Language Arts 9 assignment
Due Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Mrs. Marston

Choose one. Writing assignments must be handwritten and may be illustrated.
Short Story - “Everything That Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O'Connor
Essay -
In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: The Creativity of Black Women in the South (1974) by Alice Walker
Art - Maudell Sleet’s Magic Garden by Romare Bearden (painting)
Forever Free by Sargent Claude Johnson (sculpture)

H - 1. WRITE: In “Everything That Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O'Connor there are two pairs of mothers and sons. In Mother to Son by Langston Hughes there is another pair.
Compare and contrast these three pairs, In what ways are they alike? In what ways are they different? In what ways do the actions and personalities of the mothers affect the sons? In what ways do the actions and personalities of the sons affect the mothers?

2. WRITE: For each of the following metaphors, write about what or who it describes in “Everything That Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O'Connor: (Include its significance to the understanding of the story.)
waiting like Saint Sebastian for the arrows to begin piercing him
looked like a cushion with the stuffing out
The sky was a dying violet
wearing it like a banner of her imaginary dignity
they were thick as fleas
sitting like a mummy
rumbling like a volcano about to become active

H - 3. WRITE: Art evokes stories and ideas to write about. Write a journal entry from the point of view of Maudell Sleet in Maudell Sleet’s Magic Garden by Romare Bearden (painting); and from the point of view of the mother in Forever Free by Sargent Claude Johnson (sculpture)

4. WRITE: In her essay, “In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: The Creativity of Black Women in the South” (1974) Alice Walker uses the metaphor of her mother’s garden to explore the experience of black women in America. Write how you understand the image of the garden as a symbol of that experience.

5. WRITE: In his essay “Just Walk On By” Brent Staples portrays himself as an “outsider.” Write about what you have learned from your experience as an “outsider” or your observations about the way our society creates and treats “outsiders.”

Writing tips:
Make the paragraph the unit of composition Use the active voice.
Put the statements in positive form. Use definite, specific, concrete language.
Omit needless words. Avoid a succession of loose sentences.
Express coordinate ideas in similar form. Keep related words together.
In summaries, keep to one tense. Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end.