EXAMINING GENRE: Adolph Hitler and Rosa Parks

Biography Poetry

Adolf Hitler’s Bio

Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau-am-Inn on the Austrian-German border on April 20, 1889 (“Adolf”).

Being found insufficiently talented at seventeen, he was denied admission to the Vienna Art

Academy (“Hitler”). Acquiring an ideology based on belief in a German master race while he

remained in Vienna, he also believed that the master race was threatened by an international Jewish

conspiracy [...] (“Hitler”). Hitler immediately volunteered to join the German army [...] and was

promoted to corporal and [...] was assigned the task of spying on local political groups. Hitler became

interested in the German Workers Party and joined. His skills [...] helped him transform the party into

the Nazi Party. In 1923, Hitler led an attempt to overthrow the Bavarian government (“Rise”). This

attempt failed and he was sentenced to five years in prison. […] (“Hitler”). [...] Hitler wrote his book

Mein Kampf. He rebuilt the Nazi party after 1925, […] blame Jews and Communists, using them to gain

himself support (“Rise”). Against a background of political turmoil and economic depression, the Nazi

Party grew stronger (“Adolf”). On January 30, 1933, Hitler was declared Chancellor. […] (“Hitler”).

They proved no match for his ruthlessness and genius […] Hitler had dictatorial control (“Hitler”)

[…] Nazis conquered and millions of others who were considered racially impure were rounded up

[in concentration camps, such as Auschwitz,] and killed. Hitler declared war on the United

States […] Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his bunker (“Adolf”) by putting a bullet in his brain (“What

are”).   

Why Did 6 Million Have To Die?One crazy mad man

While the world did nothingMurdered innocents

One crazy mad man

Convinced a whole country to Follow his Third Reich

One crazy mad man

Sent people to death camps andMurdered six million

One crazy mad man

Frightened people to silenceAnd found ways to kill

One crazy mad man

When he was about to loseDid something extreme

One crazy mad man

Put a gun to his head andEnded his black life

Adolf Hitler 

Failed painterDecorated soldier

Manipulative fascistMunich Putsch leader

Greedy ChancellorCalculating Mastermind

Ruthless DictatorMurderer

Dead Coward

EXAMINING GENRE:Rosa Parks

Parks, Rosa Louise (1913-2005), an African American civil rights activist, became best known for her role in a 1955 boycott of the Montgomery, Alabama, bus system. Parks triggered the boycott when she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus. Her action helped bring about the civil rights movement in the United States.

Parks was arrested for violating a city law requiring that whites and blacks sit in separate rows on buses. She refused to give up her seat in the middle of the bus when a white man wished to sit in her row. The front rows were for whites only. The law required blacks to leave their seats in the next rows when all seats in the front rows were taken and other whites still wanted seats.

Garrow, David J. "Parks, Rosa Louise." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2010. Web. 16 March 2010.

It Happened in Montgomery By Phil W. Petrie

Then he slammed on the brakes—Turned around and grumbled. But she was tired that day.Weariness was in her bones.And so the thing she’s done yesterday,And yesteryear, On her workdays,Churchdays, Nothing-to-do-guess-I’ll –go-and-visit

Sister Annie Days— She felt she’d never do again. And he growled once more.So she said: No sir…I’m stayin’ right here. And he gruffly grabbed her,Pulled and pushed her—Then sharply shoved her through the doors.

The news slushed through the littered streets—Slipped into the crowded churches,Slimmered onto the unmagnolied side of the town

While the men talked and talked and talked. She—Who was tired that day,Cried and sobbed that she was glad she’d done it,That her soul was satisfied. That Lord knows,A little walkin’ never hurt anybody; That in one of those unplanned, unexpected,Unadorned moments—A weary woman turned the page of History.

EXAMINING GENRE: Adolph Hitler & Rosa Parks

1. Compare and contrast your experience reading the biography vs. reading the poems.

2. Which genre (biography or poem) do you prefer to read? Why?

3. Identify one advantage and one disadvantage that you think may occur in multigenre texts.