Beginnings, Fall 2007
Assignment for Seminar Preparation Paper #10
Due: Friday, Nov. 16
Read: When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
Reading Directions
As always when encountering a new text, look it over carefully making note of the cover and back
pages. Read actively, underlining, highlighting or noting in the margins or a reading journal the
passages, specific terms, sentences or paragraphs that strike you as important, interesting, confusing
or simply those you want to share with others in the seminar. Make a list of new words, names,
phrases that you looked up in a dictionary.
You might think about why the author wrote this story in the way that she did? How does what you
learned in class about narrative perspectives help you to read and understand this story? Why do
you think the author writes it in the third person? Do you get a sense of perspective? Why does the
writer refer to the characters as “the boy,” “the girl,” “the father” rather than giving the characters
names? What major questions, problems, or ideas does this story cause you to think about? What
do you already know about the internment of Japanese Americans and what does the book
illuminate for you? Pay attention to the details in the narrative. How do these details point to larger
meanings in the novel?
As you read this book, think about the many themes that it helps us to think about. Make notes in
your text where you find themes and mark passages that discuss them. You might also mark
passages that are rich in imagery or simply "speak" to you.
Seminar Preparation paper due Nov. 14
Look again at the assignment for Seminar Preparation paper #9 and reread the section titled “More
on Themes.” Try to identify a theme that you find in Julie Otsuka’s novel. You might think about
how she explores the importance of home, family relationships, the strength of family, the pain of
separation, the damage of racism, injustice, life-changing transitions.
Writing:
1) Choose one theme that you discover in the reading and write a sentence or two that briefly
introduces the theme.
For example: In her novel The Emperor is Divine Julie Otsuka explores how a mother copes with
the pain caused by a forced separation from her home.
2) Next, find two specific passages which provide clear examples or discussions of this theme. For
each passage write a paragraph in which you integrate the quotation using the PIE format.
 In the first sentence or two, make a Point. Say how this passage relates to the theme you
found. Use a key word or two from your theme statement so it’s totally clear what the
connection is.
 Then illustrate your point by either quoting directly, carefully paraphrasing, or summarizing
a passage from the story. Be sure to FIRST set up the context in which the quotation (or
paraphrase appears. (In other words, before you quote or paraphrase the passage, make sure
you explain what is happening at this point in the novel. Who is narrating? What is their
attitude toward what they are describing?) Use a signal phrase if needed to properly
introduce the passage. Be sure to cite the passage using MLA style.

Explore your idea in detail by explaining how the passage you chose relates to the theme.
Point out key words, main ideas, and implications of the passage. Spell out, explicitly, what
this passage reveals about the theme. Show how it helps the reader to understand the theme.
Your explanation should be the largest part of your paragraphs; a MINIMUM of four full
sentences
1. Do this for each of your two passages.
2. Follow the format guidelines in the syllabus.
To Hand In:
 List of words you looked up
 Theme statement.
 PIE paragraph #1.
 PIE paragraph #2.
 PIE paragraph #3.