Q Select any two of the following questions and create two critical, thoughtful responses. When crafting your responses, be sure to note the title of the pieces you’re discussing. Use in-text citations from the readings to support your point of view. 1. Discuss how Gertrude Stein’s playful manipulation of language along with her deliberate vagueness and repetition contribute to the thematic effects of “If I Told Him.” 2. How do you see Gertrude Stein being satirical and/or humorous in “If I Told Him”? Based on your experience with and knowledge of today’s world of art and design (and its followers), which of these satirical or humorous elements are still relevant to the contemporary “scene”? 3. Discuss how Clark’s perception of his aunt and her life evolves over the course “A Wagner Matinee.” What does he come to understand over the course of the story? 4. In “A Wagner Matinee,” does Cather emphasize Aunt Georgiana’s feelings of loss more or less than the positive aspects of the endurance of her spirit? That is, in its overall effect, do you feel that the story’s thematics slant more toward bleakness or optimism? Explain the basis for your reaction. 5. How does Ralph Ellison use the idea of invisibility in the Invisible Man prologue and relate it to perception and race? 6. Our reading of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man included the prologue and the novel’s first chapter, which was originally published separately as a short story. Notably, the novel’s epilogue concludes with the narrator’s comment that “Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you?” In what ways do you see our selection from Ellison’s novel’s “speaking” for African-Americans as well as readers of other races, ethnicities, or nationalities? 7. Comment on how Elizabeth Catlett’s sculpture Invisible Man: A Memorial to Ralph Ellison captures the thematic tensions and implications of the selections we read from Invisible Man. Make your initial posts by 11:59 p.m. U.S. EST/EDT on Day 4 of Unit 1. Then, review your classmates’ posts and respond to at least three of them. Make your final posts by 11:59 p.m. U.S. EST/EDT on Day 7 of this unit. Discussion posts should always be thoughtful and courteous and include some references or direct evidence from the unit’s content, readings, or assignments to support your statements.