost impossibly high standard. Since I am so demanding of my own self, I likewise expect a similar work ethic, drive, and ultimately success from each one of you. This summer bridge assignment should make this abundantly clear. Yes, it is more robust in terms of breadth. Yes, it is more challenging in terms of depth. And yes, it is only the beginning. You are required to complete all three sections of this assignment; they are all due the first day the fall semester, August 22nd. Late work is not tolerated nor will it be accepted. Each six-weeks grading period will have three major grading assignments, this summer assignment will count toward as one of those major grades for the 1st six-weeks. Make sure that you start out your academic career here at CRCA on the proper foot.
Part I: Vocabulary
As you will probably tire of hearing me say, improving your vocabulary will play an integral role in improving your writing ability, and I do not want this summer to be a time where your vocabulary practice slips. Therefore, you will be responsible for understanding and incorporating the following words into your vocabulary this summer. These words are very cogent (relevant)because you will encounter each of them in your summer reading assignments. Because you are guaranteed to see them in your reading, I recommend that you generate definitions and an understanding of the words before you start reading. Remember, my recommendation is this: take 2 or 3 words a day, look up the definitions and understand how they are used in context. Then, most importantly, make a concerted effort to use those words at least 3 or 4 times in your daily conversations. Actually using the words will help you internalize them more quickly.The end goal is internalization, not rote memorization. Therefore, vocabulary expansion and integration is not something that can happen overnight. You will be responsible for knowing these words once school starts back up in August. (Hint: there *probably* will be some sort of test that revolves around these words).
No, you do not need to turn in a sheet to me with the definitions or sentences or anything like that. You will prove that you know the words based on the high probably of a vocabulary quiz. And my quizzes are not the typical vocabulary you are accustomed to taking. Ask a junior.
Additionally, and this is just a personal commentary, almost all of you have some sort of smart-phone technology. Each of you should have a dictionary and thesaurus app on your phones. And…you should be using it every day.
Desolationretributionexhort
Illuminatehordeimpose
Plybravadogibber
Heinousvoraciousapprehensive
Tawdrystalwartfoment
Milieuambivalentenervate
Turgidreprimandrobust
Facilitateillegitimatepanacea
Reluctantimmensedeceptive/deceive
Aridsurrealnotorious
Part II: Analytical Writing
In telling the story of the Yuma 14/Wellton 26, Urrea is quite ambiguous (unclear) as to assigning responsibility for the tragedy. Who/what should be held accountable for the incredible loss of life? Mendez? The Border Patrol? U.S. immigration policy? Don Moi Garcia? The immigrant families themselves? Is there one identifiable “villain,” or are multiple parties at fault? I think that Urrea is purposefully presenting the situation as complex.
What I would like you to do for your first writing assignment is analyze who (if anyone) you think should be held accountable for this tragedy? Ultimately, we will discover that all writing is persuasive (contrary to the quotidian (very common) belief in an “expository,” or purely explanatory genre). Nevertheless, for this assignment I want you to approach your writing from as neutral a tone (author’s attitude) as you can muster. That is, I want your writing to come across as unbiased. Your writing can andshould make use of persuasive appeals, such aslogos (logic) and pathos (emotion) when presenting your case, but do try to avoid an argumentative tone when writing. You should also use the novel as literary support for your position (HINT – use the text to provide support for your position), and I encourage you to connect and draw on other support resources, such as personal experience, history, current events, etc. to strengthen you claim.
All assignments will be typed (exceptions can be made for this one assignment if you do not have access to a computer). Minimum word count for this portion of the assignment: 500 words.
Part III: Connections to the Personal
The Devil’s Highway falls into a literary genre known as critical narrative. That is, one part of the text (notice that I don’t say “story” because the book is much more than just a “story”) is a critique of the socio-political climate within which we live. Urrea is making a commentary about the world in which we live. And he does so through the use of narrative, or story-telling; hence the term critical narrative. I love the critical narrative genre because it explores not only the personal, but it connects the personal to broader, social concerns. Critical narratives help us see ourselves and the world differently.
I think one important concept that Urrea is asking us (the readers) to see differently, to consider in new ways, to question, is this idea of borders. The term “border” I think can be applied very figuratively, very abstractly. The Devil’s Highway doesn’t just address physical borders (if there even is such a thing that is naturally occurring between modern people) but he also calls us to question our emotional, mental, and social borders…those invisible things that ironically draw some of us together while simultaneously distancing us from others…those emotional lines that demarcate who we are and who we aren’t.
For the second writing assignment, I want you not to analyze borders as they play out in the novel, but instead analyze the borders in your life. I’m going to leave this very open to creative interpretation, which actually makes it more difficult for you the writer. Some things to consider: what borders have been put in your way by society at large, or perhaps by your cultural heritage or your family…even your own self? Do these borders have significant value? Are borders something to be respected or something to be broken down? I do want you to tap into your own personal experience here. I want you to not only tell me a little bit about the story of borders in your life, I want you to examine it, critically. Basically, I want you to try your hand at the critical narrative genre. Tell me about some stories about borders and you, then go beyond story-telling and examine and critique.
Again, the minimum word count for this is 500 words and it is also due on the first day of class.
Since this is a rather personal assignment, please know that I take confidentially very seriously. Anything about you and your life that you choose to share will stay between you and I (excluding of course any information I am legally bound to report). But as a general rule, what is said between you and I is for us only. I will share a lot about me, and I likewise do like to know about each of you.