Streetcar Project Drive - Please submit NOW

Streetcar Project

If you have not submitted your project, please share it to this Link: Streetcar Project Drive

I'll be posting grades this week.

STREETCAR POSTCARDS

Streetcar Postcards Exam

Remember that you are recreating  scenes to show everything you know about the scene from the perspective of one who has seen EVERYTHING. Try to capture everything you think a character/or audience should know about the scene in your photo from omens, to warnings, to changing moods. Your perspective can take into account ALL action and ALL motives as you present it in a single shot. The handout is available in the Drive folder (click link below).

Upload your projects to: (yes, click the link)  STREETCAR POSTCARDS DRIVE folder that has your period number. Due by 12/21/2017

Ma Rainey's Monologue Project Due: 11/28 B or 11/29 A

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: Character Monologue

 I have placed templates for the monologues, the handout below, and a template for your CHARACTER MAPS in DRIVE

Please Remember to use the templates I've provided. They'll make life easier for this work and for those in the future. THANKS!!!

Assignment: Submit to Turnitin.com:  11/28 B or 11/29 A (300 points – 200 project, 100 test)

1.       Choose one character from Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Levee, Ma, Cutler, or Toledo) and create a dramatic monologue/soliloquy from only/mostly that character’s lines that capture h/her values, desires, life experience, and loss. The piece may be poetry, prose, and/or something in between and should be at least one page typed and formatted. To help you, refer to the “questions for consideration” on the Blog.

2.       At the end and on a separate typed page please compose a 1^st person two paragraph reflection/analysis of your monologue. Please explain your process for selecting particular lines and how they reflect the character traits you wanted to capture. Similarly, how do these lines and this character speak to the central idea of the play: that the interaction between African American and dominant white culture in America not only damages African Americans, but leaves them with scars that often influence the other aspects (if not all aspects) of their lives? Or, how do these lines and this character represent (like the blues) the African American experience in America?

Just as August Wilson used the blues to establish rhythms and patterns of speech in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, try to think of this monologue as a blues variation. To this end and if you choose, you may record your monologue as a video with or without music, with or without images, or perform the piece in class with or without music. For an extra credit grade category of your choice (except semester exam). If you choose to video/record please share your project to the appropriate DRIVE folder

Please remember, you are student writers and performers in a public space and as such should not take the same liberties with language (profanity) that Wilson takes to heighten readers’ senses or denote a hierarchy.  Similarly, as Dr. Lundeana Thomas documented, “raced” words are intimate, cultural, sacred expressions that denote an exclusivity of ownership.  They do not belong to those outside of the culture and are to be respected and left alone.

Periods 5,6,2 - Blackberry-Picking 11/17 Due

Compose

Please compose essay introductions for Blackberry-Picking with complete thesis statements.

Compose Two (2) Topic Sentences that each make an assertion which supports one part of your Thesis. Prove two (2) bullet points of support for each topic sentence written as complete sentences. 

When you finish drafting, read your writing aloud to proof for errors, download the Poetry Thesis-Support Template in Dropbox  (The Document is already formatted). Type your work, check for errors in grammar and spelling, then . . . .

Please upload your completed writing to turnitin.com : Blackberry-Picking Thesis and support.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - Assignment Checklist and Reading List

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Due Date 11/28/16 No Exceptions)

1. Character Quotes Journal - See Previous Post

2. A Completely Annotated Text with tone/attitude interactions for assigned passages ( I will provide these in class)  and Six (6) self-selected interactions (three from each act) - See previous Post for example.

3. Complete, Thorough Character Analysis Charts for Levee, Toledo, and Ma Rainey

 

 Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Reading: 11/16 (A) 11/17 (B)

Please Read ALL of Act 2 before Class(11/16 or 11/17) and come with questions and observations about character, motive, and what you think Wilson is trying to tell us through these characters.

Consider: To what extent can is any person defined by a specific trauma? Is a lifetime of experience in an unchanging context similar to a singular trauma?

Consider: Given Toledo's definition, to what extent do you think anyone who is not a white male can be classified as a "leftover" (57-58)? 

Consider: Wilson seems to be saying two contradictory things in this  play: 1) you have to know where you’ve come from in order to make any kind of progress; you have to own your own history, and 2) If you want to participate in life, you have to deny your identity; you have to forget. Which characters represent each argument. Are there any "bridge" characters that reconcile the two?

Which character "speaks" to you the the most? Why? Select quotes that will help you support this statement.

Ms Rainey's Black Bottom Homework - I apologize for the late update

Determining Character Motivation and Thoughts

As we saw in class, characters often think one thing and do another. Each line a character speaks in a play is designed to get others to respond, react, interpret, and even move. Try to see if you can uncover what each participant wants from these interactions as the play progresses.

Assignment: Read the lines on pp 40 - 42, determine what each character's motive and/or attitude might be as he delivers a line, and annotate it on your text.  If a word feels like it has added weight in a sentence,  circle it as a word to be pinned/stressed by the character. Remember, they may begin (as Levee does at the bottom of p. 40) with one attitude/motive and then shift directions: 

     ". . . [dismissive] it don't need explaining. [mocking] Ain't you never had no good time before?" (40) 

Read Levee on p 46  from:  "Oh,Shit! . . . [to] . . . talking about bad luck" and do the same thing.  

Assignment: Character Quotes.  Create a page for each character and begin collecting quick, important, defining quotes. Write the quote, the page #, context, and what it made you think about the character or how represents their personality.  The can be what the character says or what others say about him.

 

ex: on Toledo's page -

"I just wish there was some way I could show you the right and wrong of it" (29) Context:  M-u-s-i-k.  Toledo seems frustrated correcting others, but can't help himself because he thinks reading ability = understanding. It seems like this could get lonely for him and alienate others - particularly Levee.

 

Read Ahead: Read Ma's 1st scene beginning on p. 48 and let's try to perform it Thursday. 

B Day (5/6/7) Read to p71.

ALL Periods - Dialectical Journals Due!!! ALL Must have printed copy of Ma Rainey's by 10/24

Periods 2 and 3 - Journals are due 10/20 

1) Independent Responses by Chapter ie. Theme & Support, Questions, Answers

2) Reading Questions from the Guide

3) Character Foils Complete

4) Character Graphic Organizers Complete 4 of 6 (Milkman, Macon,Pilate, Guitar, Ruth, Hagar)

5) Your Socratic Seminar Questions and Notes by Date

Periods 5,6, and 7 - Journals are due 10/24

1) Independent Responses by Chapter ie. Theme & Support, Questions, Answers

2) Reading Questions from the Guide

3) Character Foils Complete

4) Character Graphic Organizers Complete 4 of 6 (Milkman, Macon,Pilate, Guitar, Ruth, Hagar)

5) Your Socratic Seminar Questions and Notes by Date

6) Close Reading Assignment Due on separate paper...See next post 

2nd and 3rd Period - - For Friday -- Please come with opinions and support.

Consider Names - How do names serve as a motif in Song of Solomon? What does Morrison want us to consider in these names? Biblical References? Character Traits? Stories?

 

Consider the various colors in Song of Solomon and how they find expression in the text as motifs or symbols.

 

Finally, What is Morrison trying to tell us about human relationships in this text? If there is more absence of love than love's presence, then how do people connect in a world that alienates us from ourselves, from our families, and from each other? To what extent do alienation and abandonment define their human experience?

Song of Solomon Discussion Board 3 Period 2 Due Before 10/17 12:00AM

Morrison writes:

“Rootedness: The Ancestor as Foundation," she says, "The autobiographical form is classic in Black American or Afro-American literature because it provided an instance in which a writer could be representative, could say 'My single, solitary and individual life is like the lives of the tribe; it differs in these specific ways, but is a balanced life because it is both solitary and representative.' The contemporary autobiography tends to be 'how I got over—look at me—alone—let me show you how I did it'” (339). This is about journeys through life, and providing a path for others to follow.  She draws a boundary between traditional white American autobiography that focuses on individualism and Afro American autobiography and literature, which center on the individual but are also about the community. 

 

 

Explain and characterize Milkman's Journey. Where does it begin and end, or does it? What type of a journey did he embark upon and to what extent was he an active participant in his own experience? Please support your discussion with at least three properly embedded quotes (you may not repeat others' quotes, however you may wish to interpret a quote rather differently). Your discussion should be informative, reflective, and representative of the entire novel. Always refer to others' ideas as you agree or disagree . . . there is a reward for those who consider multiple perspectives as they offer their own.

Song of Solomon Discussion Board 3 Period 7

Morrison writes:

“Rootedness: The Ancestor as Foundation," she says, "The autobiographical form is classic in Black American or Afro-American literature because it provided an instance in which a writer could be representative, could say 'My single, solitary and individual life is like the lives of the tribe; it differs in these specific ways, but is a balanced life because it is both solitary and representative.' The contemporary autobiography tends to be 'how I got over—look at me—alone—let me show you how I did it'” (339). This is about journeys through life, and providing a path for others to follow.  She draws a boundary between traditional white American autobiography that focuses on individualism and Afro American autobiography and literature, which center on the individual but are also about the community. 

 

 

Explain and characterize Milkman's Journey. Where does it begin and end, or does it? What type of a journey did he embark upon and to what extent was he an active participant in his own experience? Please support your discussion with at least three properly embedded quotes (you may not repeat others' quotes, however you may wish to interpret a quote rather differently). Your discussion should be informative, reflective, and representative of the entire novel. Always refer to others' ideas as you agree or disagree . . . there is a reward for those who consider multiple perspectives as they offer their own.

Song of Solomon Discussion Board 3 Period 6

Morrison writes:

“Rootedness: The Ancestor as Foundation," she says, "The autobiographical form is classic in Black American or Afro-American literature because it provided an instance in which a writer could be representative, could say 'My single, solitary and individual life is like the lives of the tribe; it differs in these specific ways, but is a balanced life because it is both solitary and representative.' The contemporary autobiography tends to be 'how I got over—look at me—alone—let me show you how I did it'” (339). This is about journeys through life, and providing a path for others to follow.  She draws a boundary between traditional white American autobiography that focuses on individualism and Afro American autobiography and literature, which center on the individual but are also about the community. 

 

Explain and characterize Milkman's Journey. Where does it begin and end, or does it? What type of a journey did he embark upon and to what extent was he an active participant in his own experience? Please support your discussion with at least three properly embedded quotes (you may not repeat others' quotes, however you may wish to interpret a quote rather differently). Your discussion should be informative, reflective, and representative of the entire novel. Always refer to others' ideas as you agree or disagree . . . there is a reward for those who consider multiple perspectives as they offer their own.

Song of Solomon Discussion Board 3 - Period 5

Morrison writes:

“Rootedness: The Ancestor as Foundation," she says, "The autobiographical form is classic in Black American or Afro-American literature because it provided an instance in which a writer could be representative, could say 'My single, solitary and individual life is like the lives of the tribe; it differs in these specific ways, but is a balanced life because it is both solitary and representative.' The contemporary autobiography tends to be 'how I got over—look at me—alone—let me show you how I did it'” (339). This is about journeys through life, and providing a path for others to follow.  She draws a boundary between traditional white American autobiography that focuses on individualism and Afro American autobiography and literature, which center on the individual but are also about the community. 

 

Explain and characterize Milkman's Journey. Where does it begin and end, or does it? What type of a journey did he embark upon and to what extent was he an active participant in his own experience? Please support your discussion with at least three properly embedded quotes (you may not repeat others' quotes, however you may wish to interpret a quote rather differently). Your discussion should be informative, reflective, and representative of the entire novel. Always refer to others' ideas as you agree or disagree . . . there is a reward for those who consider multiple perspectives as they offer their own.

Periods 5, 6, and 7 - Song Of Solomon for Thursday 10/13 - don't let it be unlucky...

Please Come With Any Questions You'd Like Answers To. We Can ask Circe for Guidance and Direction.

Pay particular attention to motifs, patterns of alienation, AND this:

When we began Song of Soloman we viewed and accepted the idea that before leaving their homeland Africans could fly, but had to leave their wings behind when they were forced on the Slave Ships.  Other Legends have it that they were seduced by salt, and that salt weighed them down and effectively grounded them. 

Dr. Giselle Anatole (University of Kansas) notes: 

"The film Daughters of the Dust (1992), directed by Julie Dash, and set in the South Carolina Sea Islands, also deals with the notion of magical escape from the horrific conditions of slavery. The recently arrived Africans, members of the Igbo nation, walk back over the water to Africa. Paule Marshall’s novel Praisesong for the Widow (New York: Plume, 1983) similarly employs this myth. For more information, see the New Georgia Encyclopedia entry on Ebos Landing.

Some people read those stories as symbolic in the way that flight, or walking back over the water, represents escape. In other words, flying away just signifies running away. Other people read the flight as a metaphor for death. According to this interpretation, death, and especially suicide, is a viable means of escape. Rather than suffer the indignities and pain and torture of slavery, some people would kill themselves. The Igbo were one of the groups of people who were not likely to be captured by slavers in Africa, because they had the reputation of killing themselves rather than be taken into captivity. Killing themselves on the ships and once they arrived in the Americas resulted in profit loss. So they weren't taken. They refused to bow down.

These stories help us to comprehend the ending of Song of Solomon, which I think is the most problematic part of the text for people—especially for Western readers who want to read narratives in terms of the real. What really happened? Does Milkman really fly? Does he commit suicide?"

“You want my life?” Milkman was not shouting now. “You need it? Here.” Without wiping away the tears, taking a deep breath, or even bending his knees—he leaped. As fleet and bright as a lodestar he wheeled towards Guitar and it did not matter which one of them would give up his ghost in the killing arms of his brother. For now he knew what Shalimar knew: if you surrendered to the air, you could ride it (337).

What is Morrison doing at the end? Do you think he committed suicide? According to some perspectives, suicide is a cowardly death.

Turnitin Instructions FOR Character Sketch

1. Please Create an account for turnitin.com with your gmail. If you already have a turnitin.com account please use that account ID.

2. Then Join your class - Enter your class ID and password (see below)

3. View the Student Quick Start Guide for step by step instructions for how to submit your paper, or watch this video

            ID                                                                         Password

					13790560   AP Lit and Comp 2th Period            Sugarman1 13790614     AP Lit and Comp 3th Period Sugarman1 13790618   AP Lit and Comp 5th Period Sugarman1 13790625   AP Lit and Comp 6th Period Sugarman1
					13790631     AP Lit and Comp  7th Period           Sugarman1

  Please upload your properly formatted WORD documents (in Dropbox) that have been proofed (as in you had a friend read it aloud, and you read it aloud as well, to check for errors), grammar checked (yes, make sure your spell and grammar checkers are turned on), and double check spellings because spell check will miss words that are spelled correctly but used incorrectly.