Mr. P.
Friday, September 27, 2019
Essay Due Date Change!
Overview: I can see many of you are stressed out, and I appreciate all the hard work I've witnessed during this unit. Both Baldwin essays are due on Wednesday, October 2nd. I will be on a professional leave on Monday and Tuesday, so you will have time to work in class. make the best of the time and I will see you on Wednesday.
Mr. P.
Mr. P.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Writing Workshop Basics and Examples
Overview: You started working on the two literary analysis essays. Below, I have provided some material to help you through the writing process.
2. Return to the text. Return to your blog responses, journal, and class notes. Go back and look your work again with the prompt in mind. How is everything new now that you are seeing the plays with the prompt in mind?
3. Rehearse. What? Yes! Rehearse and perform a verbal essay using the prompt and the works. How would you address a jury of your peers with you proposed thesis? What evidence would you use?
4. Find your Evidence: Find and cite valuable passages for each of the parts of the above prompt. Go to the net and cut and paste at least 10-12 passages and or quotations to use in your piece into a word document.
5. So what’s your point? Thesis statement: The questions in the prompt are guiding your essay. Look at your 10 major passages and ask yourself…what message am I taking away from this reading experience? Write a solid one sentence thesis statement of purpose.
6. Organization: Look at the list of quotations and organize the quotations into the paragraphs. Do not be afraid to "jump around...jump around...jump up, jump up and get down!"
7. Your thesis and 10 Quotations. Your complete thesis is the heading and the 10 quotations should be arranged in the order you would use them in your argument.
8. Compose body paragraphs: Using the prompt and your accompanying quotations - start writing your essay. Make sure you come to some sort of conclusion in the third paragraph. You may even have a brief conclusion as another paragraph.
9. Read your essay over: The professor’s eyes should not be the first set of eyes to read your essay. Make sure it is solid. Read it out loud.
10. Compose your introduction: Keep it brief and make sure the thesis statement you wrote is the last sentence.
l. It is clearly and forcefully supported by the rest of the paper; it isn't just a springboard that allows the writer to jump into topics having little to do with the "thesis."
2. It is precise. It is not something that one has trouble understanding until one read the rest of the paper, and it is not something so general or so "safe" that it fails to represent any strong position. "Bad economic policy was one impact of the fall of Rome" is not precise.
3. It is something worth arguing about. There is no point in basing a paper on a thesis statement that is obvious to everyone or that is not concerned with any significant issue. Read your thesis and ask, so what?
Prompt: Morally ambiguous characters -- characters whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them as purely evil or purely good -- are at the heart of many works of literature. Choose a novel or play in which a morally ambiguous character plays a pivotal role. Then write an essay in which you explain how the character can be viewed as morally ambiguous and why his or her moral ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.
Prose/Open Response Example #1:
(Insert author’s name) presents readers with _________________________ as a means of __________________________. Through the use of __________________________, ____________________________, and _________________________ he/she demonstrates the necessity for human beings to ________________________. However, this becomes more complicated because___________________________. Therefore, (Insert author’s name) uses ________________________ to make his/her point that in order to ____________________ one must ___________________________.
Prose/Open Response Example #2:
In the art of fiction, an author may choose to utilize (insert literary device) as a means of ________________________________. (Insert author’s name) takes this device to another level in _____________________________ by revealing _____________________________ through the use of _________________________. Through the course of the novel/play, _______________. However, by the end of the work ______________________________. Therefore, (insert author’s name) utilizes (insert literary device) to make the point _______________________________.
Prose/Open Response Example #3:
Often novelists/playwrights _________________________________. However, (insert author’s name) chooses to ______________________________________ in his her novel/play ____________________________ in order to reveal _________________________________________ about (insert theme). While on the surface it may appear _________________________, by the end of the work, (insert author’s name) proves______________________________. Therefore, ________________________________.
Poetry Example:
Ten Steps in Writing an Effective Essay
1. Read and Read and Read Prompt: Whatever you choose, make sure to think about every facet of the question. Read over and over again. Think. Digest what you are about to accomplish.2. Return to the text. Return to your blog responses, journal, and class notes. Go back and look your work again with the prompt in mind. How is everything new now that you are seeing the plays with the prompt in mind?
3. Rehearse. What? Yes! Rehearse and perform a verbal essay using the prompt and the works. How would you address a jury of your peers with you proposed thesis? What evidence would you use?
4. Find your Evidence: Find and cite valuable passages for each of the parts of the above prompt. Go to the net and cut and paste at least 10-12 passages and or quotations to use in your piece into a word document.
5. So what’s your point? Thesis statement: The questions in the prompt are guiding your essay. Look at your 10 major passages and ask yourself…what message am I taking away from this reading experience? Write a solid one sentence thesis statement of purpose.
6. Organization: Look at the list of quotations and organize the quotations into the paragraphs. Do not be afraid to "jump around...jump around...jump up, jump up and get down!"
7. Your thesis and 10 Quotations. Your complete thesis is the heading and the 10 quotations should be arranged in the order you would use them in your argument.
8. Compose body paragraphs: Using the prompt and your accompanying quotations - start writing your essay. Make sure you come to some sort of conclusion in the third paragraph. You may even have a brief conclusion as another paragraph.
9. Read your essay over: The professor’s eyes should not be the first set of eyes to read your essay. Make sure it is solid. Read it out loud.
10. Compose your introduction: Keep it brief and make sure the thesis statement you wrote is the last sentence.
A good thesis statement has these characteristics...
l. It is clearly and forcefully supported by the rest of the paper; it isn't just a springboard that allows the writer to jump into topics having little to do with the "thesis."
2. It is precise. It is not something that one has trouble understanding until one read the rest of the paper, and it is not something so general or so "safe" that it fails to represent any strong position. "Bad economic policy was one impact of the fall of Rome" is not precise.
3. It is something worth arguing about. There is no point in basing a paper on a thesis statement that is obvious to everyone or that is not concerned with any significant issue. Read your thesis and ask, so what?
Sample Introductions (by Tim Averill)
Prompt: Morally ambiguous characters -- characters whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them as purely evil or purely good -- are at the heart of many works of literature. Choose a novel or play in which a morally ambiguous character plays a pivotal role. Then write an essay in which you explain how the character can be viewed as morally ambiguous and why his or her moral ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.
Single Sentence
In Albert Camus' The Stranger, a complex character who, on the basis of his actions alone, might be considered evil or immoral, would be the character of Raymond.
Commentary: Note that this intro just repeats a part of the prompt. It does not indicate the reason for the choice, and this choice of character is weak because the rest of this particular AP prompt indicated that the author managed to develop reader sympathy for the character. In TS, little sympathy for Raymond Sintes develops. The student should probably have chosen Meursault. Although this essay might pick up as it goes along, nothing of significance has been stated yet. This type of beginning could lead to a C, D or an F.
Double Sentence
In Albert Camus' The Stranger, the character of Meursault may be seen as evil by a majority of the members of his society. Through his callousness toward his mother's death, his indifference toward Marie's love, and his wish for the hatred of the crowd, Meursault can be seen in an evil light because these actions go against society's values.
Commentary: This intro is a step up because it makes a better character choice and shows more knowledge of writing in that it contains the typical three-pronged topic sentence leading to a structured five paragraph theme. This type of intro tends to lead to an essay getting a B or C.
Fully Developed
In Albert Camus' The Stranger, the protagonist Meursault is portrayed as a complex character who serves as Camus' spokesman for the philosophy of existentialism. On the basis of actions alone, one might arrive at the conclusion that Meursault is either immoral or evil: Meursault failed to show emotion at his mother's funeral and killed an man of Arab decent on the beach. However, by allowing the reader to identify with Meursault, by showing his apathy toward life as a motive for his actions, and by showing his change in character to one that appreciates and misses his old life, Camus allows the reader to sympathize with Meursault more than if these elements had been left out.
Commentary: The student has already completed the double pronged AP task in the first paragraph. He is at leisure now to develop his points in the time and space remaining. This type of thorough opener usually leads to a high score. It has the plenitude of detail that reveals intelligence at work. Also there are signs of competence in literary and general vocabulary ("protagonist" and "apathy") as well as excellent use of punctuation (How many students can write a sentence correctly using colons?)
Commentary: Note that this intro just repeats a part of the prompt. It does not indicate the reason for the choice, and this choice of character is weak because the rest of this particular AP prompt indicated that the author managed to develop reader sympathy for the character. In TS, little sympathy for Raymond Sintes develops. The student should probably have chosen Meursault. Although this essay might pick up as it goes along, nothing of significance has been stated yet. This type of beginning could lead to a C, D or an F.
Double Sentence
In Albert Camus' The Stranger, the character of Meursault may be seen as evil by a majority of the members of his society. Through his callousness toward his mother's death, his indifference toward Marie's love, and his wish for the hatred of the crowd, Meursault can be seen in an evil light because these actions go against society's values.
Commentary: This intro is a step up because it makes a better character choice and shows more knowledge of writing in that it contains the typical three-pronged topic sentence leading to a structured five paragraph theme. This type of intro tends to lead to an essay getting a B or C.
Fully Developed
In Albert Camus' The Stranger, the protagonist Meursault is portrayed as a complex character who serves as Camus' spokesman for the philosophy of existentialism. On the basis of actions alone, one might arrive at the conclusion that Meursault is either immoral or evil: Meursault failed to show emotion at his mother's funeral and killed an man of Arab decent on the beach. However, by allowing the reader to identify with Meursault, by showing his apathy toward life as a motive for his actions, and by showing his change in character to one that appreciates and misses his old life, Camus allows the reader to sympathize with Meursault more than if these elements had been left out.
Commentary: The student has already completed the double pronged AP task in the first paragraph. He is at leisure now to develop his points in the time and space remaining. This type of thorough opener usually leads to a high score. It has the plenitude of detail that reveals intelligence at work. Also there are signs of competence in literary and general vocabulary ("protagonist" and "apathy") as well as excellent use of punctuation (How many students can write a sentence correctly using colons?)
Thesis Statement Templates
Prose/Open Response Example #1:
(Insert author’s name) presents readers with _________________________ as a means of __________________________. Through the use of __________________________, ____________________________, and _________________________ he/she demonstrates the necessity for human beings to ________________________. However, this becomes more complicated because___________________________. Therefore, (Insert author’s name) uses ________________________ to make his/her point that in order to ____________________ one must ___________________________.
Prose/Open Response Example #2:
In the art of fiction, an author may choose to utilize (insert literary device) as a means of ________________________________. (Insert author’s name) takes this device to another level in _____________________________ by revealing _____________________________ through the use of _________________________. Through the course of the novel/play, _______________. However, by the end of the work ______________________________. Therefore, (insert author’s name) utilizes (insert literary device) to make the point _______________________________.
Prose/Open Response Example #3:
Often novelists/playwrights _________________________________. However, (insert author’s name) chooses to ______________________________________ in his her novel/play ____________________________ in order to reveal _________________________________________ about (insert theme). While on the surface it may appear _________________________, by the end of the work, (insert author’s name) proves______________________________. Therefore, ________________________________.
Poetry Example:
A poet may choose to utilize (insert literary device) as a means of describing the complex feelings attached to________________________________. (Insert author’s name) takes this device to another level in _____________________________ by revealing ___________________________ through the use of _________________________. On one level, the poet reveals ______________. However, the use of (insert literary device) also brings out the paradoxical feelings of _______________. Therefore, _____________________________________________.
The following will outline some of the precepts of good writing which I will want you to internalize. These will be reinforced as we do “boot camp,” but keep them in mind as you revise your essays.
Avoid plot summary!
Three Precepts for Composing Body Paragraphs (by Tim Averill)
The following will outline some of the precepts of good writing which I will want you to internalize. These will be reinforced as we do “boot camp,” but keep them in mind as you revise your essays.
Avoid plot summary!
Plot summary is the characteristic of junior high school writers and those who are clueless. You know that you are doing plot summary when your analysis follows the chronology of the work, rather than developing an idea and drawing upon the work at various places. Allow your idea to dominate the essay and provide the justification for the plot details you present.
Show, don’t tell.
Generally, I would like to see you more involved in the text when you write about a story. You need to use the text as the data that will illustrate and prove the point you are trying to make. If you turned in an essay which does not quote the text, you can be sure that you have not done enough to convince and educate your reader about your view of the story.
Show, don’t tell.
Generally, I would like to see you more involved in the text when you write about a story. You need to use the text as the data that will illustrate and prove the point you are trying to make. If you turned in an essay which does not quote the text, you can be sure that you have not done enough to convince and educate your reader about your view of the story.
Quoting the text will help you even if the reader of your paper does not agree with you; in fact, the reader will at least see the reason for your error, even if he is not persuaded that you have made a good point.
I also think that you all need to make sure that you have an idea to develop before you start writing. Too much of what you write, just make assertions about the book (It was confusing or It was intricately written rather than talking about how the book functions as a work of art).
So, why should we care? What is your point?
If a student has time and is working for a top score, the first paragraph should have an attention-getting opener. It should be an original lively approach, literate, concise, and clear. The first paragraph must name the author and work, if possible. It should have a clearly stated thesis, not just an uninspired statement of the obvious. It should not merely repeat the prompt. The introduction should also forecast the approach that the students will use to develop the thesis, but without falling into rote five-paragraph or simplistic organization. The organization of the essay will be controlled more by the idea than the chronology of the story or the treatment of a series of literary techniques. No matter what your topic, your opening should reveal that you have a strong grasp of the meaning of the work.
The following paragraph is from a student's analysis of the relationship between two characters in Woolf's To the Lighthouse. Notice how statements expressing the writer's ideas and observations are verified with evidence from the novel in both summarized and quoted form.
We learn about Mrs. Ramsey's personality by observing her feelings about other characters. For example, Mrs. Ramsey has mixed feelings toward Mr. Tansley, but her feelings seem to grow more positive over time as she comes to know him better. At first Mrs. Ramsey finds Mr. Tansley annoying, as shown especially when he mentions that no one is going to the lighthouse (Woolf 52). But rather than hating him, at this point she feels pity: "she pitied men always as if they lacked something . . ." (85). Then later, during the gathering, pity turns to empathy as she realizes that Mr. Tansley must feel inferior. He must know, Mrs. Ramsey thinks, that "no woman would look at him with Paul Rayley in the room" (106). Finally, by the end of the dinner scene, she feels some attraction to Mr. Tansley and also a new respect: "She liked his laugh. . . . She liked his awkwardness. There was a lot in that man after all" (110). In observing this evolution in her attitude, we learn more about Mrs. Ramsey than we do about Mr. Tansley. The change in Mrs. Ramsey's attitude is not used by Woolf to show that Mrs. Ramsey is fickle or confused; rather it is used to show her capacity for understanding both the frailty and complexity of human beings. This is a central characteristic of Mrs. Ramsey's personality.
I also think that you all need to make sure that you have an idea to develop before you start writing. Too much of what you write, just make assertions about the book (It was confusing or It was intricately written rather than talking about how the book functions as a work of art).
So, why should we care? What is your point?
If a student has time and is working for a top score, the first paragraph should have an attention-getting opener. It should be an original lively approach, literate, concise, and clear. The first paragraph must name the author and work, if possible. It should have a clearly stated thesis, not just an uninspired statement of the obvious. It should not merely repeat the prompt. The introduction should also forecast the approach that the students will use to develop the thesis, but without falling into rote five-paragraph or simplistic organization. The organization of the essay will be controlled more by the idea than the chronology of the story or the treatment of a series of literary techniques. No matter what your topic, your opening should reveal that you have a strong grasp of the meaning of the work.
Body Paragraph Example
The following paragraph is from a student's analysis of the relationship between two characters in Woolf's To the Lighthouse. Notice how statements expressing the writer's ideas and observations are verified with evidence from the novel in both summarized and quoted form.
We learn about Mrs. Ramsey's personality by observing her feelings about other characters. For example, Mrs. Ramsey has mixed feelings toward Mr. Tansley, but her feelings seem to grow more positive over time as she comes to know him better. At first Mrs. Ramsey finds Mr. Tansley annoying, as shown especially when he mentions that no one is going to the lighthouse (Woolf 52). But rather than hating him, at this point she feels pity: "she pitied men always as if they lacked something . . ." (85). Then later, during the gathering, pity turns to empathy as she realizes that Mr. Tansley must feel inferior. He must know, Mrs. Ramsey thinks, that "no woman would look at him with Paul Rayley in the room" (106). Finally, by the end of the dinner scene, she feels some attraction to Mr. Tansley and also a new respect: "She liked his laugh. . . . She liked his awkwardness. There was a lot in that man after all" (110). In observing this evolution in her attitude, we learn more about Mrs. Ramsey than we do about Mr. Tansley. The change in Mrs. Ramsey's attitude is not used by Woolf to show that Mrs. Ramsey is fickle or confused; rather it is used to show her capacity for understanding both the frailty and complexity of human beings. This is a central characteristic of Mrs. Ramsey's personality.
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Due Friday, September 27th - Two Critical Analysis Essays on Baldwin and Morrison
Overview: We are coming to the end of our short story unit on James Baldwin and Toni Morrison. We have engaged in a good deal of reading, responding, and thinking on important matters regarding not only race, but how it impacts everyone in our country and around the world.
Directions: I would like you to compose two pieces of writing using the materials on Baldwin and Morrison. In this blog post, I have included additional materials from both authors to add to your general knowledge. The material may become vital in your literary analysis. Post the pieces to Turnitin.com.
Essay 1: In many works of fiction, characters have misconceptions of themselves and their surrounding worlds. Destroying or perpetuating this illusion contributes to a central theme of the work in question. Using the works of James Baldwin and/or Toni Morrison, choose a major character to whom this statement applies and write an essay in which you consider the following points: What the character’s illusion is and how it differs from reality as presented in the work, and how the destruction or perpetuation of the illusion develops a theme of the work. Please use one of the short stories we read in class as a primary source, along with non-fiction/literature from one or both authors to strengthen the argument.
Essay 2: In a novel by William Styron, a father tells his son that life “is a search for justice.”
Choose a character from one of the works of James Baldwin and/or Toni Morrison who responds in some significant way to justice or injustice. Then write a well-developed essay in which you analyze the character’s understanding of justice, the degree to which the character’s search for justice is successful, and the significance of this search for the work as a whole. Please use one of the short stories we read in class as a primary source, along with non-fiction/literature from one or both authors to strengthen the argument. Note: Make sure to choose a different primary source than Essay 1.
Directions: I would like you to compose two pieces of writing using the materials on Baldwin and Morrison. In this blog post, I have included additional materials from both authors to add to your general knowledge. The material may become vital in your literary analysis. Post the pieces to Turnitin.com.
Essay 1: In many works of fiction, characters have misconceptions of themselves and their surrounding worlds. Destroying or perpetuating this illusion contributes to a central theme of the work in question. Using the works of James Baldwin and/or Toni Morrison, choose a major character to whom this statement applies and write an essay in which you consider the following points: What the character’s illusion is and how it differs from reality as presented in the work, and how the destruction or perpetuation of the illusion develops a theme of the work. Please use one of the short stories we read in class as a primary source, along with non-fiction/literature from one or both authors to strengthen the argument.
Essay 2: In a novel by William Styron, a father tells his son that life “is a search for justice.”
Choose a character from one of the works of James Baldwin and/or Toni Morrison who responds in some significant way to justice or injustice. Then write a well-developed essay in which you analyze the character’s understanding of justice, the degree to which the character’s search for justice is successful, and the significance of this search for the work as a whole. Please use one of the short stories we read in class as a primary source, along with non-fiction/literature from one or both authors to strengthen the argument. Note: Make sure to choose a different primary source than Essay 1.
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Due Friday, September 20th - "Going to Meet the Man" by James Baldwin
Directions: 1) Read "Going to Meet the Man" by James Baldwin.
2) Next, compose a thoughtful blog post using evidence from the text and anything from the documentary I am Not Your Negro (2017) in an attempt to explore one of the complex issues Baldwin examined in his discussion of race in America. As stated before, be okay with feeling uncomfortable. Ask questions. Look for feedback. Practice kindness. We can discuss these matters with passion AND civility.
2) Next, compose a thoughtful blog post using evidence from the text and anything from the documentary I am Not Your Negro (2017) in an attempt to explore one of the complex issues Baldwin examined in his discussion of race in America. As stated before, be okay with feeling uncomfortable. Ask questions. Look for feedback. Practice kindness. We can discuss these matters with passion AND civility.
Friday, September 13, 2019
Due Tuesday, September 17th - "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin
Overview: I would like you to explore the work of James Baldwin. He is an important writer. Period. Toni Morrison wrote of his influence on her work as an author, and we need his voice today more than ever. He cut through the "single story" and examined what Margaret Atwood called "the how and why." He spoke publicly, wrote essays, and got to the heart of American racism through literature.
Directions: 1) Read "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin.
2) Next, compose a thoughtful blog post using evidence from the text and anything from the documentary I am Not Your Negro (2017) in an attempt to explore one of the complex issues Baldwin examined in his discussion of race in America. Be okay with feeling uncomfortable. Ask questions. Look for feedback. Also, practice kindness. We can discuss these matters with passion AND civility.
3) Also, peruse the additional materials, including the musicians referenced in the short story: Charlie Parker and Louis Armstrong, along with a list of influential artists I love from the past and present. Comment on one that resonated with you in your blog post.
We will begin viewing the documentary. In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, "Remember This House." The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and assassinations of three of his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time of Baldwin's death in 1987, he left behind only 30 completed pages of this manuscript. Filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished. How can Baldwin's ideas be used to inform us today? Can you cite instances in the documentary that opened your eyes, and show us how you see this drama playing out in 2018?
The first-person narrator of "Sonny's Blues" tells the story of his relationship with his younger brother, Sonny. The story begins with narrator, saddened by his brother's choices, reflecting back on their childhood, wondering what caused his brother to become an addict. How does Baldwin use jazz as a means of discussing the complex emotions of his characters? This is the most anthologized of Baldwin's stories. However, how would this story end up perpetuating "the danger of the single story?"
Article: “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin —“The most famous jazz short story ever written”
December 6th, 2013, from Jerry Jazz Musician
In the introduction to The Jazz Fiction Anthology, editors Sascha Feinstein and David Rife cite James Baldwin’s short story “Sonny’s Blues” as “the most famous jazz short story ever written,” and is pointed to by Baldwin biographer David Leeming as “the prologue to a dominant fictional motif in the overall Baldwin story, the relationship between two brothers that takes much of its energy from the close relationship between James and [brother] David Baldwin.” The story, originally published in Partisan Review in 1957, centers on the narrator’s need to, in Leeming’s words, “save his brother [Sonny] from the precariousness of his life as an artist.” Sonny, in turn, finds his voice by playing bebop in the Village, which results, according to Leeming, in the narrator seeing “that the artist, especially the black artist, is a prophet of freedom, not only of freedom for his own race but of freedom for all those suffocating under the repressive blanket of emotional safety and innocence.”
Directions: 1) Read "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin.
2) Next, compose a thoughtful blog post using evidence from the text and anything from the documentary I am Not Your Negro (2017) in an attempt to explore one of the complex issues Baldwin examined in his discussion of race in America. Be okay with feeling uncomfortable. Ask questions. Look for feedback. Also, practice kindness. We can discuss these matters with passion AND civility.
3) Also, peruse the additional materials, including the musicians referenced in the short story: Charlie Parker and Louis Armstrong, along with a list of influential artists I love from the past and present. Comment on one that resonated with you in your blog post.
I Am Not Your Negro (2017)
The first-person narrator of "Sonny's Blues" tells the story of his relationship with his younger brother, Sonny. The story begins with narrator, saddened by his brother's choices, reflecting back on their childhood, wondering what caused his brother to become an addict. How does Baldwin use jazz as a means of discussing the complex emotions of his characters? This is the most anthologized of Baldwin's stories. However, how would this story end up perpetuating "the danger of the single story?"
Article: “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin —“The most famous jazz short story ever written”
December 6th, 2013, from Jerry Jazz Musician
In the introduction to The Jazz Fiction Anthology, editors Sascha Feinstein and David Rife cite James Baldwin’s short story “Sonny’s Blues” as “the most famous jazz short story ever written,” and is pointed to by Baldwin biographer David Leeming as “the prologue to a dominant fictional motif in the overall Baldwin story, the relationship between two brothers that takes much of its energy from the close relationship between James and [brother] David Baldwin.” The story, originally published in Partisan Review in 1957, centers on the narrator’s need to, in Leeming’s words, “save his brother [Sonny] from the precariousness of his life as an artist.” Sonny, in turn, finds his voice by playing bebop in the Village, which results, according to Leeming, in the narrator seeing “that the artist, especially the black artist, is a prophet of freedom, not only of freedom for his own race but of freedom for all those suffocating under the repressive blanket of emotional safety and innocence.”
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Meditative Journal: "A Barred Owl" and "How I Discovered Poetry"
Directions: Please carefully read the two poems, and comment on them in this blog space. Think about form, theme, dramatic situation, diction, syntax. Be mindful of how you approach a poem. Also, do you see anything that links these two poems together?
"A Barred Owl"
"A Barred Owl"
by Richard Wilbur
The warping night air having brought the boom
Of an owl’s voice into her darkened room,
We tell the wakened child that all she heard
Was an odd question from a forest bird,
Asking of us, if rightly listened to,
“Who cooks for you?” and then “Who cooks for you?”
Words, which can make our terrors bravely clear,
Can also thus domesticate a fear,
And send a small child back to sleep at night
Not listening for the sound of stealthy flight
Or dreaming of some small thing in a claw
Borne up to some dark branch and eaten raw.
The warping night air having brought the boom
Of an owl’s voice into her darkened room,
We tell the wakened child that all she heard
Was an odd question from a forest bird,
Asking of us, if rightly listened to,
“Who cooks for you?” and then “Who cooks for you?”
Words, which can make our terrors bravely clear,
Can also thus domesticate a fear,
And send a small child back to sleep at night
Not listening for the sound of stealthy flight
Or dreaming of some small thing in a claw
Borne up to some dark branch and eaten raw.
"How I Discovered Poetry"
by Marilyn Nelson
It was like soul-kissing, the way the words
filled my mouth as Mrs. Purdy read from her desk.
All the other kids zoned an hour ahead to 3:15,
but Mrs. Purdy and I wandered lonely as clouds borne
by a breeze off Mount Parnassus. She must have seen
the darkest eyes in the room brim: The next day
she gave me a poem she’d chosen especially for me
to read to the all except for me white class.
She smiled when she told me to read it, smiled harder,
said oh yes I could. She smiled harder and harder
until I stood and opened my mouth to banjo playing
darkies, pickaninnies, disses and dats. When I finished
my classmates stared at the floor. We walked silent
to the buses, awed by the power of words.
It was like soul-kissing, the way the words
filled my mouth as Mrs. Purdy read from her desk.
All the other kids zoned an hour ahead to 3:15,
but Mrs. Purdy and I wandered lonely as clouds borne
by a breeze off Mount Parnassus. She must have seen
the darkest eyes in the room brim: The next day
she gave me a poem she’d chosen especially for me
to read to the all except for me white class.
She smiled when she told me to read it, smiled harder,
said oh yes I could. She smiled harder and harder
until I stood and opened my mouth to banjo playing
darkies, pickaninnies, disses and dats. When I finished
my classmates stared at the floor. We walked silent
to the buses, awed by the power of words.
Monday, September 9, 2019
Due Friday, September 13th - "Recitatif" by Toni Morrison
Compose an argument to be posted in this blog space using one of the following prompts. Use 2-3 direct quotations, and your notes in your response.
Prompts from Past Exams
1986. Some works of literature use the element of time in a distinct way. The chronological sequence of events may be altered, or time may be suspended or accelerated. Choose a novel, an epic, or a play of recognized literary merit and show how the author's manipulation of time contributes to the effectiveness of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.
1987. Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or political attitudes or in traditions. Choose such a novel or play and note briefly the particular attitudes or traditions that the author apparently wishes to modify. Then analyze the techniques the author uses to influence the reader's or audience's views. Avoid plot summary.
1988. Choose a distinguished novel or play in which some of the most significant events are mental or psychological; for example, awakenings, discoveries, changes in consciousness. In a well-organized essay, describe how the author manages to give these internal events the sense of excitement, suspense, and climax usually associated with external action. Do not merely summarize the plot.
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