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those eyes with which they look through their physical eyes upon reality. I am not complaining, nor am I protesting either. It is sometimes advantageous to be unseen, although it is most often rather wearing on the nerves. Then too, you’re constantly being bumped against by those of poor vision. Or again, you often doubt if you really exist. You wonder whether you aren’t simply a phantom in other people’s minds. Say, a figure in a nightmare which the sleeper tries with all his strength to destroy. It’s when you feel like this that, out of resentment, you begin to bump people back.
And, let me confess, you feel that way most of the time. You ache with the need to convince yourself that you do exist in the real world, that you’re a part of all the sound and the anguish, and you strike out with your fists, you curse and you swear to make them recognize you. And, alas, it’s seldom successful.
Second Read
• Reread the prologue to answer these text-dependent questions.
• Write any additional questions you have about the text in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
1. Key Ideas and Details: According to the text, what is the cause of the narrator’s invisibility?
In paragraph 1, the narrator explains that he is invisible “simply because people refuse to see me.” RL.11–12.1
2. Craft and Structure: What effect does the narrator’s use of semicolons and dashes in the first paragraph have on your understanding of his character? The narrator uses dashes in the third and sixth sentences to create dramatic pauses and to emphasize important ideas about his experience. He uses
a semicolon in the second sentence to balance and dismiss two obvious interpretations of the phrase “invisible man.” His use of the two types of punctuation suggests that he is an able storyteller and a sophisticated and educated man. RL.11–12.5
3. Craft and Structure: How would you describe the narrator’s tone in the first two paragraphs of the prologue? How does this tone change by the end of the prologue?
The narrator’s tone is ironic. He is not literally invisible, but he explains in great and mock-scientific detail (“a matter of biochemical accident to my epidermis”) how it is that he is treated as invisible. He claims not to be “complaining” or “protesting,” but by the end of the prologue, it is clear that he is quite angry and full of anguish. RL.11–12.6
4. Key Ideas and Details: What causes the narrator to reach a point at which “you begin to bump people back”?
When the narrator tires of being treated as invisible and of doubting his own existence, he desires to bump people back, in the same way that “those of poor vision” have “bumped against” him. RL.11–12.1
WORD CONNECTIONS
Roots and Affixes
Ectoplasm contains the Greek root ecto–, meaning “outside.” This root also appears in
other scientific words such as ectoderm and ectothermal. It also contains the Greek word part –plasm, which refers to the living matter in an animal or vegetable cell. You have probably noticed this word part in such other words as protoplasm.
GRAMMAR USAGE
Sentence Variety
When too many of a writer’s sentences are around the same length, the writing can feel monotonous. Effective writers vary sentence length for effect. Too many long, complex sentences can lose the reader. Yet too many short sentences can sound choppy or unsophisticated. Short sentences can also lack clarity, failing to show relationships and the progression from one idea
to the next. An occasional short sentence, however, can be startling and memorable, making an important idea or event stand out.
Notice the difference in length between the last two sentences in the prologue. Consider the way Ellison conveys relationships among the ideas within the long, next-to-last sentence. How does this add to the impact of the final short sentence?
Unit 1 • Perception Is Everything 31
ACTIVITY 1.9
continued
TEACHER
SCAFFOLDING THE TEXT-DEPENDENT QUESTIONS
ACTIVITY 1.9 continued
4 Based on the observations you made during the first reading, you may want to adjust the reading mode. For example, you may decide for the second reading to read aloud certain complex passages, or you may group students differently.
5 SECOND READ: During the second reading, students will be returning to the text to answer the text-dependent comprehension questions. You may choose to have students reread and work on the questions in a variety of ways:
• independently
• in pairs
• in small groups
• together as a class
6 Have students answer the text-dependent questions. If they have difficulty, scaffold the questions by rephrasing them or breaking them down into smaller parts. See the Scaffolding the Text-Dependent Questions boxes for suggestions.
7 Shift the focus of study from comprehension to deeper analysis by directing students’ attention to the Grammar & Usage box.
TO TEACHER
Use the Word Connection features throughout the student book to help students identify and internalize patterns in the formation of English words. Model correct pronunciations, or have students listen to recorded pronunciations online. Have students listen to and practice saying the words, and encourage them to
use newly acquired words in their spoken discussions and in written product to reinforce meaning and vocabulary attainment. Add words frequently to the class Word Wall to provide a visual reminder.
9781457304682_TCB_SE1_G.12K_Ue1y_B1I.dinded a3s1 and Details (RL.11–12.1) According to the text, what is the cause of the narrator’s invisibility? Look for the clue word “because.”
2. Craft and Structure (RL.11–12.5) What effect does the narrator’s use of semicolons and dashes in the first paragraph have on
your understanding of his character? Read
the sentences, stopping at those punctuation marks. Then reread them without pausing. How does the meaning of the sentences change?
3. Craft and Structure (RL.11–12.6) How1w0/2o/15ul1d1:08 PM you describe the narrator’s tone in the first two paragraphs of the prologue? How does this tone change by the end of the prologue? Think about how his words make you feel. How do your emotions change by the end of the prologue?
The narrator says “I am not complaining,” but is there evidence in the text indicating otherwise?
Unit 1 • Perception Is Everything 31
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.