Rouse 121 Book Connection fall 2005
All three of the instructors for the Rouse sections of English 121 incorporated the HCC
book connection novel, Reservation Blues, into the fall 2005 semester. The book may
have been used most intensively in the VanAmburg section of 121-R175 where it
functioned as the cohesive element for all writing assignments except for one in-class
essay exam.
121-R175 assignments based on Reservation Blues included:
 a chapter summary
 a reaction paper based on one of the novel’s themes
 a research/claim paper based on one of the novel’s themes
 a PowerPoint presentation
 several write-to-learn activities including a reaction to Alexie’s visit
At the end of the semester, twelve out of fifteen students wrote positively about their
intensive book connection. Among the students who wrote less favorably, one thought
that translating the book’s themes into a research topic was too difficult. Another felt that
there were too many diverse assignments with overlapping deadlines, and a third wrote
that his difficulties with the semester stemmed from his distaste for the novel itself.
Interestingly. the majority of students enjoyed the “book connection” whether or not they
liked the author or the novel. Thoughtful reflections on their experience have been
excerpted here with their written permission:
When it was first announced that Sherman Alexie’s Reservation Blues was to be the HCC
book connection choice for the entire academic year, mixed emotions flowed through the
entire freshmen body of Rouse Scholar English students. Most people had never heard of
the novel before, let alone the author… However, after delving full speed into the novel,
it became quite evident that this piece actually had a lot to offer to all of the students
involved in reading and discussing it. Through vivid details of the bleak life on Native
American reservations, to stories of the depressing lives of the permanently affected
Native Americans themselves, students began to get a better picture of how sad life for
these beautiful people really is. And most importantly, the novel gave students a chance
to see and deal with important issues such as racism, drug abuse, and even death, as the
story moved through areas of life involving these subjects plus many more…
Nate Wessely
Over the course of our first semester as Rouse students at Howard Community College,
we have been exposed to the sub-culture of the HCC Book Connection through our
designated English 121 classes. The book of the year, Reservation Blues by Sherman
Alexie, has been the topic or tie-in of every paper we have been subject to write, and has
encompassed the whole of the course’s study material and extra-curricular activities.
Through this book, we have learned how to argue a stand-point in proper format, explore
symbolism and theme, and use those themes to develop a short research paper in
argument format…I feel that the HCC Book Connection has exposed the Rouse Scholars
to a culture that previously many may have known nothing about, and given us an
opportunity to experience a work of art…
Jonathon Kemper
One of the goals of a college education is to produce well-rounded individuals who have
a solid background in the liberal arts. For a college to decide to highlight one particular
written work as the primary focus for many of their English classes and assignments is a
very beneficial method of exposing students to a prominent work of literature…For the
2005 school year, Howard Community College opted to use Sherman Alexie’s
Reservation Blues as the theme book and basis for many of their classes offered. In my
English 121 course, we were expected to create papers based on different themes from
this novel. Though we were required to incorporate the book into several of our papers, I
found that this made the assignments themselves easier to accomplish. Having already
read the book at the beginning of the semester, I was familiar enough with the ideas in it
that I could focus more on the grammatical, structural and overall appearance of my
writing…I did not find the repeated reference to the book in assignments to be hampering
or overused at all. If fact, I believe that I extracted and learned a lot more from studying
one book than if I had been required to utilize and delve into multiple books….Honestly,
when I finished reading Reservation Blues and learned that the majority of our
assignment would be based on its content I was very disappointed [because] I found the
book to be very offensive and crude. However, the objectives of the assignments were
tailored in such a way that I was able to express my discontent relating to the book
without negatively affecting my participation and completion of the various assignments.
For our argument paper I was able to convey how I believed the novel and the author
were glaringly immoral, unappealing, and disgusting. However, what I later discovered
was that many of the examples and depictions within Reservation Blues highlighted
accurate sentiments and circumstances occurring on present day Native American
Reservations. Therefore, this cultural realization was a profound and humbling benefit for
me and caused me to begin to appreciate the author’s honesty in regard to these
truths…Having Reservation Blues as the theme book for my English 121 experience
caused me to challenge myself, support my position in papers, and forced me to face the
fact that something which I deemed offensive can spur me to learn something about
myself and about the world behind the author’s creation. Be open to new works of
literature and learn to take away something from everything you read, applying it to your
wider understanding of the world in which you live. This is what Howard Community
College’s theme book, Reservation Blues, taught me.
Nicole Propst
Literature is an incredible tool of education. Not only does reading books improve
sentence skills, vocabulary, and grammar, but it provides the opportunity to explore other
worlds, ages, and ideas. This semester, the English students of Howard Community
College focused their attention on one book from which they were able to form various
arguments. Concentrating on one book was a good idea for HCC’s English classes.
Perhaps some people hold the opinion that, because the class read only one book, they
were limited in writing topics. However, this is not the case. Not only did the utilization
of a single book provide the means for literature analysis and opinion formation, but it
caused the English students to further contemplate topics such as discrimination, poverty,
human rights, and racial awareness. They were then able to research one of these topics
independently and present their findings to the rest of the class.
Kendyl Downey
The HCC book connection is a new concept to me and many of the students
attending Howard Community College. Now that the first semester is coming to an end, I
have had the opportunity to experience the concept of the HCC book connection. I have
found it to be very helpful and convenient…We were given ample time to read the novel
and discussed it in class as well. Since Reservation Blues was the HCC book connection
choice, every English class was reading this novel. I found this to be a very positive
aspect of the book connection because I could discuss the book with a wide variety of
students, not just the students in my class. This allowed me to hear others opinions of the
novel and get to interpret parts of it in ways that I never could by myself. Another major
advantage was that HCC had the opportunity of Sherman Alexie visiting campus. This
was a very interesting and useful experience, because it gave the students the opportunity
to ask him question about the novel that could not be answered by anyone else. It also
gave the students the opportunity to get a more in depth look into the novel and how it
was written…I received a more in-depth understanding of this novel than any other book
I have ever read…The HCC book connection is a very unique idea. It is much different
from High School were students read several novels and only relate each one to the class
for a short period of time.
Dan Snell
The HCC book connection only cost students $13.99 at the bookstore, a small price
compared to the norm of $50 plus per book. Even the opposition will agree that saving
the students money is a positive thing…The HCC book connection is also useful in
expanding the students ability to pull multiple topics from one book. Reservation Blues,
as stated before, has three distinct themes: poverty, cultural awareness and
discrimination. Some may argue that Reservation Blues’ topics and themes are too strong
for a freshmen college course. However, these topics and themes are found everyday in
the real world, so why is it too much to read about them? …After finishing the novel, the
HCC book connection group invited Sherman Alexie, the author of Reservation Blues to
speak with the students. This was very helpful to us because we were able to learn about
the background of the novel and of the author himself. We were also allowed to ask
questions relating to the book. I personally benefited from this meeting because it gave
me an opportunity to ask Mr. Alexie about the use of profanity in his novel (although
someone else beat me to the question). His answer allowed me to write a paper on the
bluntness of the novel and its necessity.
Amanda Weir
Alexie’s novel was an excellent choice for this academic school year. The novel
presented unknowing college students, ready to learn, with the cold truth and real life
issues going on today with Native Americans. College students aren’t going to go
through life all pretty and perfect. The bottom line is that things happen in life, both
good and bad. Alexie’s novel happened to expose us to the bad side of things for Native
Americans…Students were able to link their thoughts, from the novel, to real life issues
going on in today’s world.
Dan Lawson
When I bought the book Reservation Blues from the HCC bookstore, I noticed the big
sticker on the book saying, “HCC Book Connection.” At first, I didn’t know what I
meant, but as soon as I went to my first English class, I figured that whoever takes an
English class this semester gets to read this book as a part of the course. I also noticed
everyone reading this book in the library or galleria. It was a whole new idea of reading a
book assigned for school because I always saw different books in everyone’s hand. I
think it is one way of uniting students together through courses… I actually had an
experience where I was talking to my friend from the school dance team, and we started
on our discussion about the book Reservation Blues... We both shared different ideas that
we had about certain topics in the book, and it helped both of us in our English classes.
Moreover, another big activity that everyone had a chance to connect to each other
through the book connection was when the author Sherman Alexie visited the school and
gave us a lecture, not only on the book but also his life as a Native American. The
students who read the book in the beginning of the semester, like I did, had a chance to
ask questions to the author and get some good, direct help. I attended both lectures of
Sherman Alexie, and I ended up loving the book even more than I did before. And for the
students who are yet to read the book also had a chance to know about the author and the
book beforehand.
Jenny Kim
I feel that it was a good idea to read Reservation Blues in English 121 this past semester.
It provided a well grounded basis for our writing; we learned how to do a well thought
out summary through the use of this book. Also, we learned how to write a paper like this
one that exhibits excellent argument format. The third and most important of these
outstanding results of reading this book was that we had the chance to meet the author,
Sherman Alexie. This was the first time that I had met someone who was remotely
famous (except Jane Seymour at the Grand Prix) and I was excited. However, he was not
exactly what I had in mind as an author. He was crude and offensive; however, I was
impressed by the amount of confidence that Mr. Alexie exhibited and his boldness to
speak his opinions…With all these aspects in mind it is hard not to say that reading
Reservation Blues was a good choice. The fact that it is the book connection choice made
the experience all the more enjoyable. It provided more opportunities for us to learn
about other cultures, improve our writing skills, and meet an author whose books and
lecture we can talk about for a long time.
Sarah Bennett
Though not everyone was personally touched by this book, it was an inspiration for all of
our research papers. We were assigned to start from Reservation Blue’s, which all of the
students were familiar with, and pick a topic possibly related to our ethnicity or religion.
Through this everyone has had a personal connection to Reservation Blue’s. A quote
from my research paper explains the way I related to Reservation Blue’s, “It is important
to note the differences between Indians back in the 1600’s and those today because
several centuries can change a lot about a group of people…This allowed me to write a
paper personal to me and help me find a way to relate to the novel we spent all semester
focusing on.
Jessica Di Benedetto
I have signed permission slips to use any of the above comments on the HCC website.
You are also welcome to my assignment sheets. Roger Stott is ready to post anything you
want to include on the book connection website.
PVA 1/06