Beginnings, Fall 2007
Assignment for Seminar Preparation Paper #13
Due: Friday, Nov. 30
Read: Ursula K. LeGuin, Four Ways to Forgiveness, “A Woman’s Liberation,” p. 239-280.
Reading Directions
Get to know the whole book – front and back cover, table of contents. Take a look at the “Notes
on Werel and Yeowe” at the back of the book (281-306); some of the definitions of terms may be
helpful in reading the story. If you can, read or skim these Notes.
Read this section at least once, twice if you can manage it. As you read, underline, highlight,
note in the margin, or index in a reading journal or on blank pages at end of the book 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.
Think about why the author wrote this novel. What major questions, problems, or ideas is she
concerned about? For seminar, be ready to point to specific passages and explain in your own
words what they mean and why they are important.
Seminar Preparation paper due Nov. 30
For this assignment, you’ll work with a theme statement and PIE paragraphs.

Identify a theme of the story. A theme is something the text is saying about life,
humanity, or society. It’s more than a subject (“this book is about liberation” is a subject
statement). It’s not a plot description (“in this story a woman starts as a slave and
becomes a teacher” is a plot description). It’s specific to this story, but it reflects a larger
idea. You may have identified a theme through your own work with the text, or you may
hear someone in class mention a theme you want to work with.

State the theme as best you can, in a single sentence.

Find three places in the text that BEST exemplify this theme. Mark the passages in your
text so you can find them.

For each of these 3 passages, do the following.
- Write a clear Point that shows how this passage supports or exemplifies your
theme. Try to use a key word from your theme statement.
- Identify the key, most important, aspect of this passage that supports your theme.
You may quote selectively, using a signal phrase (e.g. “LeGuin describes…).
You might also use paraphrase, or a combination of paraphrase and selective
quotation. This is your Illustration.
- Explain, in detail, what about this passage is most important for the theme. Point
out key words. Explore why the author has selected this particular verb, this
imagery, this point of view, this emphasis. Focus mainly on the words and
specific details of THIS passage, rather than general statements about the story or
character.

AFTER writing the PIE paragraphs, make a claim or an assertion, something you
discovered about some aspect of the theme – a mini-thesis. Go for a stronger statement
than you started with – what has your discussion led you to understand about the text?
Format
Follow the format guidelines in the syllabus.
To Hand In:
 List of words you looked up
 Initial theme statement
 PIE paragraph number 1
 PIE paragraph number 2
 PIE paragraph number 3
 A final theme statement – the strongest, boldest statement you can make about this
theme.