GENG 260 1st Edition Exam 1 Study Guide Lectures 1 18 Lecture 1 January 14 I African American Folktales Oral vs Printed Literary scholars would go to plantations to hear then write down African American stories Since most African Americans were illiterate at the time this is the only way their stories had been documented Pros and Cons of Printing Oral Stories o Pros It preserves a communal tradition which otherwise could be lost It gives historical insight Committing the tradition to paper is very important and is considered a real art o Cons Difficult to recreate sounds and voices There could be a loss of rapid fire and the storytelling experience Writers being unsure if they should use Phonetic spelling and dialect Phonetic Dialogue spelling how things sound Pros and Cons of Phonetic Dialogue o Pros Authenticity o Cons Hard to read and could be demeaning or offensive II Myth and Legend Discussion on All God s Chillen Had Wings Myth a traditional story typically involving supernatural beings or forces which provides an explanation or justification for something Question What s the symbolic significance of slaves taking flight Freedom no limits while flying you can go anywhere Death spiritual freedom Escape running away Legend a traditional story especially one handed down by tradition from early times and popularly regarded as historical real Question Did they really fly Reasoning To believe something as crazy as humans flying is like believing something as awful as slavery is okay when it is not III Playing the Fool vs Being the Fool Discussion on Deer Hunting Story How does the slave seem foolish The slave seems foolish because he doesn t shoot the deer because he says he didn t see a deer only a white man with chairs on his head This statement makes him seem stupid to Ole Massa How does Ole Massa seem foolish IV Ole Massa seems foolish because he tried to get a slave to do something for him and got nothing in the end Question Why does the slave choose to appear foolish He chooses to act stupid because he doesn t want to shoot the deer Brer Rabbit The Trickster Figure o Trickster animals or characters who seem weak but get what they want by tricking others o Amoral Humorous and serious with using indirect attacks on society Brer Rabbit Brother Rabbit o Seen in African and Cherokee traditions o Trickster figures are usually depicted as hares spiders or monkeys o Seen in the Uncle Remus Stories Past and Present Joel Chandler Harris wrote down the Tar Baby story after listening to someone tell it He profited from it while the story teller got nothing in return The dialect of this story is seen as demeaning and degrading Julius Lester The voice is more that of a presence Character personality invested with distinctive attributes and qualities by a novelist or dramatist Caricature grotesque or ludicrous adaptations of a person Lecture 2 January 16 I Ethnic Notion Questions 1 What are the consequences of caricatures The consequences of African Americans being portrayed as dumb dangerous and scary looking people is that white Americans would believe that is what they were like There were white people that had never seen an African before so this would be their first assumption of them On Being Brought from Africa to America 1773 by Phillis Wheatley Discussion question Is Phillis Wheatley saying she s thankful for being taken from her home and being introduced to Christianity and reading and writing OR Is she being sarcastic and saying she didn t need to be saved The point of these questions is to show that there is many ways of interpreting what Wheatley meant Lecture 3 January 21 Discussion about the Frederick Douglas narrative Where would it be without William Lloyd Garrison He acted as a hype man for Douglass meaning he got people excited to hear from him telling people they should listen to him and be interested in what he has to say III Slave Narratives 4 phases 1 Loss of Innocence Dehumanization The moment one realizes their situation as a slave 2 Resolve to free oneself I m going to get free 3 Pivotal Moment Escape I m ready to escape now I need a plan 4 Success join the cause for abolition No more worrying about being sent back now help the cause for others Examples of dehumanization seen in Frederick Douglass s narrative Not knowing his own birthday age Being separated by his mother and not being told of her death or being able to attend her funeral Not having a bed or enough sleep Only given 1 set of clothes per year and a small portion of food per month Many children running around naked because they re not old enough to receive their own allowances clothes and food yet Lecture 4 January 23 Discussion Question for Essay Directions Write a question and answer it all in one paper Use evidence from the text and think about where you would go for evidence to persuasively answer your question Different types of questions Factual Questions yes or no true or false these use evidence straight from the book Ex What do you think How does this make you feel These are the questions you want to AVOID Interpretive Questions evidence that comes from analysis of the text This is the type of question you DO want to use Guidelines for Discussion Questions Think of text as an argument that s hard to read questions should focus on what Douglass means or what the author of the reading you choose means to better understand how it s made or why its important significant Demonstrable ask Specific Are there specific places to go Contestable the question has different ways to be answered Significant why is it important Lecture 5 January 28 I Discussion of the Narrative of Frederick Douglass In Class question 1 Which of the following is considered one of the phases of a slave narrative Answer Dehumanization phase 1 Opinion question Which is more essential to Douglass s freedom a Literacy b A plan to physically escape Phase 2 Resolution to free oneself What to think about How can he achieve both these things For him are they connected What s the use of being literate if you can t do anything with it because you re a slave Phase 3 What is his pivotal moment Examples of pages 424 and 427 Looking back at Aunt Hester why didn t she fight back like Douglass does with Mr Covey How is slavery different for women She couldn t fight back because of the fact that she was a woman and a slave 2 minorities Phase 3 into 4 Escape Success Ex On page 443 He cannot say how he escaped because he is protecting those