What Is the What

First, read the following essay by David Eggers, author of What Is the What:

http://valentinoachakdeng.org/essay.php

This will help give you some context for the novel and an understanding of how it straddles the fiction/non-fiction world.

After you have done that, think for a moment about Valentino's journey & consider the journeys of other characters you have read about before (e.g. Odysseus). How does Valentino's journey compare? Is he on the "hero's journey" as other characters in literature have been? If not, where does his journey differ in significant ways?

In Country

Sam is on a journey of discovery throughout this novel. What is she searching for? Does she find it? If not, what does she find?

Please make sure to cite specific examples from the text in both your initial answer and response.

Cold Mountain

Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain is modeled on the story of Odysseus, another warrior journeying home. If you have read The Odyssey (as I know Tylar, Pat, Julia, Chloe, & Elizabeth have), please think back to it and describe some of the similarities you see between Inman's story and that of Odysseus...the more specific your comparison the better. If you would prefer, or if you have not read The Odyssey, think about Inman's character and deny or defend labeling him "arrogant."

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent

The Garcia girls travel to America with their family, fleeing the Trujillo regime. Despite the fact that their flight is as a family, their journeys create significantly different effects in each sister. Choose one sister whose changes most strike you and explain why her changes are most striking.