*How is repetition used at the bottom of page 335 to express the change the narrator feels in his identity?
*What is the metaphorical value of the policemen that the narrator sees when he ducks out into the street before his speech?
*What is the significance of the narrator's daydream about the bullfrog?
*How does the description of the stage contribute to the narrator's sense of isolation?
*Why do some members of the Brotherhood object to the narrator's speech? Do you agree/disagree?
*How is paradox used to express the contradictory constraints placed on the narrator?
*How might Tod Clifton serve as a more effective spokesman than the narrator, at least according to Emma?
*How is humor used in the intoduction to Ras the Exhorter?
*Why do you think the author chooses to have Ras speak the dialect of a native African learning English?
*What does Tod Clifton mean when he says that "sometimes a man has to plunge outside history?"
*How is alliteration used to reflect the instantaneous paradox that memories of the narrator's grandfather bring to mind?
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Edith Wharton
John Steinbeck
Mark Twain
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Ralph Ellison
Alice Walker
9 comments:
In these chapters, we are introduced to a new and interesting character, Tod Clifton. In Emma's mind, Clifton would be the perfect man to rally the people of Harlem. His skin is very dark, unlike that of the narrator. He really personifies the black lifestyle and African Americans in Harlem may find it easier to relate to him than to the narrator. The narrator even senses that they may end up competing.
We are also introduced to Ras the Exhorter. If you have a good memory, you remember the name Ras from one of the very first chapters of the novel. Ras is introduced as a black nationalist who would "attack and denounce the white meat of a roasted chicken." Ras' nationalism is taken to the extreme, as he hates all white people and any African American who is associated with them. Later, you find out the Ras is a native African. This made me wonder, does Ras have justification for hating white men so much? Did something happen in his native country to culminate such hate?
Just some thoughts...hooray!
Some of the Brother's disagree w/the narrator's speech because he used emotional influence rather than logical. They compare the audience to a mob, and wonder whether they are really for their cause. They blame this uncertainty on the Narrator for appealing to their hearts rather than their heads. I somewhat agree with the Brothers; people who attend a speech and are affected emotionally will always remember that emotional, whether it be rage, or fervor, but sometimes lose the actual message of the speech in the tide. But I also think that if people are only appealed to logically, they will grow bored of the message.
Some of the Brothers object to the narrator's speech because they think he will start a mob. They thought it was too powerful and he is getting the people all riled up. When he should be teaching them knowledge with his speeches and make them think more intellectually. Rather then making them think about viole
nce, they don't want a riot. I do not agree because i think his speech was very effective. He connected with the people and they loudly appaulded him for his strong speech.
The narrator feels he is becoming someone else when they change his identity. He feels he is at a new begining for him.
The narrator's daydream about the bullfrog is about him and the audience. He represents a child and the bullfrog represents the audience. The child was afraid of the bullfrog and wanted to please it. At the same time he did not trust the bullfrog. He likes his crowd and wants them to connect with him and what he says. The narrator is skeptical about the crowd as they are cheering for him.
When Tod Clifton says that one has to "plunge out of history," he is referring to how the narrator's speech goes back to the old approach he learns back in the south when he draws a blank in his speech. Tod wants him to speak in the style the Brotherhood uses.
When Ras the Extorter is introduced, it's humorous because when the narrator is asked if he can use his hands, he replies, "I can use my fits!" He says this because he is annoyed that Ras is disrupting his speech and expresses his anger in a humorous way.
When Tod Clifton says that one has to "plunge out of history," he is referring to how the narrator's speech goes back to the old approach he learns back in the south when he draws a blank in his speech. Tod wants him to speak in the style the Brotherhood uses.
Repetition is used at the bottom of page 335 because the narrator talks about his new clothes relating to his new identity and his becoming of someone else, someone they want him to be. Some members of the Brotherhood object to the narrator's speech because it is not what they wanted him to say. They think that he may have said too much and spoke his mind more than he should have.
Brothers object to the speech because they believe that he was too outspoken. He didn't use logic in he speech, he used emotional appeal.
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