Writing Assignments

Activity Sheet per French 149 Novel

two Cheikh Hamidou Kane’s Ambiguous Adventure:

Part II, Chapters 5-End (1) You need to prepare these activities at home, type them on your computer and bring your

work to class on the dates indicated below. These will count as a journal entry. You will give all of your activities on the date indicated below to your teacher.

(2) All written answers need to be in coherent paragraphs and/or clear complete sentences.

Deadlines:

 For/On Monday, March 5: (1) I will prepare the activities #1-3 as described below. (2) I need to submit my proposal for my creative/semester project. Proposals for such

a project will NOT be accepted after March 5. (3) I will submit all three Activity Sheets about Ambiguous Adventure.

 On Monday, March 12: (1) We will discuss Part I (Chapters 1-13) of Mariama Bâ’s So Long A Letter. (2) Film #2 on Africa is due, should I choose to write an essay on a film from this list.

 On Monday, March 19, I will submit Essay #2 on Ambiguous Adventure, should I choose to write an essay on Cheikh Hamidou Kane’s novel.

Activity #1: At home.

 Read Parts II, chapters 5-end, of Kane’s novel Ambiguous Adventure.

 When you have done the assigned reading, do the following in writing: (1) Give each of these chapters a short title (5-6 words) that summarizes each of these

chapters. (2) Choose 2 of the 5 topics proposed below and answer in clear and coherent paragraphs

of 10-15 lines each. Make sure to write complete sentences. → Kane’s novel Ambiguous Adventure has a double ending: Explain what that double

ending is. How do you understand that double ending? Whose voice speaks in the epilogue? What message does that voice convey in your opinion?

→ The Fool appears several times in Kane’s novel: Who is the Fool and what does he represent? What is his role in the book?

→ “Ambiguous Adventure”: What does the title of Kane’s book mean? What are the three possible meanings of the title of Kane’s book?

→ Purpose of Kane’s novel: How do you understand Kane’s book? What is the novel’s message? Whom did Kane write his book for? Why did he write it? Kane’s novel was published in 1961, do you think that his book is still relevant today?

→ Samba Diallo: How do you understand the main protagonist of Kane’s novel Ambiguous Adventure? Who do you think was the most important character in

Samba’s youth? How do you understand Samba’s transformation? How do you understand this transformation?

Activity #2: At home.

 Do not forget to read two articles about Africa in the New York Times on line!

 Which two articles are you going to read for the next class? A reminder: No need to download and/or to summarize them. We will be discussing them in class.

Activity #3: At home. No need to comment about Activity #3.

 More tips as to how to improve your reading skills!

 Go to the “How To” folder on Blackboard. (1) Open “How to Read?” in the “How To” folder. (2) Read the last two documents in “How to Read?”, namely:

→ “Key Concepts for Understanding Fiction” helps you focus on the main ideas you should be able to discuss in class and in an essay at the end of a reading assignment.

→ “Activities for Better Reading Comprehension” gives you some tips about notetaking while you do a reading assignment.

 Also in “How To” folder, open “How to Analyze” and read the first document in that folder: → ”How to analyze a fictional character” helps you figure out how the character is

portrayed in a text.

 I hope these three documents will help you with your future reading assignments. Activity #4: At home.

 Have you written your proposal for your creative/semester project?

A reminder: Do not forget the two essays on 2 different books and your 2 film critiques. You need to write your 650-700 word for each essay. Use double spaces 3-4 pages. Or if you prefer, create a semester project and write 1 essay on a book and one on a film. Check the deadlines for these on your Overall Course Reading & Assignment Schedule.