Paper 1 Summer 1121
Due on July 16.
Color words as description vs as social relation.
4 pages. Typed double spaced, printed, and handed in. You should have a main thesis and several subtopics which support your thesis. Organize your paragraphs according to subtopics covering different ways of viewing the topic. You should include your own view of the topic and a self reflection on your view. You should compare and contrast your view and the author’s view, or a character’s view within the text.
Using the two types of meaning applicable to color words and other words, 1. Description and 2. Social relations; discuss “Design” by Robert Frost. You can also discuss the other Frost poems.
Next, use this analysis to discuss the way contemporary author Junot Diaz narrates “How to Date a Brown Girl (Black Girl, White girl or Halfie)”.
How does author Diaz use color words to describe individuals, groups? How does he use color words to refer to social relations? Who is the narrator? Is he a mature person? How does his economic level affect his point of view? Is author Diaz serious about describing his potential girlfriends with his different color words? Reflect on the social relations he shows by using these categories. Are individuals in these separate categories truly different?
Reflect on how you use color words or other adjectives and descriptors in these two ways. What is involved in social relations? How do you categorize individuals in your life?
Can “personal identity” be categorized by color words? Can “group identity” be categorized by color words?
