English 52
Essay 2: Holy Land
Mr. Tompkins
Holy Land is a singular book. On the surface, it seems like a simple, personal history of growing up in Lakewood. But as we discussed in class, what energizes the Holy Land is often what isn’t there, or what DJ Waldie, the author, only hints at in the text. For instance, on page 96, when Waldie remembers the evening his father sat next to him and cried. A few lines later, he writes that he claimed the room during his years at college and stayed in it even when another, bigger room was available. What, if anything, is he trying to tell us? Does he stitch the two facts together in one paragraph for a particular reason? Is there a connection between a boyhood memory of his father and his allegiance to the tiny space? Essay 2 will ask you to read Holy Land carefully, to dig into the spaces between the lines for meaning and perhaps a glimpse of who this peculiar man is.
BACKGROUND: While you’re planning your essay, think about Waldie’s approach to writing. The book is extremely thin. Sometimes he’ll put five or six chapters on a two-page spread. Is the text as simple as it might appear? He sometimes comes back to a subject that he seems to have left behind (nuclear war, for instance; or the background of the developers; the people who battle City Hall) How carefully has he constructed the story? Is there a method to the way he weaves different threads of the story together? He seems to be drawn to the simple geometry of life in Lakewood, where each house mirrors the next, where people are supposed to behave as they're expected, and there’s seemingly little room for things to run off the rails. In fact, he’s spent his life working for the city government that keeps the orderly machine running. Does he do this kind of work to help keep that]
BACKGROUND: While you’re planning your essay, think about Waldie’s approach to writing. The book is extremely thin. Sometimes he’ll put five or six chapters on a two-page spread. Is the text as simple as it might appear? He sometimes comes back to a subject that he seems to have left behind (nuclear war, for instance; or the background of the developers; the people who battle City Hall) How carefully has he constructed the story? Is there a method to the way he weaves different threads of the story together? He seems to be drawn to the simple geometry of life in Lakewood, where each house mirrors the next, where people are supposed to behave as they're expected, and there’s seemingly little room for things to run off the rails. In fact, he’s spent his life working for the city government that keeps the orderly machine running. Does he do this kind of work to help keep that]
THE ASSIGNMENT: In this essay you will be asked to consider Waldie (and his family - although you have to remember that his parents don't get to tell their side of things) as his life plays out in the the "modern" and then aging city of Lakewood. Read the book for the story it tells; read the book for the feelings that it evokes when you read; and then read it to find each mention of the author and his relationship with his father. Then write an essay that discusses what you have learned about that relationship, and what you might guess at.
Remember that there are no right-and-wrong answers to the question. You must learn what you can about Waldie and his family based on what he writes in Holy Land. Then use what you know about families, about fathers and sons, and about people, and write your essay.
Your outline is worth 5%. Your rough draft is worth 5%.
Remember that there are no right-and-wrong answers to the question. You must learn what you can about Waldie and his family based on what he writes in Holy Land. Then use what you know about families, about fathers and sons, and about people, and write your essay.
Your outline is worth 5%. Your rough draft is worth 5%.
For this assignment, you’ll hand in your free-writing and your outline along with a final draft of 600-800 words. Use MLA format rules and MLA citation rules if you use quotes from the book in your paper.
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