Who was Jim Crow?

It is important to understand what was happening in the US at the time that A Raisin in the Sun is set and the place to start the understanding is finding out... WHO WAS JIM CROW?

Task 1- Describe this picture of "Jim Crow" and discuss in your group how you feel when you look at it. Are the feelings positive, negative, happy, entertaining, degrading, or something else? Why?


If you were to learn that this image represents a white man dressed up with black paint on his face, meant to mimic the black man, does that change your thoughts about the image at all?

A little background information:
The minstrel show was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface. Minstrel shows lampooned black people in mostly disparaging ways: as ignorant, lazy, buffoonish, superstitious, and musical. The minstrel show began with brief burlesques and comic acts in the early 1830s and emerged as a full-fledged form in the next decade.

The typical minstrel performance followed a three-act structure. The troupe first danced onto stage then exchanged wisecracks and sang songs. The second part featured a variety of entertainments, including the pun-filled stump speech. The final act consisted of a slapstick musical plantation skit or a send-up of a popular play. Minstrel songs and sketches featured several stock characters, most popularly the slave, mammy, old darky, and the mulatto wench.

Read THE MINSTREL SHOW IN AMERICA for more information.

TASK 2: Watch 2 examples of an old Minstrel skit.
As you watch it, think about the following items to discuss with your group:
1. Is this type of entertainment appropriate or not?
2. What is the message behind this type of entertainment?
3. Should it have been allowed?
4. What was its purpose?
5. How did it make you feel as you watched it?
6. And finally..... would you have felt differently if you were an African American watching this?






TASK 3: Look at the following images associated with "Minstrel entertainment".

In your group divide these images into two categories:
1. Appropriate and Tasteful Advertisement OR 2. Blatant Bigotry
and be prepared to justify your choices.

Irony OMAM

Irony is defined as a difference or contrast between appearance and reality - that is a discrepancy between what appears to be true and what really is true. What irony can you find in Of Mice and Men?

3 Types of Irony-
1. Verbal irony occurs when people say the opposite of what they mean (and in its most bitter form becomes sarcasm.)
2. Situational irony is when the situation is different from what common sense indicates it is, will be, or ought to be.
3. Dramatic irony occurs when a character states something that they believe to be true but that the reader knows is not true.

The Trial of George - OMAM

Culminating Assignment- a Persuasive Argument Of Mice and Men

Now that you have completed the novella, you should have a clear understanding about the events leading up to the death of Lennie. If Lennie had gone to trial for what he did, perhaps he would have been found innocent, on the grounds of a lack of mental competence Do you believe that George made the right decision? Was this a mercy killing? Was George justified? Or is George a murderer?

In this assignment we are putting George on trial for murdering Lennie. You are to take the position of either the prosecuting attorney or the attorney for George´s defense. Watch this example of an attorney's closing arguments to give you some ideas of how to convince the jury that YOUR side represents the truth.....

Your first step is to decide what side you will represent. That will determine what "team" you are assigned to. These teams will debate the issue of George's innocence/guilt.

Persuasive arguments utilize logic and reason to show that one idea is more legitimate than another idea. It attempts to persuade a reader to adopt a certain point of view or to take a particular action. The argument must always use sound reasoning and solid evidence by stating facts, giving logical reasons, using examples, and quoting experts (as appropriate).

Your task is to come to class on Thursday ready to build a case for your side. You must bring 3 (written) supports for your position. At that time you will be assigned to a team and then you will work as a group to construct your case (as well as your rebuttles to the other side's arguments).

Research Project- OMAM

Mercy Killing or Murder? Ch 5-6

Chapter 5-6 Of Mice and Men

Was the death of Lennie a mercy killing or cold-blooded murder? Why?
What kind of man is George? Did your opinion of him change when you read Chapter 6?