1. “In a First, U.S. Declares Shortage on Colorado River, Forcing Water Cuts by Henry Fountain (nonfiction article) Water Cuts Discussion Paper
2. Also, choose one of the two following fiction readings (short story/ chapter):
Excerpt from The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi (fiction)
or
“The Tamarisk Hunter” by Paolo Bacigalupi (fiction)
B. Answer all of the following questions (some give you options, but make sure you have six responses total).
1. Which character(s) do you like and/ or relate to in “The Tamarisk Hunter” or the excerpt from The Water Knife? Which ones do you not? Describe how the story you have selected (“The Tamarisk Hunter” or The Water Knife) begins. What is confusing to you? What is intriguing? Compare the way the story opens to the development of the story itself. What clues do you get along the way about what is important in the story?
2. Either answer A or B, depending on which short story you chose to read.
A. Although “The Tamarisk Hunter” is classified as dystopian fiction/fantasy, it contains a number of elements and references to the real world. It also contains elements that, while fiction, are possible; these elements/things/ways of living might actually happen in our near future. Discuss what you think is real, possible, and impossible in the story: find at least one example of each. Explain why you chose each example.
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B. Why does Angel Velasquez think that Charles Braxton is reliable? Edible? Explain. How do these details tell you what kind of a book this is going to be? (excerpt from The Water Knife)
3. Either answer A or B, depending on which short story you chose to read. Water Cuts Discussion Paper
A. Catherine Case is referred to as “Queen of the Colorado” in the excerpt from The Water Knife. Why?
B. What do you think you might do if you were in Lolo’s position (“The Tamarisk Hunter”), and why?
4. The excerpt from The Water Knife and “The Tamarisk Hunter” are both fiction, but “In a First, U.S. Declares Shortage on Colorado River, Forcing Water Cuts,” the other reading (an article from The New York Times), more recently published, is not. Compare/contrast both the role of and portrayal of water and water use rights/access in the West in both of your reading selections. Why is this issue important in the real world? What are some of the implications?
5. What appears to be each author’s perspective on the issues being written about in each of your two readings, and how can you tell/how do you know? What surprised you, if anything? What did not?
6. Apply all the parts of the rhetorical situation to an analysis of “In a First, U.S. Declares Shortage on Colorado River, Forcing Water Cuts.” You did this kind of analysis already for a previous assignment. Water Cuts Discussion Paper