1. Class 4: EWRT 1B

2. AGENDA
Presentation: Terms
Teams and Points
Author Lecture: Langston Hughes
QHQ Discussion: Racial Passing: "Passing" and
"Passing‖
Lecture: Writing a Summary and Paraphrasing Poetry
In-class writing: Summary; paraphrase

3. Terms Exam #1: Class 6
 19. Characterization: the creation of the image of imaginary
persons in drama, narrative poetry, the novel, and the short
story. Characterization generates plot and is revealed by
actions, speech, thoughts, physical appearance, and the
other characters’ thoughts or words about him.
 20. Dialogue: is a conversation, or a literary work in the form
of a conversation, that is often used to reveal characters and
to advance the plot. Also, it is the lines spoken by a character
in a play, essay, story, or novel.
 21. Epistle: a letter, especially a formal or didactic one;
written communication. Also (usually initial capital letter ) one
of the apostolic letters in the new testament or ( often initial
capital letter ) an extract, usually from one of the Epistles of
the New Testament, forming part of the Eucharistic service in
certain churches.

4. 22. Irony: a dryly humorous or lightly sarcastic figure of speech in which the
literal meaning of a word or statement is the opposite of that intended. In
literature, it is the technique of indicating an intention or attitude opposed to
what is actually stated. Often, only the context of the statement leads the
reader to understand it is ironic. Irony makes use of hyperbole, sarcasm,
satire, and understatement.
There are four types of irony:
• Verbal irony as defined by Cicero: ―Irony is the saying of one thing and
meaning another,‖ or Socrates: ‖when one adopts another’s point of view
in order to reveal that person’s weaknesses and eventually to ridicule
him.‖
• Situational irony, such as when a pickpocket gets his own pockets picked
• Dramatic irony, such as when Oedipus unwittingly kills his own father
• Rhetorical irony, such as that of the innocent narrator in Twain’s
Huckleberry Finn

5. 23. Literal: pertaining to a letter of the alphabet. More typically, it
means ―based on what is actually written or expressed.‖ A literal
interpretation gives an exact rendering— word for word— taking
words in their usual or primary sense. It is also used to describe
thinking which is unimaginative or matter of fact.
24. Literature: writings in which expression and form, in
connection with ideas and concerns of universal and apparently
permanent interest, are essential features. While applied to any
kind of printed material, such as circulars, leaflets, and handbills,
there are some who feel it is more correctly reserved for prose and
verse of acknowledged excellence, such as George Eliot’s works.
The term connotes superior qualities.
25. Paraphrase: (also called rewording) – the restatement of a
passage giving the meaning in another form. This usually involves
expanding the original text so as to make it clear.

6. 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
We will often use teams to
earn participation points.
Your teams can be made
up of 3 or 4 people.
The teams will remain the same through
the discussion, reading, and workshops of
one essay.
You must change at least 50% of your team
after each essay is completed.
You may never be on a team with the same
person more than twice.
You may never have a new team composed
of more than 50% of any prior team.

7. Points will be earned
for correct answers to
questions, meaningful
contributions to the
discussion, and the
willingness to share
your work. Each team
will track their own
points, but cheating
leads to death (or loss
of 25 participation
points).
Answers, comments,
and questions must
be posed in a
manner that
promotes learning.
Those who speak
out of turn or with
maliciousness will
not receive points for
their teams.

8. Sit near your team
members in class to
facilitate ease of group
discussions
At the end of each class,
you will turn in a point
sheet with the names of
everyone in your group
and your accumulated
points for the day.
It is your responsibility
to make the sheet, track
the points, and turn it in.

9.  Get into groups of
three or four. (1-2
minutes)
 If you can’t find a
group, please raise
your hand.
 Once your group is
established, choose
one person to be the
keeper of the points.
 Write down
members’ names
 Turn in your sheet at
the end of the class
period.
Essay #2
Teams

10. In your
groups: 5
minutes
Discuss the
reading for
today.
Review the
QHQs that
you wrote.

11. What do you know about Langston Hughes?
LANGSTON
HUGHES 19021967
One of the founders of the
cultural movement known as
the Harlem Renaissance.

12. Few authors of the twentieth century are more significant than
Langston Hughes. He is assured his status by his many
contributions to literature.
•
•
The length of his career: 1921-1967
The variety of his output: articles, poems, short stories,
dramas, novels, and history texts.
• His influence on three generations of African American
writers: from the Harlem Renaissance through the Civil
Rights Movement
• His concern for the ―ordinary‖ African American: The
subject of his work
• His introduction of the jazz idiom: the quality of black
colloquial speech and the rhythms of jazz and the blues.

13. During his long career Hughes was harshly criticized
by blacks and whites. Because he left no single
masterwork, such as Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man
(1952) or Richard Wright’s Native Son (1940), and
because he consciously wrote in the common idiom
of the people, academic interest in him grew only
slowly. The importance of his influence on several
generations of African American authors is, however,
indisputable and widely acknowledged.

14. QHQ
Discussion:
Racial
Passing:
"Passing" and
"Passing‖

15. ―Passing‖ The Short Story
 Q: Why was Jack passing as a white man?
 Q. Why does the main character feel like a dog passing his ma?
 Q: How did Jack choose between his family and passing?
 Q: Why did Jack’s mom urge him to pass as a white man?
 Q: How is Jack’s family affected by his passing?
 Q: Has Jack done anything else for his for family besides just writing a
letter to his mother?
 Q: Why is passing as white more important than being with people that
love and accept him for who he really is?
 Q: In the short story ―Passing‖ by Langston Hughes, does the main character,
Jack, feel remorseful about passing as a white man?
 Q: Will Jack ever stop feeling awful for passing his mother or his family? Or
will he simply enjoy the privilege that comes from being white and become
accustomed the ways he needs to act in order to obtain them?
 Q: In the story he tells his mom that he ―is free!’. But is he actually free?

16. Q: From the context we can assume that the main character has become
really successful, but, was he really? Or would it be better to state that he
was not strong enough and therefore succumbed against the unfairly
established rules society played against itself? Would this be the reason of
why he decided to pass as a white man and to deny his family as well?
Q: Why if ―passing‖ is hard and frightening does Jack do it?
Q: Is Jack racist towards blacks?
Q: When hearing about white folks’ animosity towards people of color, why
doesn’t Jack speak up?
Q: Will Jack forget all about his black roots?
Q) Hughes says ―why think about race any more? I’m glad I don’t have
to.‖ What made him come to this conclusion and why is he not even
thinking about the oppression of his own people?
Q) Jack says he does not think about race; nevertheless, is that truly
accurate?

17. Jack’s Girlfriend
 Q: Since Jack is trying so hard to pass as a white person, would it be wrong
for him to hide his true ethnicity from his girlfriend? If they were to get married
would it be morally wrong for him to lie to her and let her believe that he’s
white?
 Q: What will happen if Jacks partner figures out he isn’t white? Will they still
be together?
 Q: Does Jack ever plan on telling his white lady friend that he’s part black?
 Q) Would he really deny his own child and claim it wasn’t his if it had anything
but white characteristics? Would he really accuse his wife of cheating on him
to cover up his genetics?

18. Consequences
 Q. What if the main character came out and stated that he really is a
mulatto? What if he starts talking to his mom on the streets whenever he
sees her? What kind of repercussions might this have?
 Q. Was the price he paid for his ―freedom‖ actually worth it? In other
words, was the need to deny his family and cut almost all contact with
them actually worth it for the life/lie he is living?
 Q: Would this man ever go back to the way he lived before? Could he
ever accept his true identity at the cost of losing his newfound privilege?
 Q: If his mother had not encouraged him to pass, how would his life have
been different?

19. Broader Inquiries about social policy,
perspective, and choice.
 Q At what point is is acceptable to choose what is best for
yourself over your family without causing tension?
 Q: Why does identity matter? How can people stop
―passing?‖
 Q. How much courage does it take for a person to deny
his or her own family?
 Q: How would life be if to this day segregation ,like what
Hughes went through, was still acceptable?
 Q: How would racism and prejudice have been like back
then if there were technologies like Internet?
 Q: Would you pass like Mr. Hughes’s character, Jack?

20. ―Passing‖ By Langston Hughes
On sunny summer Sunday afternoons in Harlem
when the air is one interminable ball game
and grandma cannot get her gospel hymns
from the Saints of God in Christ
on account of the Dodgers on the radio,
on sunny Sunday afternoons
when the kids look all new
and far too clean to stay that way,
and Harlem has its
washed-and-ironed-and-cleaned-best out,
the ones who’ve crossed the line
to live downtown
miss you,
Harlem of the bitter dream
since their dream has
come true.

21. ―Passing‖: The Poem
 Q. Who is the narrator?
 Q. Does [the poem] mirror Hughes’s own experience of
―passing‖? How might critics respond to this poem and what
social justice issues does this poem raise?
 Q: Why does Hughes center his short poem on ―sunny Sunday
afternoons?‖
 Q: What did Hughes mean by ―the air is one interminable ball
game and grandma cannot get her gospel hymns‖?
 Q: What does Hughes mean at the end: ―the ones who’ve
crossed the line to live downtown‖?
 Q: What does Hughes mean when [he says,] ―Harlem of the
bitter dream since their dream has come true?‖ Could he
possibly be mentioning his own dream? Or does he reference
someone else’s?

22. Paraphrase and Summary
 Writing strategies that cannot be ignored

23. How to Paraphrase
 A paraphrase is a restatement of a passage giving the meaning in another
form. This usually involves expanding the original text so as to make it clear.
 A paraphrase will have none of the beauty or effectiveness of the original. It
merely aims, in its prosy way, to spell out the literal meaning. It will not
substitute for the original, then, but will help us appreciate the compactness
and complexity of many poems.
 Write in prose, not verse (in prose the lines go all the way to right margin).
The line breaks of the original are irrelevant in paraphrasing.
 Write modern prose, rearranging word order and sentence structure as
necessary. As far as possible, within the limits of commonsense, avoid using
the words of the original. Finding new words to express the meaning is a test
of what you are understanding.
 Write coherent syntax, imitating that of the original if you can do so with ease,
otherwise breaking it down into easier sentence forms.
 Write in the same grammatical person and tense as the original. If the original
is in the first person, as many poems are, so must the paraphrase be.

24. Expand what is condensed.
 Spell out explicitly what the original implies or conveys by
hints. It follows that a paraphrase will normally be longer than
the original.
 Spell out explicitly all the possible meanings if the original is
ambiguous (saying two or more things at once), as many
poems are.
 Use square brackets to mark off any additional elements you
find it necessary to insert for the coherence of the meaning.
The brackets will show that these bits are editorial -contributed by you for the sake of clarity but not strictly "said"
in the original. An example might be some implied transitional
phrase or even an implied thought that occurs to the speaker
causing a change in tone or feeling.

25. I, Too, Sing America
by Langston Hughes
 Paraphrased Text
I, too, sing America.
I am an American.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Although the color of my skin may be
different from yours, I am like the rest of
my fellowmen. Now I am separated from
whites, but I [and my people] are gaining
strength.
Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.
Soon, I [we] will join the rest of America,
and my [our] rights will assure us that we
are not excluded from the fruits of the
country.
Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--
My darker complexion makes me no less
beautiful than everybody else, which should
make whites feel sorry for treating me like
less than the average individual.
I, too, am America.
I am like the rest of you.

26. ―Passing‖ By Langston Hughes
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On sunny summer Sunday afternoons in Harlem
when the air is one interminable ball game
and grandma cannot get her gospel hymns
from the Saints of God in Christ
on account of the Dodgers on the radio,
on sunny Sunday afternoons
when the kids look all new
and far too clean to stay that way,
and Harlem has its
washed-and-ironed-and-cleaned-best out,
the ones who’ve crossed the line
to live downtown
miss you,
Harlem of the bitter dream
since their dream has
come true.
Take a few minutes
to paraphrase this
poem

27. The Summary
A summary is condensed version of a larger
reading. A summary is not a rewrite of the
original piece and does not have to be long
nor should it be long. To write a summary, use
your own words to briefly express the main
idea and relevant details of the piece you have
read. Your purpose in writing the summary is
to give the basic ideas of the original
reading. What was it about and what did the
author want to communicate?

28. While reading the original work, take note of what or
who is the focus and ask the usual questions that
reporters use: Who? What? When? Where? Why?
How? Using these questions to examine what you are
reading can help you to write the summary.
Always read the introductory paragraph thoughtfully
and look for a thesis statement. Finding the thesis
statement is like finding a key to a locked
door. Frequently, however, the thesis, or central idea, is
implied or suggested. Thus, you will have to work
harder to figure out what the author wants readers to
understand. Use any hints that may shed light on the
meaning of the piece: pay attention to the title and any
headings and to the opening and closing lines of
paragraphs.

29. In writing the summary, let your reader know the piece that you are
summarizing. Identify the title, author and source of the piece. You may want
to use this formula:
In "Title of the Piece" (source and date of piece), author shows/offers/suggests
that: central idea of the piece.
Remember:
•
•
•
•
•
Do not rewrite the original piece.
Keep your summary short.
Use your own wording.
Refer to the central and main ideas of the original
piece.
Read with who, what, when, where, why and how
questions in mind.

30. Here is a sample summary:
In the short story ―The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,‖ author
James Thurber humorously presents a character who
fantasizes about himself as a hero enduring incredibly
challenging circumstances. In his real life, Walter Mitty lives an
ordinary, plain life; he is a husband under the control of an
overbearing, critical wife. Thurber uses lively dialogue to give
readers an understanding of Mitty's character. The story takes
place over a period of about twenty minutes; during this brief
time, Mitty drives his wife to the hairdresser and runs errands
that his wife has given him while he waits for her. In between
his worrying that he is not doing what she wants him to do, he
daydreams about himself as a great surgeon, brilliant repair
technician, expert marksman, and brave military captain. This
story shows that fantasy is often a good alternative to reality.

31. ―Passing‖
the Short Story
By Langston Hughes
Start your summary of the story

32. HOMEWORK
1.
Reading: Kennedy "Racial Passing" Posted under "Secondary
Sources.‖
2.
Studying: Terms: Exam in Class 6
3.
Post #5: Post summary of "Passing" and paraphrase of "Passing."
4.
Post #6: Discuss one story from Kennedy's article that particularly spoke
to you. How did it influence you in your thinking about passing?