"Stranger in the Village" An Essay By James Baldwin & Comprehension Activity

English 12 Unit 2: “Stranger in the Village”
James Baldwin Essay Activity

Materials:
You will need a copy of “Stranger in the Village” by James Baldwin, your own paper and a pen.

Know:
Writers use personal narratives to reflect on events that have taken place. Essays, such as “Stranger in the Village” help us to learn about ourselves, others and cultures. We will continue to notice how language plays a role in how we shape our identity and how others.

Understand:
We will examine how language choice and the writer’s “voice” impact you, the reader. We will analyze the language used so that we might better understand how the writer, James Baldwin in this case, elicits specific emotional responses in his audience.

Do:
We will use a variety of different strategies to comprehend and come to a greater understanding of the essay. In order to do that, please do the following:

1. Go through and number the paragraphs. Write a small number at the first line of each one.

2. We will read the first paragraph together. For the first and second sentences pick the most important words and write them down on your own paper:
P1 ______________
______________

3. Then read the remaining sentence and write down the most important phrase on your own paper:
P1 _____________________________________________________

4. At the end of paragraph 1 answer the following:
o Does Baldwin know he is a stranger?
o How do you think the people will respond to him?
o What is the purpose of this paragraph?

5. Read paragraphs 2-3 and do the following:
o Copy down unusual words and phrases (usually one per sentence, roughly)
o Copy down the most important sentence;
o Explain what the purpose of the paragraph is.

6. Paragraphs 4 -6 - look for Baldwin’s response and his reflection. Summarize them.

7. Paragraphs 7-9 – Listen closely while I read it to you. Look for the reflection. Write a 1 sentence summary of the reflection for each of the paragraphs.

8. Paragraphs 10-12 – Read these silently. Pick out one sentence per paragraph that jumps out at you for some reason. It may be something that bothers you, or that seems especially striking. Copy these down and explain why you selected them. Give some thought to this. We will discuss people’s finding and offer time to comment on the ideas.

9. I will read paragraph 13 to you. Look for the new description of the village. We will discuss this.

10. Now we will break the class into pairs. Each pair will be assigned a paragraph from among paragraph 15-24 in the essay. Reread you paragraph closely. Identify the important words, phrases, sentences, etc. Identify the main idea(s) and summarize the paragraph.

11. Each pair will read their paragraph aloud. They will then present their paragraphs to the rest of the class and discuss their findings.

12. I will read the last paragraph to the class. Consider and respond to the following:
o Is this conclusion positive or negative?
o Why?
o Why do you think Baldwin wrote and published this essay?
o What do you think Baldwin wanted you to do with the information presented in this essay?

13. For paragraphs 10-13 select just a few choice words, two phrases and one important sentence from each.

14. Skim and reconsider the first 13 paragraphs of this essay. Answer the following:
o Why re their so many foreign words?
o How does the presence of so many unusual words impact you, the reader?
o How do you feel when reading an essay, like this one, with so many foreign and unusual words?

15. Read paragraph 14 closely. Scholars consider this to be the “heart of the essay.” We will discuss this in more detail later.

16. Copy down the last sentence in paragraph 14. This is considered to be the thesis of the essay.