Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures

SLA238, Literature of the Ukrainian Canadian Experience, 2024

Class meeets on Thursdays from 1:00 to 3:00 PM in Alumni Hall, Rm. 306..

Assignment 1

Assignment 1 is due at the beginning of class October 3, 2024.

You must write a brief essay of about 600 words, less than two pages. Essays should be formatted with 1 inch margins, double spacing, and 12 point type.
You don't need an extra page for your name and the title (just put your name at the top of the first page) or another extra page for references to works cited (If you cite the novel, you need to indicate a reference). Write clearly. Choose the right words, shape your ideas into meaningful sentences, and structure your argument into cohesive paragraphs. Make sure you say EXACTLY what you mean, not something almost similar to what you thought you might want to say. Be brief and get to your point directly, without lengthy introductions or digressions. Express your insights. Demonstrate that you have given some consideration to the ideas you are expressing and that you understand how these ideas relate to other ways of looking at the topic.

The specific assignment is this:

Describe the role of the character Nestor Kazlik in Margaret Laurence's A Jest of God. Nestor the Jester, Nick's father, is a minor character in the novel but he is very important in Nick's life. What kind of a man is Nestor? What is his relationship with his children?

Your essay will be judged for the quality of writing and for the depth of your analysis (did you pursue your own ideas to their ultimate significance?). Express your OWN understanding of the scene in the novel and how the author conveys a particular sense of the scene for the reader. Make sure that any ideas that are not your own are credited to their actual source. You don't need anyone else's ideas, but if you use them, cite them.