Leadership for the 21st Century – Winter 2011
Seminar Preparation Paper #6
Due: Wednesday, February 23 (Must be keyboarded in 12 pt. standard font)
Because this is essential preparation for seminar, late assignments will not be accepted.
Read: Ursula LeGuin, Always Coming Home, all of the following sections:
First note, Quail song, Toward Archaeology of the Future
xi-5
Stone Telling Part I
7-42
Serpentine Codex, Where it Is, Pandora Worrying
43-53
Pandora Sitting by the Creek
95
Pandora Worrying about What She is Doing
147-148
Stone Telling Part II
173-201
Pandora Worrying…through Scrub Oak
239-241
Some Brief Valley Texts
305-313
Pandora Converses with the Archivist
314-317
Pandora Gently to the Gentle Reader
339
Stone Telling Part III
340-386
Maps
450-453
Some Metaphors, and Three Poems by Pandora
483-487
Stammersong
525
You’re entering a different world here – give it some time. We’re reading the “Stone Telling”
and “Pandora” sections, plus a few other short bits. You can read as much of the book as you
want, of course. For next week, we’ll divide the book so different groups will read different parts
of the text. (See Overview of Assignments handout for more.)
Write:
For this seminar paper, you’ll focus on just one of the Elements of Literature from our class
handout. Choose Character, Setting, or Symbolism. Words that convey specific sensory
information such as appearance, sounds, and tastes, also called Imagery, will contribute to each
of these elements.
 Choose one character OR one setting OR one symbol to focus on. If you choose
character, do not use Stone Telling, but another character from her story; perhaps her
friend Esiryu (Shadow), or her mother Willow. For a setting, you might use the town of
Sinshan, or Terter House, or the place of the lion. For a symbol, you might write about
the grandmother’s loom, or the Condor, or the lion.
 Write three full paragraphs discussing this aspect of the story. Cite passages to support
your claims, using MLA style. Most of this should come from you; cite selectively, to
focus on a key word, phrase, or sentence. When you cite the text, set up the quote by
providing some context and a signal phrase. Explain what in the quote is important for
supporting your claims.
 After your discussion, identify a main theme or idea of the story – something important
that the author seems to be saying. State this theme as a single sentence – a mini-thesis.
 Finally, write a closing paragraph that explicitly relates this theme to our class. How
might this theme relate to other themes of class? Do you see connections to other books
or films or ideas we’ve encountered so far? Or is it a new idea for us?
The questions below can help you get started.
Character: Focus on just one character, other than Stone Telling.
How does this character evolve over the course of the story? What is this character’s main
problem or obstacle? What choices do they make? What strengths and weaknesses do you
notice? How does this character affect the protagonist or other characters? What attitudes or
beliefs do they embody?
Setting: Focus on just one physical setting (e.g. the town of Sinshan, the Place of the Lion,
Terter House). What physical/sensory details are revealed about this setting? What feelings or
emotions does it evoke? What kind of thing happens in this setting? What does the setting reveal
about the author’s perspective, values, or concerns? What ideas or themes are suggested?
Symbolism: Focus on just one key symbol such as the loom, the Condor, the lion…
To identify Symbols, consider what imagery strikes you as most important, repetitive, or central.
What images seem to convey more than mere description? Identify some physical things that
could represent something abstract, such as an idea or emotion. For example, the loom appears
early in Stone Telling’s story as the grandmother weaves, and again at the very end while she
herself is weaving. What’s that about?
Once you’ve identified a possible symbol, find places where it appears. What words are used to
describe this symbol? How do characters respond to it? What ideas and emotions are suggested
by this symbol? What idea or theme in the text might the symbol be pointing to?
To Hand In:
o List of words you looked up
o Three paragraphs on your choice: a character, a setting, or a symbol.
o Theme statement – one sentence.
o Closing paragraph relating this theme to other ideas in our class.