I was disappointed with students' underwhelming remarks about Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, so I deleted it in place of In the Pond by Ha Jin. In the Pond is a comic novel about a character, Bin, driven by irrational impulsions and is intoxicated, to his detriment, by self-righteous indignation.
The Essay Assignment Is the Following:
In 3 pages analyze the irrational faculties that sabotage Bin’s attempt to find happiness. Be sure to have a thesis statement such as “Bin’s quest for happiness is saddled with failure because of his tendency for _________________, ______________, _________________, and ___________________. In your last 2 pages, compare Bin to someone you know or a character from film, television, or literature. Of course you will need a Works Cited page and 3 sources minimum.
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