Introduction: Frank McCourt uses familial and cultural relationships to drive his narrative. What is the role of family and culture in your life?
Directions:
Note: The journals are intended to be a way for you to explore ideas that you might later wish to refine in a paper or a discussion. I will not censor these journals in any way, nor will I grade them on content or grammar (though, like the seminars, they must be coherent and display some measure of critical thinking about the question at hand). You do not have to answer all the questions, nor do you have to confine yourself to these questions. Write about whatever is on your mind.
Write a page or two about your family and culture.
Some questions to consider:
- Who are your family members?
- What kind of relationship do you have with them?
- What are the factors that have contributed to your familial relationships?
- Do you remember a particular incident that can kind of sum up a relationship with a particular family member?
- What kind of environment were you raised in? What are your thoughts on how you were raised? In what ways do you rebel against or adhere to the expectations of your family?
- What does the word culture mean to you ? Is culture important in your family? In what ways do you celebrate your culture?
- If you have children of your own, dow do you incorporate culture (however you define it) into their everyday lives? If you don't have kids, but plan to some day, what role will culture play in their lives?
- Do you remember a story or hero from your family history or your cultural literature ("cultural literature" refers to the folk heroes and heroines, tales and legends, history and tall tales, etc?) When did you first hear the story, and what impression did it make on you?
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