An important part of literary study is the ability to balance big questions about context, theory and large-scale interpretation with careful attention to specific details. It’s important not to lose sight of the details as we work to make sense of the big picture. To that end, one thing we will focus on this term is asking focused, specific questions about very small sections of the novels we read.
Assignment Description
Since provocation questions are so important to engaging critically with anything you read, you’ll be responsible for writing a substantive provocation question about one of the course readings each week. These provocation questions will provide a jumping-off point for the close reading assignments you’ll write over the course of the term, as well as for class discussion.
What provocation questions do
As we’ve discussed, the first step in the close reading process is reading carefully and paying attention to details and individual words, rather than jumping straight to interpretation. In other words, instead of starting by asking what a text means, focus first on what it says, and then, once you’ve figured that out, begin to ask why a text says what it says, why it says something in a particular way, and what the effect of saying something in that way might be. That’s where the provocation question comes in.
How to write a provocation question
Remember that your question is intended to help you analyze the reading. As such, it should be substantial, detailed, and specific. It should pose one of the why or how questions that you ask after you’ve completed a careful close reading of a text.
Begin with several sentences (at least 2, but no more than 4) that describe what you noticed in your reading that led you to ask your question. Be specific and detailed in describing the situation as clearly as you can. If your question is prompted by contextual or historical information, include that in your description, but remember, your question should focus primarily on what’s happening on the page. Include any relevant short quotations that show the words or phrases that are important to your observations, but be judicious with your use of quotation. The provocation question should demonstrate your ideas and queries; it should not repeat large sections of the text. Be sure to cite page numbers for each quotation in parentheses after the quotation marks.
Once you’ve described in 2-4 sentences what you observed in your reading, pose your question. It should be a why or a how question that addresses what is happening in the text. You don’t need to have an answer to your question, although you should have a few ideas.
Some example provocation questions
The final section begins with a reference to the “smooth and gliding phrase, AMERICAN SLAVE TRADE” (41). The sentence itself contains three independent clauses separated by semicolons, as well as multiple dependent clauses and phrases. What makes the phrase “smooth and gliding”? Is the rest of the sentence smooth and gliding? How does the sound and tempo of the sentence relate to its argument, and how does it compare to the “smooth and gliding phrase, AMERICAN SLAVE TRADE?
The novella ends with one very long sentence that spends a lot of time describing the activity of the former slaves: they “deliberately gathered their baggage,” “poured through the gangway,” “formed themselves into a procession,” “bid farewell,” and “marched” (51). On top of all of these verbs, the sentence is full of participles: “uttering,” “deafening” and “sympathizing.” The last words of the sentence are MADISON WASHINGTON, but most of the sentence isn’t actually about him. What’s the effect of ending the novella with so much focus on the action of the group, rather than on Washington himself? To what extent does the final sentence provide some sense of resolution?
Questions to avoid
Again, provocation questions are intended to provoke discussion. This means that they should require considerably more than a yes or no answer. Other types of questions that are not appropriate for provocation questions include:
Questions that are a matter of taste or opinion
Isn’t this story kind of boring?
Questions of fact or definition
Was this based on actual events? What are “laths”?
Questions beyond the scope of the text
Is Madison ever reunited with his family?
Questions that are clearly answered by the text
Does Madison ever get free?
Questions only the author’s ghost can answer
Why did Douglass end the story so abruptly?
How not to disturb the author’s ghost
Note that the last question to avoid is very similar to the first example close reading question above. Framing something in terms of why an author did something a certain way is often tempting, but that sort of question doesn’t get us very far. Since we usually can’t ask the author him or herself, all we can do is speculate, which isn’t all that helpful. And even if we could ask the author, the answer would just be the beginning of a series of more important questions: Do we think the author’s answer is supported by the details of the text? How, if at all, does this change our reading of the text? Ultimately, what the author might have to say is less important than how what’s happening on the page affects the way we read and engage with the text, and that’s what you want your questions to focus on.
Provocation questions are a great opportunity to work on framing claims and analysis in ways that encourage strong support from textual evidence. Specific word choice matters in framing a claim. “Douglass ended the novella with his final sentence because…” is hard to prove; “The emphasis on collective action in the final sentence suggests this interpretation…” can be supported with textual evidence. As you write your provocation questions, pay careful attention to specific ways you’re framing your questions.
Grading
Provocation questions are worth two points each and will be graded on a check plus/check/check minus basis. A question will receive a check minus if it fails to meet the minimum requirements of the assignment: if it lacks a substantive description, if it fails to focus on a single passage in the text, or if it asks a question on the list of questions to avoid. A provocation question that receives a check plus is one that asks a particularly insightful, striking or otherwise unexpected question, or one that notices something especially interesting and significant in the text; in other words, a question that goes well beyond the expectations of the assignment.
A check plus is equal to 2 points, a check to 1.6 points, and a check minus to 1 point. Over the course of the term, you will submit eleven provocation questions; I will average the top ten.
Submission instructions
At the beginning of the term, I will create a provocation question schedule. You will post your provocation questions to the course blog on the assigned dates. Provocation questions are due by midnight the day before class meets.