Imitation Story: Buddha in the Attic
Even if we were born in and lived in the same place our whole lives, we all have immigration and migration stories that help us understand who we are. For some, those stories are more obvious than for others.
In this assignment you will compose a creative imitation of the first chapter of The Buddha in the Attic. Your imitation should tell an immigration or migration story (which can be fictional, auto/biographical, or otherwise nonfiction).
If you are going to write this, it should be a minimum of 750-words in length, but may be longer (approx. 3 full pages, 12 pt font, double spaced).
You are also welcome to deliver your story in another medium, such as audio or video recording (song, mini documentary, whatever your creative heart desires). Length will vary depending on your chosen medium. Please speak with me about your ideas if you go this route.
It is due Friday, April 5 at 11:59 pm, uploaded here.
What to do:
Your imitation should tell an immigration or migration story (which can be fictional, auto/biographical, or otherwise nonfiction).
use Otsuka’s repetitive style and her short, but sharp sentence structure to tell your story. You may choose to write in first person (I, me, my), first person plural (we, our, ours), or in third person (they, them), or mixture of both.
Either way, think about phrases you could repeat: modes of transportation, such as “On the boat”; references to the travelers, like “some of us,” “most of us,” “one of us” (or, replace “us” with “them”); names of locations where characters spend a lot of time – airports, restaurants, the town of departure, the destination, and so on.
By imitating the chapter’s style, voice, and language, you will deepen your understanding how to uncover the meaning and rhetorical purposes of the texts we read, as well as a more deeply understand processes of creating meaning through different forms of communication.
Ideas for brainstorming: you can write any story you want, but here are some questions to help you get started if you don’t have any ideas yet
If you are a domestic American student, can you think to the first person in your family history to immigrate to the United States?
Are you newly arrived in the United States?
Can you tell a compelling story about your own journey coming to Miami University, whether you were coming from as far away as China or Vietnam or you were coming from just down the road in Cincinnati?