TKAM understanding more......

The Civil rights movement
When did the civil rights movement begin?
The civil rights movent began on 1955.

What was the civil rights movement about?
The civil rights movement was about making racial discrimination to the Afro-Americans illegal and at the same time restoring their right to votein the southern states.

State some of the significant incidents that took place in the civil rights movement?
1) Martin Luther King received the Nobel Peace Prize.
2)The march on Washington which demanded the elimination of racial discrimination for employment.

Which American President supported the civil rights movement?
John.F.Kennedy

What was the outcome of the civil rights movement?
The Afro-Americans hold more rights and are as equal as whites, taking up better jobs.

In what way is the civil rights movement related to the novel?
The Afro-Americans hold more rights and are as equal as whites, taking up better jobs.

In what way is the civil rights movement related to the novel?
The novel was written and published during the civil during the civil rights era, thus it included the social inequality during that era.

Montgomery bus boycott and scottsboro trials
State the specifics of each trial and why were they specific?
Montgomery Bus Boycott- To object towards the racial segregation laws on public transit system.

Scottsboro trials- Nine black teenaged boys accused of rape in Alabama in 1931, as it deals with racism and a also American rights.

How is the Scottsboro trials related to the trial in the novel?
Both the Scottsboro trials and the trialinthe novel are about the blacks raping the whites and in both trials, the blacks are being accused due to their skin colour.

How are they simillar?
Both trials simillar in the fact that they show how the white society discriminated the blacks.

Trials of a true Southern Gentlmen and southern belle
What were the rules and etiquette for Southern gentlemen and ladies?
Nelle Harper Lee was born in Monroeville, Alabama, the youngest of four children. From young, Lee was a tomboy and had a passion for reading, she was also a mature reader.

What did the southern ladies do to pass their time?
They baked cakes, did needle-work, read books, danced, etc.

Pictures southern ladies and gentlemen?

Identify characters in the novel that fit the mould of true southern belles and gentlemen and those who don’t? Explain why they fit the mould and why they don’t?
Atticus most fits the mould as a true southern gentlemen as he had good manners and at the same time show respect for others, is a man of his word while Miss Maudie most fits the mould as a true southern belle as she treats the children well and also nake cakes and share them with others.
The character that I feel do not fit the mould of a southern gentlemen is Bob Ewell as he does not have good manners, show no respect for others and do not care about his image.

Harper Lee
About the author
Southern gentlemen: They have good manners and show a great deal respect especially for women. In 1959, she completedTo Kill a Mockingbird and after it was published, it was an immediate bestseller and even won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961.

Bio-data
Nelle Harper Lee was the youngest of four children of Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee. Her mother's name was Finch. Her father was a lawyer, she was also a friend of Truman Capote, since childhood days

Novels written by her
To Kill a Mockingbird

Awards received
The most renowned prizes won by Harper Lee was the Pulitzer Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Historical Background of TKAM(1)

Historical Background of To Kill a mocking Bird

Slavery
a) When and how did slavery begin in the southern state?
Slavery first began in 1619, and it was started first in Virgina, at that time which was a British colony. The state imported the the Africans, whcih was a practice started by the Spanish in the 16^th century.

b) Which country were the slaves brought from?
The slaves were brought from west and central Africa, which included countries like Cameroon, Senengal and Ghana.

c) Who traditionally bought and owned slaves?
The Europeans traditonally bought and owned. It was a practice started by the Spanish and Portuguese.

d) Were there laws/rules that the slaves had to abide by? If yes what were they?
Yes, there were laws that the slave had to abide by. For example, the slaves cannot redeem themselves, cannot not retalliate even if their masters mistreat them and also the fact that slavery is heriditary.

e) How does the notion of slavery relate to the novel? Does the study of slavery help you understand th novel better.
It let me understand more about why the characters in the novel had a certain level of prejudice and discrimination towards “negroes”.

The civil war
a) Identify the southern states?
South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Georgia, Arkansas, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi

b) Who was the US president who proclaimed war against the South?
Abraham Lincoln

c) Why was the civil war fought?
The war was fought over slavery, the Union forces were fighting to free the slaves while the South fought in order to ensure the continuation of slavery.

d) When was this war fought?
It was fought from April 12, 1861 – April 9, 1865.

e) What was the outcome of this war?
The Union forces won the war.

d) How does the civil rights movement relates to novel?
The civil rights movement relates to the novel through the fact that the historical backgroung of the novel was in the era of the civil rights movement

Jim crow’s laws
a) Who is Jim Crow?
Jim Crow is not a person but the subject of a song performed by Thomas Dartmouth “Daddy” Rice, a white man who performed in blackfaceand denigrated Blacks through his music, his stereotypical behavior, and his rude jokes.

b) What were Jim Crow Laws?
The Jim Crow laws were legal social restrictions that separated Afro-Americans from white Americans in during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

c) What was the response of the slaves and the Blacks to these laws?
They started the civil rights movement to protest on these laws.

d) Do we see Jim Crows laws laws surfaced in the novel? If so then in which
part of the novel?
Yes, it surface in the Tom Robinson trials where he was found guilty due to his skin colour.

Online e-learning

The title of the comic strip is called "Discrimination". The theme of my story would be the discrimination of the public to those who had made mistakes in the past.

The story started out when Jay an ex-offender, turned over a new leaf and was released from jail. He was really delighted. His next step was to get a job so that he could support himself. However the public still view him as someone bad as he was an ex-offender. He went for many job interviews but he was still jobless. Deep down in his heart he knew that the main reason was because he was an ex-offender. He was really sad as he was not his old self any more but others were not willing to give him a second chance. The he saw a poster if with the words "Yellow Ribbon Project" and this project was started by social workers and they would help ex-offenders to get jobs and start all over again. Jay decided to seek help from the "Yellow Ribbon Project' and indeed they helped him get a job.

This story really depicts the discrimination that ex-offenders faced, even thought they turned over a new leaf. We should not look at them differently, thinking that they are bad. Everyone would make mistakes, and the public should forgive them and help them unlock their second chance.

1. Why did you choose the different pictures or background(s)?

In the first cell, the background I chose was a prison, to show the fact that the lead character just came out from prison. In the second cell, the background picture was an office and the lead character was ate the office looking for jobs. The background of the third cell was a park, I used the gloomy park as the back ground picture so as to bring out the sadness in the character. A bright office of shown , which indirectly showed that there was hope.

2. How do they contribute to the elements (plot, setting, characterization) of your narrative?

The pictures I chose have their own meanings. I change the facial expressions and actions of the main character to show his sadness and disappointment when he could not find a job. This also showed the fact that the main character was someone who was rather pessimistic. The different background also showed the change in setting . From a rural prison to a big modern city.

3. How did you make use of the different elements to contribute to the theme you have chosen?

The theme I have chosen is discrimination and prejudice, which was also the theme of To Kill A Mocking Bird. I thought that discrimination and prejudice of the ex-offenders was a rather "hot" topic so I decided to do something that. The plot, which was about how the main character could not find a job contributed to my theme and through this story I also wanted to show the fact that not all people would discriminate ex-offenders as at last in my story, a man decided to help him find a job.

Literature and Life : Shel Silverstein's Poems

The Little Boy And The Old Man

1. The underlying message that was being conveyed in the poem was that we tend to be selfish, concentrating only ourselves, especially in our adult stage. We do not care for our past and our future, which are the children and the old people, and they are often very lonely.
2. Shel Silverstein used dialogues in his poem to bring out the sadness and the loneliness of the children and at the same time, to show how selfish the adults are.

Messy Room

1. The poem is humorous. The speaker thought that the room was really messy. The wet raincoat was being stuffed in the chair causing it to be "mucky" and "damp", which implied that there were fungus growing out of it. Also the books were not in the bookshelf but instead in the closet, which was meant for containing clothes. Furthermore, there was a sock so dirty and sticky, stuck to the wall. However, the funniest part was when the writer realized that the room was his.
2. The aspect of human character that was being highlighted in this poem was that one is so quick to blame other and do not realize that when we point a finger at others, there are ten other fingers pointing at ourselves.

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Cloony The Clown by Shel Silverstein

1. The irony in this poem is that when Cloony tried to be funny, told jokes, acted silly nobody laughed but when he told the audience how miserable he was, they laughed.
2. The harsh realities that was being conveyed was that people enjoyed looking at other people's misery and it is also hard for others to understand you.
3. The poet used alliteration to emphasize on how miserable the clown was. Irony was also added in the poem to show how the people behave. He also emphasized the point by adding a dialogue, which showed how the clown felt when people laughed at his sorrows.

My Thoughts

The Poem that I can identify the most is "Messy Room". It is really true that people tend to point their fingers at others. Take me as an example , I always tend to blame my parents and my maid when I could not find my homework.

There was once I could not find my homework in my bag. Then I would start to blame my maid for messing up my bag. She was puzzled and did not know what she had done. However, I demanded her to help me find my worksheet. To no avail, the worksheet could not be found

The next day, when I went to school and it was only then I found out that I had left the worksheet under my desk and it was nobody's fault but mine. I really regretted my actions and it also taught me a lesson that I should not point fingers at others.

Thus, I feel that this poem is really a very meaningful one and it really puts me to thinking......

Discrimination!!!!

Definition of discrimination

1. an act or instance of discriminating.

2. treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against,a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that personor thing belongs rather than on individual merit: racial and religious intolerance and discrimination.

The different types of discrimination in the world

Physical appearance:

- age

In our present society, most employers tend to employ those who are below 50 years old, thus it is also harder of people above 50 to find suitable jobs for themselves.

-size

When we see someone who is rather large in size, we would normally deduce that he is unfit however this is being proved wrong as some fat people can swim really fast, and even do street dance.

-height

Some women prefer to have taller boyfriends than shorter ones.

-handicap disabilities

Disabled people are often not being hired by employers and at most of the time they were not even given to the chance to go for an interview.

Education:

-non-educated

The people without a degree would be much harder to get a job as compared to those with a degree, even though they have the same skills.

-scholarships

Students from good schools are more likely to receive scholarships from the government.

Sex:
- male

Males are less hardworking than females, in terms of studying.

- female
Most people feel that women are no0t as sporty as men, however this is not real true as some women are really fit and can run even faster that men.

- gays/lesbians

The gays and lesbians are not allowed in certain jobs in certain countries, for example being a soldier teacher, professor etc.

Race:

- skin colour

Black people are smelly.

- treatment

In the past, the Afro-American in the US were not treated fairly.

- hair colour

Blondes are stupid.

- physical appearances

Asians are smart but stupid.