A Sense of Doubt blog post #2451 - WATCHMEN Brainstorming - Writing a Literary Analysis about the Watchmen novel for College Composition

A Sense of Doubt blog post #2451 - WATCHMEN Brainstorming - Writing a Literary Analysis about the Watchmen novel for College Composition


My Watchmen Brainstorming on GOOGLE DRIVE

In thinking about how to model brainstorming for my students as we begin our literary analysis essay assignment for English 101, Composition, Fall of 2021, I wanted to show some brainstorming on the most obvious theme in Watchmen: the theme of time.

I have linked my brainstorming work above. I ran out of time to work it through in class the way I wanted. I also chose not to draw out the brainstorming as I encouraged them to do. I just made lists and free associated ideas.

I start by thinking about time in general as a concept.

Obviously, the title of the novel itself, Watchmen, tells readers that time plays a role as there are men who watch and a watch also measures time.

This alone would not be enough to make an argument about time if not for all the clocks and watches in the narrative along with time being described and discussed directly in the narrative.

Also, there are clocks at the start of the every chapter showing a count down, presumably to some big event in the ending of the book.

So, as you can see in the brainstorming, I riffed on watches and clocks and other meaning of watch, such as "the Night's Watch." 

Also, "to watch" is a verb, which literally describes multiple ideas in relation to this book. In a sense, we readers "watch" a comic book as the treading process is as much looking at pictures as it is also reading words.

But there are many others watching, observing, in the book: Veidt watches, Dr. Manhattan watches, Rorschach watches, and more.

The brainstorming shows the beginnings of an assembly of ideas that I could make part of an analysis.

Given that I have performed analysis before, I am already thinking analytically in my brainstorming.

My students may find this more challenging to be thinking analytically, which is why I think brainstorming and then pre-writing is so important in the process.

Even more so than with other assignments, at least in my experience, one must find the ideas through thinking and writing.

Free associating seems better and more effective if the mind is already turning over interpretations.

What I want my students to develop in how they think about texts are the possibilities of the directions the interpretations can go.

Brainstorm with one eye focused on what meaning is being made in the text as one free associates to find the connections and the underlying grist for the analysis mill.



Putting these images here to use:

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2111.03 - 10:10

- Days ago = 2315 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.