Summary of the Second Session, Post-Session #2 Assignments, Pre-Session #3 Assignments

1. A Summary of the Second Session
For today's session I decided to jump right into the task of figuring out how every chapter and every aspect of every chapter contributes to Invisible Man as a bildungsroman, a novel of identity formation. I thought it was most important to figure out what the novel as a whole suggests about identity and how the smaller pieces -- the plot (or logic of sequential events), the scenes (a scene consists of one time and place), the characters (even the less overtly significant ones), the symbolic objects, the repeated images and other motifs, etc. -- contribute to what the books as a whole suggests about identity.

So we worked our way through chapter 14 meticulously (the re-birth and Mary Rambo section, the Yam episode and eviction, the meeting with Brother Jack and introduction to the Brotherhood, The Chthonian, Emma, etc.) then (mindful of time) jumped to some important characters (Brother Hambro, Brother Tarp, Tod Clifton, the Rich woman, Rinehart, Sybil, and Ras) and scenes (Clifton's show in the park, Clifton's funeral, the protagonist's decision to undermine the Brotherhood, the riot, the choice to go underground). We gave special attention to the relationship between identity formation and objects (the "feed me" bank, the Tarp's shackles, the briefcase, etc.) food, sexuality, speech-making, subordinating one's identity to larger causes (whether the race or the Brotherhood), shifting identity (Rinehart) versus singular identity, action versus contemplation, etc.. I also gave you some information about Marxism and Communism to make a bit more sense of the Brotherhood. Then in the last half hour we developed a question to answer with an essay. Does that cover it? Did I leave anything out?

2. Post-Session #2 Work
Here's the question you developed:

Use your "personal key" (the events, objects, motifs you have tracked through the novel) to illustrate the purpose of the novel as you understand it. (Instead of "purpose" you might deal with the "meaning and effect" of the novel as a whole.)

Write an essay (oh, five hundred to a thousand words or so) responding to the prompt. I'll be looking for an idea (not a single sentence) about the significance of the novel as a whole that boldly and insightfully encapsulates Ralph Ellison's exploration of the identity development of an African-American man in hostile environments. Then, I'll be looking for close, careful analysis of specific passages in the text that support and develop your bold, insightful central idea. Finally, I'll look for the final conclusions your careful analysis has driven you toward.

"A+/A" essays will thoroughly and convincingly develop a bold, insightful idea about the novel's apparent meaning and effect with commanding, precise, and well-chosen details from the novel. "A-/B" essays will develop a plausible response to the prompt with enough relevant supporting evidence to come across as reliable. "B-" essays will often develop a plausible but superficial response to the prompt with some errors and omissions in interpretation of details. "C/C-" essays will often include significant errors and omissions in the central idea and in the supporting details, though these essays will show an understanding of some aspects of the text. Essays with lower scores will not meet requirements or will show little to no understanding of the prompt and/or the text.

This is your first attempt at an AP essay. No worries. It's a low stakes endeavor. (It won't count as a test grade on its own but it will count toward your summer session grade, which will be the equivalent of a term one test grade.) Do your best but consider it a learning experience.

Post the essays in the comment box (break them into sections if necessary) by Monday, July 27 11:59. I look forward to reading what you have to say. (I have enjoyed our time together, especially your ideas and close readings of the text.)

3. Pre-Session #3 Work
Read Translations by Brian Friel and Waiting for Godot by Samuel Becket.
For Translations note passages (at least ten) that deal with the relationship between culture (especially language, learning, and history) and identity. For Waiting for Godot note passages (at least ten) that deal with the absurdity of existence. (Culture-and-identity, on the one hand, and the absurdity of existence, on the other hand, are important aspects of Invisible Man. With these plays we'll focus a bit more closely on these two themes. (If we had gotten to the Harlem riots we'd have talked a bit more about absurdity today.)

I look forward to talking with you about these plays on August 3.

Summary of the First Session, Post-Session #1 Assignments, & Pre-Session #2 Assignments

I. A Summary of the First Session

For the first five minutes you shared with the people sitting near you observations of "what stood out" to you while reading the first eleven chapters of Invisible Man. Then, one by one you each introduced one of the peers you spoke with and explained what you talked about with that peer.

I had planned this as a warm-up exercise -- lasting maybe twenty minutes -- but so much of what I'd hoped to deal with in the first hour came up in your discussions that I decided to roll with it. We talked about how the motifs -- the repeated ideas, images, etc. -- help the reader figure out what to pay attention to. We talked about how the first step is to notice choices the writer makes and the second step is to come up with ideas about the significance of those choices: how do those choices affect meaning? & that's the gist of AP writing: how does the way something is written influence the effect the writing has on the reader and the meaning the reader makes of the writing?

But what should we notice? Things that reoccur (words, images, ideas, etc.) Things that reoccur but with a difference. Things that seem symbolic or allegorical: what's the symbolic significance of Reverend Barbee's blindness or of the Golden Day (Supercargo as superego) or of the black mixed into Optic White or of the paint factory explosion, for example? Moments that make reference to culture, folklore, history outside the novel. (These are allusions.) For example what is the significance of the references to Louis Armstrong? Booker T. Washington? We should also pay attention to things that seem strange, that deviate from norms. Why is the protagonist unnamed, for example? (Lazy readers often say that strange things are "random"; strong readers are able to make meaning from author's choices, especially the ones that are most challenging.) Then we ask how are these things significant to the work as a whole?

We talked about a lot more in the first hour. As I review my notes, I may add more.

After a break we set up a chart for the motifs. I listed the motifs along an x-axis and listed the chapters along a y-axis then you offered specific examples. We found so much that we were able to spend nearly an hour on the first three chapters! (The next step is to make meaning using some of this data we've compiled.) [Note: for a more complete chart you can finish our class chart on your own and/or go to this webpage, scroll down to "motif chart" and click on the link.]

After the final break we tried out a learning strategy: student-led discussions. Sarah A. quoted Bledsoe talking about "these people" while referring to other African-Americans and collectively you didn't stop talking for more than twenty-minutes while I took notes. I then read over my notes of the discussion adding a point or two here and there while also asking follow up questions. (That's part of the strategy too.)

I wrapped up the exhilarating first session with the post-session assignments...

II. Post-Session Assignments
Click on the comment box below and paste in the following work...

1. After writing your name (first name, last initial) write down a motif you tracked along with five places you found the motif (a brief mention of how the motif appeared & the page number will suffice). You don't need to analyze or explain the motif at this point.

2. Now, explain how one of the motifs reveals something significant about the relationship between the protagonist's environment and his developing identity. This explanation should be 300+ words and include specific references to the text, including direct quotations. Interpretation and insight with developed support is what I'm looking for here. (This is a quintessential AP assignment.)

3. Because we didn't get to a discussion of the images you chose, post the page number and the quotation using only the first few words and last few words of the quotation, like this "'Our white is so white ... white clear through.'". (If you'd like to go above and beyond I'd love to hear why you think the image "most vividly conveys the protagonist's struggle between self and environment".)

4. Personal reflection: choose some idea in the book to apply to yourself and/or your surroundings. Write a paragraph (7+ sentences). Here are a few ideas:
*Invisibility. Are you invisible? How? Is someone else -- or some other group -- invisible at GHS or in Gloucester? Explain.
* Loss of innocence. Write about someone or something that you thought you knew and understood (like the occasion of the graduation speech (which entailed a battle royal first), like Bledsoe and the college, like the letters, etc.) but turned out to be quite different, quite disillusioning.
* Playing the game. Write about learning to play the game, to work with the system. What's gained? What's lost?
* Other ideas!?!?

Make sure you label each answer (1, 2, 3, 4) and include your first name and last initial at the beginning of the response.

Responses are due by Pumpkin Time Monday, July 13. (If you have trouble posting your work. Send it to apenglishghs@gmail.com.)

III. Pre-Session #2
You will show me this work as a "ticket" before the session. It's the hottest ticket in town.

* Continue to follow a motif you have chosen. Write down a motif you tracked along with at least five places you found the motif. (Some motifs will appear in every chapter.) A brief mention of how the motif appeared & the page number will suffice). You don't need to analyze or explain the motif at this point.

* Follow the key moments in the protagonist's identity development in relation to his environment. Where does the environment change? Where does his understanding of his environment change? Where does he change in response to his environment, especially in terms of ideology (what he believes and thinks is important), vocation (what he does), and sexuality? I'm especially interested in the choices the protagonist makes in response to his environment. Mark down the most important moments in the novel that deal with the protagonist's identity development (at least five). A brief comment about the moment & the page number will suffice.


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