The reason Tropic of Orange is such a successful novel of California infrastructure is because it knows that a proper literary image of Los Angeles must include networks that go way beyond the city, to include migratory flows, borderlands, and even watersheds; and must also enter deep into the neighborhoods, filling in the cultural richness of the areas between the freeways. Furthermore, not all of the novel’s characters experience time and space in the same way, which can lead to some confusion in a novel obsessed with chronology and cartography. So instead of homework questions and quizzes, I’m going to ask you to create your own study guide for one of the seven main characters in this novel.
Your study guide can be straightforward (like a traditional study guide), or more creative. This can be textual, visual, or a combination of images and text. I leave the format up to you; the only requirements are:
you create a study guide for one of the seven main characters (Emi, Gabriel, Rafaela, Bobby, Buzzworm, Archangel, or Manzanar)
your guide must contain a minimum of seven concrete references to the novel, one for each day of the week.
You will receive one point for each reference (up to seven), and up to three extra points for engagement, creativity, and insight, for a total of 10 points.
