1. Exploring Chapter 2 of Their Eyes…
Day 1
Closely reading Chapter 2 of Their Eyes Were Watching God, using Thomas C. Foster as our guide.
Exploring Chapter 2 of Their Eyes…

2. In How to Read Lit. Like a Prof.
Reread an excerpt of chapter 2 of Their Eyes Were Watching God
begin on page 10, “It was a spring afternoon…”
end on page 12, “That was the end of her childhood.”
In your RJ make note of literary elements—both large and small—that you note in this section of the text.

3. In How to Read Lit. Like a Prof.
Thomas C. Foster wrote the following in his chapter “…So does Season”:
“So it is with books and poems. We read the seasons in them almost without being conscious of the many associations that we bring to that reading. When Shakespeare compares his beloved to a summer’s day, we know almost instinctively…that this is way more flattering than being compared to say, January eleventh… Seasons can work magic on us, and writers can work magic with seasons” ( ).
Talk with your partner—how does this quote apply to the excerpt from chapter 2 that you just reread?

4. In How to Read Lit. Like a Prof.
Thomas C. Foster wrote the following in his chapter “…Except Sex”:
“Drives you crazy, doesn’t it? When they’re writing about other things, they really mean sex, and when they write about sex, they really mean something else” (144).
“You just know that these scenes mean something more than what is going on in them. It’s true in life as well, where sex can be pleasure, sacrifice, submission, rebellion, resignation, supplication, domination, enlightenment, the whole works…it’s not only true of weird sex. Sometimes even good literary sex is about something else” ( ).
Talk with your partner—how does this quote apply to the excerpt from chapter 2 that you just reread?
(And, yes, I know the chapter is about a kiss and not sex. Still…)

5. A Poetry Pairing with Chapter 2 of Their Eyes…
Shared Themes
A Poetry Pairing with Chapter 2 of Their Eyes…

6. This is the painting The Kiss by Gustav Klimt
Have students take a moment and talk with a partner about what they see happening in this piece of artwork.
Also, ask them how it may be connected to Their Eyes Were Watching God…

7. Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s poem “Short Story on a Painting of Gustav Klimt ”
They are kneeling upright on a flowered bed     He         has just caught her there                                   and holds her still        Her gown                       has slipped down                                                 off her shoulder      He has an urgent hunger                             His dark head                                        bends to hers                                                   hungrily  And the woman the woman       turns her tangerine lips from his              one hand like the head of a dead swan                     draped down over                                                   his heavy neck                        the fingers                           strangely crimped                                       tightly together        
Have a student read the poem aloud.

8. Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s poem “Short Story on a Painting of Gustav Klimt ”
her other arm doubled up against her tight breast her hand a languid claw clutching his hand which would turn her mouth to his her long dress made of multicolored blossoms quilted on gold her Titian hair with blues stars in it And his gold harlequin robe checkered with dark squares Gold garlands stream down over her bare calves & tensed feet

9. Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s poem “Short Story on a Painting of Gustav Klimt ”
Nearby there must be                  a jeweled tree                          with glass leaves aglitter                              in the gold air  It must be                 morning                             in a faraway place somewhere  They         are silent together                                   as in a flowered field             upon the summer couch                                   which must be hers    And he holds her still                                   so passionately          holds her head to his                               so gently so insistently             to make her turn                                 her lips to his 
Her eyes are closed                                like folded petals  She       will not open                          He                              is not the One

10. The Task
Complete the TPCASTT worksheet comparing Ferlinghetti’s poem to the noted excerpt from Their Eyes…
DUE TOMORROW
Remind students to annotate the text.
Allow students to work in partners in class but finish on their own for tomorrow.
Draw their attention to the note on the worksheet that states, “To aid you in tomorrow’s task, pay close attention to literary devices and techniques that run parallel in each piece, as well as those that that juxtapose each other.”