American Literature
EE51
Spragins
Spring 2016 1st Period: Even Days, Drop Down Day 5

Second Semester Topics:

 
photo by Marilyn Julius

Baltimore Presentations


Cliffdwellers (1913) 
by George Bellows

Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (1892) by Stephen Crane
 


Blue and Green Music, 1919. 
Georgia O'Keeffe

 

Modernism Independent Projects

 
Sargent, John Singer

Madame Gautreau c. 1884

 

The Great Gatsby (1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald



The Glass Menagerie (1944) by Tennessee Williams


Death of a Salesman (1949) by Arthur Miller


Jitney (1977) by August Wilson


One Act Playwriting Project
and Film Festival




Month Day Cycle
Assignment


1           

25  Day 5
Mon. Grading Day





1           

26 Day 6
Tues.

 

 

 



photos by Marilyn Julius

Baltimore Presentations

Baltimore Links

Homework:

Choose your Baltimore Presentation and start work.
1
27
Day 7
Wed.





1
28
Day 8
Thurs.


 




photos by Marilyn Julius



Baltimore Presentations

Homework:

More Baltimore Presentations

1
29
Day 9
Fri.






2
1
Day 10
Mon.



photos by Marilyn Julius


Baltimore Presentations

Homework:

Prepare Presentations:
Intellectual Backgrounds to Modern Consciousness

2
2
Day 1
Tues.






2

3
Day 2
Wed.
 



Karl Marx 1818-1883


Charles Darwin 1809-1882


 


Psychology: The Mashmellow Test (Video) 

Jonathan Haidt on The Divided Self

Presentations on Marx and Darwin

Homework:

More Presentations:
Intellectual Backgrounds to Modern Consciousness



2        

4
Day 3
Thurs. Parents Conference Day




No Class

2 

5
Day 4
Fri.
 

Freiderich Nietzsche
(1844-1900)


Sigmund Freud 1856-1939


Presentations on Nietzsche and Freud

Homework:

  • The Mid-19th Century Vision of the City: Crossing Brooklyn Ferry by Walt Whitman (on-line annotated version)
  • Prepare an answer to this question for discussion:    What happened to Whitman's hopeful vision of the American city during the second half of the nineteenth century?

2    

8
Day 5
Mon.





2    

9
Day 6
Tues. 
 


Cliffdwellers  (1913) George Bellows


Jacob Riis, Bandit's Roost



Jacob Riis, Mulberry Street (1890)


Lower East Side Tenement Museum


Backgrounds to Modernism: Nietzsche, Darwin, Freud and Marx: Study Guide; Quiz:

New York City 1888:

Homework:


For further reading:
2 10 Day 7
Wed.





2    

11
Day 8
Thurs.  



Typical Toughs (1890) Jacob Riis
How the Other Half Lives (1890)


Little Mother (1890) Jacob Riis

42 Kids (1907) George Bellows


Daumier, Melodrama Show (1860)


Shinn, Eviction (1904)

Essay on Maggie due Tuesday, February 23rd at 3:30 pm. 

Stephen Crane and Literary Naturalism:

Discuss the Reading: Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (part one)(GoogleDocs Page) Study Guide (Lecture One)  (Quiz)
  • Introduction to Stephen Crane (Spragins)
  • Realism and Naturalism: The Ashcan School in Painting (ppt) 
  • Setting: Describe the situation of children who grow up in the Rum Alley ghetto. (Does the arrival of adults make matters better or worse?)
  • Plot: What can you predict will happen to the heroine in a melodrama
    • melodrama- A dramatic form characterized by excessive sentiment, exaggerated emotion, sensational and thrilling action, and an artificially happy ending. 
    • Will Crane confirm or surprise these expectations?
    • Silent Film Melodrama: The Little Matchgirl (1902) 
  • Style: What is Crane's perspective on his characters? 
    • Read out loud the moment when the convulsed tenements metamorphose into voracious animals (6) 
    • What are we to make of Crane's brutal ridicule of the poor? Is his stereotyping justifiable? What does he find most contemptible about Jimmie, Pete and Maggie?
  • NaturalismLiterary Definition Is Maggie's character determined by biology or economics or psychology? 
    • Is Crane obeying the rules of Naturalism?

Homework:

Key Questions:

  • What prevents Maggie from achieving the insight necessary to understand her situation? What makes her unable to accomplish this goal? Do you hold her responsible?
  • What could Maggie have learned from Nellie? Would that have saved her?
  • What has Maggie realized when Pete throws her out of his bar? What options does Maggie have at this point?
  • Could Maggie have done anything to interrupt this slide down the slippery slope?





2
12
Day 0
Fri.
Professional Day





2
15
Day 0
Mon.
President's Day





2
16
Day 9
Tues.






2    

17
Day 10
Wed.



Stag at Sharkey's (1909) George Bellows


Henri, Robert
Salome 1909
Mead Art Museum



Essay on Maggie due Tuesday, February 23rd at 3:30 pm. 

Discuss Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (part two) (Quiz 2) Study Guide; (Lecture Two)

  • What is the primary obstacle to Maggie achieving the insight necessary to understand her situation? What makes her unable to accomplish this goal? Do you hold her responsible?
  • What could Maggie have learned from Nellie? Would that have saved her?
  • What has Maggie realized at the moment that she is dumped by Pete? What options does Maggie have at this point? 
  • Could Maggie have done anything to interrupt this slide down the slippery slope?

Homework:

Criticism on Maggie:

2
18
Day 1
Thurs.






2
19
Day 2
Fri.

  


Stag at Sharkey's (1909) George Bellows


Daumier, Melodrama Show (1860)


Shinn, Eviction (1904)

Melodramas:
 Essay on Maggie due Tuesday, February 23rd at 3:30 pm. 

Approaches to Interpreting Maggie:
  1. Marx: Maggie belongs to a class which Marx called the lumpen proletariat: that layer of the working class which is unable to gain class consciousness; on her own, she is doomed. What would Maggie need to understand to achieve this consciousness? How does the Marxist believe that culture helps keep the working class in its place?
  2. Darwin: Social Darwinist thinkers loosely combined Darwin's conception of  natural selection with classical liberal economic theory to argue that some races and ethnicities were losing out in the struggle for survival and therefore deserved to be allowed to die off. Other more radical Social Darwinists argued that poverty bred contagious social threats which needed to be medically removed. Is Crane a Social Darwinist?
  3. Freud: Freudian theory held that children traumatized in their development would struggle to establish independence when they reached adulthood. Can Maggie be treated? 
  4. Nietzsche: Nietzsche argued that people should overcome their rational and religious qualms about taking the necessary action to establish one's own power over others. Who would Maggie need to become to achieve such power?
  5. Liberal: How would liberals respond to Maggie's dilemma?

Homework:

Essay on Maggie due Tuesday at 3:30 pm.






2    

22
Day 3
Mon.





2    

23
Day 4
Tues.
 

The Figure 5 in Gold, 1928. Charles Demuth

Essay on Maggie due  at 3:30 pm.

Modernism Independent Projects:

Homework:





2    

24
 Day 5
Wed.





225
 Day 6
Thurs.
  


The Voice of the City of New York Interpreted: The Bridge, 1920-22. Joseph Stella

 

Modernism Independent Projects:

Independent Projects on American Modernism

The Zeitgeist of Modernism  

Check out the Thomson Gale Literature Resources CenterJSTOR , or Bloom's Literary Reference Online on the Gilman On-line Database Page.  

Homework:

2

26
 Day 7
Fri.





 
2
29
 Day 8
Mon.



Blue and Green Music, 1919. Georgia O'Keeffe


Independent Projects on American Modernism

The Zeitgeist of Modernism

Check out the Thomson Gale Literature Resources CenterJSTOR , or Bloom's Literary Reference Online on the Gilman On-line Database Page. 

Homework:






3
1
Day 9
Tues.





3

2
Day 10
Wed.



Foghorns (1907) by Arthur Dove

Independent Projects on American Modernism

The Zeitgeist of Modernism

Check out the Thomson Gale Literature Resources CenterJSTOR , or Bloom's Literary Reference Online on the Gilman On-line Database Page. 

Homework:
  •  Powerpoint Outline






3   

3
 Day 1
Thurs.





3
4
 Day 2
Fri..
   
Zora Neale Hurston (1925)

Independent Projects on American Modernism

The Zeitgeist of Modernism

Check out the Thomson Gale Literature Resources CenterJSTOR , or Bloom's Literary Reference Online on the Gilman On-line Database Page. 






3
7
Day 3
Mon.

3
8
Day 4
Tues.




Langston Hughes (1925)


Independent Projects on American Modernism

The Zeitgeist of Modernism

Check out the Thomson Gale Literature Resources CenterJSTOR , or Bloom's Literary Reference Online on the Gilman On-line Database Page. 

Remember that you MUST turn in a Works Cited Page with your essay. You MUST cite sources for ideas which are not your own using correct MLA form.

Internet Citation Machines:

Homework:

  • Final Draft due Thursday, March 10th at 3:30 pm

3

9
Day 5
Wed.





3
10
Day 6
Thurs.

  


The Great Gatsby (1925) Dust Jacket Illustration by Francis Cugat


Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, newlyweds,  3 April 1920

 

Final Draft of Modernism Project due at 3:30 pm

  • Remember that you MUST turn in a Works Cited Page with your essay. You MUST cite sources for ideas which are not your own using correct MLA form.

Introduction to The Great Gatsby (1925)

Homework:

Read The Great Gatsby, Chapter One (1-26) (Googledocs Version) Study Guide

For Further Reading (and listening): 

3   

11
 Day 7
Fri.





3
14
Day 8
Mon.

 

 

 

The map (1917) shows the locations of Fitzgerald's imaginary West Egg and East Egg, as well as of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan.


Estates on West Egg and East Egg


The Jazz Age (Notes)

The Great Gatsby, Chapter One (1-26) Study Guide

Paragraph: Describe the frame which Fitzgerald creates for Gatsby's story. Why tell this story from the point of view of Nick Carroway? 

Paragraph: What is it about Gatsby which so fascinates Nick? Why is he telling us Gatsby's story?

Paragraph: Party #1: How does Fitzgerald characterize East Egg society as represented by the Daisy, Tom and Jordan?

Homework:

The Great Gatsby, Chapter Two (27-42) (Googledocs Version) Study Guide

For further reading:

3
15
Day 9
Tues.






3   

16
Day 10
Wed.

 


(Video clip from 1974 film)

Zelda at age 18


The Flapper illustration by John Held from Life Magazine 1922

VIDEO: The Roaring Twenties: Dance Craze


The Great Gatsby, Chapter One (1-26) Study Guide

Review: Chapter One

  • Describe the narrative frame which Fitzgerald creates for Gatsby's story. Why tell this story from the point of view of Nick Carroway? 
  • What is it about Gatsby which so fascinates Nick? Why is he telling us Gatsby's story?
  • Party #1: How does Fitzgerald characterize East Egg society as represented by the Daisy, Tom and Jordan?
  • Fitzgerald's Imagery vs The Real Character of These People
The Great Gatsby, Chapter Two (27-42) Study Guide Homework:

For further reading:

 


3
17
Day 1
Thurs.






3

18
Day 2
Fri.
3
19
Day 0
Sat.
SPRING BREAK





328Day 0Mon.SPRING BREAK
3
29
Day 3
Tues.
330Day 4Wed.

 

 

 



Scott and Zelda



The Party Machine at Gatsby's Mansion


To Live in the 1920's


"A Flapper's Appeal to Her Parents" (1922)


Essay on The Great Gatsby due Wednesday April, 13th at 3:30 pm.

Gatsby Quiz Chapters Three and Four

The Great Gatsby, Chapters Three  (Googledocs Three) and Four (43-85) (Googledocs Four) Study Guide Three and Four

Paragraph: Chapter Three: Party #3Describe the Gatsby party machine in action.

  • Why has Gatsby invited Nick to the party? What does he talk about with Jordan? (She won't tell Nick.) Why has Gatsby been throwing all these parties?!

Paragraph: Chapter Four: Lunch In NYC: What picture of Gatsby's character is beginning to emerge for Nick and for you as we learn more and more about him?

Paragraph: How about Nick? What is happening in his life? Where is his relationship with Jordan, Daisy, Tom, and Gatsby leading him?

Homework:

The Great Gatsby, Chapters Five and Six  (Googledocs 5) (Googledocs 6)  (86-118) Study Guide Five and Six
3
31
Day 5
Thurs.

Arnold Rothstein, the man who fixed the 1919 World Series

The Great Gatsby, Chapter Four (43-85) (Googledocs Four) Study Guide Four

Paragraph: Lunch In NYC: After hearing Gatsby's tale about his upbringing and then Jordan's story about how Gatsby met Daisy, what picture of Gatsby's character is beginning to emerge for Nick and for you? (Chapter 4)

Homework:

The Great Gatsby, Chapters Five and Six  (Googledocs 5) (Googledocs 6)  (86-118) Study Guide Five and Six
4
1
Day 6
Fri.  

 

 
 



Gatsby and Daisy

 

Essay on The Great Gatsby due Wednesday April, 13th at 3:30 pm.

Paragraph: Jordan's Story of Daisy Fay and Jay Gatsby  (Chapter 4)

Paragraph: Tom Buchanan's Horseback Visit (Chapter 5)

Paragraph: Party #4: Tea at Nick's What happens to Gatsby moments after he has achieved his dream? Why is he so bewildered? Shower of Custom-Made Silk Shirts (Chapter 5)

Paragraph: James Gatz: What version of American History is Fitzgerald teaching us when we finally learn the true biography of Jay Gatsby? (Chapter 6)

Paragraph: Party #5 Daisy and Tom at Gatsby's Mansion  What does Daisy find so offensive about Gatsby's party? Nick realizes that Daisy and Gatsby's relationship is finished, but Gatsby will never accept that fact. Where has Gatsby's dream gone awry? How, by the 1920's, had the American Dream gone awry? (Chapter 6)

Gatsby Quiz Five and Six

Music mentioned in the text:

Homework:





4
4
Day 7
Mon.


5
Day 8
Tues.
 


Karen Black as Myrtle


Essay on The Great Gatsby due Wednesday April, 13th at 3:30 pm.

Gatsby Quiz Chapter Seven

Paragraph: James Gatz: What version of American History is Fitzgerald teaching us when we finally learn the true biography of Jay Gatsby? (Chapter 6)

Paragraph: Party #5 Daisy and Tom at Gatsby's Mansion  What does Daisy find so offensive about Gatsby's party? Nick realizes that Daisy and Gatsby's relationship is finished, but Gatsby will never accept that fact. Where has Gatsby's dream gone awry? How, by the 1920's, had the American Dream gone awry? (Chapter 6)

The Great Gatsby, Chapter Seven (119-153) Study Guide Seven (Googledocs Chapter Seven)

Party #6: The Catastrophe

Paragraph: Unpack the meaning of the action's catastrophe. Consider the details: the heat, the reprise of details from earlier in the novel, Gatsby and Tom's confrontation, and the mistaken identities which lead to Myrtle's death. All the strands of the novel come together. How does the scene relate to Fitzgerald's overall intention?

Homework:

46Day 9Wed.





4  

7
Day 10
Thurs.



The Great Gatsby (1925) Dust Jacket Illustration by Francis Cugat


The Great Gatsby, Chapter Eight and Nine (154-189) Study Guide Eight and Nine

Paragraph: What ultimately separates Gatsby from Daisy? Is it class? Or is the barrier something else?  To what extent could any real woman live up to the dreams Gatsby spins about Daisy and her wealthy lifestyle?

Paragraph: Make sense of Gatsby's murder as part of Fitzgerald's overall purpose in the novel?

Paragraph: Unpack the final image of the novel. What has Nick learned about the American Dream?

How many of the summer guests who came to Gatsby's parties showed up at his funeral? (See Chapter 4)

Gatsby Quiz Eight and Nine

Homework:

Essay on The Great Gatsby due Wednesday April, 13th at 3:30 pm.






4  

8
Day 1
Fri.
411Day 2Mon.



Scott and Zelda

Essay Workshop

Peer Review

Check out the Thomson Gale Literature Resources CenterJSTOR , or Bloom's Literary Reference Online on the Gilman On-line Database Page

Essay on The Great Gatsby due Wednesday April 13th at 3:30 pm.






4  

12
Day 3
Tues.





4
13
Day 4
Wed.

  
Tennessee Williams (1911-1983)


Zachary Quinto in the recent Broadway production as Tom
 

Essay on The Great Gatsby due at 3:30 pm.

Introduction to Tennessee Williams and The Glass Menagerie (1944)

Homework:

For further reading:





414
Day 5
Thurs.












Tennessee Williams 20th Century Gothic (slide show)

Short takes from Gordan Edelstein's 2009 production starring Judith Ivey as Amanda Wingfield.

Homework:

  • Read Williams, The Glass Menagerie, Part One: "Preparation for a Gentleman Caller":  Scenes 1-2 (pp.1- 18) 
  • Full Play on Video: w/ Katherine Hepburn, Sam Waterson and Joanna Miles (1973) 
  • and another with Joanne Woodward, John Malkovitch and Karen Allen (1987)

4
15
Day 6
Fri.










Williams, The Glass Menagerie, Part One: "Preparation for a Gentleman Caller": Scenes 1-2  (pp.1-36)

Playwriting:

Monologues:
More Tennessee Williams Monologues:
  • Catherine from Suddenly Last Summer
  • Blanche from A Streetcar Named Desire (2)
  • Alma from Summer and Smoke
  • Chance from Sweet Bird of Youth (2)
  • Big Daddy from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
  • Nonno from The Night of the Iguana
  • Maggie from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
  • Woman from Talk to Me Like the Rain and Let Me Listen
Homework:





418
Day 7
Mon.





419
Day 8
Tues.




Share Monologue Exercise.

Playwriting:

Part One: Preparation for a Gentleman Caller

Scenes 1-2 (pp. 1-36)

  • One  Ou sont les neiges d'antan
  • Two  A swarm of typewriters
Homework:
  • Read Williams, The Glass Menagerie (1944), Scenes 3-5 (pp.18-49)





4  

20
Day 9
Wed.





4 21
Day 10
Thurs.  











Monologues and Dialogue: One Act Playwriting Project:
Scenes 3-5 (pp.18-49) (Quiz)
Homework:
  • Read Williams, The Glass Menagerie, Scenes 6-7  (pp.50-115)




4  

22 Day 0
Fri. PROFESSIONAL DAY
425Day 1Mon.
426Day 2Tues












Emily Dickinson, "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" (1863)

Part Two: The Gentleman CallsHomework:

4

27 Day 3
Wed.
4
28
Day 4
Thurs.













Emily Dickinson, "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" (1863)

Part Two: The Gentleman CallsHomework:





4

29
Day 5
Fri.
52
Day 6
Mon.




Joe Mielziner's rendering for the Set of the original production (1949) more slides






Arthur Miller (1915-2005)

The Intellectual Climate of Post WWII America:

Aristotle's Definition of Tragedy:

  • “Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude... in the form of action, not of narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions...." Aristotle's Poetics
Death of a Salesman (1949) by Arthur Miller
  • The Place:  New York City
  • The Time: 1945, late on a weeknight for Act One, the following day and night for Act Two

Sample: Alex North Score for opening music

Act One (GoogleDocs Act One)

  1. Willy and Linda (pp. 11-18)
  2. Biff and Happy (pp. 19-27)
  3. Willy, Biff and Happy (pp. 29-32)
  4. Willy, Linda, the Woman, Bernard (pp. 37-40)
  5. Willy, Charley, Ben (pp. 42-47)
  6. Linda, Biff, Happy (pp. 52-61)
  7. Willy, Biff, Linda, Happy (pp. 61-69)

Homework:

for further reading:





53
Day 7
Tues.




54
Day 8
Wed.







Philip Seymour Hoffmann as Willy Loman in the 2012  production of Death of a Salesman.




Aristotle's Definition of Tragedy:

  • “Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude... in the form of action, not of narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions. . ."

Death of A Salesman Play Engine

Act One of Death of a Salesman (Study Guide)

Act One

  1. Willy and Linda (pp. 11-18) 
  2. Biff and Happy (pp. 19-27) 
  3. Willy, Biff and Happy (pp. 29-32) (VIDEO)
  4. Willy, Linda, the Woman, Bernard (pp. 37-40)
  5. Willy, Charley, Ben (pp. 42-47) (VIDEO)
  6. Linda, Biff, Happy (pp. 52-61)
  7. Willy, Biff, Linda, Happy (pp. 61-69)
Homework: fir further reading:




55
Day 9
Thurs.




5
6
Day 10
Fri.











Aristotle's Definition of Tragedy:

  • “Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude... in the form of action, not of narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions. . ."
  • 'The Russian word Poshlust is difficult to translate: it means puffed up or blown up. Russians use it to criticize things they find to be fake,  not only the obviously trashy but also the falsely important, the falsely beautiful, the falsely clever, the falsely attractive.... See Vladimir Nabokov; From Chapter 3: “Our Mr. Chichikov

Act One of Death of a Salesman (Study Guide)

  1. Willy and Linda (pp. 11-18) 
  2. Biff and Happy (pp. 19-27) 
  3. Willy, Biff and Happy (pp. 29-32) (VIDEO)
  4. Willy, Linda, the Woman, Bernard (pp. 37-40)
  5. Willy, Charley, Ben (pp. 42-47) (VIDEO)
  6. Linda, Biff, Happy (pp. 52-61)
  7. Willy, Biff, Linda, Happy (pp. 61-69)
Homework:

For further reading:





5

9
 Day 1
Mon.




510Day 2Tues








Death of a Salesman Quiz Act II, part one

Willy Loman Chronology

Notes on the American Dream and Tragedy

Act Two: (Study Guide)

  1. Willy, Linda  (71-76)
  2. Willy, Howard (76-84) (VIDEO)
  3. Willy, Ben, Young Linda, Young Biff, Young Happy, Bernard, Young Charley (84-90)
  4. Grown-Up Bernard, Jenny, Willy, Charley (90-98)
  5. Frank's Chop House: Stanley, Happy, Miss Forsythe, Biff, Willy, Young Bernard, Young Linda, The Woman, Letta, Operator's Voice (98-116) (VIDEO) (Willy's Entrance)
  6. Willy, The Woman, Young Biff (116-122)
  7. Happy, Linda, Biff, Willy (122-136) (VIDEO)
  8. Linda, Happy, Biff, Charley, Bernard (137-39)
Homework:

5

11
 Day 3
Wed.
512Day 4Thurs.



Willy Loman Chronology
Notes on the American Dream and Tragedy

Act Two: (Study Guide)

  1. Willy, Linda  (71-76)
  2. Willy, Howard (76-84) (VIDEO)
  3. Willy, Ben, Young Linda, Young Biff, Young Happy, Bernard, Young Charley (84-90)
  4. Grown-Up Bernard, Jenny, Willy, Charley (90-98)
  5. Frank's Chop House: Stanley, Happy, Miss Forsythe, Biff, Willy, Young Bernard, Young Linda, The Woman, Letta, Operator's Voice (98-116) (VIDEO) (Willy's Entrance)
  6. Willy, The Woman, Young Biff (116-122)
  7. Happy, Linda, Biff, Willy (122-136) (VIDEO)
  8. Linda, Happy, Biff, Charley, Bernard (137-39)

Homework:





5

13
Day 5
Fri.



August Wilson (1945-2005)



Final Exam 2016

August Wilson Backgrounds

Jitney (1977; 1997)

Homework:

5

16
Day 6
Mon.



Bearden, Rocket to the Moon (1971)


The Cast of Jitney


Village of Yo, ca. 1964


Final Exam 2016

Act One of Jitney (Study Guide)

The Day the Thunderstorm Breaks:
  • Today's the day that Becker will announce to his drivers that the Urban Renewal is moving in, he's moving out, and he's not sure that he wants to keep the business going.
  • Today's the day that Fielding finally gets himself fired.
  • Today's the day that the feud between Youngblood and Turnbo breaks wide open.
  • Today's the day that Rena confronts Youngblood with her suspicions about his running around with Peaches.
  • Today's the day that Becker's boy, Booster, is getting out of the penitentiary and coming home to meet his father.

Thesis: How are the strands of the action inter-related? (ie, is it just an accident that each of these thunderheads breaks simultaneously?)

  • Act One Scene One
    • The Hill District comes alive.
  • Act One Scene Two
    • What has pushed Turnbo over the edge today? (Look at his rant about respect. (30-31)) What does he tell Rena?
    • Why has Rena run out of patience with Youngblood? What was the straw which broke the camel's back for her? (32-35)
    • Why is Becker thinking about giving up after the city let him know that they were gonna board up the place the first of the month? (36)
    • Who did Booster kill? Why? (39)
  • Act One Scene Three
    • How does the fight between Youngblood and Turnbo break out? (43)
    • Describe the way Becker functions in this neighborhood: what makes his presence essential?
    • How does Fielding get himself fired? (51) Who does he dream about twenty years later? (53)
    • Becker and Booster: Booker vs. Malcom
Homework:
5
17
Day 7
Tues.





518
Day 8
Wed.



August Wilson (1945-2005)


Paul Butler, Michole Briana White and Russell Hornsby in "Jitney,"  Second Stage Theater 2000. 


Paul Butler and Philip Randolph Smith


Paul Butler as Becker


Carl Lumbly as Booster



Final Exam 2016

(Final Exam Schedule)

Act One of Jitney (Study Guide)

The Day the Thunderstorm Breaks:

  • Today's the day that Becker will announce to his drivers that the Urban Renewal is moving in, he's moving out, and he's not sure that he wants to keep the business going.
  • Today's the day that Fielding finally gets himself fired.
  • Today's the day that the feud between Youngblood and Turnbo breaks wide open.
  • Today's the day that Rena confronts Youngblood with her suspicions about his running around with Peaches.
  • Today's the day that Becker's boy, Booster, is getting out of the penitentiary and coming home to meet his father.
Thesis: How are the strands of the action inter-related? (ie, is it just an accident that each of these thunderheads breaks simultaneously?)

Act One of Jitney (Study Guide)

Homework:





519
Day 9
Thurs.




520Day 10Fri.



Spring Way (1966) Romare Bearden


The Street (1975)

Final Exam 2016

(Final Exam Schedule)

Act One Conclusion: Becker and Booster: Booker vs. Malcolm

Act Two of Jitney (Study Guide) (Quiz)

Connections to African American History:

Homework:

Rough Draft: Jitney Essay for Exam





5
23
Day 1
Mon.

524Day 2Tues.
Review Day
5 25
Day 3
Wed. Reading Day




Final Exam 2016

(Final Exam Schedule)

5

26
 Day 4
Thurs.Exams




5

27
 Day 5
Fri.Exams


 

530Day 0Mon.MEMORIAL DAY

5

31
 Day 6
Tues.Exams





6

1
 Day 7Wed.Exams





6
2
 Day 8
Thurs.





6

3
 Day 9
Fri.  





6
4
 Day 10
SatBaccalaureate





6

5
 Day 0
Sun.  Founder's Day