new+lit+circle+roles


 * Note**: You only have to do the starred roles (#2-6) for question 3. In future lit circles, each student will take one starred role, and all un-starred roles will be open for all to discuss. All unstarred role contributions will earn you serious extra credit in all lit circles.


 * 1) Moderator (Bring questions): **Everybody will do this**. Just bring questions about the things you want to talk about. Remember: Questions that give “Yes/No” answers are bad questions. “How, Why, What did you think about” questions are richer.
 * 2) *New Critic (Identify key passages and discuss them)
 * 3) *Character Analyst (What does the author make us think about the characters as we know them more in each chapter?)
 * 4) *Psychological Critic (Analyze what the writer shows about how the human mind—male/female, young/old, Eastern/Western, rich/poor—works; you can analyze the author as well as the characters)
 * 5) *Historian (Information and inferences about history; how the book is a “mirror” of its time)
 * 6) *Anthropologist (Information and Inferences about culture: the writer's own culture, and that of any other lands. Why does the writer choose to create these things? What meanings is he trying to make for us readers?)
 * 7) *Philosopher King (What are the themes/big ideas?)
 * 8) Stylist (Sentence-level strategies: Where is Swift’s skill strongest on the sentence level? Remember that “your species” sentence? A small detail with amazing effect, if you think about it.)
 * 9) Feminist (What is stated/implied about the role of women? This is not mandatory, but it will become interesting later. Feel free to notice and discuss.)
 * 10) Devil’s Advocate (Identify and attack weaknesses you can find in Swift’s writing and storytelling. It’s not easy.)
 * 11) Narratologist (How does the //structure// of the novel–not only chapter by chapter, but also scene by scene–create meaning for the reader?)
 * 12)  Poet (Where is this language most pleasing to the ear?)
 * 13)  Egotist (Why is this book considered important?)
 * 14) Artist (What scenes in the novel would make the best picture? This is not mandatory, but it will become interesting later. Feel free to notice and discuss.)