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Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
4
on its cap was a revolving figure of a grinning
she complained to her friends. She had a
Joyce Carol Oates
CLOSE READING
boy who held a hamburger aloft. One night
high, breathless, amused voice which made
in midsummer they ran across, breathless
everything she said a little forced, whether it
Joyce Carol Oates (b. 1938) is currently a professor of creative
with daring, and right away someone leaned
was sincere or not.
writing at Princeton University. She was the youngest author ever to
Connie’s character in part through
out a car window and invited them over, but it
There was one good thing: June went places
receive the National Book Award — for her novel Them (1969).
contrast with her sister June. You could
was just a boy from high school they didn’t
with girl friends of hers, girls who were just as
Oates is highly prolific, having published nearly sixty novels, including
have students explore this relationship by
like. It made them feel good to be able to
plain and steady as she, and so when Connie
several mystery novels under the pseudonyms Rosamond Smith and
having them create a T-chart of contrasts
Identity and Culture
ignore him. They went up through the maze of
wanted to do that her mother had no
Lauren Kelly. Her 2014 short story collection, Lovely, Dark, Deep, was a
between Connie and June. They can list
parked and cruising cars to the bright-lit,
objections. The father of Connie’s best girl
finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Oates is also a literary and social critic
any similarities at the bottom of the chart.
friend drove the girls the three miles to town
fly-infested restaurant, their faces pleased and
who has written on such wide-ranging subjects as the poetry of
Ask the students to look back at their
and left them off at a shopping plaza, so that
expectant as if they were entering a sacred
chart to assess if Connie’s disrespect for
Emily Dickinson, the fiction of James Joyce, and the life of boxer Mike Tyson.
building that loomed out of the night to give
they could walk through the stores or go to a
Short Fiction / Joyce Carol Oates
June is merited. If you want to extend this
movie, and when he came to pick them up
them what haven and what blessing they
approach, you could have the students
again at eleven he never bothered to ask what
yearned for. They sat at the counter and
of Tucson, a man in his thirties who was able to prey on teens in part because he pretended to be
create another T-chart for Connie’s two
they had done.
crossed their legs at the ankles, their thin
one. In an interview with the New York Times, Oates described him:
sides, as presented in paragraph 5.
shoulders rigid with excitement, and listened
They must have been familiar sights, walking
He charmed his victims as charismatic psychopaths have always charmed their victims, to the
him a long time to get his nerve up. Tain’t
carriage but ’fore Ah could git to him the saw
to the music that made everything so good: the
around that shopping plaza in their shorts and
TRM Activity Handout
bewilderment of others who fancy themselves free of all lunatic attractions. The Pied Piper of Tucson: a
got him in the body — awful sight. Me an’ Skint
nothin’ for Spunk to fight when he ain’t skeered
music was always in the background like
flat ballerina slippers that always scuffed the
trashy dream, a tabloid archetype, sheer artifice, comedy, cartoon — surrounded, however improbably,
A student handout for this activity can be
of nothin’. Now, Joe’s done come back to have it
Miller got him off but it was too late. Anybody
sidewalk, with charm bracelets jingling on their
music at a church service, it was something to
and finally tragically, by real people.
found in the Teacher’s Resource Materials.
out wid the man that’s got all he ever had. Y’all
could see that. The fust thing he said wuz: ‘He
depend upon.
thin wrists; they would lean together to whisper
know Joe ain’t never had nothin’ nor wanted
pushed me, ’Lige — the dirty hound pushed
For Bob Dylan
A boy named Eddie came in to talk with
and laugh secretly if someone passed by who
“You wrong theah, Walter. Tain’t ’cause
I’m jus’ waitin’ to see whut he’s goin’ to say
free to return to Lena. He did all of these
4
bottle down upon the counter. He didn’t bang it,
me in the back!’ — he was spittin’ blood at
nothin’ besides Lena. It musta been a h’ant
amused or interested them. Connie had long dark
them. He sat backwards on his stool, turning
things.
er name was Connie. She was fifteen and
Joe’s timid at all, it’s ’cause Spunk wants Lena. fixed — what the hell stinks? Hair spray? You
just eased it out of his hand silently and fiddled KEY CONTEXT This story is based on the factual case of a psychopath known as the Pied Piper Bettmann/Getty Images “She makes me want to throw up sometimes,” 5 bottle, though squatter than a real bottle, and 4 In paragraphs 2–4, Oates develops chapter 4
when he gits back.”
CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING
cause ain’t nobody never seen no black
ev’ry breath. We laid him on the sawdust pile
Close Reading: These notes identify short passages from the text
himself jerkily around in semi-circles and then
blond hair that drew anyone’s eye to it, and she
If Joe was a passle of wile cats Spunk would don’t see your sister using that junk.”
with his suspender buckle. Hshe had a quick nervous giggling habit of wore part of it pulled up on her head and puffed stopping and turning again, and after a while he chapter 4 with his face to the East so’s he could die
bob-cat.”
II
III
where you and your students might stop and discuss significant
“Well, Ah’m goin’ after her to-day. Ah’m craning her neck to glance into mirrors, or Her sister June was twenty-four and still out and the rest of it she let fall down her back. asked Connie if she would like something to eat. You might point out the connection
tackle the job just the same. He’d go after
easy. He helt mah han’ till the last, Walter,
“ ‘Nother thing,” cut in one of the men,
4 / Identity and Culture
CLOSE READING
between the end of paragraph 4 and the
goin’ an’ fetch her back. Spunk’s done gone checking other people’s faces to make sure her But Joe Kanty never came back, never. The men 30 Whut you reckon, Walt?” Elijah asked one night “Spunk was cussin’ a blue streak to-day ’cause and said: ‘It was Joe, ’Lige . . . the dirty
anything he wanted the same way. As Ah wuz lived at home. She was a secretary in the high
word choice, sentence structure, or other elements that will highlight
She said she did and so she tapped her friend’s
She wore a pullover jersey blouse that looked one
sayin’ a minute ago, he tole Joe right to his face hool Connie attended, and if that wasn’t
Section II of the story could be used as
too fur.” own was all right. Her mother, who noticed sc in the store heard the sharp report of a pistol way when she was at home and another way arm on her way out — her friend pulled her face story’s title: the father never asks the
later. “Spunk’s gittin’ ready to marry Lena!”
he ’lowed dat saw wuz wobblin’ — almos’ got
sneak shoved me . . . he didn’t dare come to
the writer’s craft and its impact on the meaning of the work.
“Naw! Why, Joe ain’t had time to git cold yit.
He reached deep down into his trouser everything and knew everything and who somewhere distant in the palmetto thicket and when she was away from home. Everything about up into a brave droll look — and Connie said she question in the title. Part of the title phrase
a brief passage analysis exercise: how
that Lena was his. ‘Call her and see if she’ll bad enough — with her in the same
’im once. The machinist come, looked it over
mah face . . . but Ah’ll git the son-of-a-wood
15
soon Spunk came walking leisurely, with his big
does Hurston use literary elements and
come. A woman knows her boss an’ she
Nohow Ah didn’t figger Spunk was the marryin’
pocket and drew out a hollow ground razor, hadn’t much reason any longer to look at her building — she was so plain and chunky and her had two sides to it, one for home and one for would meet her at eleven, across the way. “I just comes up in paragraph 55, too, and in the
an said it wuz alright. Spunk musta been leanin
louse soon’s Ah get there an’ make hell too hot
3
large and shiny, and passed his moistened own face, always scolded Connie about it. steady that Connie had to hear her praised all anywhere that was not home: her walk that could hate to leave her like that,” Connie said story’s last line.
black Stetson set at the same rakish angle and
kind.”
4 / Identity and Culture
answers when he calls.’ ‘Lena, ain’t I yo’
for him . . . Ah felt him shove me . . . !’ Thass
t’wards it some. Den he claimed somebo
techniques to develop the character of dy
Spunk?
thumb back and forth over the edge. “Stop gawking at yourself, who are you? You Lena clinging to his arm, came walking right into “Well, he is,” rejoined Elijah. “He done earnestly, but the boy said that she wouldn’t be how he died.”
husband?’ Joe sorter whines out. Lena looked the time by her mother and her mother’s
pushed ’im but twan’t nobody close to ’im. Ah
40
be childlike and bobbing, or languid enough to
at him real disgusted but she don’t answer and sisters. June did this, June did that, she saved
“Talkin’ like a man, Joe. ’Course that’s yo’ think you’re so pretty?” she would say. Connie the general store. Lena wept in a frightened moved most of Lena’s things — and her along wuz glad when knockin’ off time came. I’m “If spirits kin fight, there’s a powerful tussle
make anyone think she was hearing music in her alone for long. So they went out to his car and on
she don’t move outa her tracks. Then Spunk money and helped clean the house and
fambly affairs, but Ah like to see grit in would raise her eyebrows at these familiar manner. wid ’em — over to the Bradley house. He’s skeered of dat man when he gits hot. He’d beat goin’ on somewhere ovah Jordan ’cause Ah
CLOSE READING
6
head, her mouth which was pale and smirking the way Connie couldn’t help but let her eyes
anybody.” complaints and look right through her mother, “Well,” Spunk announced calmly, “Joe buying it. Jus’ like Ah told yo’ all right in heah the you full of button holes as quick as he’s look b’leeve Joe’s ready for Spunk an’ ain’t skeered any
reaches out an’ takes hold of her arm an’ says: cooked and Connie couldn’t do a thing, her
most of the time, but bright and pink on these wander over the windshields and faces all
Joe Kanty laid down a nickel and stumbled into a shadowy vision of herself as she was came out there wid a meat axe an’ made me night Joe was kilt. Spunk’s crazy ’bout Lena. He atcher.” Paragraph 6 offers an opportunity to
‘Lena, youse mine. From now on Ah works for mind was all filled with trashy daydreams.
more — yas, Ah b’leeve Joe pushed ’im mahself.”
evenings out, her laugh which was cynical and around her, her face gleaming with the joy that
kill him.”
out into the street. right at that moment: she knew she was pretty Their father was away at work most of the drawling at home — “Ha, ha, very funny” — but had nothing to do with Eddie or even this place; explore the use of setting. On the one
you an’ fights for you an’ Ah never wants you to
don’t want folks to keep on talkin’ ’bout
They had arrived at the house. Lena’s
IV
Dusk crept in from the woods. Ike Clarke lit and that was everything. Her mother had been time and when he came home he wanted high-pitched and nervous anywhere else, like the it might have been the music. She drew her hand, you could show the students
her — thass reason he’s rushin’ so. Funny thing
He sent Lena home and led the men back to
look to nobody for a crumb of bread, a stitch of
lamentations were deep and loud. She had
CLOSE READING
Joe — crumpled and limp with his right hand
close or a shingle to go over yo’ head, but me supper and he read the newspaper at supper
the swinging oil lamp that was almost pretty once too, if you could believe those old carriage but ’fore Ah could git to him the saw jingling of the charms on her bracelet. shoulders up and sucked in her breath with the pictures of the brand image from Bob’s
’bout that bob-cat, wan’t it?”
The men gathered the next evening in a different
Questions
filled the room with magnolia blossoms that
him a long time to get his nerve up. Tain’t
long as Ah live. Ah’ll git the lumber foh owah and after supper he went to bed. He didn’t
immediately surrounded by candle-flies. The snapshots in the album, but now her looks got him in the body — awful sight. Me an’ Skint Sometimes they did go shopping or to a pure pleasure of being alive, and just at that 5 Big Boy of the boy with the hamburger.
“What bob-cat, ’Lige? Ah ain’t heered ’bout
still clutching his razor.
Key Passage. The highlighted text is a rich
mood, no laughter. No badinage this time.
gave off a heavy sweet odor. The keepers of
nothin’ for Spunk to fight when he ain’t skeered
TRM Suggested Responses
none.”
“See mah back? Mah close cut clear through.
men laughed boisterously behind Joe’s back as were gone and that was why she was always Miller got him off but it was too late. Anybody movie, but sometimes they went across the moment she happened to glance at a face just a On the other hand, the diner is compared
house to-morrow. Go home an git yo’ things bother talking much to them, but around his
passage suited for close reading. Students
the wake tipped about whispering in
“Look, ’Lige, you goin’ to set up wid Spunk?”
1. How does Zora Neale Hurston characterize Spunk Banks in Section I? Consider her direct
of nothin’. Now, Joe’s done come back to have it
together!”
bent head Connie’s mother kept picking at
they watched him shamble woodward. after Connie. out wid the man that’s got all he ever had. Y’all could see that. The fust thing he said wuz: ‘He highway, ducking fast across the busy road, to few feet from hers. It was a boy with shaggy twice in the paragraph to a church, and chapter 4
“Ain’t cher? Well, night befo’ las’ as they
He sneaked up an’ tried to kill me from the back,
can annotate this key passage in the
“Naw, Ah reckon not, Walter. Tell yuh the
frightened tones. Everyone in the village was
description as well as what others say about him.
Suggested responses to the questions for
but Ah got him, an’ got him good, first shot,”
“You oughtn’t to said whut you said to him, “Why don’t you keep your room clean her until Connie wished her mother was dead a drive-in restaurant where older kids hung black hair, in a convertible jalopy painted gold. you can ask students what purpose the
“ ‘Thass mah house,’ Lena speaks up.
was goin’ to bed, a big black bob-cat, black all
there, even old Jeff Kanty, Joe’s father, who a
truth, Ah’m a li’l bit skittish. Spunk died too
book’s digital platform, or you can print it
2. How does the dialect affect your reading and understanding of the story? Would Hurston
this reading can be found in the Teacher’s
25
pushed me, ’Lige — the dirty hound pushed
know Joe ain’t never had nothin’ nor wanted
Spunk said.
have made her characters more credible — in 1925 — and broadened her audience if she had
over, you hear me, black, walked round and
‘Papa gimme that.’
’Lige — look how it worked him up,” Walter like your sister? How’ve you got your hair and she herself was dead and it was all over. out. The restaurant was shaped like a big He stared at her and then his lips widened into a comparison serves, and in what ways is
wicket — died cussin’ he did. You know he
few hours before would have been afraid to
to be annotated by hand.
Resource Materials.
4
nothin’ besides Lena. It musta been a h’ant
me in the back!’ — he was spittin’ blood at
had them speak in so-called standard English?
chided. “ ‘Well,’ says Spunk, ‘doan give up whut’s ev’ry breath. We laid him on the sawdust pile round that house and howled like forty, an’ thought he was done outa life.” the diner a place of worship for the teens.
The men glared at Elijah, accusingly.
come within ten feet of him, stood leering
cause ain’t nobody never seen no black
TRM Annotation Handout
228 yours, but when youse inside doan forgit youse “Take him up an’ plant him in Stony when Spunk got his gun an’ went to the winder 229 Ask them to be on the lookout for other
3. How do the men in the story regard the conflict between Spunk Banks and Joe Kanty?
“And Ah hope it did work him up. Tain’t even 20 35 “Good Lawd, who’d he think done it?” 50 triumphantly down upon the fallen giant as if
bob-cat.” with his face to the East so’s he could die
decent for a man to take and take like he do.” mine, an’ let no other man git outa his place easy. He helt mah han’ till the last, Walter, to shoot it, he says it stood right still an’ looked “Joe.” religious references as they read the rest of
Lonesome,” Spunk said in a careless voice. “Ah
4. In what ways are Spunk and Joe reflected in Elijah and Walter? What purpose do the
A student handout for annotating this text
his fingers had been the teeth of steel that laid
“ ‘Nother thing,” cut in one of the men,
4 / Identity and Culture
similarities serve?
Texts in Context / Ralph Ellison and the Influence of the Harlem Renaissance
can be found in the Teacher’s Resource
“Spunk will sho’ kill him.” wid you!’ and said: ‘It was Joe, ’Lige . . . the dirty him in the eye, an’ howled right at him. The “Joe Kanty? How come?” the story, too. DIFFERENTIATION
didn’t wanna shoot him but he made me do it.
him low.
“Spunk was cussin’ a blue streak to-day ’cause
Materials.
5. Do we as readers know what really happened between Spunk and Joe in their final
He’s a dirty coward, jumpin’ on a man from
“Aw, Ah doan know. You never kin tell. He “Lena looked up at him with her eyes so sneak shoved me . . . he didn’t dare come to thing got Spunk so nervoused up he couldn’t “Walter, Ah b’leeve Ah will walk up thata way Connections to World
The cooling board consisted of three
he ’lowed dat saw wuz wobblin’ — almos’ got
encounter? Is it important that we do? Why or why not?
might turn him up an’ spank him fur gettin’ in full of love that they wuz runnin’ over, an’ mah face . . . but Ah’ll git the son-of-a-wood shoot. But Spunk says twan’t no bob-cat an’ set. Lena would like it Ah reckon.” sixteen-inch boards on saw horses, a dingy sheet
behind.”
’im once. The machinist come, looked it over
Q3. Students today might be interested
05_SheaLitComp3e_28114_ch04_164_327.indd 228
08/12/21 11:14 AM
is best known for her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), set in Eatonville, Florida, where
6. How would you describe the character of Lena? What inconsistencies, if any, do you notice in
To smitten cheek and weary eyes.
nohow. He says it was Joe done sneaked back
the way, but Spunk wouldn’t shoot no unarmed Spunk seen it an’ Joe seen it too, and his louse soon’s Ah get there an’ make hell too hot 05_SheaLitComp3e_28114_ch04_164_327.indd 229 CLOSE READING 08/12/21 11:14 AM was his shroud.
Spunk turned on his heel and sauntered
“But whut did he say, ’Lige?”
an said it wuz alright. Spunk musta been leanin
Hurston grew up; the town was the first incorporated African American community in the United States.
Lord, forgive me if my need
away to where he knew his love wept in fear for
lip started to tremblin’ and his Adam’s
man. Dat razor he carried outa heah ain’t gonna 115 t’wards it some. Den he claimed somebody for him . . . Ah felt him shove me . . . !’ Thass from Hell!” her behavior? Do you view her character in the same way as the men in this story do? Be Texts in Context / Ralph Ellison and the Influence of the Harlem Renaissance 55 in judging the standards of masculinity 60
Elijah did not answer until they had left the
The women ate heartily of the funeral baked
CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING
sure to consider the ending of the story in your response.
embedded in the story, and some might
She attended Howard University and won a scholarship to Barnard College in New York, living in Harlem
Sometimes shapes a human creed.
run Spunk down an’ cut him, an’ Joe ain’t got apple was galloping up and down his neck how he died.” him and no man stopped him. At the general “Humph!” sniffed Walter, “he oughter be Ask students to discuss how Connie’s chapter 4 meats and wondered who would be Lena’s next.
lighted store and were strolling down the dark
pushed ’im but twan’t nobody close to ’im. Ah
see those standards as “toxic.” You
7. Who holds power in the community of the story, and why do they hold it? What is the nature of
throughout the 1920s. Toward the end of her life, Hurston remained out of the public eye; she was buried
Elijah’s comments in the third paragraph
the nerve to go to Spunk with it knowing he totes like a race horse. Ah bet he’s wore out half “If spirits kin fight, there’s a powerful tussle nervous after what he done. Ah reckon Joe come behavior in paragraph 7 characterizes her. The men whispered coarse conjectures between
store later on, they all talked of locking him up
street.
wuz glad when knockin’ off time came. I’m
All day long and all night through,
might choose to raise that idea with
that power?
in an unmarked grave in Florida.
of section IV are crucial, and the dialect
that Army .45. He makes that break outa heah to a dozen Adam’s apples since Spunk’s been goin’ on somewhere ovah Jordan ’cause Ah back to dare him to marry Lena, or to come out What was her face “gleaming with the joy” of guzzles of whiskey.
until the sheriff should come from Orlando, but
“Ah wuz loadin’ a wagon wid scantlin’
6
skeered of dat man when he gits hot. He’d beat
One thing only must I do:
8. How does the bobcat function as a symbol in “Spunk”? How does it speak to the story’s
Differentiation: These notes provide suggestions for scaffolding,
no one did anything but talk.
bluff us. He’s gonna hide that razor behind the on the job with Lena. That’s all he’ll do. b’leeve Joe’s ready for Spunk an’ ain’t skeered any an’ fight. Ah bet he’ll be back time and again, if not because of Eddie, that place, or even your students: is this a story about what
might obscure them for some students. Be
1925
right near the saw when Spunk fell on the
KEY CONTEXT Hurston studied anthropology at Columbia University and did field work in
you full of button holes as quick as he’s look
larger themes, and why is it particularly noteworthy that in reality, there are no black bobcats?
Quench my pride and cool my blood,
A clear case of self-defense, the trial was a
first palmetto root an’ sneak back home to bed. He’ll be back heah after while swallowin’ an’ more — yas, Ah b’leeve Joe pushed ’im mahself.” too. Know what Ah think? Joe wuz a braver man the music? DIFFERENTIATIONDIFFERENTIATION today we might call “toxic masculinity”?
sure students understand that Elijah says
Louisiana, Florida, and Haiti. “Spunk” reflects her interest in and celebration of African American
9. What role does the supernatural play in the story?
You could then ask them to discuss how
speaking and listening activities, collaborative learning, inquiry,
atcher.”
Lest I perish in the flood.
that Spunk died wicked, believing he was
Don’t tell me nothin’ ’bout that rabbit-foot 120 short one, and Spunk walked out of the court than Spunk.” DIFFERENTIATION 6 Going or crossing “over Jordan” is a common euphemism for dying
workin’ his lips like he wants to say somethin’
folk culture, as well as its use of authentic vernacular speech. While not always technically or
Scaffolding
Scaffolding
Lest a hidden ember set They had arrived at the house. Lena’s 10. The story takes its title from the character Spunk Banks, but spunk also means gumption, or Hurston seems to judge the men’s behavior
varying modes of expression, and connections to self, other texts,
murdered.
4 / Identity and Culture
colored man. Didn’t he meet Spunk an’ Lena an’ can’t.” lamentations were deep and loud. She had There was a general shout of derision from 4 A haint, or ghost. — Eds. and passing into the afterlife. It derives from the Old Testament
house to freedom again. He could work
IV
courage. Is this an appropriate title? Explain.
grammatically accurate as defined by the rules of written English, the dialogue Hurston chooses
Timber that I thought was wet
story in which the Jewish people crossed over the Jordan River to
5
® Witty banter. — Eds.
AP
AP Teaching Tip. The 1987 AP English
face to face one day las week an’ mumble “But didn’t he do nothin’ to stop ’em?” filled the room with magnolia blossoms that the group. Speaking and Listening ® and attitudes.
again, ride the dangerous log-carriage that
finally reach freedom after fleeing slavery in Egypt. — Eds.
captures the time, place, and culture through the voices of her characters. “Spunk,” which
The men gathered the next evening in a different
11. This intricate story is actually a series of stories. What are the stories within the stories? How
Burning like the dryest flax,
Literatur
Literature multiple-choice test used a e multiple-choice test used a
fed the singing, snarling, biting circle-saw; he
sumthin’ to Spunk ’bout lettin’ his wife alone?” “Nope, not a frazzlin’ thing — jus’ stood gave off a heavy sweet odor. The keepers of “Thass a fact,” went on Walter. “Lookit whut 45 You could have students briefly debate and the world.
5
established Hurston’s reputation as a prominent writer, was first published in Alain Locke’s
mood, no laughter. No badinage this time.
do they interrelate? How does the four-part structure reinforce or signal shifts?
Melting like the merest wax,
passage fr
om
passage from Their Eyes Were Watching
“What did Spunk say?” Walter broke in. “Ah there. Spunk took Lena’s arm and walked off jus’ the wake tipped about whispering in he done; took a razor an’ went out to fight a man Walter’s claims about bravery in
could stroll the soft dark lanes with his guitar.
The New Negro.
“Look, ’Lige, you goin’ to set up wid Spunk?”
12. What role do the concepts of property and ownership, both literal and metaphorical, play in
Lest the grave restore its dead.
210
paragraphs 43–44. By what definition of
®
God
God and the 1991 AP English Language
like nothin’ ain’t happened and he stood there
He was free to roam the woods again; he was
like him fine but tain’t right the way he carries 125 “Naw, Ah reckon not, Walter. Tell yuh the frightened tones. Everyone in the village was he knowed toted a gun an’ wuz a crack shot, too; Texts in Context / Ralph Ellison and the Influence of the Harlem Renaissance story. Have some students analyze the story DIFFERENTIATION
the story? Be sure to consider the relationship of Lena with Joe and Spunk, and cite specific
Not yet has my heart or head
“bravery” is Joe the braver man? You
om
test used one fr
test used one from Of Mules and Men. If
on wid Lena Kanty, jus’ ’cause Joe’s timid ’bout gazin’ after them till they was outa sight. Now there, even old Jeff Kanty, Joe’s father, who a ’nother thing Joe wuz skeered of Spunk, skeered © Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. For review purposes only. Do not distribute.
evidence from the text, as you develop your response.
truth, Ah’m a li’l bit skittish. Spunk died too
you have access to one of those, you might
you have access to one of those, you might
fightin’. ” In the least way realized you know a woman don’t want no man like that. 3 A Stetson hat, which has a wide brim. — Eds. plumb stiff ! But he went jes’ the same. It took could also ask the students to assess Scaffolding
They and I are civilized. wicket — died cussin’ he did. You know he few hours before would have been afraid to “Gimme some soda-water. Sass’prilla Ah whether bravery is admirable, based on
2
eading of
use it as a warm-up for the close reading of
use it as a warm-up for the close r
use it as a warm-up for the close reading of
I
1925 thought he was done outa life.” come within ten feet of him, stood leering reckon,” the newcomer ordered, and stood far the evidence in the story. Q10. The discussion of the title could
ompts may be available
. These pr
this story. These prompts may be available
this story
this story. These prompts may be available
I look at the world
A giant of a brown-skinned man sauntered up
208 “Good Lawd, who’d he think done it?” 50 triumphantly down upon the fallen giant as if down the counter near the open pickled pig-feet 209 05_SheaLitComp3e_28114_ch04_164_327.indd 210 lead to an analysis of the story’s theme. 08/12/21 11:12 AM
®
in AP Classroom, too.in AP
You could approach the title by asking
the one street of the village and out into the
Langston Hughes
Questions “Joe.” his fingers had been the teeth of steel that laid tub to drink it. DIFFERENTIATION DIFFERENTIATION 1926 essay, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” that his generation of artists and writers
students to define the “spunk” possessed
“Joe Kanty? How come?” him low. palmetto thickets with a small pretty woman “intend[ed] to express our individual, dark-skinned selves without fear or shame.”
A key figure of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes (1902–1967) grew up in the African
by the three main characters, Spunk,
clinging lovingly to his arm. Elijah nudged Walter and turned with mock Speaking and Listening Connections to Texts
“Walter, Ah b’leeve Ah will walk up thata way
1. What specific details describe Africa? Start with the opening descriptions that Countee The cooling board consisted of three gravity to the new-comer. DIFFERENTIATION
Joe, and Lena. Ask students to support
American community of Joplin, Missouri. He spent a year at Columbia University and became involved
“Looka theah, folkses!” cried Elijah Mosley,
Cullen presents as contrasts. As the poem progresses, what visual picture emerges? sixteen-inch boards on saw horses, a dingy sheet Elijah says that he believes that Joe pushed Hurston’s reference to “the funeral baked I look at the world
an’ set. Lena would like it Ah reckon.”
229om the
with the Harlem movement, but was shocked by the endemic racial prejudice at the university and
“Say, Joe, how’s everything up yo’ way?
05_SheaLitComp3e_28114_ch04_164_327.indd 208 08/12/21 11:12 AM 05_SheaLitComp3e_28114_ch04_164_327.indd 209 chapter 4 / Joyce Carol Oates 08/12/21 11:12 AM their definitions with evidence fr
slapping his leg gleefully. “Theah they go, big as
Scaffolding
“But whut did he say, ’Lige?”
2. Starting with line 85, the speaker struggles to reconcile his Christian beliefs with “heathen was his shroud. How’s yo’ wife?” Spunk. Spunk believes in the ghost, too. meats” in the last paragraph slyly alludes 4 / Identity and Culture From awakening eyes in a black face—
CLOSE READING
text. Ask them to also consider how other
subsequently left. Hughes traveled for several years before returning to the United States and
life an’ brassy as tacks.”
Students could debate the use of the
gods.” What is the nature of his struggle? Elijah did not answer until they had left the 55 The women ate heartily of the funeral baked 60 completing his BA at Pennsylvania’s Lincoln University in 1929, after which he returned to Harlem for to another story in which a murdered man And this is what I see:
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characters, and the society as a whole,
AP Teaching Tip. To help students think
All the loungers in the store tried to walk to
Ask students to analyze the exchange
lighted store and were strolling down the dark
3. In addition to differing religious beliefs, what other dualities in cultural values do you find in meats and wondered who would be Lena’s next. Joe started and all but dropped the bottle he 10 supernatural and the folkloric elements of the returns as a ghost. In Hamlet (Chapter 6, This fenced-off narrow space
assess that quality. You could then ask
about the line of reasoning in a poem,
the remainder of his life. His first volume of poetry, The Weary Blues, was published in 1926. His first
the door with an air of nonchalance but with
the poem? If you interpret the poem as the inner struggle of the speaker trying to construct The men whispered coarse conjectures between was holding. He swallowed several times between Elijah and Joe in paragraphs p. 555), Hamlet says to Horatio, “The funeral Assigned to me. 5
street.
them to state the story’s theme as it relates
you could ask them to rearrange stanzas
novel, Not Without Laughter (1930), won the Harmon Gold Medal for literature. He also wrote children’s
his identity, what are the conflicts the speaker experiences? small success. painfully and his lips trembled. using evidence that Joe literally haunts Spunk. baked meats / Did coldly furnish forth the
“Ah wuz loadin’ a wagon wid scantlin’ guzzles of whiskey. 8–17 to determine whether Elijah’s tone
poetry, musicals, and opera.
to the idea of spunk. Suggest to students
in a new poem to put it together in a
4. What is the impact of the repetition used in the poem? To what extent does the speaker answer “Now pee-eople!” Walter Thomas gasped. “Aw ’Lige, you oughtn’t to do nothin’ like Ask others to analyze it from the perspective that marriage tables.” If students have read I look then at the silly walls
is a good-natured taunt or a confronta-
right near the saw when Spunk fell on the
1925
that they might see it as a character trait,
that,” Walter grumbled. Elijah ignored him.
logical sequence. This poem could work
the repeated question, “What is Africa to me”? Other examples of repetition include the repeated “Will you look at ’em!” 05_SheaTEL&C3e_40437_ch04_164_327_3pp.indd 229 Spunk may believe he is haunted even if he isn’t. Hamlet, you might ask them how that allusion Through dark eyes in a dark face—
08/01/22 8:53 AM
tional challenge. They can also analyze
KEY CONTEXT Hughes wrote this poem by hand on the back inside cover of his edition of
a social construct, a masculine ideal, or
well for that exercise, since it presents
phrase “So I lie” and the italicized quatrains. How does the repetition work in conjunction with the 6 Going or crossing “over Jordan” is a common euphemism for dying 5 “She jus’ passed heah a few minutes ago Have the students focus on what the perspective reinforces the themes of Hurston’s story. And this is what I know:
“But that’s one thing Ah likes about Spunk
An Anthology of Revolutionary Poetry (1929). It was not discovered until 2009, when Penny
rhyming couplets and rhythm? goin’ thata way,” with a wave of his hand in the how Hurston uses Joe’s actions in an accessible and clear line of reasoning.
something else, and that they might see
they are using reveals about the characters
Banks — he ain’t skeered of nothin’ on God’s
paragraphs 13 and 15 to convey his
4 A haint, or ghost. — Eds. and passing into the afterlife. It derives from the Old Testament Welbourne, a rare book cataloger at the Beinecke Library at Yale University, found it in Hughes’s That all these walls oppression builds
it as something positive or something
5. How do you interpret the italicized ending of the poem? Pay special attention to the word story in which the Jewish people crossed over the Jordan River to direction of the woods. of Spunk, Joe, and the community. Then, have Before they encounter the poem in the Will have to go!
5 Witty banter. — Eds.
green footstool — nothin’ ! He rides that log
papers. A champion of the artist’s freedom to choose subject and medium, Hughes wrote in his
“civilized” (l. 128). Why might Cullen have chosen to end his poem with this word? Ultimately, finally reach freedom after fleeing slavery in Egypt. — Eds. Now Joe knew his wife had passed that way. feelings. You could ask them to analyze, textbook, you could give them the three 10
negative. Their claim should be supported
too, assumptions about masculinity that
what is Africa to the speaker? down at saw-mill jus’ like he struts ’round wid students compare interpretations. Ask if they find
by evidence in the story.
another man’s wife — jus’ don’t give a kitty. He knew that the men lounging in the general one is more persuasive than the other: how stanzas, out of order, on separate cards I look at my own body
underlie this exchange.
6. How would you describe the tone of the poem? Try using two or three words to make your store had seen her, moreover, he knew that the do these various interpretations affect students’ 211or in electronic form on separate slides, With eyes no longer blind—
210
1
description more precise, such as sad yet hopeful, or admiringly critical. Cite specific When Tes’ Miller got cut to giblets on that And I see that my own hands can make
passages to support your response. circle-saw, Spunk steps right up and starts ridin’. men knew he knew. He stood there silent for a understanding of the story’s themes? and ask them with partners to decide on a
The rest of us was skeered to go near it.” long moment staring blankly, with his Adam’s logical sequence. Then, ask them to write The world that’s in my mind.
A round-shouldered figure in overalls much apple twitching nervously up and down his a statement explaining why their order Then let us hurry, comrades, 15
TRM: The TRM icon indicates extension material — such as handouts, rubrics,
too large came nervously in the door and the throat. One could actually see the pain he was makes sense. Analyzing a line of reasoning The road to find.
210
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Spunk talking ceased. The men looked at each other suffering, his eyes, his face, his hands, and even TRM ELL Essential Guide Handout is a skill in the AP Literature Course and c. 1930
TRM Vocabulary Handout
and suggested responses — that is available in the Teacher’s Resource Materials.
Vocabulary in Context exercises based on
Zora Neale Hurston and winked. the dejected slump of his shoulders. He set the An ELL Essential Guide for this reading can Exam Description, and this work can help
students articulate the poem’s organization.
students articulate the poem’s organization.
challenging words from this reading can be be found in the T eacher’ s Resour ce Materials.
be found in the Teacher’s Resource Materials.
Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960) came to prominence in the 1920s during the Harlem Renaissance, a Questions
found in the Teacher’s Resource Materials.
period of enormous creativity of African American artists, writers, and musicians. A novelist, folklorist, 1 The liver, heart, gizzard, and neck of a bird, usually a chicken. — Eds. 2 Sarsaparilla, a popular soda during this time period. — Eds.
and anthropologist, she first gained attention with her short stories, including “Sweat” and “Spunk.” She chapter 4 / Ralph Ellison and the Influence of the Harlem Renaissance 209TRM Suggested Responses 1. What is the nature of the tension in the opening stanza between “awakening eyes” (l. 2) and
05_SheaTEL&C3e_40437_ch04_164_327_3pp.indd 210 Suggested responses to the questions for 08/01/22 8:52 AM “fenced off narrow space” (l. 4)?
206 207
this reading can be found in the Teacher’s 2. What effect does Langston Hughes’s choice of the word “silly” to describe “walls” in line 6
Resource Materials. have on the tone of the poem? What might have been different had Hughes chosen a word
such as “oppressive” or “ugly”?
3. In what ways is the speaker “no longer blind” (l. 12) by the third stanza? What has given him
sight or insight?
05_SheaTEL&C3e_40437_ch04_164_327_3pp.indd 209 08/01/22 8:52 AM
05_SheaLitComp3e_28114_ch04_164_327.indd 206 08/12/21 11:12 AM 05_SheaLitComp3e_28114_ch04_164_327.indd 207 08/12/21 11:12 AM DIFFERENTIATION 4. How do you interpret the significance of the shift of the speaker’s gaze from the world, to the
BUILDING CONTEXT walls, to his own body?
Scaffolding
Students may initially find Hurston’s use of 5. How does the repetition of “I look” propel the poem toward a meaning beyond the speaker’s
dialect challenging. You might read aloud Guide to the Teacher’s Edition Q6. Hughes’s choice of the word individual experience? TE-ix
the first page or so of the story, pausing to “comrades” merits exploration. You could 6. Hughes could have ended his poem with line 14, with the statement of the speaker’s own
awakening. What, then, does he gain by adding the concluding two lines?
ask students to paraphrase some of the have students consider its denotative and
dialogue. Once you have familiarized them connotative meanings, and then have 7. In 2020, “I look at the world” was selected by the Poetry Foundation to be part of a
with Hurston’s style, tell them to highlight or them discuss why the word is preferable discussion of “Poetry of Protest, Resistance, and Empowerment.” How does Hughes’s poem
illustrate all three of these concepts?
circle any passages that they have trouble to other words such as “friends” or to not 8. How close are we today to “the world that’s in [Hughes’s] mind” (l. 14)? Use evidence from
deciphering so that you can discuss them chapter 4 / Ralph Ellison and the Influence of the Harlem Renaissance using a noun at all (“Then let us hurry / The 211 current events or recent history to support your response.
in class. There is also a recent audiobook 01_SheaTEL&C3e_40437_fm_i_xxxv.indd 9 road to find”). 07/03/22 1:04 PM
version of Their Eyes Were Watching God
with the actress Ruby Dee narrating, and if
you have access, you could play an excerpt 212
of dialogue.
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chapter 4 / Ralph Ellison and the Influence of the Harlem Renaissance 207
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212 chapter 4 / Identity and Culture
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