The Search for Self

The first unit in English 10 is "The Search for Self." The class will come up with a variety of ways and means that people use to find their true self--or their true identity.

Practice Essay Question: What does Barbara Kingsolver believe about finding your true self?

As you compose a practice essay with three words from the A to Z Taxonomy, consider incorporating some of the following quotations that illustrate the general idea of search for self. You also need to support your ideas with examples and quotations from the novel that support your specific key words/ideas that you use in the practice essay.

"I was hoping that had changed: I would step off the bus and land smack in the middle of a sense of belonging” (Kingsolver 12).

“They had no idea. I’d sell my soul and all my traveling shoes to belong some place” (Kingsolver 30).

“Few people know so clearly what they want” (Kingsolver 36).

"What I failed at was the activity peopled called 'nesting.' For me, it never seemed like nesting season had arrived yet" (Kingsolver 77) .

Loyd, describing why his dog turns around in circles before lying down: "Beating down the tall grass to make a nice little nest.... Even if there's no tall grass.... We take these good, smart animals and put them in a house and then wonder why they keep on doing the stuff that made them happy for a million years. A dog can't think that much about what he's doing, he just does what feels right" (Kingsolver 91).

“I’d like to find a place that wants to take me in” (Kingsolver 183).

“It wasn’t a matter of courage or dreams, but something a whole lot simpler. A pilot would call it ground orientation. I’d spent a long time circling above the clouds, looking for life, while Hallie was living it” (Kingsolver 225).