Class 4: EWRT 1B

AGENDA

Presentation: Terms

Teams and Points

Author Lecture: Langston Hughes

QHQ Discussion: Racial Passing:

"Passing" and "Passing”

Lecture: Writing a Summary and

Paraphrasing Poetry

In-class writing: Summary;

paraphrase

Terms Exam #1: Class 6 19. Characterization: the creation of the image of imaginary

persons in drama, narrative poetry, the novel, and the short

story. Characterization generates plot and is revealed by

actions, speech, thoughts, physical appearance, and the

other characters’ thoughts or words about him.

20. Dialogue: is a conversation, or a literary work in the form

of a conversation, that is often used to reveal characters and

to advance the plot. Also, it is the lines spoken by a character

in a play, essay, story, or novel.

21. Epistle: a letter, especially a formal or didactic one;

written communication. Also (usually initial capital letter ) one

of the apostolic letters in the new testament or ( often initial

capital letter ) an extract, usually from one of the Epistles of

the New Testament, forming part of the Eucharistic service in

certain churches.

22. Irony: a dryly humorous or lightly sarcastic figure of speech in which the

literal meaning of a word or statement is the opposite of that intended. In

literature, it is the technique of indicating an intention or attitude opposed to

what is actually stated. Often, only the context of the statement leads the

reader to understand it is ironic. Irony makes use of hyperbole, sarcasm,

satire, and understatement.

There are four types of irony:

• Verbal irony as defined by Cicero: “Irony is the saying of one thing and

meaning another,” or Socrates: ”when one adopts another’s point of view

in order to reveal that person’s weaknesses and eventually to ridicule

him.”

• Situational irony, such as when a pickpocket gets his own pockets picked

• Dramatic irony, such as when Oedipus unwittingly kills his own father

• Rhetorical irony, such as that of the innocent narrator in Twain’s

Huckleberry Finn

23. Literal: pertaining to a letter of the alphabet. More typically, it

means “based on what is actually written or expressed.” A literal

interpretation gives an exact rendering— word for word— taking

words in their usual or primary sense. It is also used to describe

thinking which is unimaginative or matter of fact.

24. Literature: writings in which expression and form, in

connection with ideas and concerns of universal and apparently

permanent interest, are essential features. While applied to any

kind of printed material, such as circulars, leaflets, and handbills,

there are some who feel it is more correctly reserved for prose and

verse of acknowledged excellence, such as George Eliot’s works.

The term connotes superior qualities.

25. Paraphrase: (also called rewording) – the restatement of a

passage giving the meaning in another form. This usually involves

expanding the original text so as to make it clear.

2. The teams will remain the same through the discussion, reading, and workshops of one essay.

3. You must change at least 50% of your team after each essay is completed.

4. You may never be on a team with the same person more than twice.

5. You may never have a new team composed of more than 50% of any prior team.

1. We will often use teams to earn participation points. Your teams can be made up of 3 or 4 people.

Points will be earned for correct answers to questions, meaningful contributions to the discussion, the willingness to share your work, and for work posted in the slideshow. Each team will track their own points, but cheating leads to death (or loss of 25 participation points).

Answers, comments,

and questions must

be posed in a

manner that

promotes learning.

Those who speak

out of turn or with

maliciousness will

not receive points for

their teams.

At the end of each class, you

will turn in a point sheet with

the full names of everyone in

your group and your

accumulated points for the day.

Please circle the total number

of earned points at the top of

the page.

It is your responsibility to make

the sheet, track the points, and

turn your final tally in. Points

must be turned in at the end of

each class.

Sit near your team

members in class to

facilitate ease of group

discussions

Essay #2

Teams

Get into groups of four. (1-2

minutes)

If you can’t find a group, please

raise your hand.

Once your group is established,

choose one person to be the

keeper of the points.

Write down members’ names.

Include the first letter of the

last name.

Turn in your sheet at the end

of the class period. Put the

total at the top of the page.

In your

groups: 5

minutes

Discuss the reading for today.

Share the QHQs that you wrote.

LANGSTON

HUGHES 1902-

1967

One of the founders of the

cultural movement known as the

Harlem Renaissance.

What do you know about Langston Hughes?

Few authors of the twentieth century are more significant than

Langston Hughes. He is assured his status by his many

contributions to literature.

• The length of his career: 1921-1967

• The variety of his output: articles, poems, short stories,

dramas, novels, and history texts.

• His influence on three generations of African American

writers: from the Harlem Renaissance through the Civil

Rights Movement

• His concern for the “ordinary” African American: The

subject of his work

• His introduction of the jazz idiom: the quality of black

colloquial speech and the rhythms of jazz and the blues.

During his long career Hughes was harshly criticized

by blacks and whites. Because he left no single

masterwork, such as Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man

(1952) or Richard Wright’s Native Son (1940), and

because he consciously wrote in the common idiom

of the people, academic interest in him grew only

slowly. The importance of his influence on several

generations of African American authors is, however,

indisputable and widely acknowledged.

QHQ

Discussion:

Racial

Passing:

"Passing" and

"Passing”

“Passing” Jack

1. Q: Why if “passing” is hard and frightening does Jack do it?

2. Q: Was Jack fortunate to have a double identity and use it to

his own benefit?

3. Q: Why does Jack delude himself about race no longer

being an issue in his life?

4. Q: Is what Jack said and [did] too selfish?

5. Q: Does Jack regret his decisions that he had to make?

6. Q: Will Jack ever stop feeling awful for passing his mother or

his family? Or will he simply enjoy the privilege that comes

from being white and become accustomed the ways he

needs to act in order to obtain them?

1. Q: From the context we can assume that the main character has

become really successful, but, was he really? Or would it be better to

state that he was not strong enough and therefore succumbed against

the unfairly established rules society played against itself? Would this

be the reason of why he decided to pass as a white man and to deny

his family as well?

2. Q: Is Jack racist towards blacks?

a. Q: When hearing about white folks’ animosity towards people of

color, why doesn’t Jack speak up?

3. Q: Will Jack forget all about his black roots?

a. Q) Hughes says “why think about race any more? I’m glad I don’t

have to.” What made him come to this conclusion and why is he not

even thinking about the oppression of his own people?

b. Q) Jack says he does not think about race; nevertheless, is that truly

accurate?

1. Q. Why does the main character feel like a dog passing

his ma?

2. Q: How do you think Jack’s perceptions about the details

and the future of his new “white” are received by his

mother and siblings?

3. Q: Why did Jack’s mom urge him to pass as a white

man?

4. Q: Is that really what Jack’s mom wanted for Jack?

5. Q: How did Jack choose between his family and passing?

6. Q: How is Jack’s family affected by his passing?

7. Q: Has Jack done anything else for his for family besides

just writing a letter to his mother?

8. Q: Why was passing as white so important to Jack if it

means not being able to see his mother and siblings?

Jack’s Original Family

Jack’s New Family

1. Q: Why do I feel that Jack is wrong for hiding a

whole portion of his life from his romantic partner

when all he’s doing is trying to escape prejudice

and maintain a relationship?

2. Q: What will happen if Jack really denies his [dark-

skinned] child?

3. Q: Why does Jack think that denying a dark child of

his own is ok?

4. Q: How will Jacks child feel in the future about

white people because his father chose to be white

rather than a parent?

Consequences

1. Q. What if the main character came out and stated

that he really is mixed race? What if he starts talking to

his mom on the streets whenever he sees her? What

kind of repercussions might this have?

1. Q. Was the price he paid for his “freedom” actually

worth it? In other words, was the need to deny his

family and cut almost all contact with them actually

worth it for the life/lie he is living?

1. Q: Is passing as something or someone you are not right/okay?

2. Q: Do situations like these still exist today where someone has to hide or pass as someone to their romantic partner?

3. Q At what point is is acceptable to choose what is best for yourself over your family without causing tension?

4. Q: Why does identity matter? How can people stop “passing?”

5. Q. How much courage does it take for a person to deny his or her own family?

Broader Inquiries about social policy,

perspective, and choice.

On sunny summer Sunday afternoons in Harlem

when the air is one interminable ball game

and grandma cannot get her gospel hymns

from the Saints of God in Christ

on account of the Dodgers on the radio,

on sunny Sunday afternoons

when the kids look all new

and far too clean to stay that way,

and Harlem has its

washed-and-ironed-and-cleaned-best out,

the ones who’ve crossed the line

to live downtown

miss you,

Harlem of the bitter dream

since their dream has

come true.

“Passing” By Langston Hughes

1. Q. Who is the narrator?

2. Q. Does [the poem] mirror Hughes’s own experience of “passing”? How might critics respond to this poem and what social justice issues does this poem raise?

3. Q: Why does Hughes center his short poem on “sunny Sunday afternoons?”

4. Q: What did Hughes mean by “the air is one interminable ball game and grandma cannot get her gospel hymns”?

5. Q: What does Hughes mean at the end: “the ones who’ve crossed the line to live downtown”?

6. Q: What does Hughes mean when [he says,] “Harlem of the bitter dream since their dream has come true?” Could he possibly be mentioning his own dream? Or does he reference someone else’s?

“Passing”: The Poem

Paraphrase and Summary

Writing strategies that cannot be ignored

How to Paraphrase A paraphrase is a restatement of a passage giving the meaning in another

form. This usually involves expanding the original text so as to make it clear.

A paraphrase will have none of the beauty or effectiveness of the original. It

merely aims, in its prosy way, to spell out the literal meaning. It will not

substitute for the original, then, but will help us appreciate the compactness

and complexity of many poems.

Write in prose, not verse (in prose the lines go all the way to right margin).

The line breaks of the original are irrelevant in paraphrasing.

Write modern prose, rearranging word order and sentence structure as

necessary. As far as possible, within the limits of commonsense, avoid using

the words of the original. Finding new words to express the meaning is a test

of what you are understanding.

Write coherent syntax, imitating that of the original if you can do so with ease,

otherwise breaking it down into easier sentence forms.

Write in the same grammatical person and tense as the original. If the original

is in the first person, as many poems are, so must the paraphrase be.

Expand what is condensed.

Spell out explicitly what the original implies or conveys by hints. It follows that a paraphrase will normally be longer than the original.

Spell out explicitly all the possible meanings if the original is ambiguous (saying two or more things at once), as many poems are.

Use square brackets to mark off any additional elements you find it necessary to insert for the coherence of the meaning. The brackets will show that these bits are editorial --contributed by you for the sake of clarity but not strictly "said" in the original. An example might be some implied transitional phrase or even an implied thought that occurs to the speaker causing a change in tone or feeling.

I, Too, Sing America

by Langston Hughes

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen

When company comes,

But I laugh,

And eat well,

And grow strong.

Tomorrow,

I'll be at the table

When company comes.

Nobody'll dare

Say to me,

"Eat in the kitchen,"

Then.

Besides,

They'll see how beautiful I am

And be ashamed--

I, too, am America.

Paraphrased Text

I am an American.

Although the color of my skin may be

different from yours, I am like the rest of

my fellowmen. Now I am separated from

whites, but I [and my people] are gaining

strength.

Soon, I [we] will join the rest of America,

and my [our] rights will assure us that we

are not excluded from the fruits of the

country.

My darker complexion makes me no less

beautiful than everybody else, which should

make whites feel sorry for treating me like

less than the average individual.

I am like the rest of you.

On sunny summer Sunday afternoons in Harlem

when the air is one interminable ball game

and grandma cannot get her gospel hymns

from the Saints of God in Christ

on account of the Dodgers on the radio,

on sunny Sunday afternoons

when the kids look all new

and far too clean to stay that way,

and Harlem has its

washed-and-ironed-and-cleaned-best out,

the ones who’ve crossed the line

to live downtown

miss you,

Harlem of the bitter dream

since their dream has

come true.

“Passing” By Langston Hughes

Take a few minutes

to paraphrase this

poem

The SummaryA summary is condensed version of a larger

reading. A summary is not a rewrite of the

original piece and does not have to be long

nor should it be long. To write a summary, use

your own words to briefly express the main

idea and relevant details of the piece you have

read. Your purpose in writing the summary is

to give the basic ideas of the original

reading. What was it about and what did the

author want to communicate?

While reading the original work, take note of what or who is the focus and ask the usual questions that reporters use: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? Using these questions to examine what you are reading can help you to write the summary.

Always read the introductory paragraph thoughtfully and look for a thesis statement. Finding the thesis statement is like finding a key to a locked door. Frequently, however, the thesis, or central idea, is implied or suggested. Thus, you will have to work harder to figure out what the author wants readers to understand. Use any hints that may shed light on the meaning of the piece: pay attention to the title and any headings and to the opening and closing lines of paragraphs.

In writing the summary, let your reader know the piece that you are

summarizing. Identify the title, author and source of the piece. You

may want to use this formula:

In "Title of the Piece" (source and date of piece), author

shows/offers/suggests that: central idea of the piece.

Remember:

• Do not rewrite the original piece.

• Keep your summary short.

• Use your own wording.

• Refer to the central and main ideas of

the original piece.

• Read with who, what, when, where, why

and how questions in mind.

In the short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” author

James Thurber humorously presents a character who

fantasizes about himself as a hero enduring incredibly

challenging circumstances. In his real life, Walter Mitty lives an

ordinary, plain life; he is a husband under the control of an

overbearing, critical wife. Thurber uses lively dialogue to give

readers an understanding of Mitty's character. The story takes

place over a period of about twenty minutes; during this brief

time, Mitty drives his wife to the hairdresser and runs errands

that his wife has given him while he waits for her. In between

his worrying that he is not doing what she wants him to do, he

daydreams about himself as a great surgeon, brilliant repair

technician, expert marksman, and brave military captain. This

story shows that fantasy is often a good alternative to reality.

Here is a sample summary:

“Passing”

the Short Story

By Langston Hughes

Start your summary of the story

• Read: Sui Sin Far “Leaves from the Mental Portfolio

of an Eurasian”

• Post #4: Post directed summary of "Passing" and

paraphrase of "Passing."

• Post #5: QHQ: “Leaves from the Mental Portfolio of

an Eurasian”

HOMEWORK