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Assignment

• Reading:  George Washington Cable "Posson Jone'" from the Louisiana Anthology
• 5-9: Thesis exercises
• Begin work on your research paper. Read the work at least twice and begin the prewriting process to get ideas for a thesis.
• Writing: 
• Research paper. Submit two topics for research (in order of preference). I'll take these and approve one for your research paper. Select a literary work from the text or one of the collateral works.
• Questions on "Posson Jone'"
1. Setting:  Where does the story take place?  When?
   
2. What's a "Posson?" A schismatique?
   
3. Where has Posson Jimmy Jone been on business?
   
4. Where is Posson Jone going?  Where is that precisely?
5. What is homespun?
6. Where is the Place Congo?  What's happening there in the story?  What's special about the Place Congo in United States history?
7. What does "Colossus of Rhodes" refer to?
   
8. Compare and contrast Posson Jone and Jules St. Ange.
9. Compare and contrast Baptiste and Colossus.
10. What happened to Posson Jone's money? 
    
11. What animals "fight?" What's that say about New Orleans?
    
12. Who saves the day?
• Links
1. George Washington Cable. “Posson Jone’”
2. Louisiana Anthology Podcast, Episode 2
   “Posson Jone’” discussion, part 1
3. Louisiana Anthology Podcast, Episode 3.
   “Posson Jone’” discussion, part 2
4. Plautus Pseudolus
   

George Washington Cable (1844-1925) published “Posson Jone’” (Parsonones) in 1883, as part of a collection of stories entitled Old Creole Days. The story is set during the early statehood, sometime from 1816 to 1818.

As a state, Louisiana was cobbled together from very different cultures. In this story, Cable wanted to show how these highly different people from their various cultures can come together in this new state. The four main characters each represent a different part of this mosaic.

Jules St.-Ange	Parson Jones
Baptiste	Colossus

Sample Topics

1. Compare Posson Jone' and Young Goodman Brown.
   
2. Compare Posson Jone' and Jules.
3. Compare Colossus and Baptiste.
4. Compare & contrast the four main characters.
5. Compare temptation and redemption in "Posson Jone'" and "Young Goodman Brown." Why does Posson Jone' recover from his misadventure better than Goodman Brown?