Task Three: Comparing Two Works of Literature

Directions: Read the material that follows (an excerpt from Catfish and Mandela by Andrew X. Pham and an excerpt from When Heaven and Earth Change Places by Le Ly Haslip) and answer the multiple choice questions. Then, write an essay about how these two authors view their traditional Vietnamese mothers.

Your Task: After you have read the material and answered the multiple choice questions, write a unified essay about how Pham and Haslip each describe their mother's in their memoirs about life in Vietnam and America. In your essay, use evidence from both passages to develop your main idea. Be sure to show how each author uses specific literary elements or techniques to convey ideas.

Guidelines: In your essay be sure to-

  • Use ideas from both of the readings to arrive at a main idea about the view of mothers coping with the conflict between tradition and change
  • Use specific and relevant information from both passages to develop your main idea.
  • Show how each author uses specific literary elements (for example voice, point of view, characterization) to show how the narrator views his/her mother.
  • Use a tone and level of language appropriate to an essay for English class
  • Organize your ideas in a logical and coherent way.
  • Be sure to indicate any words taken directly from the readings by using quotation marks.
  • Follow the conventions of standard written English.
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