The Stone Gods

Period 1:

If you missed these the first time through, take a moment to read these short articles and apply them to the novel The Stone Gods: GJ1132b (synthesis), Easter Island and Why People Are Marching for Science.

Prep for our discussion: 
1. Examine the poem "The Sun Rising" by John Donne:
           
Busy old fool, unruly sun, 
            Why dost thou thus 
Through windows and through curtains call on us? 
Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run? 
            Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide 
            Late schoolboys and sour prentices, 
      Go tell court huntsmen that the King will ride, 
      Call country ants to harvest offices; 
Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime, 
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.
            Thy Beams, so reverend and strong
            Why shouldst thou think?
I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink,
But that I would not lose her sight so long;
            If her eyes have not blinded thine,
            Look, and tomorrow late, tell me,
      Whether both th' Indias of spice and mine
      Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with me.
Ask for those kings whom thou saw'st yesterday,
And thou shalt hear, All here in one bed lay.
            She is all states, and all princes I,
            Nothing else is.
Princes do but play us; compared to this,
All honor's mimic, all wealth alchemy.
            Thou, sun, art half as happy as we,
            In that the world's contracted thus;
      Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be
      To warm the world, that's done in warming us.
Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere;
This bed thy center is, these walls thy sphere.

2.  From Daniel DeFoe's novel Robinson Crusoe:

I was born in the Year 1632, in the City of York, of a good Family, tho' not of that Country, my Father being a Foreigner of Bremen, who settled first at Hull: He got a good Estate by Merchandise, and leaving off his Trade, lived afterward at York, from whence he had married my Mother, Relations were named Robinson, a very good Family at Country, and from whom I was called Robinson Keutznaer; but by the usual Corruption of Words in England, we are now called, nay we call our Selves, and writer Name Crusoe, and so my Companions always call'd me. 

3. Complete the index card prompt for our discussion of The Stone Gods (2nd period). I'll collect these for the moderators next period.

• What puzzles/confuses me about __________ is...
• I'd like to discuss...
• This (scene/character/setting/plot event/conflict, etc.) reminds me of...
• I think that the author is attempting to...
• I have a question about...
• Did you also notice that...

4. Use any of the prompts below to create something. You may (of course) use your own ideas, or combine any of these prompts as you'd like.

• Write a traveler's tale about a secret place that no human has visited...until now (this could be a planet, a country, an island, a city, a house, or anything imaginable). 
• Write a short story or poem in which you deliberately use a metaphor to say something about the human condition or an environmental issue.
• Pick your favorite "classic" novel, short story, or poem. Steal a line from this literary work and/or use this allusion to enhance your own story (or choose to revise something you've already written and use allusion to enhance the piece).
• Write your own science fiction story. See TV tropes for some trope ideas...

If you need to please work on your other fiction/poetry drafts for your portfolio during lab (or prepare for our discussion next period by reviewing the book...)

Period 2:

Discussion questions (in addition to the ones the discussion leader created):

• Examine the plot of this novel. Are all parts of this book necessary in your opinion? How do the parts of the book help identify theme? (Consequently then, what is Winterson’s point or message to us?) 
• Choose a minor character and explore why and how this character helps to compare/contrast with a major character. If possible, each group member should select their own minor character. Listen to everyone’s opinion. 
• Winterson has been known to quote: “the truth is a version of events.” What might she mean? And how does this relate to the book (setting, characters, theme, plot?) 
• A reviewer wrote: "Winterson is an orphaned/non-orphaned, religious/irreligious lesbian schizophrenic who openly discusses her periods of madness. Throughout the dichotomy of the search for her true identity, to find some cohesion with reality, and her deliberate self-maligning separation from the world, there are tiny slivers of information fed through the overwhelming prose. Perhaps reflecting her own mental – and sometimes physical - dysphoria, there is the feeling of grasping for something in desperation, but not knowing what that is: an abstract description for a predominantly abstract writer. 

This is reflected in the way images drawn from seemingly nowhere are thrown into previously coherent sentences, jolting the reader from any comfort zone they may have been clinging to thus far. While these passages sometimes work, Winterson’s best moments are those of sheer clarity, of short sentences and direct language. These parts are raw and engaging, and are often the only times you feel empathy with her."

Find a passage that you feel supports this review and explain its effectiveness or question its use in the book. 

• After learning about Winterson, what parts of this book seem to be autobiographical? Are these details in the book an accident or are they purposefully drawn to allow the writer to connect to her past or identity? What parts of your own life are helpful to write about? Consider how this may help your prose and poetry writing. 
• If you were to write this book, what changes would you make? Why?
• Could this book work outside of its “sci-fi” genre? What genre(s) might be best suited to it? 
• Examine this book through a queer or gender lens. What issues seem most relevant?
• Examine this book through an eco-criticism lens. What might the author be trying to warn us about the dangers of human development or technology as regards our world (there is no planet b)?
• Other questions/discussion topics?

HOMEWORK: None. Feel free to contribute to your portfolio by writing about issues brought up today or from the discussion of the novel.