I have already done part 1 and will upload it below.
Step #2 prompt – In a 300-word response, review your response to step #1. How have you thoughts and feelings about the novel changed or developed over the course of the semester? What do you think is the primary cause of those changes?
My Though have not change much through out the semester but several of the literary theories we learn about were very eye opening and made me look a the book in new ways, Specifically New historical and cultural criticism
Step #3 prompt – In a 300-word response, describe what parts of your identity might have shaped your initial thoughts and feeling about the book. What about who you are allowed you to connect with the text? Do you see anything about yourself in the characters or story? Do you see something that is totally the opposite of you?
As a straight white male who has also struggled with addiction in the past I related a lot to John Frazier. That and growing up near the area where the book was written helped me understand and connect wit h the characters. I would say Evelyn Wilson is the opposite of me and I have unfortunately met many people like her.
Step #4 prompt – In a 300-word response, reflect on how your reviewing of your peers’ responses to the discussion questions over the course of the semester has shaped your thinking about the text. Can you recall a specific moment when someone wrote something about the text that caused you to think differently about the characters or novel? How much do you think your understanding of the novel has been shaped by what others have said? How much do you think the meaning has been made collectively?
The only time a discussion page made me rethink my point of view and look into an idea that had never occurred to me was Module 13 – LGBTQ+ Criticism Reading and Discussion Questions.
Question number 5 was “How might the works of heterosexual writers be reread to reveal an unspoken or unconscious lesbian, gay, or queer presence? That is, does the work have an unconscious lesbian, gay, or queer desire or conflict that it submerges (or that heterosexual readers have submerged)?” My classmate Izzie Lindstrom wrote ” There is an unconscious gay present in the context of John trying Ray that could be seen as John trying to “find” his own sexuality. John is a troubled soul when he returns from Vietnam, coming home with addiction that can be related to his sexuality. John finding Ray is him trying to himself by finding Ray. When John could not find Ray, he fell into a heteronormative life. Only when someone tells John what happened to Ray that he (John) reexamines his life. It is also said that Ray had an intimate relationship with his friend, Chiggers. He took the death of Chiggers very hard, going on a heroin bender and relapse. They only met during their time in Vietnam and it seems odd that John took Chigger’s death so hard that he felt lost.”
I found this to be very interesting but disagreed writing “I really like your interpretation because I have read this book twice now and have never thought of John and Chigger’s relationship that way or John’s search for Ray in such a way either. I don’t know if I necessarily agree with you but it did make me think about the book some more. I saw John reaction to the death of Chiggers as pretty typical of a recovering drug addict whose good friend had just killed himself. They did not spend much time together but the time they spent together was traumatic and caused them to form a strong bond. I also saw John’s search for Ray as a writer searching for his big hit story and becoming invested due to the human element and the parallels to his own life. My thoughts also might be skewed towards that way do my own sexuality and background.”
Step #5 prompt – Review your previous five responses and write a 300-word response that summarizes your primary takeaways from this process of reflecting on your experience as a reader.
Step #6 – Final Exam Essay Prompt – Review your previous responses and reflect upon your thoughts about the novel and the semester and write a formal essay of approximately 700 words that discusses what the novel means to you and how that meaning has been shaped by your identity and by your experience with this class, the theories, and your peers.
I hope I have provided enough information for you. If you have any other question just let me know. Here is a link to the text book. I unfortunately do not have a copy of “Phantoms” by Christian Kiefer. Each step has to be summited individually so it does not need to be one 1900 word essay but broken up.
https://mahollandela.weebly.com/uploads/5/4/9/5/54951553/critical-theory-today__1_.pdf
