Page 119 - The Language of Composition 4e Teacher Edition Sample.indd

Few seemed to understand that simply wish you could? I can’t tell you my last time. 4
because hikers had not targeted me did not What I know is that I moved to New York City in
mean I had ceased being a target. That I viewed 2008 at the start of the recession, and after a few DIFFERENTIA TION chapter 4
DIFFERENTIATION
every road crossing as a cue to raise shields, eyes years a vanishing began. That’s how it goes. You
e
xt
Connections to T
open, ears alert. That in the back of my mind stop being yourself without even knowing it. You Connections to Text
der
there lived my mother’s voice: or else. Here, they withdraw. You retreat like a glacier, slowly, until Students will find the article titled “Murder
Students will find the article titled “Mur
on the Appalachian Trail” by Mark Kelley
were free, truly free, whereas I was only a little people wonder if there was ever anything more Other Voices / Rahawa Haile on the Appalachian T rail” by Mark Kelley
both alarming and fascinating (published
freer than before. That the difference between to their memory of you than an inconvenient both alarming and fascinating (published
the two held centuries of slaughters in its maw. pile of rocks. You tell yourself things will get bet- August 1, 2014, at adventur epossible.com).
August 1, 2014, at adventurepossible.com).
Copyright (c) 2023 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Uncorrected proofs have been used for this sample chapter.
Kelley highlights several of the more infa-
That we all carried fears. That some fears ter until there’s barely anything left to remind. Kelley highlights several of the mor e infa-
mous cases of violence on the trail. How
never slept. And then you decide what you can still fight for. mous cases of violence on the trail. How
does this article paint a dif
My presence brought more Confederate 10 Active literary citizenship can take many does this article paint a different picture
fer
ent pictur
e
from the one Haile portrays to her readers,
flags than expected into focus for white eyes, forms, particularly during times of transition. fr om the one Haile portrays to her r eaders,
beginning in paragraph 9? Students may
and that saddened them when they were sad There’s more to writers than writing and more to beginning in paragraph 9? Students may
observe that Haile feels threatened by
enough as it was. I explained that casual physi- readers than reading; you are not your byline. observe that Haile feels thr eatened by
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.
social inequality and injustice, by fellow
cal mobility had never been a luxury for those For years, my fight has been promoting writ- social inequality and injustice, by fellow
hikers’ distrust and microaggressions, and
who shared my hue. That the reasons few people ers of color. In 2015, I ran Short Story of the Day, hikers’ distrust and micr oaggr essions, and
so on.
looked like me on the Appalachian Trail were a project where I shared one short story a day by so on.
steeped in violence, lynchings, rapes, countless underrepresented writers. This year, I created a
hate crimes, and a fear of the aforementioned library of black excellence along the Appala-
that persists to this day. That the world kept chian Trail. It cost approximately $250 to build. CLOSE READING
going even when, for months, we watched our It symbolized a great deal more. I hold no expec-
In paragraph 11, Haile states that she
foot placement instead of the news. That there tations of it lasting. Erosion is part of the point. In paragraph 11, Haile states that she
rail because “it was the clear
hiked the T
est
were few fellow hikers in early July who could Pages will be ripped out for fires. Rain and mois- hiked the Trail because “it was the clearest
shape of fr
e
eedom for who I was befor
understand what it felt like to hear about a rash ture will destroy the rest. For all I know, a trail shape of freedom for who I was before
it.” Y
ou could ask students to examine
of black deaths. “I came out here to get away maintainer has already stuffed a book or two of it.” You could ask students to examine
paragraphs 11–14 to define the complex
from all that,” a hiker said to me. Fair enough. mine among her gear and grumbled about hav- paragraphs 11–14 to define the complex
meanings of “fr
eedom.” They could work
(And yet.) That solitude might be hard to find on ing to pack out the trash hikers leave behind. meanings of “freedom.” They could work
with partners to find evidence from the text
the trail but isolation would always come far too What matters is that I tried, and that it kept me with partners to find evidence fr om the text
that expresses a form of freedom for Haile
easily to some. whole, and that was good enough. that expr esses a form of fr eedom for Haile
ession, fr
om a loss of identity
(fr
om depr
People ask me why I chose the Appalachian There are countless articles on post-trail 15 (from depression, from a loss of identity, ,
om pessimism with the state of the world,
fr
Trail, and I tell them it was the clearest shape of depression about how to deal with the crash that from pessimism with the state of the world,
and mor
e). They could then draft a short
freedom for who I was before it. I needed to follows. People almost immediately regain the and more). They could then draft a short
paragraph that analyzes how Haile sought
prove it was possible not to give up on myself, weight they lost. Their bad habits and nervous paragraph that analyzes how Haile sought
“freedom” on her hike.
day in and day out, when giving up felt like the tics return with a vengeance. Once again, they “fr eedom” on her hike.
most natural thing in the world. It is a cliché that must look the country in the face, at its politics,
one of the draws of thru-hiking is that it shows its intolerance, and it is nothing, nothing at all
you what it means to feel infinite. I can confirm like the trail where every day was about commu-
that one does not walk 2,000 miles across the nity and one step after another. People face their
face of this country as a black woman without personal shortcomings. They have to find a way
building up an incredible sense of self. I have to eat. A place to sleep that isn’t a hammock.
seen what I can be. I have heard the voices stop. The means to procure both. They must find new
I’ve asked friends: When was the last time methods of battling inertia. Discover meaningful
you saw yourself at your best? When did you last forms of momentum. Eschew self-destruction.
225
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CLOSE READING
In paragraph 10, Haile distinguishes between
“solitude” and “isolation.” Ask students to
discuss the different connotations associated
with both words. You could ask students to
comment on the meaning of her parenthetical
aside (“And yet.”); she seems to imply that
“getting away from it all” is a white privilege—
not a choice available to many African
Americans, who might feel compelled to
stay and “fight.”
Other Voices / Rahawa Haile 225
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