First, explain in 150 words why a site significant to you would be an appropriate topic for a cultural report (be sure to read the guidelines). For instance, why would the Japanese Gardens at Herman Park be compelling and vivid? Well, mostly because the park represents many issues, including a distinct view into Japanese gardening traditions, an aesthetic that allows for peaceful meditation and reflection, and an appreciation of diversity and multiculturalism in a thriving metropolis.

2. Write a 150 word response to one of the following discussion topics.

A. How does Marge Piercy provide symbols of war of conflict, how does the readers understand she is trying to appeal to many different types of women, and why is her discussion of dinner preparation a convenient, commonplace way to probe issues of feminism?

B. “Night Waitress” explores the tough job of working a third shift in a working class community. How does Hull convey the notion that the poem’s subject, the waitress, feels a sense of conflict in her life, a sense of isolation and loneliness, and various forms of desire? What does the frail machinery signify, as well as the Cadillac, plus the cross tattooed on the cook’s forehead too?

C. How does Marge Piercy illuminate the conflicts between the colonizing of the West and the history of Native Americans? Does she employ irony — a sense of contrast — to do this (like using the Pontiac car, rather than  a Chrysler … as well as incense vs. mosquitos), and why do you think she uses the actor John Wayne as the subject — does it have to do with his many roles as an Anglo actor expressing much anger, valor, and violence?