Quote ID: “Where are we all going and why are we bothering?”
Asagai
What made Beneatha want to be a doctor?
Rufus’ sledding accident and his healing following; she wanted to do that
Why does Beneatha no longer want to be a doctor?
Because she has stopped caring about how people hurt; she states, “it’s not deep enough…not close enough to what ails mankind. It was a child’s way of seeing things–or an idealist’s.”
Quote ID: “…come into power and steal and plunder the same as before–only now they will be black and do in in the name of the new Independence…”
Beneatha
Quote ID: “And where does it end?”
Beneatha
Quote ID: “Don’t you see there isn’t any real progress, there is only one large circle that we march in, around and around..”
Beneatha
Quote ID: “It isn’t a circle–it is simply a long line–as in geometry.”
Asagai
Quote ID: “Those who see the changes–who dream, who see only the circle e call them the “realists.”
Asagai
Quote ID: “…where all dreams, good or bad, must depend on the death of a man?”
Asagai
Quote ID: “I guess we all better stop moping around and get some work done. All this unpacking and everything we got to do.”
Mama
Quote ID: “He’s taught me to keep my eye on what counts in this world.”
Walter
Quote ID: “You talking ’bout
taking them people’s money to keep us from moving in
that house?”
taking them people’s money to keep us from moving in
that house?”
Ruth
Setting
Chicago’s Southside
Sometime between World War II and the present
Sometime between World War II and the present
How old is Ruth?
About 30
Educator, author, and advisor who called for African Americans to avoid confrontation and instead thrive within their own communities
Booker T. Washington
Founder of the Niagara Movement and the NAACP
W.E.B. DuBois
Jamaican immigrant and founder of Universal Negro Improvement Association
Marcus Garvey
Lawyer whose mission was to demonstrate that “separate but equal” did not work
Charles Houston
The massive exodus of African Americans from the South to the North and West was called
The Great Migration
Which character from ARITS is most like Booker T. Washington?
Mrs. Johnson- doesn’t want much change and kinda mama
By the end of 19th century how many African Americans resided in the south?
8 million
When did the exodus known as, The Great Migration begin and what propelled this movement?
In the 1890s, sparked by frequent lynchings (3 a week) and Jim Crow Laws
In the “Memphis Free Speech” publication, Ida B. Wells calls for __________
African Americans to flee Memphis
Which influential leader(s) encouraged African Americans to remain in the South?
Booker T. Washington
Describe the Antebellum Black stereotype?
-reliable, faithful, hard-working, malleable
transitions to…
-threatening, beastly, demonized
transitions to…
-threatening, beastly, demonized
Describe the demographics of the Harlem region through the early 1900s.
1910: Upper class white
1920s: Dominated by blacks; refugee for African Americans after WWI
1920s: Dominated by blacks; refugee for African Americans after WWI
______ becomes quintessential American music
Jazz
What happens to the African American population during the Great Depression?
Era pushes blacks out of low-skill jobs; 50% are unemployed
What was the purpose of the American Renaissance we previously studied?
To create an American identity
Who was the most memorable writer of the Harlem Renaissance?
Langston Hughes
Between what two major events did the Harlem Renaissance occur?
Between WWI and WWII
What is a secondary term dubbed for the Harlem Renaissance?
The modernism period
What allusion is made in the first stanza of Langston Hughes’ “I too”?
Allusion to Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing”
What metaphor is made in connection with the allusion in line 1 of “I too”?
America is a family- I can darker brother
How does “I too” end?
The speaker remarks that “they,” being white people, will realize their wrongs and assume the necessary guilt
What is the purpose of the dash in line 17 of “I Too” (“And be ashamed–“)
Pause to realize shame of their oppressive actions (whites)
How does the use of the word, “Besides” in “I Too” contribute to the author’s tone?
The author’s choice of diction here demonstrates how the speaker believes that equality is a given, it’s inevitable- “I am inherently American”
Describe the author’s tone in “I too”
Confident, assertive, defiant
In “Theme for English B” describe the stanzas that outline the assignment
Rhyming couplets, neat, structured
In “Theme for English B” describe the overall structure of Hugh’s response
It is scattered and all over the place because it’s not that simple/it’s not that black and white `
In “Theme for English B” describe the content of the first portion
intermittent, answers what the instructor asks then colon
In “Theme for English B” what is meant by the lines, “So will my page be colored that I write? Being me, it will not be white.”
Speaker is saying will what I write be influenced by my race
In “Theme for English B” what is significant about the last stanzas?
All have end rhyme except for the word, “white”
In “Theme for English B” list a statement Hughes makes in the last stanzas?
The speaker makes the statement that, “although I’m just like everyone else all of our experiences are intrinsically different”
In “Theme for English B” why is the instructor only “somewhat” more free?
Instructor is somewhat more free, but he is trapped by racial segregation just like everyone else.
Which ARITS character is most like W.E.B. DuBois?
Beneatha
Prominent elements in ARITS
-generational gap
-everyone has their own dreams
-everyone has their own dreams
Describe the symbolism of the apartment in ARITS
2 bedrooms, very small and cramped, worn down, once bright and full of opportunity is now dull, time has killed these bright ambitions, loses luster and purpose
How has the apartment’s condition affected the family in ARITS?
They have gotten stuck by life, they need to move on but can’t, now it’s all a sad reminder
Describe the symbolism of the check in ARITS?
Other manifestation of hope, their only other hope is a product of death, Walter Sr. is still a part of the family’s struggle/dream
Correlations between ARITS and Langston Hughes
Both establish African American identity
Tone in “I too” is assertive
Tone in “Theme for English B” is less assertive
Tone in “I too” is assertive
Tone in “Theme for English B” is less assertive
How have mama’s dreams changed from act 1 to act 2?
Act 1
-Better life for family
-house
-peace, no longer weary
Act 2
-house= LEGACY=overtime=benefit in investment
-Better life for family
-house
-peace, no longer weary
Act 2
-house= LEGACY=overtime=benefit in investment
How have Ruth’s dreams changed from act 1 to act 2?
Act 1
-Better life for family
-peace, joy, no longer weary
COINCIDES WITH MAMA’S
Act 2
-restoring relationships
-for better life they need change
-Better life for family
-peace, joy, no longer weary
COINCIDES WITH MAMA’S
Act 2
-restoring relationships
-for better life they need change
How have Walter’s dreams changed from act 1 to act 2?
Act 1
-Liquor store= success, chance for a big break, independence, respect
Act 2
-respect
-Liquor store
-Wants someone to believe in him
-Liquor store= success, chance for a big break, independence, respect
Act 2
-respect
-Liquor store
-Wants someone to believe in him
What does the liquor store symbolize to Walter?
A quick way to get rich
Symbolism of Beneatha’s relationships
Beneatha is “stuck,” Asagai represents Africa/African heritage, George loves this triangle
Who wrote “Heritage”?
Countee Cullen
Poetic devices in “Heritage”?
rhyming couplets that are subtle due to enjambment
In “Heritage” what part is the refrain?
What is Africa to me
In “Heritage” what kind of speaker narrates?
persona/biography
In “Heritage” what is the speaker attempting to do?
Trying to fall asleep- in doing so he’s thinking about: “who am I?”
In “Heritage” what keeps the speaker awake?
Drums- he plugs his ears- my race/heritage=joy/pride and source of distress
How does “Heritage” relate to ARITS?
Relates to triangle conflict of Beneatha with George and Asagai (they must forget their pasts in order to move on)
In “Heritage” who is “they”
possibly: whites, Africans, heart and head (emotion and logic), black americans
In “Heritage” what does the speaker relate Africa to?
Africa is the book on the nightstand
“Heritage”: “Juggernauts of flesh that pass..”
Elephants
These lines are an example of which poetic device?: “Both my thumbs, and keep them there,
Great drums throbbing through the air.
So I lie, whose fount of pride”
Great drums throbbing through the air.
So I lie, whose fount of pride”
inverted structure
In Heritage, what questions conflict the speaker?
What is past to me?
We must grow again in order to thrive
We must grow again in order to thrive
In Heritage, what is meant by the line “While its primal measures drip
Through my body, crying, “Strip!
Doff this new exuberance.
Come and dance the Lover’s Dance!”
Through my body, crying, “Strip!
Doff this new exuberance.
Come and dance the Lover’s Dance!”
Take off your dreams- go back to African dreams
“Heathen gods are naught to me.” This line from Heritage sounds most like which other author we studied?
Phyllis Wheatley
Why does the speaker need a “black jesus” in Heritage?
Because if Jesus were black he would “know my pain,” speaker can’t turn his cheek, Jesus didn’t feel pain to the extent that I had- he’s not there yet
“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” is about?
Heritage and legacy
Sum up the statements made in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”?
Euphrates- Mesopotamia- Garden of Eden- doesn’t start in Africa because we’re all the same/we all have the same beginnings (universal same)
Significance of Mississippi river in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”
symbolizes American heritage- doesn’t talk about slavery until America- only talks about American slavery for a bit because it is such a small aspect of their history- we are more than slavery- our souls go beyond slavery
Significance of New Orleans and Abe Lincoln in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”
New Orleans: heart of slave trade in US
Abe outlaws slavery everywhere
Abe outlaws slavery everywhere
In a ARITS, what changes in Act 2: Scene 2
Mama: less worried, more understanding, “ditch George”
Ruth/Walter: Enjoying each other, Believes in Beneatha’s dream
Ruth/Walter: Enjoying each other, Believes in Beneatha’s dream
Describe Mrs. Johnson
-accepts status quo
-envious of Youngers
-believes she’s smarter for not moving
-judgemental
-envious of Youngers
-believes she’s smarter for not moving
-judgemental
Describe Linder
-doesn’t want anything to change
-NOT vehemently racist
-“we live differently” I have nothing to do with the prejudice
-NOT vehemently racist
-“we live differently” I have nothing to do with the prejudice
Who wrote “The White House”
Claude McKay 1889-1948
Where is a tone shift evident in “The White House”?
After line 8- before you shut the door in my face- after I must search for wisdom
Speaker in “The White House” is most like who from ARITS?
Walter
“The White House” the title could represent…
white person or American society in general
What shapes do Beneatha and Asagai disagree about/how and why does Beneatha change her mind?
B= Circle
A= line (changes her mind with “come with me to Africa)
A= line (changes her mind with “come with me to Africa)
The title ARITS is a(n)…..?
allusion to poem:
Why end ARITS as that particular way?
Brings it back to the line, doesn’t matter how it ends, they kept going, they broke the cycle
The apartment equals________
failure, poverty, stuck
Describe mama’s feelings in last few moments of the play?
She suppresses sadness that she’ll miss this place of safety
Why does mama go back for the plant?
Hopes and dreams can grow- continuation of story and legacy
Why 30 years later does the author reference “Harlem”
Because the social climate hasn’t changed
Poetic devices in Harlem?
rhetorical questions and similes
What question and possible answers are given in “Harlem”?
What happens when you put your dream (equality) off?
-things going bad=does it expire or go bad?
-does it become a burden
-or does it destroy you
-things going bad=does it expire or go bad?
-does it become a burden
-or does it destroy you
