From the Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson

Objectives:

• To understand Johnson's first experience in New York as a new comer and the beginning of the era of ragtime
• To appreciate and learn the descriptive writing technique demonstrated in the excerpt

Motivational Activities:

1. Who is James Weldon Johnson?
2. What do you know about the Ragtime?
   • A brief history
   • Popular ragtime artists and composers
3. James Weldon Johnson's poetry

Do Now:

In your journal, describe an unforgettable experience  you had in New York.

Procedure:

• New Vocabulary: Look up the meanings of the following words

deluge: an overflowing of the land by water ; a drenching rain; an overwhelming amount or number
epithet: a characterizing word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a person or thing b : a disparaging or abusive word or phrase
jeer: to speak or cry out with derision or mockery
modulate: to tune to a key or pitch
strenuous: vigorously active
incantations : a use of spells or verbal charms spoken or sung as a part of a ritual of magic; also : a written or recited formula of words designed to produce a particular effect
efficacious: having the power to produce a desired effect ; synonym - EFFECTIVE
latent: POTENTIAL
contortion: n. DEFORM, to twist in a violent manner
informant: a person who gives information
veritable: being in fact the thing named and not false, unreal, or imaginary
dexterity: mental skill or quickness;  readiness and grace in physical activity; especially : skill and ease in using the hands
chromatics: ACCIDENTAL ;the branch of colorimetry that deals with hue and saturation
improvise: to compose, recite, play, or sing extemporaneously
adulterator: to corrupt, debase, or make impure by the addition of a foreign or inferior substance or element;
alembic: an apparatus used in distillation; something that refines or transmutes as if by distillation [alembic illustration]
straggler: to wander from the direct course or way : ROVE, STRAY; to trail off from others of its kind

• Read the excerpt in class. As you are reading, please have a pen in your hand and underline anything that find quite interesting, impressive, unforgettable or difficult to understand. We will share the parts of the story you have highlighted after reading.
• Study Questions:
  • How is New York portrayed in the new comer's eyes as depicted in the 1st paragraph?
  • How is the city personified?
  • What effect does the city have on the narrator? What does the simile mean "..as opium" mean in paragraph 2?
  • What activity was the narrator engaged in? What game did they play? How did the narrator think of the nature of the game?
  • What happened at the game? How did the narrator get involved?
  • What words or phrases did the narrator use to describe  the atmosphere at the game?
  • After the game, where did the narrator go? What did he see and here there?
  • In what way did the narrator describe the ragtime music and the artist? Make a list of words and phrases  that describe the nature of ragtime music and songs.
  • What were the narrator's comments on the ragtime music players? What attitudes did he convey toward these players?
  • How is ragtime history depicted in Johnson's story?
• Based on the examples in the except, what writing techniques can we learn to create a descriptive writing?
  • Using adjectives to describe a feeling: "there is a peculiar heel-tickling, smile-provoking, joy-awakening charm in ragtime..."
  • Using words of action (verbs)
  • imagery: "the sun were being put forth in turning waters of the bay to glistening gold...the buildings of the town shone out in a reflected light which gave the city an air of enchantment..."
  • personification: "She (the city) sits like a great witch at the gate of the country, showing her alluring white face, and hiding her crooked hands and feet under the folds of her wide garments..."; " ...then with a sudden  breath she blows the bubbles out and laughs mockingly as she watches them fall."
  • Metaphor: " Some she at once crushes beneath her cruel feet... a few she favors and fondles, riding them high on the bubbles of fortune;..."
  • Simile: "...others she condemns to a fate like that of galley slaves..."
  • Oxymoron: "...barbaric harmonies..." "the audacious resolutions..."
  • Direct speech: "Fate me" "Shoot the four"
  • Using specific names of places and persons: "Ragtime music was originated in the questionable resorts about Memphis and St. Louis ....made its way to Chicago...reached New York..."

Homework #6

Write a descriptive personal narrative or poem to describe an unforgettable experience in New York, which reveals the NY culture . Describe , don't tell. If you decide to write a poem, you need to compose at least 35 lines.