Thank You M’amby Langston Hughespage 109

Make the ConnectionConnotation & Denotation Literary Focus: Dialogue – What do they say? Reading Skills: Making Inferences – Educated Guesses Vocabulary Development: Synonyms/Shades of Difference in Word Meaning

Make the Connection There’s a saying

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” In very difficult circumstances some people do indeed get going.

They have a spirit that moves them ahead – pushing them to do heroic deeds.

What makes these people so tough, so strong in spirit? Why do they turn out to be good? Why do others go so wrong?

Jot down your thoughts about these hard questions.

Connotation and Denotation

A word’s denotation is its dictionary definition, the idea the word represents.

A word’s connotation involves the emotional associations that the word brings to mind.

It’s important to consider both denotation and connotation as you communicate.

Identify Negative Connotations: The words in each of these pairs could refer to the same thing. In each pair, which one has a negative connotation.

1. slim/skinny 2. cheap/inexpensive3. invest/gamble4. trailer/mobile home

Recognize Bias

A person might use—perhaps unconsciously—words with a positive or negative connotation that supports a bias.

Bias is an attitude formed ahead of time that keeps a person from looking at a subject objectively.

It’s important to know the bias of an author or speaker so that you can better evaluate what you read and hear.

Look for bias in the headlines below. Choose the letter of the best response.

1. Which headline would you be likely to find in the Cubs’ hometown paper?a. Cubs Trounce Cards 5–3 b. Cards’ Effort Falls Short; Cubs Win 5–3

2. Which newspaper headline favors the development project? a. Mall to Destroy 300 Homes b. Mall to Bring 3,000 Jobs

Quiz Yourself1. A word’s __________ involves

the emotional associations that the word brings to mind.

2. A word’s __________ is an objective definition.

3. __________ is an opinion formed ahead of time that causes a person to lean toward one side of an issue.

Dialogue: What Do They Say? You get to know people best by

talking with them and listening as they speak to others.

In the same way, characters in a story reveal themselves to one another – and to the reader – through dialogue, or conversation.

In “Thank You, M’am,” you eavesdrop on a brief encounter between two strangers. Notice what these two people say to each other - and what they don’t say. Then decide what you think of them.

Making Inferences: Educated Guesses Most good writers

don’t tell you directly what their characters are like. Instead, authors often allow you to make your own inferences about characters from what they say and do.

When you make an inference, you use your observations and prior experience to guess about something you don’t know for sure.

An inference, however, isn’t just a random guess. It’s an educated guess – because it’s based on evidence from the text.

Get Ready To Read In your notebook, quickwrite

about a time when someone - a real person, a character in a book or in a movie - influenced you in a positive way.

Who was the person who influenced you?

How did that person influence you?

How did that influence change your life?

Connection/Dramatic Monologue In Hughes’ “Mother to Son,” a

mother tells her son about the difficulties of life and advises him on the attitude he should take toward it. Using the metaphor of a stair, she tells her son that although the way up has been rough and full of “tacks” and splinters,” she has never stopped striving. She advises her son not to turn back, not to rest, but to keep climbing, as she has done through her life.

After You Read Turn to page 116 and

answer questions 1-8 (Response and Analysis).

WRITINGA Letter from Roger (Left on his own, Rogers gets in trouble at the beginning of the story. What do you think Roger will be like when he is on his own 10 years after his encounter with Mrs. Jones? What might he write in a letter to her?

Compose a letter from Roger. Write as “I.”

Be sure to state the purpose of his communication after all these years.

Synonyms: Accept No Substitutes Although a synonym is

a word that has the same or almost the same meaning as another word, synonyms are not always interchangeable. Often synonyms will have subtle but distinct shades of difference in meaning.

Let’s take a look at the chart on page 117 and Practice using the following words from the first paragraph of the story: large, carried and fell.

English Language CoachRewrite each sentence below with a synonym for the verb run. Pay attention to connotations when you choose the words.

trot dash scamper

17. I just saw Martin __________ down the street like his shoes were on fire.

18. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas _________ quietly around the track every morning.

19. Did you see that frightened hamster __________ across the floor?

Grammar Link

Modifiers: Precise Meanings Modifiers make your writing more specific. Adjectives (and adjective phrases) answer the

question what kind? Which one? How many? Or how much?

Adverbs (and adverb phrases) answer the question where? When? How often” in what way? Or to what extent?

PRACTICE