Red River A Novel Lalita Tademy

Red River offers many avenues of analysis and we will explore many of these during this total assignment.  The first section of this assignment will be an analysis of the author, her authority as relates to the subject matter and her faithfulness to the historic accuracy of the event in question, “The Colfax Massacre”.  You will start your research with a full investigation of the Colfax Massacre, also described as the Colfax Riot by those defending the white perspective.  You need to be the authority on this subject so you can evaluate how well Tademy sticks to the historic evidence.  You need to know both sides because that is always the directive of a researcher and historian.  Also, you need to be prepared to defend whichever side you are endorsing.   Research also the author’s background.  Who is she?  What is her academic background in history? You may want to investigate her academic background in English to see how that relates to her writing.   How many books has she written?  On what topics?  Do you see a pattern?  What do the critics say?  Be specific here, use direct quotes as they relate to her writing talent and her historic accuracy, you will be defending and discussing both.  Who are the critics?  Are they worthy of even criticizing her talent and authority?  Pick publishers, editors, other authors of historic accounts, if available, survivors of the actual event that read her book.  Avoid “Goodreads” as this is usually from people who may have enjoyed the book but have no real credentials you can use to defend your author.   Use anyone we should pay special attention to.  Is the author faithful to the historic subject?  In what way or ways does she succeed or fail?  Can we trust what she says?  Why or why not?  If she deviates from the historic timeline, discuss why she did that.  Interview with the author will reveal her intent in writing the book.  This is important because she may not be trying to be historically accurate.  She may be using this event as a vehicle to drive home the human condition of the people in question.  If she deviates too far, her historic accuracy is lost but the importance of her work can still be solid.  The focus here is on the authors credentials and her historic accuracy to get you focused on evaluating your source authors for their accuracy and dependability.

The second section is on the writing style itself.  How is the story written?  Be specific here, do not just say it was good and leave it at that.  Remember this is an analysis of her writing style and the intent of this analysis is to improve your own writing.  Discuss some of the conventions she uses, 3^rd person, 1^st person, layout of the story.  How does she tell her tale?  Is it effective?  Does it work for you?  In which ways, did she succeed or fail?   Discuss how the author handles suspense, intrigue, humor, pathos.  How does she build up to these events?  What did you learn about achieving this in your own work?  Does the story move fluidly?  How so?  Be specific here, remember this is an analysis not a yes or no question and answer.  Does the story lag?  In what ways does the author’s writing style draw you deeper and deeper into the story?  Do you care about the characters?  Why or why not?  If you do care about the characters, how did the author win you over?  See if you can figure out how she got you hooked.  When I say care, I don’t mean do you like them.  A rather repulsive character can have its attractions as well.  I also want you to explore the mood of each story and whether the mood they project works. An author must capture you within the first few chapters or you, the reader, puts it down and never returns.  I want you to explore the elements of the writing to see if it works for you.  You need to look at how the author writes.  First Person?  Third Person?   Think about the times being discussed; does the writing style reflect the times?  How so?  The purpose here is to evaluate the author of the book to enhance your own writing style.  Learn from them.  Even negative elements in the writing instructs you on what not to do.