Apply Poetry

Siarra Williams
April 1, 2009
AP English III Period 11
Homework

Comprehension: Hughes offers a list of famous rivers in his poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” These rivers are located all over the world. These rivers were possibly chosen because they represented the timeline of Hughes’ life. He feels they represent what makes up the kind of person he is. He can relate these rivers back to his home. The Congo river represents his African heritage, the Nile represents his perseverance to strive for the best and the Mississippi represents Hughes’ ancestors gaining their freedom. All of these representations show how the rivers make up Hughes’ life.

Comprehension: In “I, Too” by Langston Hughes, he speaks of a darker brother and by that he means that he is the brother to the white man but just darker. Hughes states that he eats in the kitchen to display to the reader that the white man feels he was not worthy enough to sit and eat at the dining table, so they kept the black man in the kitchen. He also states that he will eat in the kitchen tomorrow showing optimism and having hope for the future. He believes that his day for eating at the table is bound to come. The significance of the title “I, Too,” is to show that Langston Hughes is also an American citizen. He, too, should be able to eat at the white man’s dining table.

Context: The Harlem Renaissance goals were contradicted when Hughes wrote the poem “Mulatto” because the Harlem Renaissance was all about creative expression of the world around you. Not the bad experiences of the past.

Context: ******

Context: In “Note on Commercial Theatre” Hughes is talking about the white race stealing the musical styles and talents of the black race and not giving them credit for it. These same issues aren’t really relevant today because the U.S. developed stricter patent laws and someone could file a civil suit for their rightful property.

Exploration: I think Hughes writes so often about America rather than Africa because Hughes was the kind of poet to write about what he knows and what issues he can identify with while also making it known to the public.

Comprehension: The Harlot refers to Africa and McKay uses this word to show how people view and treat Africa. They see Africa as being something you can use when it’s convenient for them however they see it as nothing good or positive. They treat Africa as a harlot, degrade what it represents and have no respect at all for its culture, people, or environment.

Context: When McKay uses animal images, he is referring to the white population. He describes them as being “mad and hungry dogs.” The images change as though a scene by scene play. Starts off with a group of black men surrounded by mad white men who wanted them dead. The black men soon stand tall and fight back with courage and dignity. They also die with courage, dignity and respect. I associate hogs with filth, lower class, poor, terrible manners, and noisy. The images of the dogs relate to slavery because it almost uses symbolism to describe the scene of a mob lynching a black man.

Exploration: ******

Apply: Tone

Someone i admire is my mom. I admire the sacrifices she makes for us, her children. She sacrifices her own desires and wants to be able to supply our own needs and wants. I feel this quality is what makes up her personality. She is the most generous, caring person that i know because she continually puts others before her. I can only hope that when i get older that her selfless wisdom will be passed down onto me.

"Eyes" "Project Quote

Siarra Williams
March 11, 2009
AP English III Period 11
“Eyes” Quote

The book, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, is about a young lady named Janie and her growing up and developing relationships with these guys. The themes portrayed throughout this book are relationships versus independence and the role of women, and money and power versus love. “They bowed down to him rather, because he was all of these things, and then again he was all of these things because the town bowed down.” (Hurston, Page 50) This quote stood out to me throughout the whole book because of the contradictory statement that it is making. It makes you questions the way you see things and it makes you wonder how the book views status. What opinion does the book wants the reader to develop about the theme of status and power. When Hurston writes, “They bowed down to him rather, because he was all of these things, and then again he was all of these things because the town bowed down,” she creates a theory for the reader. She wants the reader to dig deeper and actually analyze what makes Jody so powerful. Is it because of the things he does for his town or is it because of the reaction that the town people are giving to what he does? For example, based on that quote, Hitler became a dictator because of the bands of Germans that he was able to conspire to side with him, not because of all the hard work he put in to create interment camps or things as such. People have this nature about them, where they only do things because of how the people around them react. If it weren’t for the town pumping up Jody’s head and making him feel like a king because he built a store, he would not have developed insecurities; feeling as though he had to always uphold this image of being the greatest man ever. If the Germans had morals and acted on those morals, Hitler would not have been able to create Anti Semitism among an entire nation. But because Jody and Hitler were influenced by their peers, everything they did was for a show and so that they can be seen as powerful men. Jody was a man powerful man on the outside but as he got older, he developed insecurities on the inside. He was insecure with his looks compared to Janie’s looks. “His prosperous- looking belly that used to thrust out so pugnaciously and intimidate folks, sagged like a load suspended from his loins.” (Hurston, Page 77) Jody’s physical appearance changed and he was jealous of Janie’s young appearance. He became an old man who was no longer intimidating. He felt since he didn’t have that young, vibrant, powerful look that the men of the town wouldn’t show him respect anymore or admire him like they use to. So the quote makes you question the cause and effect of things throughout the book. Which was the cause of Janie leaving town, the fact that people had concerns for her marriage to Tea Cake or the fact that her marriage to Tea Cake raised concerns within the townspeople?

Two Page Lit Response: Trifles

Siarra Williams
February 12, 2009
AP English III Period 11
Two Page Literary Response

In the script for the play Trifles: a Play in One Act by Susan Glaspell, it consists of plenty of visual elements. Glaspell uses props and the actions of the characters to get across the visual elements to the reader. With these visual elements the reader is able to develop their own meaning for the story and the motive for why Mrs. Wright murdered her husband. The description of the characters’ actions helps the reader to get an idea of each of the characters’ perspectives on the murder.
The county attorney was cruel and presumptuous about the whole situation. The entire time he was at the Wrights’ farm, he spent looking around for things; anything to prove that Mrs. Wright is the one that murdered her husband. Rather than just take the room as is, he kept assuming there was more to the room. Of course this thought was fueled by his belief that Mrs. Wright killed her husband. Atop of that, the county attorney was very rude and critical of the Wrights’ home. He referred to it as not being a cheerful place. He criticized Mrs. Wrights “homemaking instincts.” He was disgusted with the look of the place. “He goes to the sink, takes a dipperful of water from the pail and pouring in into a basin, washes his hands. Starts to wipe them on the roller-towel, turns it for a cleaner place.” (Glaspell) Glaspell uses this visual element to give a vivid description of the actions of the county attorney. These actions show that he was disgusted with the way that Mrs. Wright kept her home.
Mrs. Peters was a very timid woman who believed the law was word and bond; nothing could impenetrate it. Of course she was the sheriff’s wife so thinking otherwise would be an inconsistency. She was always scared of speaking her mind. “In a frightened voice.” (Glaspell) Glaspell uses this action to describe how scared Mrs. Peters feel. Mrs. Peters is frightened at the idea that Mrs. Wrights could have actually had the guts to kill her husband.

Narrative Worksheet (Make-Up Missing Work)

Meaning:
Why did Orwell shoot the elephant? Because he did not want to be humiliated by the “natives.”

Describe the epiphany that Orwell experiences in the course of the event he writes about. Orwell has an epiphany when he realizes that when the white man turns into a tyrant, he destroys his own freedom.

I think Orwell means that he is glad that the coolie is killed because it gave him a legitimate reason to kill the elephant even though he killed the elephant for all the wrong reasons.


Purpose and Audience:
The purpose of this essay is for Orwell to tell his story of being part of the British government and how you can lose yourself in the job

The narrative gains***********


Method and Structure:
The first and second paragraphs serve as introduction paragraphs but they also give vivid details of the setting, helping the reader to understand the background of the plot.

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Language:
When Orwell says the elephant had gone must he means that the elephant had gone mad and broke loose from his chains.

Orwell’s use of adjectives is very effective in describing the death of the elephant. I was really visualizing the elephant being helpless, just lying in the field, dying a slow death. These adjectives shows pathos and Orwell no longer could take the sad feeling he had after shooting the elephant. The adjectives show that Orwell felt like he made the wrong decision.

Two Page Lit Response: Bernice Bobs Her Hair

Siarra Williams
January 21, 2009
AP English III Period 11
Bernice Bobs Her Hair Two Page Literary Response

In the story Bernice Bobs Her Hair, the author uses realism to describe the women in the story. The characters are vividly described and their dialogue just intrigues me more and I find out more about the character’s personality that way. Marjorie is described as being this shallow girl who is only interested in people’s looks and their popularity status. She is, what we call in the modern days a “mean girl.” She treats those who she considers to be less attractive as though they were beneath her. She was insensitive, sarcastic, egocentric, sidity, and conniving. She was really mean-spirited to her cousin, Bernice. Every conversation that she had with Bernice, she would have a negative comment to say or a rude put-down. Even though they were related, Marjorie did not treat her as family at all. It was as if Bernice were her own charity case. Marjorie showed no respect for her just because she was considered boring, the exact opposite of what Marjorie represents. The author uses the character Marjorie to represent the new age woman; the woman that was into dancing, being courted, showing skin, and having fun.
Another character, Bernice, was also vividly described. She, as was stated earlier, was the exact opposite of Marjorie. She was quiet, smart, articulate, naïve, sensitive, boring, rich, reserved, and conservative. She spent time reading books rather than being courted by guys. Bernice was nice and polite and she was fine with her status in the world. She came from money and that’s all that she knew. Back in Eau Claire, she was known for that and that was all that mattered. She did not see the purpose in dressing and acting like Majorie because she was unfamiliar with Marjorie’s way of life. Bernice represented the old woman. The woman that was very conservative, showed little skin, and spent time serving her husband making sure he is happy.

I HAVE A DREAM RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

1) Alliteration- the commencement of two or more words of a word group with the same letter.

Allusion- a passing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication: an allusion to Shakespeare.

Metaphor- a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance.

Simile- a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared using like or as.

2) Abe Lincoln, Gettysburg shows relation to Lincoln and everything he stood for.

3) ***************

4) ****************

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7) this figure of speech is metaphor and he uses pathos to feed off of the audience's emotions

8) "We can never be satisfied...". "With this faith....."

9)It gave the audience a feeling of empowerment and enlightment

10)************

11) *************

12) Police brutality, living in the ghetto, segregation

13) American Dream- The idea of having this "fruitful," luxurious life without being discriminated against. Equal opprotunity for everyone.

14) To give logos and cite his sources

15)Yes i do because he was a great orator and considering that time period, i would agree with all that he said. He was putting into words the actions that were taking place to increase discrimination agaist races. which was not considered the "American Dream."

16) Racism- discriminating against someone due to the color of their skin

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