Literature Circles Post #1
This post is due before class starts on Thursday, Feb. 1.
Now that you've had a chance to get started on your book - either Frankenstein, Black Boy, or The Color of Water - you should be thinking about some of the important themes or big ideas that are starting to emerge.
- Select one of the themes listed below, or identify your own.
- Record that theme on your group's wiki page - click here to access the wiki.
- Write about 100-120 words that explain how the theme is shown in the book so far, and point out an important event that helps illustrate this theme.
- Remember to put your first name after your posting, so I can keep track of it.
racism, isolation, alienation, hunger, family, perseverance, the search for identity
To earn credit, evidence of your work needs to be on the class
wiki. If you have questions or problems, please use the comments section.
3 comments:
So far as I have been reading Black Boy I have noticed and found out many interesting things about Richard and his family. I already new from reading the passages in class that he was a very young boy and was obviously gullible becuase he took what his father Nathan said serious about the kitten. Richard lives a very tough life he dosen't get a long with his mother and hes father walked out on them. He struggles to get food but somehow all the little money that he has it seems to get robbed from him from a bunch a boys. I kept thinking in my bed that at one point in the story Richard send that he resents watching the white families digging into their plentiful food. I think that Richard even though he is a at a young age thinks that because he is black white people have it better in life. I feel as though Richards thinks that getting through life is a bigger struggle for black people thank for white people and they always have to work harder for what they want to get. A problem started to occur with Richard in chapter one, i found out that he is an alcholic, when his mother finds out not only is she furious but she beats Richard to beg for him to stop the nonsense that he has brought into their family. As I am reading this book I notice many serious problems occuring in Richards family and I predict that something is going to happen to Richard later on in the story.
I feel that a few of the main themes in this book are racism, isolation, and a search for identity. Rachel is a white woman in a black society. Within this society, many hate groups exist such as the "Black Panthers", who push "black power" to its limits. Rachel is endangered by these racist people because she is isolated is this society and they can potentially harm her due to hating whites. For some reason, she seems to ignore this, while only her kids realize the possibilty of her getting hurt and fear the potential of this happening. She constantly ignores them when it comes to them inquiring why she's different from other mothers, and anything involving race. She is a very private woman that isolates herself from the world around her and keeps quiet. I feel that this is because of a strong insecurity that she's built up due to being different. She needs to step outside and let the world know her true identity, that she's a really nice and considereate person regardless of her color. This is the only way for others to accept who she truly is. (George)
There are meny themes in Black Boy that are common for some in everyday life. One is that Richard, the main character, has problems in his family (He fights with his mother and has no father.). He also seems to have a problem between knowing right and wrong. An example would be burning the curtains or killing the cat. It was probably from being beaten constantly by his mother. An issue that Richard has to deal with is being poor. He hated white people for it, thinking that it was harder for black people to make money. I can't really make a prediction for what's going to happen next, but I hope the book will keep me interested
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