Recall any reading/analysis/note-taking on "Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self," "How It Feels to Be Colored Me," and "Graduation." You and your group members will do the following in order to elicit a class discussion or to brainstorm ideas for your Compare/Contrast Analysis Essay. You need not answer every item below. Decide what is appropriate to generate ideas for your papers and/or discussion. Take notes. Help one another understand the similarities and differences among the texts, as well as assist one another in developing possible very specific and focused thesis statements that may need to be qualified (depending on the texts you are comparing and contrasting). For example, Both Hurston and Walker discuss how their "blackness" affected concepts of self and identity at different times in their lives; however, Hurston focuses primarily on race, whereas Walker introduces issues related to beauty. FYI--the "however" clause is what is called a qualification, which means the essays differ slightly in their thematic emphasis.
- Read the essay together (low voices in reciprocal-reading fashion).
- Discuss what you have read. Think of good questions to elicit class discussion (analysis questions, as well as ways your assigned reading is similar to or different from "Graduation"). Remember how we closely read and analyzed "Graduation," asking ourselves, "Why did Angelou write the essay in the way that she did? Why did she make the choices that she did? What was her purpose(s)? What were the effects of her choices on the reader? What moods and tone were created and why? What were her themes?"
- Create a list of similarities and differences between the essays.
- Decide how you are going to present and discuss your assigned essay.
- Consider the following as you think of analysis questions--
- subject(s)
- theme(s)
- purpose(s)
- mood
- tone
- audience
- figurative language (similes, metaphors, extended metaphors, personification, tropes)
- voice
- point of view
- diction (in particular, colloquial language)
- organization/structure
- shifts
- setting
- dialogue
- characterization
- imagery
- details
- style
- narrative "payoff"; epiphany; revelation; lesson learned; insights
You will need to hand in your questions and list of similarities and differences. Each of you should create your own copy of what your group brainstorms together. (You may be writing a Comparison/Contrast Essay on these three writers, and if so, you will be able to use the work that you create today in order to assist you.) Title of the Activity: "Analysis and Comparison/Contrast: Angelou, Walker, Hurston Essays."
FYI: Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1928 (still living).
Walker was born in Eatonton, Georgia, in 1944 (still living).
Hurston was born in Notasulga, Alabama, in 1891 and died in
1960.
"Graduation" was first published in 1970.
"Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self" was published in
1983.
"How It Feels to Be Colored Me" was published in 1928.
https://scholarmulhern.blogspot.com/2019/02/peer-editing-of-essays.html
