Generative Writing Prompts for BlowingThingsIntoProportion
Before essay assignment is assigned:
Have students make a list of every item they have on them, both ones they are wearing and those in their bags, etc. Then have them review the list and circle those that seem most connected to them (be deliberately vague at this point).
Then, have students choose two that they circled and for each answer the following questions:
- Why do I wear/carry this item around with me?
- Why did I designate it as “connected” to me?
- What do these items mean to me, how do they reflect who I am?
- What might others assume who see me with this item? Why might they make those assumptions?
After writing, stop a moment and lead a discussion using examples you choose from your own life (i.e. your list) and/or from wider American culture (e.g., jello, Levi jeans, large pick-up truck, Harley) and discuss what meanings we place on these items: i.e. what do we assume about people who wear, eat, or ride them? Where do these assumptions come from? Are they always accurate?
After the broader discussion, share the freewriting in small pairs to look at how a small item can have a wealth of meaning to a person depending on how she/he connects it to various contexts. From that discussion, have each writer list all the “influences” on him/her that made that item important (i.e. what people and places they associate it with, how it might signify to other members of a similar culture, etc.)
After reading Kothari or Simmonds from The Text-Wrestling Book Have students analyze a long descriptive paragraph from Kothari or Simmonds and consider the following questions in a freewrite:
- What specific details are mentioned?
- What did you learn about the writer based on their descriptions and objects?
- How do those details and objects illustrate their:
- Race?
- Religion?
- Socio-economic status?
- Education level?
- Why does the writer use these details instead of just making her point more explicitly?
Next, ask them to consider their own context, including race, religion, socio-economic status, family education level, and “membership” in various identity groups. Assign a free-write based on the following questions:
- What visible cues (e.g., possessions, fashion, etc.) do you possess that reflect your context?
- How might your context have influenced your decision to own the item?
- How would a variation of the style of your item change your identity? Be specific.
- How many of your friends have a similar item?
- Do you have any friends without an item like this?
- How does the item make you feel?
- What does the item NOT reveal about you?
Example Item and Free-write Analysis: I seldom leave my house without my small, black shoulder bag. While simple in terms of construction, the bag aligns me with a complex mixture of identity groups. More than anything, my bag seems to represent a certain affiliation with urban life. I have traveled throughout the United States with my bag, and yet only see similar devices in urban areas. Part of the reason may be that people in urban areas often use public transit, and a bag is therefore needed to transport items that may otherwise be placed in a car. While I do own a car, I often choose to walk to my destinations because I enjoy the exercise and prefer not to use oil when it is not necessary. Hence, my bag is an indirect symbol of my environmentalism. Finally, I often place books in my bag, which reveals an interest in literature and self-education.
For homework:
Make a list of all the items in your dorm room/apartment that you “couldn’t live without.” Next to each item, explain why it seems central to your well-being, whether it be for functional, emotional, or practical reasons. Finally, write one page on how what you find to be “necessary” might reflect aspects of your macro-context (e.g. American, student) and your more local contexts (e.g. hometown, friends, family).
