Focus on the theme for this cluster, What Shapes Our Lives....

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Langston Hughes was born in Missouri in 1902. He wrote As people grow up, they sometimes look back on novels, short stories, poetry, and plays, and his work was their experiences and see them with new eyes. influenced greatly by jazz and blues. His works include the non-fiction titles, I Wonder as I Wander, and The Langston Hughes Reader. He died in 1967. A New 1. Response a. What would you say are some features of a personal essay? Why could this selection be considered a personal essay? Perspective b. What is the range of social issues that Hughes deals with in his poetry? Essay by Janice E. Fein c. What kind of reactions did Hughes seek in his public readings? What kind of reaction does he seek in this essay? How is the reader of the essay similar to the listener in the audience of his poetry reading? Do you think that he was Our lives are shaped by the seemingly insignificant events of our youth. successful in "making poetry pay"? My childhood has become a series of mental snips of celluloid edited from the long playing film entitled "Cheated in Life." 2. Focus on Context With a partner, read the biography of My mother is walking me to kindergarten. I'm sure it must be Hughes included above, and consider where and when he kindergarten. In future years it would become vitally important for me lived. If necessary, research his life further. Discuss what life to remember just exactly when it was. If it were first or second grade would have been like for him as an African-American during we would have been walking in the opposite direction but I can clearly that time period. How was his work affected by when and where he lived? How might readers at the time have been see each familiar house as we pass by: Leedom's, Neiman's, Salem's, affected by his work? How are present-day readers affected yes, it was definitely kindergarten. The film clip does not take us to our by his work? Explain your personal response to one of the final destination, nor does it begin at home. It's a simple walk down a poems included in this selection. simple block in time. I can still feel my left fingers cradled in the smooth grip of her hand, one not much bigger than that of my own. I 3. Language Conventions Transitional Words In examining the actually feel the warmth of the rising sun on my face as I look up at her pattern of the essay, you probably noted the use of words each time she speaks. Aha! It was kindergarten! The sun always rose that marked a change in time, which helped you identify the from behind that row of houses. If we had been walking anywhere else, chronology of events. Identify and list three of these words. the sun would have been in her face, not mine. She never walked me Where do they appear in the paragraphs? How effective is to elementary school. She only walked me to kindergarten, and very their use? How effectively do you use transition words in possibly, only that one time. Was it the first day of school? Or Parent's your essay writing? Day? It was unimportant. What became important, in later years, was my ability to woefully lament, "I only remember my mother walking 4. Literature Studies Essay Organization One of the ways of one time in my life. She walked me to kindergarten." organizing an essay is through chronological order, meaning the Thereafter, all recollections of her were in her hospital bed, a mas- writer examines a situation or event in the order in which it occurred. Trace the time pattern of this essay as it follows the sive ugly thing that took up a good portion of my parents' room. The pattern of Hughes's public readings. Then, consider how the debilitating effects of rheumatoid arthritis confined her to that bed. poems work in the essay-how does each poem function in There were, however, what she referred to as "good days," days in supporting Hughes's purpose? 44 . Langston Hughes A New Perspective . 45

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\vnici'. she was able to drag herself from het' lied and onto .I small kitchen chair with curved metal legs. She would then muster enough energy to force her hips in an awkward motion. liach painful hip move- ment would inch the chair laboriottsly forward, commanding it to per- form the tasks that her frozen arthritic joints could not accomplish. My friends never came to my rootn to play. To do so they would have to pass by my parents' room. I remember that bed and that chair as embar- rassing eyesores and how, once again, I had felt cheated. Connie had the best playroom in the neighborhood. She was my very best friend and every day after school I would race home to change clothes and, in a heartbeat, I was at her door. Half of her basement was converted into a wonderful playhouse with panelling, carpets, and lace curtains to match. I was sure that every toy ever created was in that room. Despite the lure of all those treasures, what I remember tnost were the marvelous sounds and smells that drifted down to its from the kitchen above. Pots and pans elanging, water rushing throttgh the pipes, and best of all. Connie's mother humming softly as she worked. One particular evening. the aroma was so compelling that I had to ask. Connie wrinkled her nose in disgust and said. "Lasagna again!" I pretended to have to use the bathroom so that I could pass through the kitchen and briefly glimpse what a lasagna looked like. The oven timer was the saddest sound. When I heard it I knew what was coming next. "Connie. come wash up for supper," and 1 would have to leave. At a snail's pace, I would wander back to my own kitchen door. No wonderful aromas ever greeted the there. Sometimes there would be cold macaroni and cheese left over by one of my brothers or sisters. Most often 1 would prepare something on my own. l'rozen hamburger patties, fish sticks. maybe I'll just have a can of soup. It never really mattered. It would never be lasagna. One evening, as I wander into my mother's room, bologna sandwich in hand, she shakes her head and says, "Is that the best you can find out there?" "I'm not very hungry," I lie. Only now can I see that the look in her eyes matched the despair in my heart, and yet, I felt cheated. As childhood progressed, certain actions became innate. llandottts at school calling for volunteer room mothers and field trip chaperones were surreptitiously discarded along the nine-block journey home. I'll never forget those nine long blocks. In January and February they might just as well have been ninety! My classmates are piling into their mothers' warm waiting station wagons. I hunch my shoulders to my ears and silently watch as they disappear into the swirling gttsrs ofsnow. No steaming mttg of hot cocoa is awaiting my arrival, just those sad eyes. Cheated. 46 - Janice E. Fein he rolled the film tl llltIiIsJIIll times. The scenes have never liltllij'fti, only my perspective. it took the birth of my first child to unh -.t-t~ the whole picture. I've often tried to imagine what it would In lulu~ to see my son in pain and not be able to brttsh away a tear, on ml .t knee or simply hold him in my arms. I've seen the look in his . -,. r. \\lH'II he hit his first home l'lln. I've "hugged him warm" on .m-m t|.r\s and "tickled him happy" when life was cruel. I've knelt n llll hint to say his prayers and thanked God for my ability to do so. I um I|1'\l'i understand why some of us are cheated in life. I only know, Itutn Iltls perspective, that I am not the one who was. .ltinice E. Fein, born in 1948, graduated from the University oi Akron in 1992. She works in the field of social services at; a case worker for abused and neglected children. I. Response 3. What were the predominant emotions felt by the author in her early school days? I). What event determines the author's understanding of who was really "cheated" in |ife?Why do you think this particular event gives the author this insight? c. As you were reading the essay, what was your feeling toward the author? Did your opinion change? How does the author guide her readers toward feeling that way? Explain. 2. Uneraurre Studies Essay Structure The author of this essay follows a traditional essay structure: one that can be used in any type of essay (personal. analytic, persuasive. argumentative. narrative). The introduction—(usually the first paragraph) clearly states the main idea or thesis. The body—(a series of paragraphs after the introduc- tion) develops ideas or arguments to support the main idea or thesis. The conclusion—(usually the last paragraph) summarizes key points. provides a logical follow-up to the thesis and argu- ments, and is an insightful ending to the essay. Examine "A New Perspective" and identify each of the above parts or components; then consider the conclusion closely. How does it link to the introduction (a device called "closing by return")? A New Perspective - 47

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1. Focus on the theme for this cluster, What Shapes Our Lives. Identify major factors affecting people's lives: parents and families, physical environment, economic situations, childhood experiences, school, and media.
2. Brainstorm the word perspective. Suggest definitions for the word and then read a dictionary definition. Can you suggest times when your perspective of a person, place, or event changed? What caused the change?
3. Give a translation for perspective in your first language, and for related words or phrases, such as see with new eyes, point of view, or understand.
4. What were the predominant emotions felt by the author in her early school days?
5. Skim the first six paragraphs to answer this question. Respond to her stating that she felt cheated, embarrassed, sad, and resentful. List the specific words or events that reveal her feelings.
6. What event determines the author's understanding of who was really "cheated" in life? Why do you think this particular event gives the author this insight?
7. Identify the event of the birth of her first child as the event that offers the author a new perspective.
8. As you were reading the essay, what was your feeling toward the author? Did your opinion change? How does the author guide her readers toward feeling that way?
9. Skim the essayy to find the key word cheated that appears in five paragraphs. Did you notice it while you were reading the essay the first time? What is the effect of this repetition? Think of ways you could have used, or will use, repetition in your own writing.
10. The author of this essayy follows a traditional essayy structure; one that can be used in any type of essayy (persuasive, analytic, persuasive, argumentative, or narrative). Examine "A New Perspective" and identify each of the above parts or components; then consider the conclusion closely. How does it link to the introduction (a device called "closing by return")?
11. The author clearly sets up the narrative through her thesis statement in the opening paragraph: "Our lives are shaped by the seemingly insignificant events of our youth." Paragraphs 2-6, the body of the essay, include specific anecdotes and details about the author's life as a child. Each paragraph supports the original thesis. Paragraph 7 is the author's coming-to-terms with these events as she has gained insight. Perceive the surprise factor of this conclusion, revealed in the very last few words. Closing by return is illustrated through the image of film in the first and last paragraphs.
12. Brainstorm how the author recalls her childhood in terms of a film: a series of scenes that she replays over and over. What exactly does this mean? Have you ever had this experience of memories? Many film directors shoot from a storyboard: a series of drawn, detailed frames of the events and shots for every scene. You can use this idea to create a storyboard for this essay. Consider the purpose, audience, and production options of such a film, and how these factors will affect the content of your storyboards. You should createe at least seven frames for the storyboard, including notes about lighting, shots, angles, music, dialogued, and so on.
    Develop a storyboard for an event or situation in your life that you feel has helped shape you. It could be one that you can now see from a different perspective. You could explore ways to incorporate both perspectives.
13. Writee a personal essayy about an event or situation that has shaped your life. Follow the traditional structure of an essay: introduction, body, and conclusion. Try the technique of closing by return and/or revealing a surprise in the conclusion.