Unit 4 An American Journey Essential Questions Unit Overview Ever since the Pilgrims traveled to America, the ? How can an author’s style concept of the “journey” has been part of the construct and reflect American experience. In this unit you will study identity? the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, which traces the physical and emotional journey of a woman striving for self-expression. You will then ? How do communication examine the ways that you present yourself in a skills enhance variety of situations on your own journey to self- self-expression? expression. 283 Unit An American Journey 4 Contents Learning Focus: Journey of Discovery. .286 Goals Activities: C To explore an American 4.1 Previewing the Unit . ...................................287 classic that addresses 4.2 Who Was Zora Neale Hurston? ............................288 the concept of “journey” *Teleplay: Zora Is My Name, directed by Neema Barnette C To analyze the writer’s Memoir: “How It Feels to Be Colored Me,” by Zora Neale Hurston rich and complex writing 4.3 The Harlem Renaissance .................................293 style as a model for 4.4 Hurston’s Colorful Language . ............................295 making deliberate *Teleplay: Zora Is My Name, directed by Neema Barnette stylistic choices Short Story: “Sweat,” by Zora Neale Hurston C To investigate the 4.5 Janie’s Return Home . ...................................311 communication * Novel: Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston demands of a career and to prepare to meet 4.6 Nanny’s Life . ..........................................314 those demands Poetry: “Mother to Son,” by Langston Hughes C To use media production 4.7 Nanny, Janie, and Logan . ................................318 elements and 4.8 Janie’s New Life . .......................................320 speaking and listening 4.9 The Two Sides of Janie . .................................323 skills to construct a 4.10 Discussion Groups ......................................325 presentation of self that is appropriate for the 4.11 The End of a Long Journey . ..............................327 audience Excerpts from critical reviews 4.12 Oprah Winfrey Presents… ................................331 *Film: Their Eyes Were Watching God, ACADemIC VOCABUlaRY directed by Darnell Martin Motif Embedded Assessment 1 Writing an Analytical Essay . 334 Résumé © 2011 College Board. All rights reserved. 284 SpringBoard® English Textual Power™ Level 6 Learning Focus: Communicating Myself to Others. 337 4.13 My Communication Skills . ...............................338 4.14 Career Search ..........................................339 4.15 Creating a Résumé ......................................342 4.16 Social Networking . .....................................344 Article: “Narcissism on the Internet isn’t risk-free,” by Eric Gwinn Article: “Web of Risks,” by Brad Stone with Robbie Brown Article: Excerpt from “Potential employers monitoring student social networking Web sites,” by Matt McGowan 4.17 Practicing for a Job Interview . ............................353 Embedded Assessment 2 Using Communication Skills to Present Myself. 355 Unit Reflection . 358 *Texts not included in these materials. © 2011 College Board. All rights reserved. 285 Learning Focus: Journey of Discovery “Ah been a delegate to de big ’ssociation of life. Yessuh! De Grand Lodge, de big convention of livin’ is just where Ah been dis year and a half y’all ain’t seen me.” Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God One of the great literary discoveries in recent years has been Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. Unappreciated by some of Hurston’s male contemporaries upon its first publication in 1937, the novel slipped out of print until Alice Walker (The Color Purple) brought it back to the public eye in the 1970s. Since then, Hurston’s story of Janie Crawford, a woman on a journey of self-discovery, has received wide acclaim by diverse readers and has made its own journey into the canon of American literature. As with any great book, you will read Their Eyes Were Watching God with many purposes. Among your purposes will be reading to analyze Hurston’s innovative use of literary and stylistic elements. You will also analyze Hurston’s distinctive style, as she expertly integrates a variety of voices into one novel. Hurston is noted for her gifted storytelling and honoring oral tradition, including dialect, which can be both biting and humorous. An author’s use of dialect validates the oral traditions of a people, a time, and a place. Through their choice of dialect, authors create a representation of the spoken language, which helps record the history of language as it evolves over generations. Some of the literary elements to look at in Hurston’s writing include: C characterization C setting C plot C motifs Hurston’s distinctive use of stylistic elements includes: C figurative language, including metaphors, similes, and personification C diction C imagery C syntax C structure/organization © 2011 College Board. All rights reserved. C point of view C tone Independent Reading: In this unit, you will read a novel exploring the concept of a “journey” as an essential characteristic of achieving one’s American Dream. For independent reading, select a novel, nonfiction book, or a collection of essays or short stories about the American experience and a journey of discovery that is of interest to you. 286 SpringBoard® English Textual Power™ Level 6 ACTIVITY Previewing the Unit 4.1 SUGGESTED LeaRning STRategies: Marking the Text, Think-Pair-Share, Close Reading, Skimming/Scanning, Summarizing/ Paraphrasing, Graphic Organizer Essential Questions 1. How can an author’s style construct and reflect identity? 2. How do communication skills enhance self-expression? Unit Overview and Learning Focus Predict what you think this unit is about. Use the words or phrases that stood out to you when you read the Unit Overview and the Learning Focus. Embedded Assessment 1 What knowledge must you have ( what do you need to know) to succeed © 2011 College Board. All rights reserved. on Embedded Assessment 1? What skills must you have (what must you be able to do)? Unit 4 • An American Journey 287 ACTIVITY 4.2 Who Was Zora Neale Hurston? SUGGESTED LEARNING STRAtegIes: Predicting, Notetaking, Marking the Text, Think-Pair-Share, Drafting, Brainstorming, Scanning “Hurston became an orphan at nine, a runaway at fourteen, maid and manicurist before she was twenty, and with one dress and a dream managed to become Zora Neale Hurston, author and anthropologist.” —Alice Walker 1. Based on this statement, what can you infer about Zora Neale Hurston’s character? 2. Take notes as you watch the production Zora Is My Name. Observation Notes Comments and Questions 3. Review your notes and craft a general perception about Zora Neale Hurston. ll rights reserved. A 4. If Zora Neale Hurston were present, what questions would you like to ask her? © 2011 College Board. 5. As you read Zora Neale Hurston’s memoir, “How It Feels to Be Colored Me,” follow your teacher’s instructions for annotating the text in a guided reading. 288 SpringBoard® English Textual Power™ Level 6 M e m o i r ACTIVITY 4.2 continued My Notes by Zora Neale Hurs ton AB O UT THE AUTH O R Born in 1891, Zora Neale Hurston was an American anthropologist and writer who wrote her best-known works during the Harlem Renaissance. Hurston grew up in the small town of Eatonville, Florida, the first incorporated black township. Hurston’s idyllic childhood was interrupted by the death of her mother when Hurston was only 13. She struggled to finish high school, which she still had not accomplished by age 26. Despite her early struggles, Hurston went on to graduate from Barnard College. Their Eyes Were Watching God is considered her master work. She died in 1960. I am colored but I offer nothing in the way of extenuating1 11 circumstances except the fact that I am the only Negro in the United States whose grandfather on the mother’s side was notn Indian a chief. I remember the very day that I became colored. Up to my thirteenth 22 year I lived in the little Negro town of Eatonville, Florida. It is exclusively a colored town. The only white people I knew passed through the town going to or coming from Orlando. The native whites rode dusty horses; the Northern tourists chugged down the sandy village road in automobiles. The town knew the Southerners and never stopped cane ll rights reserved. A chewing when they passed. But the Northerners were something else again. They were peered at cautiously from behind curtains by the timid. The more venturesome would come out on the porch to watch them go past and got just as much pleasure out of the tourists as the tourists got out of the village. © 2011 College Board. The front porch might seem a daring place for the rest of the town, 33 but it was a gallery seat for me. My favorite place was atop the gatepost. Proscenium box for a born first-nighter.2 Not only did I enjoy the show, but I didn’t mind the actors knowing that I liked it. I usually spoke to them in passing. I’d wave at them and when they returned my salute, I would say something like this: “Howdy-do-well-I-thank-you-where-you- goin’?” Usually the automobile or the horse paused at this, and after a 1 extenuating: lessening or seeming to lessen the seriousness of by giving excuses 2 first-nighter: a person who attends the opening performance of a play, opera, or similar production Unit 4 • An American Journey 289 ACTIVITY 4.2 continued Who Was Zora Neale Hurston? My Notes queer exchange of compliments, I would probably “go a piece of the way” with them, as we say in farthest Florida. If one of my family happened to come to the front in time to see me, of course, negotiations would be rudely broken off. But even so, it is clear that I was the first “welcome-to- our-state” Floridian, and I hope the Miami Chamber of Commerce will please take notice.