Selection Vocabulary

Directions: Use your glossary to define the following words.

Word DefinitionBarren Empty, deserted

Frail Weak, fragile, delicate

Mistrust To have no confidence in

Presentable Fit to be seen by people

Suede Leather with a soft, fuzzy surface

Directions: Choose the synonym that best expresses the meaning of the underlined Word to Know. Write the correct answer.

Sentence Synonyms AnswerA frail railing was all that separated us from the edge of the cliff

-unsubstantial-in poor health-delicate

Unsubstantial

He tried to make his stained T-shirt presentable by bleaching it.

-respectable-fit to be seen-suitable

Fit to be seen

Mistrust of the water led the hiker to boil it before she put it in her canteen

-doubt-suspicion-wariness

wariness

We saw only rocks as we surveyed the

-infertile-unprofitable

desolate

barren desert landscape-not a single plant or animal

-desolate

Directions: In each blank, write the word from the word list that the rhyme describes.

Rhyme WordThis would describe a tree if allIts leaves had tumbled in the fall.

Barren

If they order coffee, but I bring them tea,My customers surely might do this to me.

Mistrust

If you go on a television show,You must be this (but not on radio).

Presentable

This might describe the year’s last roseWhen the fierce wind of autumn blows.

Frail

You might use this for shoes and vests and such,To make them warm to wear and soft to touch

suede

Name: _________________________ Date: _________

Directions: On this sheet of paper to turn in, write a sentence for each vocabulary word that contains context clues. A person who does not understand the word should be able to figure it out when they read your sentence. Use the above sentences as a guide.(GRADED)__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Born: February 1, 1902 Joplin, Missouri Died: May 22, 1967 New York, New York African American poet and playwright

American author Langston Hughes, a moving spirit in the artistic movement of the 1920s often called the Harlem Renaissance, expressed the mind and spirit of most African Americans for nearly half a century.

Early life

Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri, on February 1, 1902, to Carrie M. Langston and James N. Hughes. His parents separated soon after his birth, and Hughes was raised mainly by his mother, his grandmother, and a childless couple, the Reeds. He attended public schools in Kansas and Illinois and upon graduating elementary school, Hughes was named class poet, although he had never even written a poem. That title sparked an interest in writing poetry.

Hughes graduated from high school in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1920. His high school companions, most of whom were white, remembered him as a handsome "Indian-looking" youth whom everyone liked and respected for his quiet, natural ways and his abilities. He won an athletic letter in track and held offices in the student council and the American Civic Association.

In high school Hughes was introduced to the works of poet Carl Sandburg (1878–1967), another poet from the Midwest. Also at this

time, Hughes himself began writing poetry and developing his unique style. He began submitting his work to magazines, but all were rejected.

A career begins

Hughes spent the year after high school in Mexico with his father, who tried to discourage him from writing. But Hughes's poetry and prose (writings) were beginning to appear in the Brownie's Book, a publication for children edited by W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963), and he was starting work on more ambitious material for adult readers. The poem "A Negro Speaks of River," which marked this development, appeared in the Crisis magazine in 1921.

Hughes returned to America and enrolled at Columbia University in New York City. Meanwhile, the Crisis printed several more of his poems. Finding the atmosphere at Columbia unfriendly, Hughes left after a year. He took on odd jobs in New York, and in 1923 he signed on to work on a freighter (a large ship). His first voyage took him down the west coast of Africa; his second took him to Spain. In 1924 he spent six months in Paris, France. He was relatively happy, produced

Langston Hughes. Reproduced by permission of AP/Wide World Photos . some prose, and experimented with what he called "racial rhythms" in poetry. Most of this verse (poetry) appeared in African American publications, but Vanity Fair, a magazine popular among middle-and upper-class women, published three poems.

Later in 1924 Hughes went to live with his mother in Washington, D.C. He hoped to earn enough money to return to college, but work as a hotel busboy paid very little, and life in the nation's capital, where racial tensions were fierce, made him unhappy. But he was able to write many poems. "The Weary Blues" won first prize in 1925 in a literary competition sponsored by Opportunity, a magazine published by the National Urban League. That summer one of his essays and another poem won prizes in the Crisis literary contest. Meanwhile, Hughes had come to the attention of Carl Van Vechten, a novelist and critic, who arranged publication of Hughes's first volume of poetry, The Weary Blues (1926).

This book projected Hughes's lasting themes, established his style, and suggested the wide range of his poetic talent. It showed him committed to racial themes—pride in blackness and in his African heritage, and the everyday life of African Americans—and democracy (government ruled by the people) and patriotism (the support of one's country). Hughes transformed the bitterness which such themes generated in many African Americans of the day into sharp irony and humor. His casual, folklike style was strengthened in his second book, Fine Clothes to the Jew (1927).

A literary success

Hughes had resumed his education in 1925 and graduated from Lincoln University in 1929. Not without Laughter (1930) was his first novel. The story portrays an African American boy, Sandy, caught between two worlds and two attitudes. The boy's hardworking and respectable mother provides a counterpoint to his energetic, easygoing, footloose father. The mother is oriented to the middle-class values of the white world; the father believes that fun and laughter are the only things worth pursuing. Though the boy's character is blurred, Hughes's attention to the details of African American culture in America gives the novel insight and power.

The relative commercial success of Not without Laughter inspired Hughes to make his living as an author. In 1931 he made the first of what became annual lecture tours. The following year he took a trip to the Soviet Union, the former country that today consists of Russia and other smaller nations. Meanwhile, he turned out poems, essays, book reviews, song lyrics, plays, and short stories. He edited five books of African American writing and worked with Arna Bontemps on another and on a book for children. He wrote some twenty plays, including "Mulatto," "Simply Heavenly," and "Tambourines to Glory." He translated Federico Garcia Lorca, the Spanish poet, and Gabriela Mistral (1889–1957), the Latin American Nobel laureate poet, and wrote two long autobiographical works (a biography about oneself).

As a newspaper columnist for the Chicago Defender, Hughes created "Simple." This enduring character brought his style to perfection and solidified his reputation as the "most eloquent [fluent and persuasive] spokesman" for African Americans. The sketches of Simple, collected in five volumes, are presented as conversations between an uneducated, African American city dweller, Jesse B. Semple (Simple), and an educated but less sensitive African American friend. The sketches that ran in the Defender for twenty-five years are varied in subject and remarkable in their relevance to the universal human

condition. That Simple is a universal man, even though his language, habits, and personality are the result of his particular experiences as an African American man, is a measure of Hughes's genius.

Hughes received numerous fellowships (scholarships), awards, and honorary degrees, including the Anisfield-Wolf Award (1953) for a book on improving race relations. He taught creative writing at two universities; had his plays produced on four continents; and made recordings of African American history, music commentary, and his own poetry. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. His work, some of which was translated into a dozen languages, earned him an international reputation. Forty-seven volumes bear Hughes's name. He died in New York City on May 22, 1967.

Build Background use internetLangston Hughes, The Harlem Renaissance, and Jazz music

Where was Langston Hughes born?

When was he born?

What were his parents names?

Connect to LiteratureExamine the underlying meaning of the following African proverb:

"It takes a village to raise a child."Not all teachers are found in school. Write about someone outside of school that has taught you an important lesson?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Name: ________________________ Date: _________

Conflicts Are Divided into Two GroupsInternal External-Struggle

between the character and some outside force

Character vs. HimselfA struggle within a characteri.e. decision, choice

Character vs. NatureCharacter vs. Another CharacterCharacter vs. SocietyCharacter vs. Object

Internal and External Conflict

Conflict Internal External Which type?

1. Maria and her brother argue about who gets to sit in the front seat of the car2. A farmer and his family must find a way to survive a terrible flood.3. Sue is angry with herself for missing an easy question on a test.4. The captain of a ship tries to sail through a dangerous storm.5. James can’t decide what to do tonight. Should he stay home and study or go to a movie?

Name: ________________________ Date: _____________

Examine conflicts in the storyDirections: Go through "Thank You, Ma'am" and record conflicts on the chart below. Then check whether the conflict is Internal or External. Which one is the Central Conflict? Partner

Conflict Internal External Central? Sample: Roger and Mrs. Jones fight over her pursePurse Strap and boy; breaks

Roger doesn’t have anyone at homeBoy is being dragged in a half nelson to her house; wants TO BE LET GOMrs. Jones struggled with her own pastThank you m’am or something moreBoys wants blue suede shoesCan’t decide whether to run out or not

Name: ___________________________ Date: _____________

Critical Thinking Questions (WHILE YOU READ)Question1. What does the woman do to the boy after he tries to steal her purse?2. What do you think Mrs. Jones is going to do to the boy?3. How would you evaluate the way Mrs. Jones treats Roger?4. How would you have reacted in Mrs. Jones’s place?5. Make inferences about Roger’s home life?6. What might be some other reasons why Roger tries to steal?7. What types of conflict is Roger experiencing in paragraph labeled A.8. Characterize Mrs. Jones9. Why doesn’t Roger run out of the room when he has the chance?

10. Why do you think Mrs. Jones told Roger about the things she wanted but “could not get”?11. Mrs. Jones left her purse unattended and went into the other room. What is revealed by her action?

12. What was revealed by Roger’s action when he slid over so she could see him from the other room? Is Roger changing?13. Do you think Roger did the right thing by giving Roger ten dollars?14. Explain the phrase: “because shoes come by devilish like that will burn your feet.”

15. The last paragraph begins with “The boy wanted to say something else but couldn’t do it.” What else do you think he would have like to be able to say to her besides “Thank you”.

16. Analyze how

Roger’s view of Mrs. Jones changed from the beginning to the end of the story.

17. Do you think at the beginning if Roger had been successful in stealing the purse, would he have bought shoes with the money? At the end, now that he has been given $10, will he use it to buy shoes?18. Create a theme statement.19. What is the central conflict and climax?