And of Clay Are We Created

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Can you think of any natural disasters (floods, earthquakes, etc.) that people made worse by the way they responded (or didn’t respond)? Try to name two or three.

Teaching Suggestion: Students may not know about the 1985 Nevado del Ruiz eruption, but examples of disasters exacerbated by incompetence, apathy, or ignorance are unfortunately quite common. Various governments’ responses to the Covid-19 pandemic are a recent example, as is Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. In real life, the Colombian government received harsh criticism for the tragedy upon which Allende’s story is based; in the story, society’s apathy toward nature mirrors their lack of compassion for one another and connects to the theme of Empathy and Humanity’s Place in the Natural World.

• “There’s No Such Thing as a Natural Disaster” is a 2006 Items article by Neil Smith reflecting on the sociological aspects of Hurricane Katrina and other disasters.
• “Delighted by the Joy of Bad Things” is Dwight Garner’s New York Times review of Rebecca Solnit’s 2009 book, A Paradise Built in Hell, which argues that while official responses often worsen disasters, ordinary people tend to demonstrate great courage and empathy (see also A Paradise Built in Hell on SuperSummary). (Subscription may be required to view article.)

2. What Latin American writers can you name? Try to identify at least three.

Teaching Suggestion: Allende herself is well known, so students may name her. Other widely read Latin American writers include Gabriel García Márquez, Pablo Neruda, and Jorge Luis Borges. It is worth noting that, as these examples demonstrate, Latin American literature is a broad classification, encompassing writers with very different ethnic and/or national origins.

• Hispanic and Latinx American Literature on SuperSummary offers a list of guides to prominent Latin American works.
• Latin American Literature Today is a journal of contemporary Latin American literature; the publication also features book reviews and interviews.

Short Activity

Flip through a newspaper or scroll through the headlines of an online news source. What sorts of topics feature in multiple stories? See if you can categorize the stories broadly by topic (e.g., “war,” “economy,” etc.) and count the number of each that appear.

Teaching Suggestion: Allende’s inspiration for “And of Clay Are We Created” was a real-world news story, but the media do not come off particularly well in her version. In fact, the sensationalistic, emotionally shallow coverage of Azucena’s situation calls to mind the adage, “If it bleeds, it leads”; with the exception of Rolf, the journalists in the story seem to care about Azucena mostly as a gory spectacle. Use this activity to spark discussion about journalistic priorities and responsibilities, especially as they relate to Empathy.  

• “Picture Power: Tragedy of Omayra Sánchez”  is a 2005 BBC article and interview with Frank Fournier about the photograph that inspired “And of Clay Are We Created” and the backlash it received.
• “How We Report on Pain, Death, and Trauma Without Losing Our Humanity” is a 2021 ProPublica article by Karim Doumar discussing the ethical and personal ramifications of documenting traumatic events.