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.