Page 194 - The Language of Composition 4e Teacher Edition Sample.indd

Questions

4
TRM Suggested Responses 1. Rhetorical Situation / Style. What aspects of the painting’s composition adhere to your
Suggested responses to the questions for Identity perspective on masculinity? Which details challenge it?
this reading can be found in the Teacher’s 2. Reasoning and Organization / Style. What argument about masculinity does the
Resource Materials. juxtaposition of colors and objects in this painting convey?
3. Rhetorical Situation / Style. What do you make of Oluranti Olaose’s expression? What might
he be thinking? Where is he looking? How does his gaze contribute to the mood of the work?
4. Rhetorical Situation / Reasoning and Organization. What is the function of the armor? What
DIFFERENTIATION is Kehinde Wiley’s purpose in pairing a knight’s garb with modern-day attire such as the jeans?
Copyright (c) 2023 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Uncorrected proofs have been used for this sample chapter.
Connections to Text 5. Rhetorical Situation / Style. How do you interpret the interaction between the foreground
and the background of this painting? Are Olaose’s hands touching the flowers? What is his
Q2. Meyerson begins her essay by juxta- attitude toward his surroundings? How do you know?
posing sides of her father’s character.
Wiley’s portrait also works through juxtapo- Grown Men Are the Solution, Not the Problem
sition. You might ask students to compare 7
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.
the methods in the two texts, and ask them David French
to decide whether they are using the juxta-
positions to make similar claims about David French (b. 1969) is an editor for the Dispatch who also writes for publications such as
masculinity. the Atlantic, the National Review, and Time magazine. The following article appeared in the
National Review in 2019.
esterday afternoon, immediately after the Turning boys into grown men means taking
TRM ELL Essential Guide Handout
Y Dallas Cowboys’ hard-fought victory over many of their inherent characteristics — such as
An ELL Essential Guide for this reading the Seattle Seahawks, Fox’s Erin Andrews inter- their aggression, their sense of adventure, and
can be found in the Teacher’s Resource viewed Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott and their default physical strength — and shaping
Materials. running back Ezekiel Elliott. She asked Elliott them toward virtuous ends. A strong, aggressive
what he thought when he saw Prescott take off risk-taker can be a criminal or a cop, for
for a key run that set up the winning touchdown. example. To borrow from the famous American
TRM Vocabulary Handout “It’s simple,” Elliott responded, “He’s a Sniper speech, they can be a sheepdog or a wolf.
Vocabulary in Context exercises based on grown-ass man. That’s what it is. That’s how he And if you’re a father of a young boy or spend 5
challenging words from this reading can be played today, and he led us to this win.” much time with young boys — especially if you
found in the Teacher’s Resource Materials. That’s a phrase you hear a lot in sports. “Grown coach boys in sports — you’ll note a very human
man.” There’s grown-man football. There’s grown- paradox. Even as they want to become the grown
man basketball. It speaks to a certain style of play. man they see in their father or in their idols, they’ll
DIFFERENTIATION Tough. Physical. Courageous. Overpowering. It’s often fiercely resist (especially at first) the process.
also fundamentally aspirational. It’s quite safe to They’ll find the discipline oppressive. Building
Connections to Text say that millions of young boys desire to become a toughness requires enduring pain. And who likes
grown man — a person who is physically and men - enduring pain? Effective leaders have to have a
Since French’s essay presents a stronger tally tough, a person who can rise to a physical degree of stoicism, but it can be hard to suppress
defense of a traditional definition of mascu- challenge and show leadership under stress. In fact, natural emotions to see reality clearly.
line values than previous essays in this that’s not just an intellectual goal, it’s a deeply felt Nothing about this process is easy. Some
Conversation section, you might consider need. It’s a response to their essential nature. fathers default to cruelty as a teaching tool,
having students read it earlier in the But becoming a true “grown man” — while a with disastrous results. Others are deeply intol-
sequence (which is chronological). Stu- felt need — isn’t an easy process. It involves erant of differences, rejecting or even bullying
dents might value seeing both “pro” and shaping and molding. It requires mentoring. It those boys who don’t conform to masculine
“con” arguments early in the process. requires fathers who are themselves grown men. norms — thus driving them into deep despair.
300

BUILDING CONTEXT
To help them understand the rhetorical 05_sheatlc4e_40925_ch04_170_315.indd 300 12/10/22 2:37 PM
situation, you might have students look DIFFERENTIATION
up the history of the National Review, the
periodical founded in 1955 by William F. Speaking and Listening
Buckley Jr. They might take a look at cur-
rent articles on its website and at its “About You might engage the students in a discussion
Us” description. You might ask students to of French’s claim at the end of paragraph 3
consider, as they read the essay, whether by noting that the “essential nature” of a gen-
French is reinforcing or challenging his der is itself debatable. Would French agree,
audience’s values. to paraphrase Simone de Beauvoir, that “one
is not born, but becomes, a man”? Or is he
suggesting the opposite, and arguing based
on nature rather than nurture? Another way of
engaging students with French’s claim is to
ask them to define what he means by “essen-
tial nature,” and then to explain to what
extent they agree with his claim.

300 chapter 4 / Identity

05_sheatlcte4e_46921_ch04_170a_315_2pp.indd 300 1/20/23 7:54 PM