AADS/ENGL 3328.01
In chapter 4 of “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” Harriet Jacobs recounts the first time she was punished by her mistress, Mrs. Flint. She notes that unlike many other forms of discipline on the plantation, hers was not corporeal, but rather “petty” and “tyrannical.” Jacobs had gotten new shoes, courtesy of her…
“‘I am sassafrass/my fingers behold you I call upon you with my song you teach Me in my sleep/i am not a besieger of yr fortress/i am a crusader/for you are All my past/i offer you my body to Make manifest yr will in this dungeon Of machines & carolina blues/i wanna Sing yr joy/&make…
In the novel Sassafrass, Cypress, & Indigo, Ntozake Shange describes Cypress’s dream, where she envisions a matriarchal society that defines childbirth as a punishment and men as nothing more than sperm banks. Shange depicts Cypress dreaming of this perverted society in order to show the very possibility of it. Cypress can conceive of this happening…
Sassafras, Cypress, & Indigo, by Ntozake Shange, is an American novel that tells the story of three Afrifcan American sisters, as they attempt to reach success and fulfillment. The novel jumps between various narrative viewpoints through the 60’s and 70’s. The racially charged atmosphere of the time period provides a unique perspective on perseverance and…
In her novel Sassafrass, Cypress, and Indigo, Ntozake Shange makes repeated use of the phrase “The South in her” in reference to Indigo. First appearing on page four when spoken by Indigo’s mother Hilda, it is thereafter a standalone motif at the end of a paragraph, appearing five more times throughout the novel. Shange’s repetitive…
Shange utilizes dancing as another form of ritual for communing and remembering the ancestors. The expression of “love,” “adoration, ” and the “union of spirits” are attributed to dancing. There is no form or requirements, but the act of dancing is its own ritual for remembering the past, for embracing the present, and creating a…
Love is difficult: Rarely does it come in the form similar to a fairy tale where everything just makes sense. Quite often, it takes patience, struggle, and work for love to blossom into the radiant, beautiful energy that overtakes the soul with warmth. The difficulty with love comes not from what to do following the fall,…
Shange incorporates Indigo’s personal reflections, entries, and written moments throughout the story so that the reader can see the world through this young woman’s eyes. Indigo is very in touch with her emotions and she uses magical realism and imagination to translate these feelings into the small snippets of poetry, jotted numbers, and experiences. These…
Reflection on Content Describe a few of the connections you see between your different entries? As you reflect on your entries, do you notice any patterns? Do you find any tensions between your thoughts in one entry and your ideas in another? Are their contradictions in how you’re thinking in one entry and how you’re…
You may email me your responses directly as a Word document, but I encourage you to post your project check-ins to the class site.* Doing so facilitates the feedback loop and also allows you to get a sense of how other groups are tackling similar or related issues. What Describe the event, performance, text, resource,…