Class Zone: The Language of Literature

from Midsummer by Derek Walcott

Overview

In this excerpt from Midsummer, Derek Walcott compares the people of an old British colony to the leaves of a tree in autumn and links the racist statement that blacks can't do Shakespeare to race riots.

Issues

This poem addresses

racial prejudice,
rioting,
cultural conflict.

Instructional Focus

To encourage students to

identify racial prejudice,
analyze their beliefs about racial prejudice,
evaluate the effects of rioting,
determine the causes of cultural conflict,
identify nonviolent means to effect social change.

Activities

Oral Reading
Review the definitions list with students. Then interpret the poem with them. Ask them to identify as many references to social conflict as they can. List them on the board. Reread the poem, pausing to identify and discuss each conflict. Focus on the cause and effect of each conflict. Ask students to put the events in social context, and have them identify alternative means to effect change in each event.

Class Discussion
Use the following questions as springboards to solutions:

What does Walcott's comparison of people and leaves imply? Do you agree with the implication? Explain.
What does he mean when he says it's in men's nature "to die for the sun"? Do you agree? Explain.
How do the Brixton riot and apartheid destroy his fairy tale of England? What does this imply about the difference between perception and reality? Have you had a similar eye-opening experience? Explain.
The narrator says, "Praise had bled my lines white of any more anger." What does this mean? How does personal experience affect one's commitment to "causes"?
What does the juxtaposition of rioters exchanging Shakespearean quips imply? What does this suggest about our ability to learn from the past?
What lessons for life can be gleaned from this poem? How can you apply them to your life?

Personal Perspective
Ask student pairs to share experiences. Have them focus on events that forced them to reevaluate their perspective. Have pairs work to identify the causes for the misperception. Ask them to evaluate the resulting "new" perception. For instance, a student's original perception may have been that there was no such thing as prejudice. Then the student moved to a new neighborhood where he/she became a minority. The student realized the inaccuracy of the original perception when he/she became a victim of prejudice.

Social Responsibility
Ask students to expand their social awareness. Have them research viable social causes/organizations. Instruct them to report on:

the focus and goals of the group,
the need for change,
methods used to effect change,
past successes,
future aims,
actions students can take to assist in effecting change.

Real World Connection

Have students identify and research specific cases of social injustice. Ask each student to select one case. Have them present the details artistically. Be sure each representation includes:

specific details (participants, time, place, and so forth),
historic and/or social context,
outcome.

Representations can include:

poems,
short stories,
songs,
mobiles,
paintings,
drawings, and so on.

Have students present the case and their representation. Ask them to identify nonviolent means to resolve the injustice.