Baldwin Study Materials for Essay

I Am Not Your Negro study guide with essays and background material on Baldwin, Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, and Martin Luther King.
http://www.magpictures.com/iamnotyournegro/images/share/educational/curriculum.pdf

I Am Not Your Negro transcript: 
https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=i-am-not-your-negro

"Sonny Blues" Quotations:
https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/370824-sonny-s-blues-by-james-baldwin---penguin-60-s-series

"Recitatif" Critical Essay:
http://franklinscourses.pbworks.com/f/Recitatif%2BCritical%2BJSTOR%2BEssay.pdf

Ten Steps to Writing an Effective Essay & Thesis Statement Templates

        1.      Read and Read and Read Prompt:  Whatever you choose, make sure to think about every facet of the question.  Read over and over again.  Think.  Digest what you are about to accomplish.

        2.      Return to the text.  Return to your blog responses, journal, and class notes.  Go back and look your work again with the prompt in mind. How is everything new now that you are seeing the plays with the prompt in mind? 

        3.      Rehearse.  What?  Yes!  Rehearse and perform a verbal essay using the prompt and the works.  How would you address a jury of your peers with you proposed thesis?  What evidence would you use?

        4.      Find your Evidence:  Find and cite valuable passages for each of the parts of the above prompt.  Go to the net and cut and paste at least 10-12 passages and or quotations to use in your piece into a word document.

        5.      So what’s your point?  Thesis statement:  The questions in the prompt are guiding your essay. Look at your 10 major passages and ask yourself…what message am I taking away from this reading experience?  Write a solid one sentence thesis statement of purpose.

       6.      Organization:  Look at the list of quotations and organize the quotations into the paragraphs.  DO NOT BE AFRAID TO JUMP AROUND.  JUMP AROUND.  JUMP UP, JUMP UP AND GET DOWN!

        7.      Your thesis and 10 Quotations.  Your complete thesis is the heading and the 10 quotations should be arranged in the order you would use them in your argument.

        8.      Compose body paragraphs:  Using the prompt and your accompanying quotations - start writing your essay.  Make sure you come to some sort of conclusion in the third paragraph.  You may even have a brief conclusion as another paragraph.

       9.      Read your essay over: The professor’s eyes should not be the first set of eyes to read your essay.  Make sure it is solid.  Read it out loud. 

       10.   Compose your introduction:  Keep it brief and make sure the thesis statement you wrote is the last sentence.

Thesis Statement Templates

Prose/Open Response Example #1: 

              (Insert author’s name) presents readers with _________________________ as a means of __________________________.  Through the use of __________________________, ____________________________, and _________________________ he/she demonstrates the necessity for human beings to ________________________.  However, this becomes more complicated because___________________________.  Therefore, (Insert author’s name) uses ________________________ to make his/her point that in order to ____________________ one must ___________________________.

Prose/Open Response Example #2: 

              In the art of fiction, an author may choose to utilize (insert literary device) as a means of ________________________________.  (Insert author’s name) takes this device to another level in _____________________________ by revealing  _____________________________ through the use of _________________________.  Through the course of the novel/play, ____________________________________.  However, by the end of the work ___________________ ________________. Therefore, (insert author’s name) utilizes (insert literary device) to make the point _________________________________________________.

Prose/Open Response Example #3: 

              Often novelists/playwrights _________________________________.  However, (insert author’s name) chooses to ______________________________________ in his her novel/play ____________________________ in order to reveal _________________________________________ about (insert theme).  While on the surface it may appear _________________________, by the end of the work, (insert author’s name) proves __________________

______________________________.  Therefore, ______________________________________________________________________.

Poetry Example #1: 

              A poet may choose to utilize (insert literary device) as a means of describing the complex feelings attached to________________________________.  (Insert author’s name) takes this device to another level in _____________________________ by revealing  _____________________________ through the use of _________________________.  On one level, the poet reveals ____________________________________.  However, the use of (insert literary device) also brings out the paradoxical feelings of ________________________________. Therefore, _______________________________________________________________________.

Poetry Example #2: 

              A poet may choose to utilize (insert literary device) as a means of describing the complex feelings attached to________________________________.  (Insert name of poet #1) takes this device to another level in _____________________________ by revealing  _____________________________ through the use of _________________________.  (Insert name of poet #2) also tackles this notion, yet utilizes (insert literary device) in order to describe _____________________________________________.  On one level, both poets reveal ____________________________________.  However, when one examines ______________________________ one will notice the paradoxical feelings of ________________________________. Therefore, while (poet #1 ) describes _________________________________________________, (poet #2) reveals that what really counts is _____________________________.

Due Thursday, October 4 - Essay Topics

Please post your working essay concept.  Please do not create a "thesis," yet.  I would also revisit your blog responses; there are brilliant insights there!

Compose a fat paragraph, detailing your insights on the topic.  What do you want to write about?  Which prompt(s) will help you achieve your objective?  What point(s) do you hope to make or explore?  Which short stories will you use?  How will you implement the documentary?  What other films, novels, could help you in your quest?  Remember, this is a working draft, so do not hold back.

At this juncture, do not worry about commenting on other's ideas in the blog space.  We will have time to do that as a class on Thursday.

I look forward to your responses.

Baldwin & Morrison Essay Assignment

Directions:  Please choose one of the following prompts and compose an essay using any combination of the following pieces: James Baldwin's “Going to Meet the Man,” “Sonny’s Blues,” Toni Morrison's "Recitatif," and/or I Am Not Your Negro. You will be using the pieces and the film to compare and contrast the distinctive voice of black and white America (“Sonny’s is from the black perspective while “Going” is seen through the eyes of a white man, for example).  Analyze how Baldwin and/or Morrison uses the elements of literature to make a point about race relations.  Important:  Always focus on how the author makes the text work.  For example, it is not “Jesse said…” it is that “Baldwin created Jesse to show his audience…” Also, use the documentary as a means of discussing these concepts in a non-fictional sense.  What does Baldwin believe to be true?  How does he see the world?  How did he project these ideas through the eyes of Sonny?  His brother?  Jesse?  The crowd?  Show the balance using the various texts. You may also use other sources, films, song lyrics (just be sure to cite using MLA format, please). 

Choose ONE (or combine to create one comprehensive idea)

1968. In many plays, a character has a misconception of himself or his world. Destroying or perpetuating this illusion contributes to a central theme of the play. Choose a play with a major character to whom this statement applies and write an essay in which you consider the following points: what the character’s illusion is and how it differs from reality as presented in the play and how the destruction or perpetuation of the illusion develops a theme of the play. 

1970. Choose a character from a novel or play of recognized literary merit and write an essay in which you (a) briefly describe the standards of the fictional society in which the character exists and (b) show how the character is affected by and responds to those standards. In your essay, do not merely summarize the plot.

1976. The conflict created when the will of an individual opposes the will of the majority is the recurring theme of many novels, plays, and essays. Select the work of an essayist who is in opposition to his or her society; or from a work of recognized literary merit, select a fictional character who is in opposition to his or her society. In a critical essay, analyze the conflict and discuss the moral and ethical implications for both the individual and the society. Do not summarize the plot or action of the work you choose.

1977. In some novels and plays certain parallel or recurring events prove to be significant. In an essay, describe the major similarities and differences in a sequence of parallel or recurring events in a novel or play and discuss the significance of such events. Do not merely summarize the plot.

1988. Choose a distinguished novel or play in which some of the most significant events are mental or psychological, for example, awakenings, discoveries, changes in consciousness. In a well-organized essay, describe how the author manages to give the internal events the sense of excitement, suspense, and climax usually associated with external action. Do not merely summarize the plot.

1995. Writers often highlight the values of a culture or a society by using characters who are alienated from that culture or society because of gender, race, class, or creed. Choose a novel or a play in which such a character plays a significant role and show how that character's alienation reveals the surrounding society's assumptions or moral values.

1999. The eighteenth-century British novelist Laurence Sterne wrote, "No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man's mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time."

From a novel or play, choose a character (not necessarily the protagonist) whose mind is pulled in conflicting directions by two compelling desires, ambitions, obligations, or influences. Then, in a well-organized essay, identify each of the two conflicting forces and explain how this conflict with one character illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. You may use one of the novels or plays listed below or another novel or work of similar literary quality.

2002. Morally ambiguous characters -- characters whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them as purely evil or purely good -- are at the heart of many works of literature. Choose a novel or play in which a morally ambiguous character plays a pivotal role. Then write an essay in which you explain how the character can be viewed as morally ambiguous and why his or her moral ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

2005. In Kate Chopin's The Awakening (1899), protagonist Edna Pontellier is said to possess "That outward existence which conforms, the inward life that questions." In a novel or play that you have studied, identify a character who outwardly conforms while questioning inwardly. Then write an essay in which you analyze how this tension between outward conformity and inward questioning contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid mere plot summary.

2010. Form B.  “You can leave home all you want, but home will never leave you.”

—Sonsyrea Tate

Sonsyrea Tate’s statement suggests that “home” may be conceived of as a dwelling, a place, or a state of mind. It may have positive or negative associations, but in either case, it may have a considerable influence on an individual.  Choose a novel or play in which a central character leaves home yet finds that home remains significant. Write a well-developed essay in which you analyze the importance of “home” to this character and the reasons for its continuing influence. Explain how the character’s idea of home illuminates the larger meaning of the work.

2012.  “And, after all, our surroundings influence our lives and characters as much as fate, destiny or any supernatural agency.” Pauline Hopkins, Contending Forces

Choose a novel or play in which cultural, physical, or geographical surroundings shape psychological or moral traits in a character. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how surroundings affect this character and illuminate the meaning of the work as a whole.

2015. In literary works, cruelty often functions as a crucial motivation or a major social or political factor. Select a novel, play, or epic poem in which acts of cruelty are important to the theme. Then write a well-developed essay analyzing how cruelty functions in the work as a whole and what the cruelty reveals about the perpetrator and/or victim.

Studying Poetic Form - Petrarchan Sonnets

Overview:  The sonnet, as a poetic genre, began in Italy in the thirteenth century, and, under the later influence of the Italian poet Petrarch, became internationally popular. Petrarch established the basic form of the so-called Petrarchan sonnet Also called Italian sonnet: 14 lines divided into two clear parts, an opening octet (8 lines) and a closing sestet (6 lines) with a fixed rhyme scheme (abbaabba cdecde). Often the octet will pose a problem or paradox which the sestet will resolve. Petrarch also established the convention of the sonnet sequence as a series of love poems written by an adoring lover to an unattainable and unapproachable lady of unsurpassed beauty. The Petrarchan sonnet convention, in other words, established, not merely the form of the poem, but also the subject matter.

"Sonnet 292" from the Canzoniere

translated by Anthony Mortimer 

The eyes I spoke of once in words that burn,
the arms and hands and feet and lovely face
that took me from myself for such a space
of time and marked me out from other men;
the waving hair of unmixed gold that shone,
the smile that flashed with the angelic rays
that used to make this earth a paradise,
are now a little dust, all feeling gone;
and yet I live, grief and disdain to me,
left where the light I cherished never shows,
in fragile bark on the tempestuous sea.
Here let my loving song come to a close;
the vein of my accustomed art is dry,
and this, my lyre, turned at last to tears.



The eyes I spoke of with such warmth,

The arms and hands and feet and face

Which took me away from myself

And marked me out from other people;

The waving hair of pure shining gold,

And the flash of her angelic smile,

Which used to make a paradise on earth,

Are a little dust, that feels nothing.

And yet I live, for which I grieve and despise myself,

Left without the light I loved so much,

In a great storm on an unprotected raft.

Here let there be an end to my loving song:

The vein of my accustomed invention has run dry,

And my lyre is turned to tears.

Gli occhi di ch'io parlai sì caldamente,

et le braccia et le mani e i piedi e 'l viso,

che m'avean sì­ da me stesso diviso,

et fatto singular da l'altra gente;

le crespe chiome d'òr puro lucente

'l lampeggiar de l'angelico riso,

che solean fare in terra un paradiso,

poca polvere son, che nulla sente.

Et io pur vivo, onde mi doglio e sdegno,

rimaso senza 'l lume ch'amai tanto,

in gran fortuna e 'n disarmato legno.

Or sia qui fine al mio amoroso canto:

secca è la vena de l'usato ingegno,

et la cetera mia rivolta in pianto.

Directions:  Please choose a sonnet by Petrarch (see link below).  Cut and paste it into your post, and analyze it using the terminology we learned in class (see "The Poetry Cheet Sheet" below).  Most importantly, include a detailed personal analysis of the poem in your post. 

https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Italian/Petrarch.php

The Poetry Cheat Sheet 

Tone: This is the attitude of the speaker of the poem. You always have to consider the tone of the speaker even if you’re not specifically asked to analyze it. Tone relates to many of elements below. It’s a “big-picture” or “umbrella” concept. (You should have a “bank” of words in mind: angry, happy, carefree, bitter, sympathetic, sad, nostalgic, ironic, satirical, etc.)

Repetition: Poets often rely on repetition. This can be words, phrases, sounds, images, ideas. If a poet repeats something, it takes on more meaning.

Diction: This refers to words. What words does the poet use? Does he repeat any specific words? What connotation do the words have (positive, negative)?

Syntax/Structure: Do the sentences within the poem or stanzas have a recognizable structure? Does the structure or pattern change at a specific moment?

Imagery (sensory details): This refers to the images of the poem, especially those that appeal to many senses (sight, sound, taste, touch, smell).

Sounds: Sound is often conveyed in poetry. Look for rhyme and repetition, and things such as alliteration, consonance, and assonance (which are repetitions of specific types of sound).

Metaphors/Similes: Comparisons are often used to support imagery, but they can also be used to anchor a poem, to convey a poem’s main message. Any time a poet compares something to something else, you should take note of it.

Irony: This is HUGE in poetry. If something is said or happens that is unexpected, it’s ironic. If it’s sarcastic or satirical, it’s ironic. If you can recognize irony, you’re golden.

Allusion: This is a literary or historical reference. It is not as common on the AP exam, but you should know what it is and how it works.

Rhythm/Rhyme: This is covered with other elements above. This just refers to the recognizable pattern of a poem that gives it a sense of rhythm and flow.

Also:  Sestet (six line stanza), Octet (eight line stanza), Quatrain (four line stanza), couplet (two line stanza)

"How I Discovered Poetry" by Marilyn Nelson

It was like soul-kissing, the way the words
filled my mouth as Mrs. Purdy read from her desk.
All the other kids zoned an hour ahead to 3:15,
but Mrs. Purdy and I wandered lonely as clouds borne
by a breeze off Mount Parnassus. She must have seen
the darkest eyes in the room brim: The next day
she gave me a poem she’d chosen especially for me
to read to the all except for me white class.
She smiled when she told me to read it, smiled harder,
said oh yes I could. She smiled harder and harder
until I stood and opened my mouth to banjo playing
darkies, pickaninnies, disses and dats. When I finished
my classmates stared at the floor. We walked silent
to the buses, awed by the power of words.

Directions:  Please post your reactions to this poem.  Also, comment on how the form impacted your reactions.

Please use "The Poetry Cheat Sheet" as a guide

The Poetry Cheat Sheet 

Tone: This is the attitude of the speaker of the poem. You always have to consider the tone of the speaker even if you’re not specifically asked to analyze it. Tone relates to many of elements below. It’s a “big-picture” or “umbrella” concept. (You should have a “bank” of words in mind: angry, happy, carefree, bitter, sympathetic, sad, nostalgic, ironic, satirical, etc.)

Repetition: Poets often rely on repetition. This can be words, phrases, sounds, images, ideas. If a poet repeats something, it takes on more meaning.

Diction: This refers to words. What words does the poet use? Does he repeat any specific words? What connotation do the words have (positive, negative)?

Syntax/Structure: Do the sentences within the poem or stanzas have a recognizable structure? Does the structure or pattern change at a specific moment?

Imagery (sensory details): This refers to the images of the poem, especially those that appeal to many senses (sight, sound, taste, touch, smell).

Sounds: Sound is often conveyed in poetry. Look for rhyme and repetition, and things such as alliteration, consonance, and assonance (which are repetitions of specific types of sound).

Metaphors/Similes: Comparisons are often used to support imagery, but they can also be used to anchor a poem, to convey a poem’s main message. Any time a poet compares something to something else, you should take note of it.

Irony: This is HUGE in poetry. If something is said or happens that is unexpected, it’s ironic. If it’s sarcastic or satirical, it’s ironic. If you can recognize irony, you’re golden.

Allusion: This is a literary or historical reference. It is not as common on the AP exam, but you should know what it is and how it works.

Rhythm/Rhyme: This is covered with other elements above. This just refers to the recognizable pattern of a poem that gives it a sense of rhythm and flow.

Also:  Sestet (six line stanza), Octet (eight line stanza), Quatrain (four line stanza), couplet (two line stanza)

Blog & Class Participation Criteria & Progress Reports

Attention: Progress reports will be coming out October 1st, so be sure to revisit any blogs you need to refine or compose. I will be posting your grades to Aspen.

Please see me if you need any assistance or have any questions. Below is the rubric I gave you the first day of class for your convenience.

Mr. P.

Blog and Class Participation Criteria 

Directions: This is your space to read and discuss ideas about the material we read in class. You will notice that these blog responses are intensive, but it will allow you to speak your mind and obtain immediate feedback. These homework assignments will count substantially, and the rubric below will help guide you. I will show some examples in class, and you are always free to discuss your work with me in class or after school.


Grading: On Aspen, you will find an assessment labeled “Blog and Class Participation.” Every two weeks, I will update your grade according to the rubric below. It may change as the term progresses. The key is to complete your work on a regular basis and participate in class. At the end of each term, you will receive a formal response to your work with written feedback.


A range has the following qualities:

• All work is complete and on-time 
• Contributes to class discussion daily; a leader 
• Well-written work 
• Personal voice is present 
• Thoughtful, meaningful, and there is always evidence that the student read the text closely 
• Responses do not merely agree but challenge fellow students to think critically 
• At least 3-4 well chosen, nice framed, direct quotations from a text 
• Responds to fellow classmates so that a dialogue ensues 
• Takes risks 
• Returns to add comments to have a conversation 

B range may exhibit some of the above qualities, BUT:

• Work is completed, but late on occasion 
• Contributes to class discussion regularly, but not every class 
• Too formal, little personal engagement 
• 1-2 direct quotations; may not be well chosen or framed 
• A thinner response than the A range 
• A super long technical response that could be more concise 

C range may exhibit some of the above qualities, BUT:

• Some blogs are missing, or incomplete 
• Contributes to class discussion on occasion 
• Not aware of audience; single post and does not return to discussion 
• Responds to the prompt in a general manner 
• Repeats what someone else wrote, as the student obviously did not read through the other responses 
• There is a voice, but little evidence that the student read closely 
• There are no direct quotations; there are some concrete examples 

D and F range may exhibit some of the above qualities, BUT:

• Many blogs missing on a regular basis 
• Late blogs completed, but only after many are missing; completed in bunches after the fact 
• Rarely contributes to class discussion and/or often late or absent 
• Late responses that could be high quality but only completed to avoid a zero 
• A few sentences and comments, but little to no analysis 
• Does not return to discussion 
• Little engagement 
• Is openly cruel to a classmate 
• Knowingly inappropriate