Tuesday, September 28: prejudice and discrimination: Claude McKay's America; finishing up denotation and connotation

 


As we did not finish the denotation/ connotation exercises from yesterday, I copied yesterday's blog onto today's and added addtional material. We are finishing up the exercises in class.

DUE FOR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30: 

1.Read the Claude McKay poem

2. Copy and paste the four questions that follow onto a google doc 

3. Select the correct response

4. Share with me.  (dorothy.parker or 2006630) either pop up my name on the drop down menu.

5. This is due by 6 pm Wednesday, September 30

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to denote-(verb)-what is indicated or signified
to connote (verb)-what is implied beyond the primary meaning of a word. 
                                     verb

noun

                    

                             adjective






 
                    





  1. Choose the correct word in each sentence below. When you have finished, click on the "Check My Work" button to view the answers.

    _____1. Hollywood (A.  B.  ) romance and glittering success.

    _____2. When politicians answer questions, hesitation may (A. connote) 
  2.  (B. denote) weakness or ignorance on a topic.

    ______3. A flashing yellow light on a highway (A. connotes) 
  3. (D. denotes) caution.

    _______4. The term skinny has a negative (A.connotation B. denotation ) while "slender" has a positive one.

    ______5. Fuel (A. connotes B. denotes ) a substance burned to produce heat or power.

    ______6. To some, the word school (A. connotes B. denotes ) confinement, but it may suggest intellectual excitement or sociability to others.

    _______7. The (A. connotative  B. denotative ) meanings of words are usually neutral.

    ______8. Both cheap and inexpensive (A. connotes  B. denotes ) something that has a low price.

    _______9. The word beach (A. connotes  B. denotes ) a sandy shore.

    _______10. Because the (A.connotation B. denotation)                 of pushy and assertive are quite different, the two words are not interchangeable.

    ______11. The word father1.  (A. connotes B. denotes ) affection.

  5. ______12. Solid (A. connotes B. denotes ) that something is neither gaseous nor liquid.

  6. ______13. The term liberal has taken on many (A. connotations B. denotations) in recent years.

    _______14. Pushy has a negative (A. connotation  B. denotation ) while assertive is usually positive.

  8. ______15. Red flares are used to (A. connote B.denote) danger.
*************************************************************
Independent Practice... due before class on Tuesday, September 28 for full credit, with the exception of those who receive extended time.
Copy and paste onto a google doc.  Share once you have completed.


For the italicized word, the denoted word, in each of the following  eight sentences,

give two potentially positive and two negative connotations. If there is an

unfamiliar word, look it up. See model                                                                

  1. I recognized the familiar smell of my roommate's cooking.

 

   delicious

     enticing

                     

  Stinky

   nauseating

 

2.    2.   Scrapple is an inexpensive meal.

 

 

 

3. Kevin's interest in model cars has turned into a hobby.

 

 

 

4.      Uncle Henry lives in a hut deep in the woods.

 

 

 

5.      My parents are committed conservationists.

 

 

 

6.      My old laptop has finally died.

 

 

 

7.      The teacher was mildly intimidated by Roland's assertive behavior

8.       

 

 

9.      Phileas Fogg was an adventurous traveler.

 

 

 

 

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FOR TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29




 In Class: 1. How does prejudice emerge? 

Nobody is born prejudice, yet throughout history, we continue to form opinions about people who look or act differently than we do. How does prejudice emerge in a person or society?



2. What are the effects of prejudice?

How have our individual prejudices seeped into our customs, laws and institutions? How has prejudice played a part in our history and how have we responded to these effects?

3. Homework: due tomorrow by 6pm, unless you receive extended time. We are reading Claude McKay's sonnet America as a class. Please copy and paste the four questions  that follow onto a google doc and submit. 

As you read, take note of the figurative language device of imagery. Think about how the five different senses are employed to give depth of thought and feeling to McKay's poem. 

New York skyline 1920's


AMERICA

by Claude McKay

1921

      


Festus Claudius “Claude” McKay (1889-1948) was a Jamaican-American novelist and poet who played an important role in the Harlem Renaissance — a cultural, social, and artistic movement that took place in Harlem, New York. “America” was first published in The Liberator in 1921, in which the speaker discusses his or her feelings about America. 

 As you read, note the  use of the figurative language device of imagery* in this sonnet* that communicates the speaker's perspective on America. We will be reviewing the poem's imagery in class on Thursday.


* an English sonnet has 14 lines of 10 syllables per line

*imagery is the use of figurative language to represent the objects, ideas, and actions in such a way that the appeals to the physical senses

1. Although she feeds me bread of bitterness,
And sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth,
Stealing my breath of life, I will confess
I love this cultured hell that tests my youth.
5. Her vigor flows like tides into my blood,
Giving me strength erect against her hate,
Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood.
Yet, as a rebel fronts a king in state,
I stand within her walls with not a shred
10. Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer.
Darkly I gaze into the days ahead,
And see her might and granite wonders there,
Beneath the touch of Time’s unerring hand,
Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.

Text-Dependent Questions Directions:

 For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete sentences

Please write in the correct letter.

                                        Question1_________________

1. PART A: Which of the following best describes the speaker’s feelings about America?

A. The speaker has experienced both good and bad things in America, and thus

remains indifferent.

B. The speaker despises America and has decided to speak out about their bad

experiences.

C. The speaker has a love-hate relationship with America, but ultimately has lost

faith in the country.

D. The speaker dislikes and has lost faith in America and believes that it will not last

as it is.

 

                                        Question 2______________________

2. PART B: Which of the following quotes best supports the answer to Part A?

A. “Although she feeds me bread of bitterness, / And sinks into my throat her

tiger’s tooth, / Stealing my breath of life, I will confess / I love this cultured hell

that tests my youth.” (Lines 1-4)

B. “Her vigor flows like tides into my blood, / Giving me strength erect against her

hate” (Lines 5-6)

C. “Yet, as a rebel fronts a king in state, / I stand within her walls with not a shred--

/ Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer.” (Lines 8-10)

D. “Darkly I gaze into the days ahead, / And see her might and granite wonders

there” (Lines 11-12)

 

                                     Question 3_____________________________

 

3. PART A: In line 11, the word “darkly” is most likely used to convey which of the following?

A. The word “darkly” conveys the speaker has an overall cynical opinion of America.

B. The word “darkly” conveys the speaker’s general fear of time.

C. The word “darkly” conveys the speaker’s uncertainty about the future of

America.

D. The word “darkly” conveys that the speaker does not actually know anything

about America.

 

                                   Question 4_________________________________

4. PART B: Which of the following phrases supports the answer to Part A?

A. “I gaze into the days ahead” (Line 11)

B. “might and granite wonders” (Line 12)

C. “the Touch of Time’s unerring hand” (Line 13)

D. “priceless treasures sinking in the sand” (Line 14)

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