19 Monday, February 8, 2016.notebook
February 08, 2016
Monday, February 8, 2016
• Pick up your graded vocab. test #2
• Take out your homework: 3 facts about Alice Walker
Agenda for this week:
Mon. ­ poem "Women" by Alice Walker
Tues. ­ Unit Test
Wed. ­ Unit 2 Intro. to "A Genetics of Justice"
Thurs. ­ "A Genetics of Justice"
Fri. ­ Book Report DUE ­ fill in template from website and print it out. Be prepared to read aloud 1­2 interesting and appropriate paragraphs of your book to the class.
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19 Monday, February 8, 2016.notebook
February 08, 2016
• Walker was born before the civil rights movement took place, so she might be influenced by experiences of prejudice and bigotry. • She was blind in one eye and got a scholarship for the disabled, so she might be sensitive to people who experience challenge. • She is an African American civil rights activist, so she might write about the civil rights movement. • She is a feminist, so she may write about issues of power or groups of people who do not have power. 2
19 Monday, February 8, 2016.notebook
February 08, 2016
"Women" by Alice Walker
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They were women then
My mama's generation
Husky of voice­ Stout of
Step
With fists as well as
Hands
How they battered down
Doors
And ironed
Starched white
Shirts
How they led
Armies
Headdragged Generals
Across mined
Fields
Booby­trapped
Ditches
To discover books
Desks
A place for us
How they knew what we
Must know
Without knowing a page
Of it
Themselves.
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19 Monday, February 8, 2016.notebook
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1. What do you notice about the length of stanza(s) and lines in the poem? o The poem consists of only one stanza. o The lines are very short. o Some lines consist of a single word. 2. What do you notice about Walker’s use of punctuation and capital letters? o Walker uses only a single period at the end of the poem. o Walker uses capital letters at the beginning of each line. 3. How does the structure of Walker’s poem (line lengths and punctuation) relate to its content?
( The structure is simple and direct, like the women Walker describes. 4. What or whom is the subject of Walker’s poem? ( Walker’s poem is about the women of the speaker’s “mama’s generation” (line 2) 4
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5. How does the speaker describe the women? o They were “husky of voice” (line 3). o They were “stout of / Step” (lines 3–4). o They were “headragged” (line 14). The words head and rag show that the word headragged means wearing a rag or piece of cloth on the head.
6. How does Walker describe the women’s actions? o They “battered down / Doors” (lines 7–8). o They “ironed / Starched white / Shirts” (lines 9–11). o “[T]hey led / Armies . . . Across mined / Fields” (lines 12–16). o They “discover[ed] books / Desks / A place for us” (lines 19–21).
starched means “made clothing stiff by using a powder or liquid substance called starch.” 5
19 Monday, February 8, 2016.notebook
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7. How does Walker use metaphor to develop her portrait of the women? ( Walker uses a military metaphor, comparing the women to “headragged generals” (line 14) and the fields to “booby‐trapped ditches” (lines 17–18) to emphasize the women’s courage and leadership and to depict the dangerous aspects of their efforts. 8. What is the role of the imagery in lines 15–18 of the poem? ( The imagery emphasizes the danger of the women’s efforts and their courage. 9. What is the cumulative impact of Walker’s descriptions of the women and their actions on the meaning and tone of the poem? o The words Walker uses to describe the women makes them sound traditionally masculine; the descriptions make it clear that these are strong, tough women. • The women are active and strong; most of the activities sound adventurous or military. o The women are active participants who fight to improve the lives of their children. 6
19 Monday, February 8, 2016.notebook
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10. Based on your responses to the previous question, what can you infer about the meaning of “husky of voice” and “stout of step” in lines 3–4? ( “Husky of voice” (line 3) probably means that the women had deep, rough voices and “stout of step” (lines 3–4) means the women walked with strong steps. 11. How does Walker use these physical characteristics to depict inner qualities of the women she describes? ( The physical qualities suggest that the women have strength. Walker uses these images of strength to portray the women as strong, both in body and in character. 12. What reason does the speaker give for the women’s actions?
( The women wanted “to discover books / Desks / A place for us” (lines 19–21). 7
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13. What is the women’s goal? ( The goal of the women is to provide their children with better opportunities for education: “books / Desks” (lines 19–20) and for participating fully in society: “A place for us” (line 21). 14. What is the impact of repetition in the final four lines of the poem? ( Walker uses variations of the word know (knew, know, knowing, lines 22–
24) to emphasize both the wisdom of the women she describes and the value they placed on education and access for their children. 8
19 Monday, February 8, 2016.notebook
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Answer these questions. They will be your ticket out the door.
What central idea does Walker develop in this poem? In what ways are King’s letter and Walker’s poem similar? What is a purpose evident in both King’s letter and Walker’s poem?
In what ways do the women Walker describes belong to the "destiny of America" that King describes?
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