Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Act 1

Please compose detailed responses to the following:

1. The stories and arguments among the band members in Act 1 reveal both character and historical conflicts.  What are the various historical conflicts and struggles these conversations address? (be specific)
2. Why is Levee’s story at the end of Act 1 significant? What does it represent in a broader context? 
3. What toll have these conflicts taken on the band and how they deal with each other?

 Ma Rainey's Playlist:

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom 

Hear me talkin to you 

 Prove it on me

Moonshine Blues 

 

A Worn Path, Conflicts and Danger Due 9/9

Please categorize the dangers Phoenix faces. Are these conflict internal or external? How?  What does each danger reveal about Phoenix, the setting, and humanity?

1. her age & frailty
2. untied shoelaces in the woods
3. animals
4. hill (up & down)
5. thorn bushes (snag her dress)
6. Sleep/Rest
7. History
8. log over stream
9. barbed wire fence
10. bulls & snakes
11. Alligators
12. dogs
13. strangers (white strangers, at that)