Page 143 - The Language of Composition 4e Teacher Edition Sample.indd

shameful period of high peacock during which After a political convention, in 2004, I took home 4
my stage name could have been Mr. Black Expe- a guy from South Carolina who seduced me with
rience. Prolonged only-ness winds up abutting talk about the difference he planned to make as a CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING chapter 4
exceptionalism. The alternatives never felt, to Black politician. On the walk to the subway the
At the end of paragraph 20, Morris of
fers
me, like improvements. Take the athlete from next morning, I all but asked him to take me to At the end of paragraph 20, Morris offers
®
r
readers (especially AP Language stu-
eaders (especially AP
Southern California whom I ran into during a Charleston. That was the end of that. dents!) a signpost for his line of r
dents!) a signpost for his line of reasoning. easoning.
terrible evening he was having our first year. The I wasn’t thinking of the people in my life as Other Voices / Wesley Morris Y
You could ask your students to look back ou could ask your students to look back
pressure to declare his Blackness had snapped just white people; these were my co-workers, my at the section that begins with paragraph at the section that begins with paragraph
him. He didn’t want to be merely some Black friends. One of those friends applied a similar 13 about stealing candy in second grade 13 about stealing candy in second grade
Copyright (c) 2023 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Uncorrected proofs have been used for this sample chapter.
guy; he just wanted to be him. There was no logic to me. The same week that a Minneapolis and ends with paragraph 20 and to explain and ends with paragraph 20 and to explain
consolation. We ran into each other from time to police officer killed Philando Castile, he found how Morris’
how Morris’s experiences as a student s experiences as a student
time. He pledged one of the big white fraternities me in grief, and I told him that I’ve always har- connect to his childhood transgr
connect to his childhood transgression ession
and seemed to enjoy its spoils. I still think about bored a murmuring awareness that I could be (you could expand the section thr
(you could expand the section through ough
him. What were the rest of his four years like? shot. He was incredulous. How could that hap- paragraph 23, which also refers his choice efers his choice
paragraph 23, which also r
Mine remain four of my best. I was happy. 20 pen to me? I went to a good school and had a to be “good,” if you like). You could also ou could also
to be “good,” if you like). Y
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.
Only this summer have I taken any deep stock of good job. I was Black but not “killed during a ask them to assess his attitudes towar
ask them to assess his attitudes toward his d his
the time I had there, how acculturation can police stop” Black. I was good. experiences: wistful, defensive, pr
experiences: wistful, defensive, proud, nos-oud, nos-
breed estrangement, how I ended up with the I can imagine a version of myself that, hav- talgic, r
talgic, realistic, detached, and hesitant.ealistic, detached, and hesitant.
comfortable life I’ve got. One urgent demand of ing completed Yale and succeeded profession-
this moment is for people, workplaces and insti- ally, would’ve heard that response and felt
tutions to reckon with their whiteness. Why not relieved. That I was one of racism’s carve-outs.
DIFFERENTIA
TION
reckon with mine? Day after day of video calls I was me. Only, I’ve always felt more lucky than DIFFERENTIATION
will do that. I sat there on work meetings, in exceptional. I can now see that my vow of good- Scaffolding
Scaffolding
friend hangouts and family catch-ups and stared ness was an existential shift of shape. Having
AP Teaching Tip. To help develop your
into people’s homes, tallying who’s in my world, been told, early on, that unreasonable obstacles AP ®
regretting nothing but simply absorbing how sol- awaited, I set about finding a form that could students’ skills in definition, which is one of students’ skills in definition, which is one of
the topics in Unit 4 of the AP Language
idly white and discretely nonwhite the parties are easily evade them. the topics in Unit 4 of the AP ®
CED, you might have them determine what
and how it all feels traceable to a morning I got • • • CED, you might have them determine what
Morris means by “my vow of goodness
caught stuffing my pockets with Jolly Ranchers. Morris means by “my vow of goodness
was an existential shift of shape” in para-
After graduation, during the decade and There is, I suppose, an other hand, wherein I was an existential shift of shape” in para-
graph 23. They could examine the section
a half I spent working at newspapers in San take further stock and declare a folly. The entire graph 23. They could examine the section
beginning with paragraph 14, when he
Francisco and Boston, I embarked on a life that affair of race is a joke. My life is mine, no strings, beginning with paragraph 14, when he
makes the “vow” to be “good.” Urge them
featured increasingly fewer Black people — at the no speed traps. Why overthink it? And the mus- makes the “vow” to be “good.” Urge them
to create a definition that includes Morris’s
office; in restaurants; on the streets. It was less an tache. Come on. It’s called a pandemic trend. I to create a definition that includes Morris’s
mixed emotions: what benefits and sacri-
ambition than ambition’s consequence. Some made bread on my face. One’s race is not one’s mixed emotions: what benefits and sacri-
fices did “goodness” involve? They could
days it felt as if the Rapture had occurred and self. I know this and strive to leave it at that. But I fices did “goodness” involve? They could
draft a definition individually, including
taken all the Black people to Atlanta or Houston. never get far. In the United States, a Black self draft a definition individually, including
textual evidence, and then discuss, in a
Even as I basked in the fortune of my life, loneli- eventually discovers his race is a form of credit textual evidence, and then discuss, in a
Socratic Seminar, their definitions and
ness performed its gentle tintinnabulations. San (or discredit, as it were). You can’t leave home Socratic Seminar, their definitions and
evidence.
Francisco once had a good, Black-run soul-food without it. evidence.
place called Powell’s. I sat down there almost Yet for as long as Black Americans have 25 TRM Instructional Strategies
every month just to have a base to touch. I talked been conscious of their Blackness, some public Socratic Seminar. For advice on conduct-
.
Socratic Seminar
about moving to Oakland but never did. In intellectual has cried “hoax.” You, Black person, ing an effective Socratic Seminar, see the
ing an ef
fective Socratic Seminar
, see the
Boston, I had a couple of weird years with men. are free — free to be a Person. You can Rapture
ce Materials.
s Resour
Teacher’s Resource Materials.
T
eacher’
249
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DIFFERENTIATION
Scaffolding
In paragraph 24, Morris mentions his mus-
tache for the first time since paragraph 11
(although in the original essay, he references
it briefly in a long section that follows para-
graph 15). You might call your students’
attention to this rhetorical choice, and ask
them to discuss Morris’s line of reasoning:
How and why does he move away from using
his mustache as a unifying thread or subject.
Why would it be less than accurate to say
that this essay is about Morris’s pandemic
mustache? This might be a good moment to
have students discuss Morris’s exigence.
Other Voices / Wesley Morris 249
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