1. Harlem Renaissance Bellringer # 1 3/23/12
According to the “Build Background” section on page 835, why did Paul Laurence Dunbar write the poem, “Sympathy”?
What tone would you say Dunbar evokes in this poem?
What three ways does the speaker of this poem relate to this bird in the cage?
Who do you think is Paul Laurence Dunbar’s audience in this poem? Be as specific as possible.
Today’s Objective: We can analyze the reason for writing a piece of literature to determine task, purpose, and audience.

2. Harlem Renaissance Bellringer # 1 3/23/12
According to the “Build Background” section on page 835, why did Paul Laurence Dunbar write the poem, “Sympathy”?
What tone would you say Dunbar evokes in this poem?
What three ways does the speaker of this poem relate to this bird in the cage?
Who do you think is Paul Laurence Dunbar’s audience in this poem? Be as specific as possible.
Today’s Objective: We can analyze the reason for writing a piece of literature to determine task, purpose, and audience.

3. Harlem Renaissance Bellringer # 3 3/27/12
Imagine that you are filling out a college application and that one of the questions asks you to describe what makes you a unique individual. List three or four of those qualities that you would attribute to yourself in such a description.
Read the “Build Background” section on page Explain how Zora Neale Hurston found her identity.
Today’s Objective: We can recognize the central message the author conveys.

4. Harlem Renaissance Bellringer # 4 3/28/12
Why did Zora Neal Hurston not feel the effects of racism or segregation as a child?
What did Hurston mean when she said “No, I do not weep at the world– I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife”?
How did Hurston react to people discriminating against her?
What point was Hurston trying to make with her “bag” analogy?
Today’s Objective: We can identify how the author’s choice of details (like diction and tone) supports the central message the author conveys.

5. Harlem Renaissance Bellringer # 5 3/29/12
What is the tone of Langston Hughes’s poem “I, Too”?
What is the tone of Langston Hughes’s poem “Democracy”?
Today’s Objective: We can identify how the author’s choice of details (like diction and tone) supports the central message the author conveys.