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.