ELLISON’S NOVEL ADRESSES VIOLENCE AGAINST YOUNG, BLACK men in the urban American cities. Brother Tod Clifton is shot and murderred by a white New York police officer. This central act in a novel nearly 70 years old is still the focus of the late twenty-teens. Why does this issue persist? Why is violence enacted by white police officers against young black men still an issue in 21st century America? As we close our reading of this novel, we will continue to explore contemporary connections between Ellison’s novel and life in America today.

MONDAY

Examining two works of American literature that relate to the themes in Ellison’s novel: “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Dunbar and a chapter from Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. How do these works connect to Ellison’s novel? How are all three related to one another?
HW: What does the mask, in Dunbar’s poem “We Wear the Mask,” hide? Write a short paragraph in response to this question, posting it to our class blog. Also, read the first 10 pages of chapter 25.

TUESDAY

Today, in small groups, you will read a selection from Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Start by reading an overview of the novel here, in the Encyclopedia Britanica. Then, in small group, read the following article about Twain’s use of the N***** word in the novel, on our Gale database, located here. take turns reading aloud chapter XV, in which Huckleberry plays a mean trick on the escaped slave, Jim. After reading, discuss the following question, and keep notes on your copy of the chapter: How does Twain portray the escaped slave? What is the nature of the “trick” the the young and white Huckleberry Finn tries to play on the older, yet vulnerable Jim? What is Jim’s criticism of this trick, and how does Huck respond?
HW: Finish reading chapter 25. If you haven’t ordered our last two novellas, make a point of ordering a copy of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening and F.S. Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. These will be our two final texts.

WEDNESDAY

Discussing the Dunbar poem and the Twain selection, and where both fit contextually in Ellison’s Invisible Man. Where do these texts intersect? If all three are discussing similar issues, what does each author say about black American identity? After our class discussion, students will begin writing 2-3 paragraphs developing a claim, examining the texts.
HW: Write a 2-3 paragraph textual analysis. What are these three authors arguing about identity, and how do their texts form a dialogue? Rough draft due, on paper, in class tomorrow.

THURSDAY

Finishing the Ellison documentary.
HW: No homework over Easter/Passover break. If your annotations are not complete, kindly finish them.

FRIDAY

No school for Good Friday and Passover/Easter weekend.
HW: Annotations in Invisible Man will be due on next week. Also next week: reading Chopin’s The Awakening! If you don’t have your hard copy of the book, get it over the three day weekend.