msaenglish

Blues Ain't No Mockingbird

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Blues Ain’t No Mockingbird

by Toni Bambera

Text, pg 81

FOCUS ACTIVITY FOR “BLUES AIN’T NO MOCKINGBIRD

Read the following list of situations and decide whether you consider the actions intrusive.

(intrusive = to intrude = to stick yourself in a place where you're not wanted)

In the LITERATURE section of your English notebook, write down the number of the situation, your answer (either yes or no) AND a brief reason for your opinion.

1. Someone you don’t know smiles at you.

2. Someone you don’t know photographs you.

3. Some you don’t know one asks to share your table in a restaurant.

4. Someone you don’t know pays you a compliment.

5. Someone you don’t know goes through your dresser drawers or luggage.

QUESTIONS

1	Who is the narrator of the story?
2	How is the narrator related to the other characters in Granny’s family?
3	Which character best understands Granny? How does Ms. Bambera let us know this?
4	What are Smilin’ and Camera trying to do?
5	What is the good reason for their actions?
6	What are they doing wrong?
7	What is “The Blues”?
8	Which character best understands “The Blues”? How do we know this?
9	Explain the symbolism of the chicken hawks.
10	Which character do we learn most about by their:
		Thoughts
		Actions
		Looks
		Actions
		Others’ reactions

CHARACTERIZATION

There are five ways that an author can use to tell us about his/her characters. Answer the following questions to tell how Toni Bambera tells us what kind of a man Grandaddy is.

What is something that Grandaddy DOES that tells us what kind of a man he is?