Lesson 2

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • Beloved, Toni Morrison, Vintage Books, 2004

• • “The Ghost Story Persists in American Literature. Why?,” Parul Sehgal, New York Times Books, 2018

Materials

Tools

• Character Note-Taking Tool

• Discussion Tool

• Mentor Sentence Journal

• Vocabulary Journal

Reference Guides

• Academic Discussion Reference Guide
• Claims Reference Guide
• Connecting Ideas Reference Guide

Question Sets

• Beloved: Section 4 Question Set

Editable Google Docs

• Character Note-Taking Tool

• Discussion Tool

• Mentor Sentence Journal

• Beloved: Section 4 Question Set

• Vocabulary Journal

Activity 1: Write – Discuss

We will define the term cogitation (P. 301) and discuss pages 301–305 from homework.

Step 1

Revisit this citation from last night’s reading: "Cogitation, as she called it, clouded things and prevented action" (p. 301).

Cogitation means to think deeply about something or to contemplate. Record this word and definition in your Vocabulary Journal.

Discuss the following questions with a partner:

1. Given this definition, do you agree that cogitation clouds judgment and prevents action?

2. How might the idea of cogitation relate to repression?

Step 2

As a class, revisit pages 301-305 of your reading and your responses from the homework questions.

Next, discuss the following questions as a class:

1. Who do the women believe Beloved is? What are your thoughts about Beloved’s identity?

2. How does Ella feel about love? Why do you think she feels this way? How does this relate to the discussion of the effects of slavery? To enslaved mothers’ compulsion to nurture? Consider Baby Suggs’s and Sethe’s views on parenting as they relate to Ella’s opinion.

3. What is Ella’s stance on Sethe’s past actions?

4. We see the topic of pride resurface here. Where else in the novel have we seen the topics of pride, excess, and envy? Why does Morrison keep bringing back the concept of pride?

5. Why does Ella want to help Sethe?

6. Why do you think Morrison included Ella and her perspective at this point in the novel?

7. Reread the paragraph that begins with "When they caught up with each other, all thirty, and arrived at 124, the first thing they saw was not Denver sitting on the steps, but themselves" (p. 304). Discuss the significance of this paragraph.

8. Do any of these questions relate back to the guiding questions and your responses from homework? If so, which ones? Explain the connections or contradictions.

Activity 2: Read – Write – Discuss

We will read and discuss the article “The Ghost Story Persists In American Literature. Why?” and relate the topic of hauntedness to the theme of hauntedness in Beloved.

Step 1

As a class, read the article "The Ghost Story Persists in American Literature. Why?" By Parul Sehgal. Annotate the article by highlighting, underlining, circling, and taking notes on items that are interesting, cause you to question, or can be connected to the discussion of Beloved.

As you read, consider the guiding question:

1. How does the author’s discussion of ghost stories relate to Beloved?

Step 2

Discuss the following statements made in "The Ghost Story Persists in American Literature. Why?":

However, ghost stories are never just reflections. They are social critiques camouflaged with cobwebs; the past clamoring for redress.

In the modern ghost story, especially the American kind, something different occurs. Ghosts protest norms—slavery, Jim Crow, mass incarceration—the norms that killed them.

Far from obsolescent, how hardy the ghost story proves as a vessel for collective terror and guilt, for the unspeakable. It alters to fit our fears. It understands us—how strenuously we run from the past, but always expect it to catch up with us. We wait for the reckoning, with dread and longing.

Respond to the following questions in your Learning Log:

2. Can you relate these ideas to Beloved in any way?

3. Do any of these ideas contradict what you see in Beloved?

Step 3

As a class, define the following terms:

• social critique

• norms

• redress

• reckoning

Write these terms and their definitions in your Vocabulary Journal.

Activity 3: Write – Discuss

We will prepare for a Socratic Seminar, in which we will discuss, “How Does Beloved Work As A Social Critique?” this activity will prepare us for the Section Diagnostic Socratic Seminar.

Step 1

For the Section Diagnostic, you will participate in a Socratic Seminar in which you analyze the messages conveyed by Toni Morrison in Beloved. In this activity, you will practice the protocols of a Socratic Seminar as you discuss the following question as a class:

1. How does Beloved work as a social critique?

Together, revisit the definition for social critique. A social critique occurs when a published work, like a novel, poem, painting, or song, criticizes one or more aspects of society in order to highlight flaws and injustices in hope of bringing about change.

Consider the following questions as a class:

2. What are some examples of social criticism from songs, stories, or movies that critique societal issues?

3. What examples of social criticism can you think of from songs, stories, or movies? For example, the popular Dr. Suess book The Lorax provides social criticism about the environmental degradation that humans cause. What are some others?

4. What comments or criticisms about society is Morrison making in Beloved?

5. Why might ghost stories be a popular genre for offering social critiques?

Step 2

As a class, revisit the norms of a Socratic Seminar:

A successful Socratic Seminar requires you to have read the text closely, reviewed your notes and annotations, and prepared to articulate your ideas clearly. The expectation is that everyone participates in the discussion. You can engage in the discussion through the following discussion strategies:

• posing meaningful questions that propel the conversation forward

• asking clarifying questions

• respectfully challenging perspectives

• building on others’ ideas by providing additional evidence or ideas

• synthesizing your peers’ ideas

Are there any additional questions that you have about the purpose, process, expectations, or norms of the Socratic Seminar?

Step 3

Referencing the article, "The Ghost Story Persists in American Literature. Why?" and the novel Beloved, work individually or with a partner to complete the first page of the Discussion Tool, in which you consider the following question:

1. How does Beloved work as a social critique?

Write down your initial claims and evidence in the "During the Discussion" section of the Discussion Tool.

To assist with your preparation and in the population of your Discussion Tool, consider using the following reference guides:

• Academic Discussion Reference Guide

• Claims Reference Guide

• Connecting Ideas Reference Guide

Step 4

Consider Beloved and the article, "The Ghost Story Persists in American Literature. Why?" Write two open-ended, thought-provoking questions you would like to discuss during the Socratic Seminar. Reference the following examples of strong question frames:

• What do you think about _____?

• What evidence from the text supports your belief?

• What is the relationship between _____ and _____?

• What do the texts say about _____?

• What about this perspective do you agree or disagree with?

• What significance is this to _____? If _____ is true, then _____?

Below are questions to avoid:

• questions that are too vague (these invoke uncertainty in other group members)

• questions that are too general (these do not ensure understanding)

• yes-or-no questions (these do not elicit discussion)

Write down your questions in your Learning Log or on the margins of your Discussion Tool.

Activity 4: Discuss

We will engage in a Socratic Seminar.

Step 1

Begin the seminar by asking one of your open-ended questions to the group. Anyone can respond and start a discussion. Remember, this is a discussion, not a question-and-answer session.

Continue the discussion by asking other open-ended questions and responding to your peers’ questions. Remember to use textual evidence to support your responses and observations.

Step 2

Take a few moments to record any additional notes in your Learning Log or Discussion Tool. You will reference those notes in the next lesson when you complete Part 3 of the Discussion Tool.

Activity 5: Read – Write

For homework, we will read pages 305–309 and respond to guiding questions.

For homework, read pages 305-309 and respond in your Learning Log to the following questions:

1. Who is Edwin Bodwin? Why is he heading to the house on Bluestone Road? What is his connection to the house?

2. "As a child, every item he owned was available and accountable to his family" (p. 306). Compare and contrast this idea to that of an enslaved child.

3. There is a lot going on in the scene described on pages 308-309. Break down the details:

   1. What are the women doing?

   2. What is Denver doing?

   3. What is Edwin Bodwin doing?

   4. What is Sethe doing?

   5. What is Beloved doing?

4. "His black hat wide-brimmed enough to hide his face but not his purpose. He is coming into her yard and he is coming for her best thing" (p. 308). Discuss the significance of this statement. Explain how this is an example of dramatic irony.

As you read, update your Character Note-Taking Tool and add to your Vocabulary Journal. You might consider adding at least one sentence to your Mentor Sentence Journal that demonstrates effective diction or syntax.