Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin (Text)

| Questions to Guide Your Reading | How To Retell a Story Creatively | Art of Harlem Renaissance |

Activity 1: When you hear an author's name, what would you like to find out about him/her, which may help you understand his/her works?

Here are the questions students generated:

Activity 1: Here are the questions students generated:

1. What did s/he write?  What his/her works are about?
2.  What inspired him/ her to write?
3.  What era did s/he live in?
4.  Where did s/he grow up?
5.  What is his/her best writing?
6.  What topics and issues does the author write about?
7.  What background did the author come from?
8.  What was his/her real life like? (Ups and downs? Most significant events ?)
9.  What were his/her real life experiences?

Homework #5: Combining these questions, we'll have the following chart:

Here is an example of how to do online research-
- If you will  research about James Baldwin and 1930 Harlem .Use the search engine www.google.com and type James Baldwin  and Harlem as key words to put in the search box. 

For Your Information: How to Cite from the World Wide Web?

• How to Cite from the World Wide Web ?
  For more information, click on the Frequent Asked Questions page.
• Cite from books, articles, etc. Please go to this page.
• Make sure you have References or Works Cited as part of your finished work if you have used any information from the World Wide Web.

Homework#6: Finish your research and bring in your individual report (Type it if you can) on Tuesday 09/29

. Use the Baldwin's biography site to help you.

ELA Regents Task I: You will write the report based on the following task- This the African American Writers' month and you have been asked to introduce one of  your favorite African American writers to your classmates. You have chosen James Baldwin as your subject for your report. For the writer you'll introduce, include these five elements-

1. major works and themes,
2. historical background,
3. major life events,
4. influences by and on other writers and artists.
5. other writers's comments on him

Rubrics for the Essay-

1. In the introduction of teh essay-
   • Central idea: According to your research, what kind of writer is James Baldwin? (Your answer to the question is the central idea ot thesis statement).
   • Some examples of central ideas-
     • As a writer, James Baldwin was inspired by what was happening in the society and his own life.
     • As a writer, James Baldwin inspired leaders of the Civil Right Movement.
     • As a writer, James Baldwin used his life struggle as the raw materials for his writing.
     • As a writer, James Baldwin save himself from the plight by writing.
     • As a writer, James Baldwin's choice of life affected his writing.
     • As a writer, what inspired James Baldwin to write?
2. Body
   • Use information you have gathered to prove the kind of writer he was, for example, an inpirational writer, a writer struggling with his identity, a writer who uses his rich but painful life experiences as his raw materials, a writer with a distinctive voice.
3. Conlcusion

09/25

Aim: What points does Langston Hughes make in this review of J.B.'s new book Notes of native Son?

February 26, 1958 The New York Times

Notes of a Native Son

By LANGSTON HUGHES

I think that one definition of the great artist might be the creator who projects the biggest dream in terms of the least person. There is something in Cervantes or Shakespeare, Beethoven or Rembrandt or Louis Armstrong that millions can understand. The American native son who signs his name James Baldwin is quite a ways off from fitting such a definition of a great artist in writing, but he is not as far off as many another writer who deals in picture captions of journalese in the hope of capturing and retaining a wide public. James Baldwin writes down to nobody, and he is trying very hard to write up to himself. As an essayist he is thought-provoking, tantalizing, irritating, abusing and amusing. And he uses words as the sea uses waves, to flow and beat, advance and retreat, rise and take a bow in disappearing.

Question 1: What kind of writer is James Baldwin, according to Langston Hughes?

Question 2: Identify one example of simile and explain what it means.

In "Notes of a Native Son," James Baldwin surveys in pungent commentary certain phases of the contemporary scene as they relate to the citizenry of the United States, particularly Negroes. Harlem, the protest novel, bigoted religion, the Negro press and the student milieu of Paris are all examined in black and white, with alternate shutters clicking, for hours of reading interest. When the young man who wrote this book comes to a point where he can look at life purely as himself, and for himself, the color of his skin mattering not at all, when, as in his own words, he finds "his birthright as a man no less than his birthright as a black man," America and the world might as well have a major contemporary commentator.

Question 3: How does L.H. refer J.B. as a writer transcending races?

Questions 4: Identify a metaphor and explain what it means.:

Few American writers handle words more effectively in the essay form than James Baldwin. To my way of thinking, he is much better at provoking thought in the essay than he is arousing emotion in fiction. I much prefer "Notes of a Native Son" to his novel, "Go Tell It on the Mountain," where the surface excellence and poetry of his writing did not seem to me to suit the earthiness of his subject matter. In his essays, words and material suit each other. The thought becomes poetry, and the poetry illuminates the thought.

Question 5: What negative comments does L.H. makes on J.B's writing? Give a specific example.

Question 6: What's J.B.'s strength as a writer? Give a specific example.

What James Baldwin thinks of the protest novel from "Uncle Tom's Cabin" to Richard Wright, of the motion picture "Carmen Jones," of the relationships between Jews and Negroes, and of the problems of American minorities in general is herein graphically and rhythmically set forth. And the title chapter concerning his father's burial the day after the Harlem riots, heading for the cemetery through broken streets--"To smash something is the ghetto's chronic need"--is superb. That Baldwin's viewpoints are half American, half Afro-American, incompletely fused, is a hurdle which Baldwin himself realizes he still has to surmount. When he does, there will be a straight-from-the-shoulder writer, writing about the troubled problems of this troubled earth with an illuminating intensity that should influence for the better all who ponder on the things books say.

Question 7: What hurdle, as a writer , J.B. needs to jump over to have his works influence more people with more power?

Mr. Hughes, the poet, is author the recent book, "The Sweet Flypaper of Life."

09/29/09

Aim: What kind of person is Sonny in the eyes of his friend?

Do Now: Journal #5 Define identity. What elements in a person's life affect his/her identity?

Procedure:

Read the story Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin and discuss-

In the 1st and 2nd paragraphs-

1. Who is the narrator? Who is the main character? What's their relationship?
2. How is "ice" used metorphorically?
3. What does "darkness" symbolize?
4. Are there any descriptions that make you curious what may happen next?

HW# 7 Identify the following based on what we have read-

a. Main idea( Use one or two sentences)
b. Key sentences and phrases (1) that reflects the main idea
c. Any example of literary devices.
- characterization
 - conflicts developed
 - descriptive language
 - irony / symbolism / theme(s) / mood(tone)
 -examples of figures of speech
d. Generate 2 questions that require literal, inferential and critical reading.

09/30

Aim: What kind of person is Sonny in the eyes of his "friend"?

Do Now: Journal #6 How would you react when someone you love did outragous things unexpectedly? Make up a metaphor or simile to describe such a feeling.

Procedure:

Read the story Sonny's Blues ( (paragraphs 3-6)by James Baldwin and discuss-

a. What happened to Sonny as described in the beginning of the story? How did the narrator find out about this and how did he feel?

b. How did the two brother differ from each other?

c. What kind of person is Sonny in the eyes of his friend/brother?

HW# 8 Identify the following based on what we have read today (paragraphs 3-6)-

a. Main idea ( Use one or two sentences)

b. Key sentences and phrases (1) that reflects the main idea

c. Any example of literary devices.

 - characterization
 - conflicts developed
 - descriptive language
 - irony / symbolism / theme(s) / mood(tone)
 -examples of figures of speech

d. Generate 2 questions that require literal, inferential and critical reading.

10/01

Aim: Why is the flashback important? How do the narrator's memories shed light on his relationship with his brother Sonny?

Do Now: Journal #7 Describe a moment in your life when you feel your identity was revealed.

Procedure:

Read and Discuss the short story " Sonny's Blues"(from " one boy was whistling a tune..." to "But I knew what he meant")using the following questions:

1. How doea the narrator feel toward Sonny's "friend"? What kind of man is he according to the narrator's descriptions?
2. Why is Sonny's friend here?
3. How does the narrator describe the barmaid? Why?
4. Why is the flashback important?

HW# 9 Identify the following based on what we have read today )-

a. Main idea ( Use one or two sentences)

b. Key sentences and phrases (1) that reflects the main idea

c. Any example of literary devices.

 - characterization
 - conflicts developed
 - descriptive language
 - irony / symbolism / theme(s) / mood(tone)
 -examples of figures of speech

d. Generate 2 questions that require literal, inferential and critical reading.

10/02

Aim: Based on the narrator's flashback about his mother, what kind of person was she? Why is she important to the understanding of the character, Sonny?

Do Now: Journal #8 How has your early childhood experience affected you or your identity?

Procedures:

Read and respond to the paragraph beginning with "But I knew what he meant" to the end of Sonny's letter.

1. How has the naarator's attitude changed toward Sonny's friend?
2. What does it say about Sonny's friend when he couldn't look at the5-dolloar bill the narrator gave him?
3. What do you know about Sonny through the letter he wrote to his brother?

HW# 10 Identify the following based on what we have read today (from )-

a. Main idea ( Use one or two sentences)

b. Key sentences and phrases (1) that reflects the main idea

c. Any example of literary devices.

 - characterization
 - conflicts developed
 - descriptive language
 - irony / symbolism / theme(s) / mood(tone)
 -examples of figures of speech

d. Generate 2 questions that require literal, inferential and critical reading.

10/05

Aim: When Sonny came out of jail, how did the relationship between Sonny and his brother( narrator) change?

Do Now: Journal #9 Define alienation. What things in one's life can defer his/her dreams? Do family members' opinions affect your choice of life?

Procedures:

Read ( from "Then I kep in constant touch with him and I sent him whatever I could..." to ..".into the danger he had almost died trying to escape"and discuss-

1. Why is the flashback important? How do the narrator's memories shed light on his relationship with his brother Sonny?
2. Respond to the paragraph beginning with " We live in a house project..." on page 243.
3. Based on the narrator's flashback about his mother, what kind of person was she? Why is she important to the understanding of the character, Sonny?
4. How did the narrator react when Sonny told him he wanted to play jazz? How might have his reaction affect Sonny?
5. Why did Sonny want to drop out of school? How did the narrator try to convince him that it was important to finish the high school?

HW# 11 Identify the following based on what we have read today-

a. Main idea ( Use one or two sentences)

b. Key sentences and phrases (1) that reflects the main idea

c. Any example of literary devices.

 - characterization
 - conflicts developed
 - descriptive language
 - irony / symbolism / theme(s) / mood(tone)
 -examples of figures of speech

d. Generate 2 questions that require literal, inferential and critical reading.

10/06

Aim:What caused the two brothers to break up and what could this have done to Sonny?

Do Now:

Journal#10 What's the best way to help a family member who is slipping away from you?

Procedures: Read ( from "Sonny was never talkative" to " ...But you got to let him know you's there") and discuss-

Whom did Sonny live with after their mother died? What did he do mostly when he lived there? Why did he leave them one day?

n. What caused the two brothers to break up and what could this have done to Sonny?

o. How does the narrator( Sonny's brother) express his acceptance of Sonny's choice of life? Use direct quotations to show the supporting details

p. After reading the paragraph on page 257 beginning with "All I know about music is that not many people ever really hear it..." to page 258  "... Sonny speak for himself...", how do you feel about the music described in the paragraphs? Did it change your ways of listening to music now?

HW# 12 Identify the following based on what we have read today-

a. Main idea ( Use one or two sentences)

b. Key sentences and phrases (1) that reflects the main idea

c. Any example of literary devices.

 - characterization
 - conflicts developed
 - descriptive language
 - irony / symbolism / theme(s) / mood(tone)
 -examples of figures of speech

d. Generate 2 questions that require literal, inferential and critical reading.

e. Pick one sentence from the passage we read and explain what it means to you. The sentence should never be too simple otherwise there is nothing to discuss or interpret.

10/07

Aim: How does the narrator( Sonny's brother) express his acceptance of Sonny's choice of life?

Do Now: Journal #11 How do tragedies affect a person's life? What do we mean by being" tolerant and embracing"?

Procedure:

Read and discuss-

1. How did the narrator react to Sonny's choice for life-a Jazz musician?
2. What was the narrator's attitude toward Jazz musicians and Jazz clubs? Find the texts that reveal his attitude.

HW#13

Identify the following based on what we have read today-

a. Main idea ( Use one or two sentences)

b. Key sentences and phrases (1) that reflects the main idea

c. Any example of literary devices.

 - characterization
 - conflicts developed
 - descriptive language
 - irony / symbolism / theme(s) / mood(tone)
 -examples of figures of speech

d. Generate 2 questions that require literal, inferential and critical reading.

e. Pick one sentence from the passage we read and explain what it means to you. The sentence should never be too simple otherwise there is nothing to discuss or interpret.

10/08

Aim: How do you feel about the music described in the paragraphs?

Do Now: Journal #12 What type of music do you like and why? What do you want to be or study when you go to college and why?

Procedures:

Read and discuss-

1. What changes has the narrator discerned in Sonny after he came home from the army to attend their mother's funeral?
2. What does the description reveal about Sonny," There was something in his eyes I'd never seen before, some thoughtfulness, some worry all his own..." ?
3. What adjectives can you use to describe Sonny in this kitchen scene?
4. Why did the narrator physically shake when he heard what Sonny said to him?
5. How would you describe Sonny's attitude toward his brother?
6. What did the piano do to Sonny during the time he lived with Isabel's family?
7. What made Sonny leave Harlem and what does that action tell you about Sonny's character?

HW#14

Identify the following based on what we have read today-

a. Main idea ( Use one or two sentences)

b. Key sentences and phrases (1) that reflects the main idea

c. Any example of literary devices.

 - characterization
 - conflicts developed
 - descriptive language
 - irony / symbolism / theme(s) / mood(tone)
 -examples of figures of speech

d. Generate 2 questions that require literal, inferential and critical reading.

e. Pick one sentence from the passage we read and explain what it means to you. The sentence should never be too simple otherwise there is nothing to discuss or interpret.

10/09

Aim: Why does the story sound like the blues?

Do Now: Journal #13 Which comes first-to do what you really love to do or what you need to do such as fulfill your responsibilities?

Procedures:

Read and respond to the following discussion question. Write down the answer during the discussion. If you can't finish in class, finish the questions at home as part of Homework #15.

1. Interpret "...he(Sonny) could hardly help feeling that they had stripped him naked and were spitting on that nakedness". Why does Sonny feel this way?
2. Create an event chart to show the changes of Sonny and his brother's relationship. Briefly explain the reasons.
3. Why did the narrator whistle "You going to need me, baby, one of these cold rainy days"?
4. A Tableau is a frozen scene. What's happening in the tableau beginning with "On the sidewalk across from me, near the entrance to a barbecue joint..." to "...And two other sisters and the brothers joined in"(last paragraph of Page 17)? Who are in the scene? What mood is created by the tableau?
5. After Grace died, the narrator decided to write to Sonny whom he had not been speaking for years. Why?

HW#15

Identify the following based on what we have read today-

a. Main idea ( Use one or two sentences)
b. Key sentences and phrases (1) that reflects the main idea
c. Any example of literary devices.
 - characterization
 - conflicts developed
 - descriptive language
 - irony / symbolism / theme(s) / mood(tone)
 -examples of figures of speech
d. Generate 2 questions that require literal, inferential and critical reading.
e. Pick one sentence from the passage we read and explain what it means to you. The sentence should never be too simple otherwise there is nothing to discuss or interpret.

10/15

Aim: How was the street scene described? What does it reveal the narrator's emotions and attitude?

Do Now: Journal #14 Describe a street performance you have ever seen. Include your emotional reactions if any.

Procedures:

Read and respond to the following discussion question. Write down the answer during the discussion. If you can't finish in class, finish the questions at home as part of Homework #16.

1. How was the street scene described? What does it reveal the narrator's emotions and attitude? (from "It was strange, suddenly, to watch..." to ""I just want you to know that."( page 21)
2. What was the first indication that realtionship between Sonny and his brother softened?
3. How does Sonny describe the women's singing? Find the exact quotations.
4. What does Sonny mean when he said, " It makes you feel-in control. Sometime you have got to have that feeling"?
5. How do Sonny and the narrator describe "suffering" and their feelings toward suffering differently?
6. Interpret ""No, there's no way not to suffer. But you try all kinds of ways to keep from drowning in it, to keep on top of it, and to make it seem-well, like you. Like you did something, all right, and now you're suffering for it. "

HW#16

Identify the following based on what we have read today-

a. Main idea ( Use one or two sentences)
b. Key sentences and phrases (1) that reflects the main idea
c. Any example of literary devices.
 - characterization
 - conflicts developed
 - descriptive language
 - irony / symbolism / theme(s) / mood(tone)
 -examples of figures of speech
d. Generate 2 questions that require literal, inferential and critical reading.
e. Pick one sentence from the passage we read and explain what it means to you. The sentence should never be too simple otherwise there is nothing to discuss or interpret.

10/16/09

Aim: How did Sonny describe the mental state he had been in and how did he deal with it?

Do Now: Journal #15 Describe your understanding of "Suffering". Repond to Sonny's statement, "...No, there's no way
not to suffer. But you try all kinds of ways to keep from drowning in it, to keep on top of it, and to make it seem-well...".

Read pages 20-23 and answer the questions (HW#17):

1. How Sonny and the narrator differ in their views of suffering?
2. How did Sonny describe the woman's voice he had heard from the street performance?
3. Why did he say he played music?
4. What connections did he see between music and drugs?
5. Why did he turn to drugs in the beginning? Why was he turning to the music now? How did palying music help him deal with his problems? What were his problems? Name two.
6. Explain what Sonny meant when he said to his brother on page 20 ""Sometimes, you know, and it was actually when I was most out of the world, I felt that I was in it, that I was with it, really, and I could play or I didn't really have to play, it just came out of me, it was there. And I don't know how I played, ..."
7. What does "stink" symbolize as described in Sonn's speech(page 21) , ..."Oh well. I can never tell you. I was all by myself at the bottom of something, stinking and sweating and crying and shaking, and I smelled it, you know? my stink, and I thought I'd die if I couldn't get away from it and yet, all the same, I knew that everything I was doing was just locking me in with it. And I didn't know," he paused, still flattening the beer can, "I didn't know, I still don't know, something kept telling me that maybe it was good to smell your own stink, but I didn't think that that was what I'd been trying to do- and-who can stand it?"
8. What attitude is revealed toward his neighborhood when Sonny said, "...All that hatred down there," he said, "all that hatred and misery and love. It's a wonder it doesn't blow the avenue apart." (page 22)

HW#17

Identify the following based on what we have read today-

a. Main idea ( Use one or two sentences)
b. Key sentences and phrases (1) that reflects the main idea
c. Any example of literary devices.
 - characterization
 - conflicts developed
 - descriptive language
 - irony / symbolism / theme(s) / mood(tone)
 -examples of figures of speech
d. Generate 2 questions that require literal, inferential and critical reading.
e. Pick one sentence from the passage we read and explain what it means to you. The sentence should never be too simple otherwise there is nothing to discuss or interpret.

10/19

Aim: Why did Sonny tell his brother that "it can come again"? What does "it" refer to?

Do Now: Journal #16 Looking back at your life, when life was down, how did you deal with it? Describe what happend and provide an example of how you dealt with it.

Procedure:

Read Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin and answer the folowing questions-

1. How was Sonny treated at the bar?
2. What was his realtionship with other musicians ?
3. How was Sonny described differently at the bar?
4. How was the bar described ? What was the mood there?
5. Interpret "All I know about music is that not many people ever really hear it. And even then, on the rare
   occasions when something opens within, and the music enters, what we mainly hear, or
   hear corroborated, are personal, private, vanishing evocations. But the man who creates the
   music is hearing something else, is dealing with the roar rising from the void and imposing
   order on it as it hits the air. What is evoked in him, then, is of another order, more terrible
   because it has no words, and triumphant, too, for that same reason. And his triumph, when
   he triumphs, is ours."
6. Interpret , "Up there, keeping the beat with his whole body, wailing on the fiddle, with his eyes half closed,
   he was listening to everything, but he was listening to Sonny. He was having a dialogue with
   Sonny. He wanted Sonny to leave the shoreline and strike out for the deep water. He was
   Sonny's witness that deep water and drowning were not the same thing-he had been there,
   and he knew. And he wanted Sonny to know. He was waiting for Sonny to do the things on
   the keys which would let Creole know that Sonny was in the water."
   
7. Interpret, "I had never before thought of how awful the relationship must be between the musician and his
   instrument. He has to fill it, this instrument, with the breath of life, his own."
8. How did Sonny play ? Find a few key words to describe it (page 24).

HW#18

Identify the following based on what we have read today-

a. Main idea ( Use one or two sentences)
b. Key sentences and phrases (1) that reflects the main idea
c. Any example of literary devices.
 - characterization
 - conflicts developed
 - descriptive language
 - irony / symbolism / theme(s) / mood(tone)
 -examples of figures of speech
d. Generate 2 questions that require literal, inferential and critical reading.
e. Pick one sentence from the passage we read and explain what it means to you. The sentence should never be too simple otherwise there is nothing to discuss or interpret.

10/20

Aim: How do you feel about the ending of the story?

Do Now: Journal #17 If you have pent-up feelings, how do you channel them?

Procedure:

Read from the middle of page 20 "We went to the only club..." to the end of the story. Answer the questions from yesterday's lesson (10/19) and the follwoing questions:

After reading the paragraph on page 257 beginning with "All I know about music is that not many people ever really hear it..." to page 258  "... Sonny speak for himself...", how do you feel about the music described in the paragraphs? Did it change your ways of listening to music now?

HW#19

Identify the following based on what we have read today-

a. Main idea ( Use one or two sentences)
b. Key sentences and phrases (1) that reflects the main idea
c. Any example of literary devices.
 - characterization
 - conflicts developed
 - descriptive language
 - irony / symbolism / theme(s) / mood(tone)
 -examples of figures of speech
d. Generate 2 questions that require literal, inferential and critical reading.
e. Pick one sentence from the passage we read and explain what it means to you. The sentence should never be too simple otherwise there is nothing to discuss or interpret.

10/21

Aim: What experiences did Sonny go through to find his self-identity?

Do Now: Journal #18 Respond freely to the ending of the story. How do you feel about it? What do you predict will happen now to Sonny?

Procedure:

Write about 10 minutes for each topic below and respond by using textual evidence from the story-

1. What experiences did Sonny go through to find his self-identity?
2. How does the narrator( Sonny's brother) express his acceptance of Sonny's choice of life? Use direct quotations to show the supporting details?

Homework #20

Study questions from all the lessons in the "Sonny's Blues" unit. Preapre for the quiz tomorrow.

10/22/09

Quiz#3 for Unit 2

Name__________
Per#___________

Answer the following questions briefly but accurately based on the story Sonny's Blues

1. What does the description of "darkness" symbolize? (6%)
2. How did the two brother differ from each other? (6%)
3. What do you know about Sonny through the letter he wrote to his brother? (6%)
4. Based on the narrator's flashback about his mother, what kind of person was she? Why is she important to the understanding of the character, Sonny? (6%)
5. How did the narrator react when Sonny told him he wanted to play jazz? How might have his reaction affect Sonny? (6%)
6. What did the piano do to Sonny during the time he lived with Isabel's family? Why did he leave them one day?(6%)
7. What caused the two brothers to break up and what could this have done to Sonny?(6%)
8. What does the description reveal about Sonny," There was something in his eyes I'd never seen before, some thoughtfulness, some worry all his own..." ?(6%)
9. After Grace died, the narrator decided to write to Sonny whom he had not been speaking for years. Why? (6%)
10. What was the first indication that relationship between Sonny and his brother softened? (6%)
11. What does Sonny mean when he said, " It (playing music)makes you feel-in control. Sometime you have got to have that feeling"? (6%)
12. Interpret ""No, there's no way not to suffer. But you try all kinds of ways to keep from drowning in it, to keep on top of it, and to make it seem-well, like you. Like you did something, all right, and now you're suffering for it. " (6%)
13. Why did he(Sonny) turn to drugs in the beginning? Why was he turning to the music now? How did palying music help him deal with his problems? What were his problems? Name two. (6%)
14. What attitude is revealed toward his neighborhood when Sonny said, "...All that hatred down there," he said, "all that hatred and misery and love. It's a wonder it doesn't blow the avenue apart."(6%)
15. Interpret "All I know about music is that not many people ever really hear it. And even then, on the rare
    occasions when something opens within, and the music enters, what we mainly hear, or
    hear corroborated, are personal, private, vanishing evocations. But the man who creates the
    music is hearing something else, is dealing with the roar rising from the void and imposing
    order on it as it hits the air. What is evoked in him, then, is of another order, more terrible
    because it has no words, and triumphant, too, for that same reason. And his triumph, when
    he triumphs, is ours." (8%)
16. Interpret, "I had never before thought of how awful the relationship must be between the musician and his
    instrument. He has to fill it, this instrument, with the breath of life, his own." (8%)

HW#21

Write about A PAGE for each topic below and respond by using textual evidence from the story-

1. What experiences did Sonny go through to find his self-identity?
2. How does the narrator( Sonny's brother) express his acceptance of Sonny's choice of life? Use direct quotations to show the supporting details?

10/23/09

Aim: How did Claude McKay use poetic language to depict the subject in his poem?

Do Now: Journal #19 Reflect on the poems you have read in the past.Name a few things you enjoy about reading the poems and the techniques you use to help you understand poetry.

Procedure:

1. Read aloud the poem twice and do the following-
   • Copy the new vocabulary words in your notebook and look them up using the online dictionary.
   • Write one to two sentences to describe the main idea of the poem.
   • Guess what feelings or mood is conveyed in the poem.
   • Identify one example of literary techniques used in the poem.

Procedures: Read the poem and answer the following questions-

The Harlem Dancer

1. APPLAUDING youths laughed with young prostitutes
2. And watched her perfect, half-clothed body sway;
3. Her voice was like the sound of blended flutes
4. Blown by black players upon a picnic day.
5. She sang and danced on gracefully and calm,
6. The light gauze hanging loose about her form;
7. To me she seemed a proudly-swaying palm
8. Grown lovelier for passing through a storm.
9. Upon her swarthy neck black shiny curls
10. Luxuriant fell; and tossing coins in praise,
11. The wine-flushed, bold-eyed boys, and even the girls,
12. Devoured her shape with eager, passionate gaze;
13. But looking at her falsely-smiling face,
14. I knew her self was not in that strange place.

Questions:

1. What's the poem about?
2. Who is the speaker?
3. How is the performer described? How is she received by her audience?
4. What kind of literary device is used in the last two lines of the poem? How does it reveal the kind of person the performer might be?
5. What kind of person do you think the performer is ? Why?
6. How does the performer perceive herself? ( what is her identity)
7. Give one example of simile and explain how the simile enahnces the menaing of the poem.
8. Give one example of imagery and explain how the imagery enahnces the menaing of the poem.
   

HW#22 Write two paragraphs to describe and analyze the poem-

• In the fisrt paragraph, describe what the poem is about.
• In the 2nd paragraph, analyze how the poet uses simile, imagery and irony to portray the kind of girl the "Harlem Dancer" is.

10/27/09

Aim: How is the theme of the story Sonny's Blues related to that of the poem "Harlem Dancer"?

Do Now: Journal #20 In your journal, describe one of the themes in "Sonny's Blues " and "Harlem Dancer" respectively.

Procedure:

Passage 1 :Excerpt from "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin

On the sidewalk across from me, near the entrance to a barbecue joint, some people were
holding an old-fashioned revival meeting. The barbecue cook, wearing a dirty white apron,
his conked hair reddish and metallic in the pale sun, and a cigarette between his lips, stood
in the doorway, watching them. Kids and older people paused in their errands and stood
there, along with some older men and a couple of very tough-looking women who watched
everything that happened on the avenue, as though they owned it, or were maybe owned by
it. Well, they were watching this, too. The revival was being carried on by three sisters in
black, and a brother. All they had were their voices and their Bibles and a tambourine. The
brother was testifying and while he testified two of the sisters stood together, seeming to
say, amen, and the third sister walked around with the tambourine outstretched and a
couple of people dropped coins into it. Then the brother's testimony ended and the sister
who had been taking up the collection dumped the coins into her palm and transferred them
to the pocket of her long black robe. Then she raised both hands, striking the tambourine
against the air, and then against one hand, and she started to sing. And the two other
sisters and the brother joined in.

It was strange, suddenly, to watch, though I had been seeing these meetings all my life. So,
of course, had everybody else down there. Yet, they paused and watched and listened and I
stood still at the window. "'Tis the old ship of Zion," they sang, and the sister with the
tambourine kept a steady, jangling beat, "it has rescued many a thousand!" Not a soul under
the sound of their voices was hearing this song for the first time, not one of them had been
rescued. Nor had they seen much in the way of rescue work being done around them.
Neither did they especially believe in the holiness of the three sisters and the brother, they
knew too much about them, knew where they lived, and how. The woman with the
tambourine, whose voice dominated the air, whose face was bright with joy, was divided by
very little from the woman who stood watching her, a cigarette between her heavy, chapped
lips, her hair a cuckoo's nest, her face scarred and swollen from many beatings, and her
black eyes glittering like coal. Perhaps they both knew this, which was why, when, as rarely,
they addressed each other, they addressed each other as Sister. As the singing filled the air
the watching, listening faces underwent a change, the eyes focusing on something within;
the music seemed to soothe a poison out of them; and time seemed, nearly, to fall away
from the sullen, belligerent, battered faces, as though they were fleeing back to their first
condition, while dreaming of their last. The barbecue cook half shook his head and smiled,
and dropped his cigarette and disappeared into his joint. A man fumbled in his pockets for
change and stood holding it in his hand impatiently, as though he had just remembered a
pressing appointment further up the avenue. He looked furious. Then I saw Sonny, standing
on the edge of the crowd. He was carrying a wide, flat notebook with a green cover, and it
made him look, from where I was standing, almost like a schoolboy. The coppery sun
brought out the copper in his skin, he was very faintly smiling, standing very still. Then the
singing stopped, the tambourine turned into a collection plate again. The furious man
dropped in his coins and vanished, so did a couple of the women, and Sonny dropped some
change in the plate, looking directly at the woman with a little smile. He started across the
avenue, toward the house. He has a slow, loping walk, something like the way Harlem
hipsters walk, only he's imposed on this his own half-beat. I had never really noticed it
before.

I stayed at the window, both relieved and apprehensive. As Sonny disappeared from my
sight, they began singing again. And they were still singing when his key turned in the lock.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey, yourself. You want some beer?"
"No. Well, maybe." But he came up to the window and stood beside me, looking out. "What a
warm voice," he said.
They were singing If I could only hear my mother pray again!
"Yes," I said, "and she can sure beat that tambourine." "But what a terrible song," he said, and laughed. He dropped his notebook on the sofa and
disappeared into the kitchen.

Passage 2

The Harlem Dancer

1. APPLAUDING youths laughed with young prostitutes
2. And watched her perfect, half-clothed body sway;
3. Her voice was like the sound of blended flutes
4. Blown by black players upon a picnic day.
5. She sang and danced on gracefully and calm,
6. The light gauze hanging loose about her form;
7. To me she seemed a proudly-swaying palm
8. Grown lovelier for passing through a storm.
9. Upon her swarthy neck black shiny curls
10. Luxuriant fell; and tossing coins in praise,
11. The wine-flushed, bold-eyed boys, and even the girls,
12. Devoured her shape with eager, passionate gaze;
13. But looking at her falsely-smiling face,
14. I knew her self was not in that strange place.

HW#23 Write the 1st draft of the comparative essay-Task 3 essay.

10/28/09

Aim: To compose the Task 3 Compartive essay on Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin and Harlem Dancer by Claude MacKay

Guidelines:

You will write 4 or 6 paragrpahs-

Paragraph #1 Introduction

Sentence 1: Use one sentence to express your view on identity(One or two sentences of your insight into how one should deal with one's identity , for example, our life journey ).

Sentence 2-3: What do James Baldwin and Claude MacKay tell us about their views on identity through the story and poem? For example, both authors convey the idea that one must struggle to find one's identity. Sometimes struggle/obstacles can strengthen a person but can also destroy one.

Sentence 4: Both authors use literary elements and techniques to convey their ideas. (Use the sentence the way it is).

Body

Write TWO paragraphs to discuss Sonny's Blues.

Body paragraph 1: DESCRIBE Specific Parts of the story about Identity. Which parts of the story of Sonny's Blue byJames Baldwin tell us stories about Identity?

For example, describe briefly what Sonny had experienced in his life to be where he was-a successful musician( who can touch on people's souls), for example, jail, drugs, deaths of his niece & parents, "deep water", "drowning" etc. What's your conclusion of Sonny's experiences?

Body paragraph 2: Use three literary techniques or elements to ANALYZE how James Baldwin uses characterization, conflict, mood, point of view, details, imagery and symbolism to reveal his ideas about Identity.

For example, provide three three milestone moments in Sonny's life that define his identity, for example, his arrest, return from jail, runaway from home, hangout  in the jazz club, dialogue with his brother, observation of a street singer, etc.

Write TWO paragraphs to discuss Harlem Dancer by Claude MacKay

Body paragraph 1: DESCRIBE the meaning of the poem- how is the poem about Identity?

Body paragraph 2: Use three literary techniques or elements to ANALYZE how MacKay uses characterization, simile, metaphor, imagery and irony to reveal his ideas about Identity.

Conclusion (paragraph 6): Use different words to restate your controlling idea.

HW# 24 Use the guidelines to revise your essay. The final draft is due tomorrow 10/29/09. Late essay will result in 65 as the highest grade.

Structure of the Essay

Introduction:  One or two sentences of your insight into how one should deal with one's identity ( our life journey ).Describe briefly what Sonny had experienced in his life to be where he was-a successful musician( who can touch on people's souls), for example, jail, drugs, deaths of his niece & parents, "deep water", "drowning" etc. What's your conclusion of Sonny's experiences?

Body:

• Provide three three milestone moments in Sonny's life that define his identity, for example, his arrest, return from jail, runaway from home, hangout  in the jazz club, dialogue with his brother, observation of a street singer, etc.
• For each example, provide some direct quotations from the text (story). They can be words spoken by Sonny or the narrator, his brother.
• For each example, write one separate paragraph beginning with a topic sentence.

Conclusion: Briefly describe your comments on Sonny's journey to his self-identity and your reflection on it (what you have learned from the story.)

2. How to create a Point of View Writing based on "Sonny's Blues"?

HW Select a new perspective (voice ) to tell the story . You may add your own interpretation of the story in your writing but the main idea must remain truthful to the original story. You may use any form of writing to retell the story.

3. Art of the Harlem Renaissance

During the Harlem Renaissance, Africa American writers weren't the only people who flocked to a little-know district of Manhattan to explore their cultural identity. African American musicians, painters, and sculptors were as much a part of this artistic explosion of the 1920s and 1930s were poets, novelists, and playwrights. Before long, the intense creative spirits spilled out of Harlem, which had become the heart and soul of African American culture. African American artists across the country began painting, sculpting, drawing, and taking photograph.

Artists of the Harlem Renaissance shared a single goal in their work: to express their identify as both African  and American. However, their approaches varied. Some artists sought to capture details of everyday life, including the tension of a segregated society. Other wanted to portray the dignity and independence of their people. Still other African American artists chose to focus on elements of folklore in their art.                          

The Harlem Renaissance marked the first time that many African American artists could work professionally at their craft. Foundations offered private funding to African Americans artists. Public art projects employed many artists during the Great Depression of the 1930s. As a result, African Americans were able to infuse American's cultural landscape with their vitality and their dreams.      

Browse the following African American artists' work and choose one artwork to respond-

Artists