The Namesake Journal Entry 1 (Due 4/30)

Step 1

Choose a paragraph or a passage from Chapter 3 of The Namesake that you feel is the most important. How you decide what paragraph is important can be based on anything, really, but here are some examples of how you
might decide:

• Which paragraph best speaks to you personally, or gives you the clearest image in your mind as you read it?
• Which paragraph moves the novel’s plot forward the most, based on how you’ve interpreted the author’s use of foreshadowing?
• Which paragraph most develops the novel’s central character, or a character you particularly like?
• Which paragraph do you think is most interestingly or beautifully written? Why? What words and sentences make that paragraph so powerful?
• Which paragraph makes the best use of the literary techniques we’ve discussed so far (characterization, point of view, narrative chronology, or foreshadowing)?
• Which paragraph best develops the essential themes you see in the novel so far?
• Any other academically valid reason you find a paragraph interesting or notable.

Step 2

Write a journal entry of about 500 words (usually four paragraphs) that explains your chosen paragraph or passage, and why you chose it. You should summarize the section you choose (explain what happens), analyze the section’s strengths (explain what works well), find specific examples from the text and explain how they relate to your analysis, and finally explain this passage’s relationship to the chapter, and the book so far.