TEACHER S PET PUBLICATIONS. LitPlan Teacher Pack for Native Son based on the book by Richard Wright

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1 TEACHER S PET PUBLICATIONS LitPlan Teacher Pack for Native Son based on the book by Richard Wright Written by Mary B. Collins 1996 Teacher s Pet Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved

2 This LitPlan for Richard Wright s Native Son has been brought to you by Teacher s Pet Publications, Inc. Copyright Teacher s Pet Publications Hammock Point Berlin MD Only the student materials in this unit plan (such as worksheets, study questions, and tests) may be reproduced multiple times for use in the purchaser s classroom. For any additional copyright questions, contact Teacher s Pet Publications.

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Native Son Introduction 5 Unit Objectives 7 Reading Assignment Sheet 8 Unit Outline 9 Study Questions (Short Answer) 13 Quiz/Study Questions (Multiple Choice) 21 Pre-reading Vocabulary Worksheets 33 Lesson One (Introductory Lesson) 47 Nonfiction Assignment Sheet 49 Oral Reading Evaluation Form 53 Writing Assignment 1 55 Writing Assignment 2 62 Writing Assignment 3 64 Writing Evaluation Form 65 Vocabulary Review Activities 59 Extra Writing Assignments/Discussion?s 57 Unit Review Activities 66 Unit Tests 69 Unit Resource Materials 101 Vocabulary Resource Materials 115 3

4 SHORT ANSWER STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS - Native Son Book One: Fear 1. Describe Bigger's relationship with his family. 2. What does Bigger mean when he says, "Half the time I feel like I'm on the outside of the world peeping in through a knot-hole in the fence..."? 3. Why do you think Wright included the scene with the sky-writing airplane? 4. What is Bigger saying when he tells Gus that white folks live "Right down here in my stomach"? 5. What are the two controlling emotions in Bigger's life? 6. Who is going to rob Blum's store? 7. Why isn't the robbery carried out? 8. How do Jack and G.H. react to Bigger's attack on Gus? 9. What causes Bigger to lose his temper again? 10. Do Jan and Mary see Bigger as a man? 11. Why can't Bigger speak to Mrs. Dalton when she enters Mary's room? 12. How and why does Bigger kill Mary? What does he do with the body? Why? 13. How does Bigger feel after killing Mary? 14. Why can Bigger fall asleep so easily after committing such horrible acts? Book Two: Flight 1. Why is Bigger no longer fearful in the presence of Gus, Jack and G.H.? 2. To what is Wright referring when he writes, "... they were a sort of a great natural force, like a stormy sky looming overhead, or like a deep swirling river stretching suddenly at one's feet in the dark"? 3. Who is Bessie? 4. How does Bigger respond to Britten's interrogation? 5. Why does Bigger threaten Jan with a gun? 6. What is Bigger's plan to get money from Mr. Dalton? 7. How is the ransom money to be delivered? 8. Why does Britten question Peggy? 9. Why are some of Britten's questions to Peggy concerning Bigger a bit ridiculous? 10. What is Bigger's downfall? 11. Why had Bigger not cleaned the furnace before? 12. Why does Bigger kill Bessie? 13. How does Bigger rationalize to himself that Mary and Bessie were responsible for their own deaths? 14. How do the men finally capture Bigger? 13

5 STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS - Native Son Short Answer Format Answer Key Book One: Fear 1. Describe Bigger's relationship with his family. He is ashamed and resentful when he is with them. He is ashamed that they have nothing and he is powerless to help them, and he is resentful that they look to him for support. 2. What does Bigger mean when he says, "Half the time I feel like I'm on the outside of the world peeping in through a knot-hole in the fence..."? He means that although he lives in the world, somehow he is not a part of it at all. The world is beyond his grasp as well as his understanding. He feels a stranger and an alien in it. 3. Why do you think Wright included the scene with the sky-writing airplane? He uses it to illustrate how the white man's world is unattainable to Bigger. Bigger sees the plane and comments that he would like to learn to fly, but that even the chance to try is denied him. The distant plane represents the distance between Bigger and the world of a decent job, home and life. 4. What is Bigger saying when he tells Gus that white folks live "Right down here in my stomach"? He is describing the ache and frustration bottled up inside of him from a life of being told where to live and what to do. He has, in effect, swallowed his hate and anger and it rages inside him. 5. What are the two controlling emotions in Bigger's life? "These were the rhythms of his life: indifference and violence.... moments of silence and moments of anger...." 6. Who is going to rob Blum's store? Bigger, Gus, Jack and G.H. plan to rob it. 7. Why isn't the robbery carried out? Bigger physically attacks Gus when Gus arrives late at Doc's. He accuses Gus of being so late that it is too late to carry out the robbery. Actually, Bigger doesn't want to rob the store anymore, so the fight with Gus is a good way to delay and to vent his frustration caused by his own feelings of fear. 8. How do Jack and G.H. react to Bigger's attack on Gus? Initially they tell Bigger to leave Gus alone, but because they are frightened of his temper they do not strongly insist. They eventually begin to laugh and enjoy the spectacle when they realize that Bigger has made his point and will let Gus go. 15

6 9. What causes Bigger to lose his temper again? Gus throws a pool ball, hitting Bigger in the wrist. Bigger lunges after Gus but slips on a cue stick left on the floor. Jack and G.H. laugh at this turn in events, and Bigger's rage and embarrassment boil over. 10. Do Jan and Mary see Bigger as a man? No, they both believe in equality and freedom for all people, but they don't look at Bigger as an individual man; to them he is a Negro man, not just a man. Their treatment of Bigger, while superficially friendly, is actually very unkind. they can see that Bigger is uneasy around them, and yet they force him to stay in the front seat between them and to eat with them. They cannot see that Bigger is trapped by their desire to treat him nice just as he is trapped by other white people's desire to abuse him. 11. Why can't Bigger speak to Mrs. Dalton when she enters Mary's room? He is terrified. He is in a rich, white girl's bedroom, and she is drunk. Bigger knows he could never explain the situation, that he would most likely be accused of rape, at least. He knows that the punishment for raping a white woman is death. 12. How and why does Bigger kill Mary? What does he do with the body? Why? He puts the pillow over her face in an effort to keep her quiet so Mrs. Dalton will go away and not discover him. However, he has the pillow there for quite some time, and Mary suffocates. He cannot leave the body as evidence, so he puts it in the trunk, carries it to the furnace room, and puts it into the furnace. 13. How does Bigger feel after killing Mary? He is still scared because now he is really in trouble with the white man's world, but he also feels a kind of pride and a direction for his life, for the first time in his life. 14. Why can Bigger fall asleep so easily after committing such horrible acts? He is totally exhausted, and although he realizes the acts were horrible, he feels a sense of relief that his life has a direction and that some of his violent frustrations have been vented. Book Two: Flight 1. Why is Bigger no longer fearful in the presence of Gus, Jack and G.H.? Bigger no longer fears them because the murder of Mary has given him a sense of pride. They were afraid to rob a white man, but he has killed a white girl. For the first time in his life, Bigger actually feels "bigger" and in control. Notice how he doles out the little gifts of cigarettes and money to the gang, and also notice that they show him a respect not born of fearing his temper but of being almost in awe of his new purpose and command. 16