Heartspace
Questions
1.
The short story was about a son, Cal, who was
called by his sister, Bebe, to see his dying father. The son has not seen his
father for 14 years since his father said some bad things to him when finding
out that Cal was gay. Arriving at the airport, Cal’s sister picks him up and
takes him to see his father. He meets his father’s newest bride, Monique, who
is from Saint Simons, one of the islands off the Georgia coast. Bebe believes
that Monique is only with her father for his money since he is very well off.
Cal speaks with his father and his father is very kind to him and apologizes
for the way he reacted to him being gay. Cal leaves feeling better and says he
will be back in six weeks. On the way
out Monique will not allow the siblings to touch their father? When they take a
picture with their father, his eyes do not even react to the camera flash. This
raises a few signals in Cal’s head and right before boarding his flight he
decided in a bit of rage to go and see what Monique is up to with his father.
When arriving back at his father’s mansion, Cal burst in and throws Monique out
of the way. He goes in to see his father and hug him. Cal realizes his father
is cold, has no pulse, and has stitching around his chest and heart area. Cal
realizes his father is dead and Monique is keeping him alive with some type of African
hoodoo ritual. Somehow she has trapped his last breath and his heart in her
sacred vases and found a way to keep him alive. Finally Cal tells Monique to
give his sister half the inheritance she was promised and that she would not
bother her anymore. Cal wants nothing and leaves to catch a flight home to
Portland. He realizes as he boards the flight that his father is dead to him.
2.
3.
A. Setting Place- Los Angeles, CA.
B.
Setting Time - Post Sept. 11 (9/11 attacks) L.A.
County
C.
POV – 1st Person (single narrator)
D.
Protagonist – Calvin
E.
Antagonist – His fathers acceptance and love
(also can be Monique)
F.
Calvin –
Main Character, gay, middle aged, a son going to see dying father
Bebe – Cal’s Sister, married a few times, mother, does not trust
Monique with her father.
Monique – Father’s wife, from Saint Simons, practices African
hoodoo or some sort of witchcraft, the conjure woman
Father – Dying (dead), businessman, bad father, regretful
4.
The conjure woman – Monique – Conjuring was a
form of magic rooted in African hoodoo, a witch craft of some sort, or voodoo
practice.
AA Motifs the conjure woman fits in
-
Elements of Black Culture #9
-
Archetypal Characters #6
5.
Conflict – between people. Main conflict is
between Cal & Monique
Monique is standing in the way of the
relationship between father and son.
6.
Protagonist (Cal) is struggling for his fathers
acceptance and love that his father showed him as a child. The Driving Need is
to be at peace with his father.
7.
Flashbacks
-Calvin flashbacks to a child hood memory of a happy
time with his father in front of his old home that is now trashed. Bottom Pg.52
– Top Pg.53
8.
The type of plot order would be a Linear
Chronology. The story is presented in an order of their occurrence in time. The type of plot
structure I think would be a traditional 5 part plot structure
9.
#9 Elements of Black Culture – African
Hoodoo beliefs
#8 Oral Tradition - Pg.57 Slave Narrative,
Monique tells story of the Ibo people on
her island that were different than American Slaves.
#16 Remembered Events – Pg.57 Slave
Narrative, Monique tells story of the Ibo people on her island that were
different than American Slaves.
#10 Family, Home – Seeing his childhood
home, remembering the events in front of his childhood home. The house that was
a shell of it’s previous self.
10. Theme
– love is love
You should not interfere or judge love for
what it is.
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