Figurative Language
"He walked slow as a hot river"
Simile
What can we infer about the relationship between the speakers mom and grandfather (daughter and dad)?
Their relationship is serious. He is strict. She shows respect.
What two POSITIVE emotions are expressed in BOTH poems?
fear
pride
nervousness
joy
sorrow
pride
joy
What did Langston Hughes mean, when he said "If you had known what I know You would know why" ?
He wants the readers to understand that if you knew the troubles his people and him had to endure, then you would understand why he does not have the liberties that he should.
What did the poem "Words Like Freedom" do with its words, that "A Voice" did not?
It rhymes.
"The judge without a courtroom"
Metaphor
What can we infer about the person being described as "you" in "A Voice"? Who are we talking about?
The author's mom
Why do the author's use figurative language?
To create the _______.
tone
What lines from the poem "A Voice" let you know that the author's mother had a serious relationship with her father? (give one)
"You spoke Spanish formal as your father" (7-8)
"You never dared to race past him, to say, "please move". (12-13)
What was the Harlem Renaissance?
A movement in the 1920s and 1930s centered in Harlem. African American poets, writers, artists, and musicians gathered there to create art and to press for civil rights.
"On my heartstrings freedom sings"
Personification
What can we infer about the tone of the last part of "Words Like Freedom"?
There are words like Liberty
That almost make me cry
If you had known what I know
You would know why.
sad/sorrow/depressing
How do you think the author's mother feels during her time in the Capitol Building?
nervous/scared/afraid
"Your breath moves through the family like the wind moves through the trees"
What does this example of personification mean?
Mom was able to teach her children to speak up for themselves and her teaching them is like the family story moving through each generation.
How did Langston Hughes feel talking about freedom?
Proud/happy/joyfull
"Spunky as a peacock"
Simile
What can you infer about the mother and the aunt based on the simile, "your voice is the voice of an aunt in Mexico, spunky as a peacock?
They have courage and they are gutsy!
What did both poems have in common?
They are both about overcoming struggles and speaking up for yourself
What was the reason why the author's mother in "A Voice" felt nervous in the auditorium?
She was the only Mexican American woman in the room and she may not have felt confident speaking up in front of people because she felt different and no one had taught her how to speak up.
How did the author of "A Voice" feel about her mother in lines 17-18?
She was proud.
"Their eyes were pinpricks"
Metaphor
What can we infer about how the author felt about her mother, after reading lines 17-18?
You liked winning with words. You liked
writing speeches about patriotism and democracy.
She felt proud of her. She looks up to her mom.
What connection can we make from BOTH poems?
>the power of SPEAKING UP
>overcoming struggles/challenges
What were the differences between the author's mother in "A Voice" growing up and English speaking children?
English children ate meat, potatoes, and gravy.
Her house smelled like rose powder and she had to speak formal Spanish.
How did Langston Hughes feel talking about Liberty?
Sorrow/Sad/Depressed