A Horse and Two Goats #4

Have you ever been involved in a cultural misunderstanding where everything seemingly turned out fine for both parties?

A Horse and Two Goats #3

Do you suppose that Narayan is making any comments on culture clash? On tourism? On loss of culture?

A Horse and Two Goats #2

What is the significance of the statue to the American tourist?

A Horse and Two Goats #1

What is the significance of the horse and rider statue to Muni?

The Farewell Party #4

Have you ever been with a group of people for the last time? Have emotions and actions seemed different because it was, in effect, a final farewell?

The Farewell Party #3

Explain the shift that occurs in the story (1204) when the doctors finally emerge from the shadows.

The Farewell Party #2

Discuss the character of Raman. How does he relate to the others at the party? Why?

The Farewell Party #1

How does Bina view herself in relation to the other company wives?

Class #5

Do you sense Alexie is trying to make a point in this story?

Class #4

Why, despite the obvious danger, does the narrator decide to fight Junior?

Class #3

Why do you suppose that the narrator has slept only with blond and blue-eyed prostitutes (1355)?

Class #2

During the initial conversation he has with Susan McDermott, who later becomes his wife, the narrator says the following: "'I'm Edgar Eagle Runner,' I said, though my driver's license still read Edgar Joseph" (1352).

What does this indicate about the narrator's identity?

Class #1

Why is this short story titled Class? What importance does class have to the story?

To the White Fiends #5

Do you think this poem is still relevant? Is racism still a major problem in the United States? Are there some ethnic groups that suffer worse than others?

To the White Fiends #4

Is this poem an effective medium for social change? Or is it potentially too abrasive to be persuasive?

To the White Fiends #3

This poem was written in the 1920s, a time in America when segregation was still common and Black people had very little political power. What do you suppose White people would have thought of his poem? What do you suppose Black people would have thought?

To the White Fiends #2

Explain the following lines:

But the Almighty from the darkness drew
My soul and said: Even thou shalt be a light
Awhile to burn on the benighted earth,
Thy dusky face I set among the white
For thee to prove thyself of higher worth; (8-12)

To the White Fiends #1

To whom is McKay referring in his title-- all White people, or just those whom he considers fiends?

The Negro Speaks of Rivers #4

Do you feel any deep, fluid, spiritual connection between your present self and your ancestors who came long before you or your parents were born?

The Negro Speaks of Rivers #3

Explain the last line:

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

The Negro Speaks of Rivers #2

Why choose the rivers he did? Why those specific rivers? How do they relate to the subject matter of the poem?

The Negro Speaks of Rivers #1

Who is the "I" in the poem?

Song of Ocol #3

Why does the poet ask himself, at the end of the poem, the following question?

Mother, mother,
Why,
Why was I born
Black? (68-71)

Song of Ocol #2

Explain the following lines:

Child,
Lover of toys,
Look at his toy weapons,
His utensils, his hut...
Toy garden, toy chickens,
Toy cattle,
Toy children... (47-53)

Song of Ocol #1

What do the following lines describe?

Diseased with a chronic illness,
Choking with black ignorance,
Chained to the rock
Of poverty,
And yet laughing,
Always laughing and dancing,
The chains on his legs
Jangling; (11-18)

Black Woman #6

In America, do you think, for humans, Black beauty is as valued as other forms of beauty-- e.g., White beauty, Asian beauty, Chican(o/a) beauty? Why or why not?

Black Woman #5

Why write a poem like this? What do you suppose Senghor may be hoping to achieve?

Black Woman #4

Explain the last two lines of the poem:

I sing your passing beauty and fix it for all Eternity
before jealous Fate reduces you to ashes to nourish the roots of life.

Black Woman #3

How would you describe the tone of the poem? What is Senghor saying about this Black Woman?

Black Woman #2

What does Senghor mean when he writes in line four, "at the height of Summer and Noon"?
Why are "Summer" and "Noon" capitalized?

Black Woman #1

Who, or what, is the "Black Woman" referred to in the poem?