 |
| Read Comments by Educators Add Your Comments
| | Title: |
|
| Educator: |
Kay Pickett |
| Educator Affiliation: |
n.a., MN |
| Overview: |
Often, students study American literature organized primarily by genre, such as poetry or non-fiction. In these English literature classes, students should be exposed to a variety of voices and the pertinent cultural and historical events that helped shape the literature. The Harlem Renaissance period and its writers need to be represented. Rudolph Fisher and his stories work well in a short story unit because, first, his stories, especially “Miss Cynthie,” reflect the energy and vibrancy of Harlem during its renaissance. Second, many of Fisher’s stories are accessible to ninth grade and older students. Third, the stories have strong elements of characterization, setting, and plot. |
| Grade Levels: |
9-12
|
| Subjects: |
Literature
Reading
Speaking, Discussion and Debate
Writing
|
| Lesson Goals: |
Students will:
1. Become familiar with a short story of Rudolph Fisher, including the story’s historical and cultural context.
2. Analyze “Miss Cynthie” as an example of a well-crafted story with strong characterization, vivid setting, and universal themes, such as love and reconciliation, as well as specific content related to the Harlem Renaissance.
|
| Text & Materials: |
- “Miss Cynthie,” in City of Refuge, collected short stories of Rudolph Fisher. Edited by John McCluskey. University of Missouri Press, 1991.
Miss Cynthie is a lively seventy-year-old woman from the deep South with strong traditional religious views. She arrives in New York City by train to visit her grandson, David. She has high hopes that David has made something of himself, such as becoming a preacher, doctor, or “at least” an undertaker. He has certainly advanced in his life – Dave is known as the greatest tap dance performer of the 1920's, but Miss Cynthie is at first horrified by his work in theatre for she considers this to be sinful abandon.
|
| Activities: |
1. Give students the historical context for the setting of the short story, “Miss Cynthie,” by introducing them to the Harlem Renaissance and the life and times of the writer.
a. In a group, have students rainstorm names or terms they associate with the 1920's.
b. Provide a brief lecture about the Harlem Renaissance era. (Worksheet 1)
c. Provide information on the life of Rudolph Fisher. (See Worksheet 2)
d. Ask students to visit related web sites. (Suggested web sites in section below.)
2. Help students connect the content of the story to their own experiences, especially the religious beliefs that might affect how an “elder” in a family looks at the behavior of a younger person.
3. Prepare students for the situation in the story by asking them to write a journal entry responding to one of questions in Worksheet 3.
4. Read “Miss Cynthie” and write or discuss responses to comprehension and interpretative questions in Worksheet 4.
5. Students interested in this era or author can pursue an in-depth project on the Harlem Renaissance. (Worksheet 5)
|
| Supplemental Resources: |
Worksheets:
1. Lecture notes on the Harlem Renaissance
2. The Writing of Rudolph Fisher
3. Student Response to the Story via Journal Entries
4. Comprehension and Interpretative Questions about the Story
5. In-depth Project Suggestions
WORKSHEET 1: Lecture notes on the Harlem Renaissance.
Harlem Renaissance (HR) is the name given to the period from the end of World War I through the middle of the 1930’s Depression. The Black migration, from south to north, changed the image of African Americans from rural to urban, from peasant to sophisticate. Harlem, in New York City, became a crossroads where Blacks interacted with each other and expanded their contacts internationally.
During this period of time, a group of talented African-American writers (including Langston Hughes, Rudolph Fisher, W.E.B. Du Bois, James Weldon Johnson, Claude McKay, Alice Dunbar Nelson, Jean Toomer, Countee Cullen, Alain Locke, Hallie Q. Brown, Carl Van Vechten, Nella Larsen, Julia Peterkin, Zora Neale Hurston) produced a sizable body of literature in the four prominent genres of poetry, fiction, drama, and essay.
HR was more than just a literary movement; it included racial consciousness, the “back to Africa” movement led by Marcus Garvey, racial integration, the explosion of music, particularly jazz, spirituals and blues, painting, dramatic revues, and other activities. HR brought the Black experience clearly within general American cultural history.
WORKSHEET 2: The Writing of Rudolph Fisher.
One of the most successful and highly regarded writers of the Harlem Renaissance was a medical doctor and x-ray specialist, Rudolph “”Bud” Fisher. Born in Washington, D.C., on May 9, 1897, he grew up primarily in Providence, R.I., distinguishing himself all the way through school with top academic honors. In 1924, he graduated from Howard University medical school, again with highest honors. He went on to open his own x-ray laboratory. It was this lab that caused what one contemporary writer called his “maddeningly avoidable death” (1) because Rudolph Fisher died in 1934 of intestinal cancer caused by exposure to his own x-ray equipment.
According to his sister, Pearl, Rudolph Fisher’s ambition was to write the great Negro novel – a trilogy based on people’s African background and life in the new land. Fisher himself has told an interviewer that “Harlem is the epitome of American Negro life...and if I should be fortunate enough to become known as Harlem’s interpreter, I should be very happy.” (2) He did just that, winning the praise and admiration of many people interested in the unique character of black life in Harlem during the 1920’s. It is this focus of his that makes it possible for “everyone, black and white, to learn to enjoy the sights and sounds of Negro Harlem during this time.” (3)
Rudolph Fisher was a prolific writer in his brief life; he had fifteen published short stories in addition to several unpublished ones, two plays, and one novel. He was also an amateur musician who arranged some Negro spirituals which were never published. The flavor of his writing is described by his friend, Langston Hughes, in his own autobiography:
The wittiest of these New Negroes of Harlem, whose tongue was flavored with the sharpest and saltiest humor, was Rudolph Fisher. He was a young medical doctor who always frightened me a little because he could think of the most clever things to say – and I could never think of anything to answer. (4)
His short stories have been compared to some of the classic masters of the genre, such as Poe, De Maupassant, and Gogol. His tightly woven plots, strong characterizations, and carefully chosen words often reflect the same precision and depth found in these other writers, especially Poe. He has all the elements needed for a good story –a action,r reaction, and resolution. And, like Poe, who believed that there should be no word or incident that does not support the mood of a story, Fisher worked to remove unneeded words and keep the movement tight (even though he didn’t always succeed.) When his first story, “City of Refuge,” was published in 1925 in the Atlantic, one critic called it “One of the finest short stories he had ever read” (5) and went on to say that:
You have a real ability as a a writer. You handle your situation splendidly, and you have not only ability to express what you see, but what’s more important, you have eyes that can and do see. (6)
While all his stories have widely varied plots and characters, there are also certain characteristics that show up in many of Rudolph Fisher’s works. One of these is the theme of love and reconciliation as is very apparent in the story, “Miss Cynthie.” Another is his optimistic spirit; instead of dwelling on the destructive forces of the big city working against his transplanted characters form the South, he chooses to emphasize the idea that “the God-loving, God-fearing person can triumph over adversity.” (7) Fisher believes that if one has a strong faith and an optimistic view of life, (s)he can effectively deal with whatever obstacles, challenges, or tragedies (s)he encounters. It is with this perspective or point of view that Fisher captures the spirit, the energy, and the life of the Negroes dying the Harlem Renaissance.
(1) Lewis, David Levering. When Harlem was in Vogue. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981, p. 304.
(2) Perry, Margaret. The Short Fiction of Rudolph Fisher. New York: Greenwood Press, 1987, pp. 2-3.
(3) Ibid. p. 3.
(4) Ibid. p. 2.
(5) Lewis, p. 139.
(6) Ibid., p. 139
(7) Perry, p 17.
WORKSHEET 3: Student Response to the Story via Journal Entries
Have students write a journal response to one of the following questions:
1. Write about a time when you visited a place totally different from the area in which you live(d). What were your expectations? How did you feel about this place? What might be the advantages and/or disadvantages of living there? What adjustments would you have to make to live there?
2. Write about a time when someone in your life disappointed you by not living up to your expectations or standards. Did you even come to terms with this? If not, why? If so, how? What did you learn about yourself in the process? Were you justified in your expectations? What did you learn about the other person?
3. Write about a time when you felt you could not do or be what someone close to you wanted because you wouldn’t be true to yourself. After explaining the situation, describe how it was resolved or what the outcome was. What effect did it have on your relationship with the other person? What did you learn about yourself? About the other person?
Pair up with a partner to read responses and then discuss some with the entire class.
WORKSHEET 4: Comprehension and Interpretative Questions about the Story
These may be group discussion or individual response questions.
A. Comprehension Questions
1. What is the purpose of Miss Cynthie’s visit to New York?
2. What does she believe David does for a living?
3. How does the reader know early on that David is doing all right in New York?
4. Explain the kind of relationship that exists between David and his grandmother and give examples from the text that bear this out.
5. Why does Miss Cynthie say, “God forgive me” as she goes with Ruth and David?
6. Describe her reaction to the show she is watching; what is the reason for her feeling the way she does?
7. When does her attitude toward the show change? What causes this change?
B. Interpretative Questions
1. Explain how the character of Miss Cynthie is a reflection of Fisher’s own background as a minister’s son. How do you think religious beliefs affected her when “She sat apart, alone in the box, the symbol, the epitome of supreme failure.”
2. Early in the story, Miss Cynthie says to a train worker: “First trip any place, son. First time I been fifty mile from Waxhaw. Only travelin’ I’ve done is in my head. Ain’ seen many places, but I’s seen a passel o’ people. Reckon places is pretty much alike after people been in ‘em awhile.” What does this quote indicate about her character and her insight into human nature?
3. Why do you think David didn’t become a preacher or a doctor – or even an undertaker – as his grandmother had hoped he would? Do children (or grandchildren as in this case) have any responsibility to become what their parents/guardians hope for? To what extent, if any, do parents have a right to expect a child to fulfill their expectations for him/her?
4. At the end of the story, what does David mean when he says: “So y’see folks, this isn’t mine. It’s really Miss Cynthie’s.”? He also says she taught him to “do like a church steeple – aim high and go straight.” Why do you think that she now seems to think he has done just that even though he had chosen the theatre as his life?
5. Is there a price to be paid for fulfilling other people’s expectations for you (even though it may mean sure financial success and respectability) when they aren’t the same as yours? If so, what?
C. The Craft of the Short Story
1. Why do you think Fisher uses omniscient point of view rather than having either Miss Cynthie or Davis tell the story in first person?
2. Obviously, the setting in this story is very important. Explain why this could not have happened in the South. How does this locale affect Miss Cynthie and her relationship with David? Does it affect her own self-awareness in any way?
3. The use of language and dialect in this story is wonderful and an essential part of both the characterization and overall mood Fisher creates.
a. Cite two different passages that convey all the energy, exuberance, and joyfulness that was part of Harlem during those years. Look for passages with strong adjectives and verbs, passages where the reader can truly feel this energy and visualize these “teeming streets.”
b. How does Miss Cynthie’s dialect help develop her character? Why doesn’t she speak the same way that both the Red Cap and David do? Select a dialogue passage between Miss Cynthie and either the Red Cap or David, and read it outloud for the class.
WORKSHEET 5: In-depth Project Suggestions
You may work alone on this or team up with no more than two other students. You are also free to create your own project.
1. Read three other Fisher short stories and compare each of them to “Miss Cynthie” in terms of characterization, theme, and setting. Ones that would work particularly well are “City of Refuge,” “The South Lives On,” “High Yallar,” “The Promised Land,” and “Guardian of the Law.”
2. If you are interested in gender issues, you might be interested in doing a study of Rudolph’s female protagonists who represent the “black mammy” stereotype as seen in the stories “Guardian of the Law,” “High Yallar,” “The Promised Land,” and “Miss Cynthie.” Show the differences in their portrayal as well as their similarities, especially in terms of the moral and religious principals that govern their lives.
3. Create a visual time line showing what else was happening in the African American music and art fields during the time that Fisher wrote (1922 - 1933). This could take the form of a collage, artistic charts, the traditional time line format, or a more original form you create. As part of your project and presentation, incorporate at least one example of art work and one example of the music you discuss.
4. Write your own poem, short story, or song that does one of the following:
a. Reflects the theme of love and reconciliation found in “Miss Cynthie.”
b. Reflects something in your own personal experience that somehow connects to this theme.
c. Reflects the struggle people (or you personally) go through in search of personal identify and acceptance.
5. Research the Harlem nightclubs where David, from the story “Miss Cynthie,” would have visited or performed. The Cotton Club was certainly a major one, but find out about others.
6. Research the life and accomplishments of one of the major performers of the time, such as Bessie Smith, “Ma” Rainy, Duke Ellington, Alberta Hunter, Eubie Blake, Ethel Waters, Josephine Baker, or Ida Cox. Your presentation, representing what you learned about the performer and the larger social and artistic context of his/her times, could take a number of different formats:
a. An oral presentation highlighted with recordings to play for the class and photographs relating to this person, his/her art, and the social and artistic context in which he/she lived.
b. An essay about the person, his/her art, the social and artistic context in which he/she lived, and your reasons for being drawn to this performer.
c. Write and act out, with a script and a partner, an interview with the performer.
d. Your own original format.
|
| Web Links: |
http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~cag8/fishernews.htm
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/harlem/FisSoutF.html
http://www.projo.com/special/history/fisher.htm
|
| Posting Date: |
2001-03-06 |
Comments: |
Read Educator Comments Add Your Comments |
| Standards: |
View Minnesota Content Standards information |
|
