The Masks
What is a golden shovel?
A poetic form wherein the last word of every line of a new poem is taken from the lines of an existing poem
What does the "night" symbolize?
Death
"Remember the earth whose skin you are:
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth
brown earth, we are earth."
What is the "earth" referencing?
It's referencing different races to show that we are all connected, despite differences
What does brethren mean?
Where was Emmett Till murdered?
Money, MS
In "We Wear the Mask," what does the mask look like?
It grins and lies
"Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay"
What is the "blinding sight"?
The knowledge that death is near
What tribe does Joy Harjo belong to?
Muscogee
What does the poem say about beauty and truth?
That they are the same
What did Emmett Till's mother do that helped the Civil Rights Movement?
She had an open casket funeral so that people would be forced to see his mutilated body, which helped to raise awareness for the injustices African-Americans face
In "Jabari Unmasked," who is the speaker?
A black high schooler
"And you, my father, there on the sad height
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears I pray"
What are the "fierce tears"?
A sign from the father that he has strength to fight against death
How does the repetition of "Remember" give the poem its tone?
"We talked between the Rooms -
Until the Moss had reached our lips -
And covered up - Our names"
What does this stanza mean?
The two people spoke until their bodies decomposed to the point where they could talk no longer.
The moss covering their names signifies their loss of identity in history
What is the tone of the poem?
Calm yet sad
What theme does "Jabari Unmasked" and "We Wear the Mask" have in common?
Racial inequality
"Do not go gentle into that good night"
"Rage, rage against the dying of the light"
What two words are opposite each other? What does that mean?
"Gentle" and "rage" to contrast how one might accept death and how they should instead fight against it
What is the central theme of "Remember"?
What is the central idea of the poem?
It doesn't matter what you do because in the end you will die and you will be forgotten in history
"...it had lost its feather but
he had carefully folded a dollar bill
and slid it between the ribbon and the felt
and it stood at attention. he wore his money.
upright and strong..."
What is the meaning of this part of the poem?
The money signifies where he was murdered, so the poet is sending the messages that he has no reason to feel shame but should instead feel proud because it helped the Civil Rights Movement
What is the primary difference between "We Wear the Mask" and "Jabari Unmasked"?
"Jabari Unmasked" focuses on the perception of black teenagers in the 21st century and the mask that they not only wear but are forced to wear, whereas "We Wear the Mask" speaks more generally about the experiences of African-Americans wearing a mask to hide their emotions as protection
"Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night."
What is different about this stanza compared to the other ones?
Instead of giving wise men advice, he instead states the fact that they do not give into death
"Remember your birth, how your mother struggled
to give you form and breath. You are evidence of
her life, and her mother's, and hers."
What aspect of Harjo's background is evident here?
Her belief that we are not born alone, but our ancestors walk with us
What is ironic about Dickinson's message?
She says you will be forgotten in history, but she has been remembered in history following her death
"looking over the plums, one by one
lifting each to his eyes and
turning it slowly, a little earth,
checking the smooth skin for pockmarks
and rot, or signs of unkind days or people,
then sliding them gently into the plastic.
whistling softly, reaching with a slim, woolen arm
into the cart, he first balanced them over the wire
before realizing the danger of bruising
and lifting them back out, cradling them
in the crook of his elbow until
something harder could take that bottom space."
What are the plums a symbol for? What is Emmett Till in the poem a symbol for? What are the "unkind days or people"/wire basket a symbol for?
The plums are a symbol for the historic Emmett Till.
The Emmett Till in the poem is a symbol for the poet herself.
The wire basket is a symbol for how Till was treated by his murderers, the jury, and the media of the time.