The tasks in this section will help you extract pertinent information about the specific writers you will be studying. This is going to be a large amount of information. Do not try to digest it all at the beginning of the course or you will be overwhelmed. Be patient, process it one piece at a time, within the framework of your syllabus, and eventually you will be able to put the whole puzzle together in a meaningful way.

El género narrativo: Definición y orígenes

1.			What kind of information does this section provide?
2.			What is the origin of the word narrative?
3.			What is the definition of the narrative?
4.			How does a writer use the narrative as a tool of expression?

Task 2. Identify Key Words.

5.			If you were to pursue further research on the narrative genre, what are some key words from the paragraph in Task 1 that might assist in a computer or library search? Jot them down here.

NOTE: Since La camisa de Margarita is the sample narrative used in the Stages and Strategies for Reading Narratives, the next step is to read about the specific time in which Ricardo Palma lived and wrote.

Task 3. Scan for Information. Scan the section entitled El romanticismo en la narrativa hispanoamericana on page 30 for answers to the following questions.

6.			With which politically driven developments did the emergence of el romanticismo hispanoamericano coincide?
7.			What literary genre dominated this period? According to the authors, why was this genre so popular?
8.			What are the five categories of the genre mentioned in this section, the principal writers in each, and an example text?

Task 4. Summarize.

9.			The section entitled Dos géneros americanos: lo «gauchesco» y la «tradición» (pp.30–31) specifically addresses the role that Ricardo Palma played in the emergence of a strictly Latin American novel. Summarize his contribution to this literary movement.

Task 5. Test Yourself. Before you continue, make sure that you can answer the following questions without referring to your notes.

10.			What kind of information does a historical panorama provide to the reader of literature? What kinds of insights into a literary movement does this type of perspective provide?
11.			What are the connections between literature and history?
12.			Can you place the writer you are studying into the literary movement(s) of his/her time? What did that writer contribute to the literary movement(s)?
13.			How does the writer's contribution relate to what came before and what followed?
14.			If you were to do further research on the writer being studied, what key words might you use to find information?