“We Real Cool” and “My Papa’s Waltz”

Poems

“We Real Cool” and “My Papa’s Waltz”

How do these poetic devices contribute to the development of the poem’s message?

Prepare: Prior to beginning your initial post, read the poems “We Real Cool” and “My Papa’s Waltz” in your textbook. You are also required to listen to “We Real Cool” and “My Papa’s Waltz” before completing this discussion. These clips demonstrate the importance of performance, rhythm, and musicality in the poetic form.

 

 

 
  Reflect: Poetry is a literary form that can offer readers a different experience based on whether the poem is read silently, read aloud, or simply listened to when read by someone else. For example, you might hear a certain rhythm or change of pace that you might not catch when simply reading the poem silently to yourself. For this week’s discussion, you read and listened to poetry. If you didn’t the first time, read and listen with careful eyes and ears so you can respond thoughtfully to the two parts of the discussion this week.

 

 

 
  Write: Part One – Answer the following questions about one of the poems based on your readingof them:

 

  • What is the theme of the poem? How do you know this is the theme?
  • What poetic devices (e.g., rhythm, figurative language, etc.) are used in the poem? Offer at least two examples.
  • How do these poetic devices contribute to the development of the poem’s message?
  • Support your ideas with textual details and analyses.

Part Two – Describe your listening experience of the same poem you wrote about above. If you are unable to listen to these poems due to an auditory impairment, please reach out to your instructor for an alternative prompt for this discussion. Respond to at least two of the following questions:

  • How did hearing the poem recited aloud compare to a silent reading of it?
  • Did the performance highlight certain words or phrases that were not as apparent in a silent reading?
  • Did the pace change and, if so, how did it change your understanding of the poem?
  • Did words have different connotations and, if so, what kind(s) of connotation did you associate with the poem?
  • Do you think reading poetry aloud is a worthwhile endeavor when analyzing it? Why, or why not?
 
  Respond to Peers: Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts. Each response should be at least 75 words in length and should address two or more of the following:

 

  • Do you agree with your classmates’ perspectives? Why, or why not? Be specific.
  • Ask a specific question to encourage further discussion on the topic.
  • Challenge your classmates’ interpretation of literature and/or point of view.
  • Do a small amount of research and share what you learn with your peers about the topic discussed in this post.
 

Ashford 4: – Week 3 – Discussion 2

Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Reference the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.

 
Body Paragraph Workshop

Discussion Title

  Prepare: First, read the information on the Ashford Writing Center’s web page, Thesis Statements. Then, read the ENG125 Sample Literary Analysis. Pay close attention to the body paragraphs and thesis statements.

 

 

 
  Reflect: Compare your working thesis statement to the thesis statement in the sample Literary Analysis. Does your thesis address relevant points like the example thesis? Then, look at a body paragraph in the sample Literary Analysis. Compare its construction to a body paragraph in your own paper.

 

 

 
  Write: Post your working thesis and your strongest body paragraph into the discussion by Thursday (Day 3) at midnight; do not attach it as a separate document. For the purposes of this discussion only, signify your working thesis by including it in bold type and italicize the topic sentence of your body paragraph. Your body paragraph should include at least three examples of paraphrases and/or quotations (there should be at least one of each) with correct citations in APA format. After the body paragraph, be sure to include reference page citations for the paraphrased and cited sources. Then, answer the following three questions:

 

  • Explain the connection between the topic sentence and your working thesis. Would this connection be clear to someone without your explanation? If so, why? If not, how can you modify your topic sentence and/or thesis statement to make this connection more clear?
  • Explain the choice of reference material. How do the references support the topic sentence? Would this connection be clear to someone without your explanation? If so, why? If not, what information should you add to the paragraph to make this connection more clear?
  • Does the paragraph contain any unnecessary information? Does everything in it work to support the topic sentence? What information could be added or removed? In essence, you are being asked to evaluate the cohesion of your paragraph.
  • Note any other specific challenges faced or successes experienced when writing this paragraph or completing this discussion post.
 
  Respond to Peers: Be sure to respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Sunday at midnight. In your responses, post at least 100 words and evaluate your colleague’s paragraph and/or self‐evaluation. Do you agree with his/her responses to the questions? What else could he/she do to develop stronger body paragraphs?  

 

Literary Analysis Draft

For your Week Three assignment, you will write a two and a half page draft (excluding the title and references page) of your Week Five Literary Analysis. The draft should contain a working thesis (which you wrote in the Week One assignment), an introduction, at least three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Be sure to include some paraphrases and quotations of the reference material in your Week Two Annotated Bibliography. You should use your research to help you develop and support the thesis.

  • Develop the thesis from Week One based on the feedback you have received. Again, the thesis should offer a debatable claim in response to one of the prompts on the list.
  • Analyze the work(s) from the approved List of Literary Works chosen in Week One using the Eight Steps to Writing a Literary Analysis resource and include the three key ideas developed in the Week One Proposal.
  • Use one of the approved Writing Prompts to write your analysis.
  • Focus on one or two primary text(s).
  • Include references from at least two secondary sources identified on your Week Two Annotated Bibliography. More sources are not necessarily better.
  • Apply your knowledge of literary elements and other concepts in your response to the prompt. Reference the List of Literary Techniques.
  • Avoid any use of the first person.
  • Do not summarize the plot.

 

List of Writing Prompts

Click each prompt below to expand and click twice to collapse.

View in PDF

Writing Prompt #1
Characters do what they do because of their various motivations and desires.Often, their desires conflict with their ethical or moral responsibilities. For example, a personal belief, a love, a thirst for vengeance, a resolve to rectify a wrong, or some other ambition may cause a character to conflict with a moral obligation. Write about a literary work in which a character’s motivations/desire conflict with his/her ethical responsibilities. Remember that you are analyzing the literary text–not commenting on whether or not the behaviors are ethical or “right” in your opinion. Instead, you should focus on the moral dilemma the character experiences and analyze how he/she wrestles with this dilemma beyond what is obvious in the plot. What literary elements draw out this conflict?

 


Suggested texts:

 

Stories (choose one):

  • “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” Flannery O’Connor
  • “The Blue Hotel,” Stephen Crane
  • “The Things They Carried” Tim O’Brien
  • “Greasy Lake” T.C. Boyle

Drama:

  • Macbeth
Writing Prompt #2
Write an analysis of a key character in a literary work. Describe two to three key actions of the character, or how the character responds to events. What do the actions reveal about the character? Do the character’s actions fit together, or do they contradict each other? If they contradict, what does that contradiction say about the character’s emotional and mental capacity? Analyze the character’s psychological background. Why does the character act in the way he/she does? How does the author’s characterization in the text reflect this psychological background?

 


Suggested texts:

 

Stories (choose one):

  • “Where Are you Going, Where Have You Been,” Joyce Carol Oates
  • “Interpreter of Maladies,” Jhumpa Lahiri
  • “Sonny’s Blues” James Baldwin
  • “Sweat” Zora Neale Hurston

Drama:

  • Macbeth
  • Mistaken Identity
Writing Prompt #3
Most often, literary works have both internal conflict (individual v. self) and external conflict (individual v. individual, society, nature, or technology). Additionally, one can often find that a character’s internal conflict is linked to an external one. Choose a text in which both an internal and external conflict are evident to you. How does the external conflict illuminate the internal one? What meaningful parallels or incongruencies do you observe when comparing the two, and what is the significance within the context of the story?

 


Suggested texts:

 

Stories (choose one):

  • “No Name Woman,” Maxine Hong Kingston
  • “Sonny’s Blues,” James Baldwin
  • “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’Brien
  • “The Cheater’s Guide to Love,” Junot Diaz

Drama (choose one):

  • Macbeth
  • Mistaken Identity
Writing Prompt #4
In some stories, characters come into conflict with the culture in which they live. Often, a character feels alienated in his/her community or society due to race, gender, class or ethnic background. Choose a text that shows this kind of conflict. How is the character alienated from community and how does she/he respond to it? What does that character’s alienation say about the surrounding society’s assumptions, morality and values? In what way(s) do literary elements reflect how that society defines race, gender, class and/or ethnicity? How does this create conflict for the character?

 


Suggested texts:

 

Stories (choose one):

  • “Sonny’s Blues,” James Baldwin
  • “What You Pawn, I Will Redeem,” Sherman Alexie
  • “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” Gabriel Garcia Marquez
  • “A Hunger Artist” Franz Kafka

Poems (choose one or two):

  • “Theme for English B,” Langston Hughes
  • “What it’s Like to be a Black Girl” Patricia Smith
  • “Immigrants in Our Own Land,” Jimmy Santiago Baca
  • “To live in the Borderlands means you” Gloria Anzaldúa
  • “Child of the Americas” Aurora Levins Morales

Drama:

  • Mistaken Identity
  • Macbeth
Writing Prompt #5
Setting is an important component of any story. Consider the role that setting has in one of the works. How is this particular setting integral to the story? Does the protagonist conflict with the setting or have particular interactions with it? How does the protagonist’s relationship with the setting connect with his/her development as a character?

 


Suggested texts:

 

Stories (choose one):

  • “Greasy Lake,” T.C. Boyle
  • “The Blue Hotel,” Stephen Crane
  • “The Things They Carried” Tim O’Brien
  • “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” Ursula LeGuin

Poems (choose one or two):

  • “The Raven,” Edgar Allen Poe
  • “A Point West of Mount San Bernadino” Juan Delgado
  • “To Live in the Borderlands” Gloria Anzaldua
  • “Smokey the Bear Sutra” Gary Snyder

Drama:

  • A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Writing Prompt #6
Tone is a literary element that poets and authors use to effect a certain mood, emotion, setting, and/or message. Choose a story, drama, or poem in which you observe a unique tone. Analyze the tone in detail, illustrating specific qualities of it by offering several textual examples of each quality. Why is this tone important in understanding the conflict and theme of the text? How does it contribute to both?

 


Suggested texts:

 

Stories (choose one):

  • “Good Country People;” Flannery O’Connor
  • “Guests of the Nation,” Frank O’Connor
  • “A Rock Trying to Be a Stone” Sergio Troncoso
  • “Sweat” Zora Neale Hurston

Poems (choose one of the following pairs):

  • “Do Not Go Gentle into the Good Night,” Dylan Thomas
  • “Grief Calls us to the Things of This World,” Sherman Alexie
  • “Bright Copper Kettles” Vijay Seshadri
  • “Theme for English B” Langston Hughes
  • “Ways of Talking” Ha Jin
  • “What it’s Like to be a Black Girl” Patricia Smith
  • “Burial” Cathy Linh Che
  • “Blood” Naomi Shihab Nye

Drama:

  • The Importance of Being Earnest

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