Unit 9 Close Reading: Shame
I. Time Plan
Period I
Period II
Period III
Period IV
●Background introduction
●Vocabulary
●Organization of the text
●Language points
90 minutes
●Speaking practice: Group discussion
●Revision
●Dictation & recitation
●Listening comprehensive
●Exercises of this unit
90 minutes
90 minutes
90 minutes
II. Teaching Objectives
Objectives:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Ss learn the vocabulary and be familiar with the pronunciation and usages.
Ss can answer some questions guided by the teacher.
Ss can read and fully understand the text.
Ss learn to paraphrase the long sentences.
Skills:
Reading comprehension & Listening and Speaking skills
Before class:
Ask Ss to preview the vocabulary of this unit and the text.
III.
Background Information
1. Social background about the 1960s in USA
Through the 1960s, Gregory spent more time on social issues and less time on
performing. He participated in marches and parades to support a range of causes,
including opposition to the Vietnam War, world hunger, and drug abuse. In addition,
Gregory fasted in protest more than 60 times, once in Iran, where he fasted and
prayed in an effort to urge the Ayatollah Khomeini to release American embassy staff
who had been taken hostage.
2. The analysis of the text
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Ignorance of Reality
In the short essay "Shame" we learn about a young black boy, Dick Gregory,
who learns the power of humiliation because he comes from a very poor family.
"Innocence ends when one is stripped of the delusion that one likes oneself," greatly
explains the tragic childhood of Gregory up until the age of seven. Gregory never
learned ahead of time that upper- class people look down upon the poor, and how
others can be so full of hate and discrimination. At least, not as hateful towards him.
Ignorance, on Gregory's behalf, was probably the main factor for his humiliation. We
learned early in the story that Gregory came from a poor family. Even though he was
poor, he did not show he was ashamed of it. Although he didn't know why people
turned their heads when they saw him. Gregory was very proud of his money-making
schemes, but he didn't realize the work he was doing was very degrading. Another
example of Gregory's ignorance is his attitude towards the teacher. When he
explained about his seat in the class, it gave me the impression that he was very proud
of it. Gregory then talks about how he thought that the teacher loved him. It's a shame
that he didn't realize everyone felt sorry for him.
It was Gregory's ignorance that caused him to feel humility, but it was his
teacher that made him realize it. As far as Gregory was concerned, the day of
collection for the needy was his time to shine. In front of the whole class, including
the girl of his dreams, he was going to lie and show how proud he was of his dad for
donating a lot of money. With only a few words from his teacher, all of Gregory's
innocence and high self-esteem was stripped from himself. All of the unrealistic
thoughts that Gregory had felt towards people were wiped away. Gregory realized
how ignorant he had been; thus, leaving this poor child with discrimination towards
himself.
In all of my days, I have never felt the humiliation Gregory had to encounter that
day. Luckily for me, I had parents that explained to me the good and bad of society. I
had always expected the humility brought on to me by others. It's a shame that
Gregory is not alone in this world. Everyday people are being crushed from the antics
of others. Hopefully one day people will learn to stop laughing at others and start
trying to help them out.
3. Organization of the text
1. What are the reasons for my humiliation?
“Innocence ends when one is stripped of the delusion that one likes oneself,” greatly
explains the tragic childhood of the little black boy.
Ignorance/innocence is probably the main factor for his humiliation.
[1] He did not show he was ashamed of being poor.
[2] He was very proud of his money-making schemes.
His degrading work
his time to shine by his donation
[3] His attitude towards the teacher was rather innocent.
(1). He was very proud of his troublemaker’s seat, his idiot’s seat. (an enormous
authority to do in “Mr. President’s Seat”)
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(2). He thought that the teacher liked him.
It was his ignorance/innocence, his high self-esteem that caused him to feel
ashamed, but it was his teacher that made him realize it.
IV. Teaching notes:
the "eagle flew on
Friday"
payday, because $10
bills were called 'eagles'.
Negro payday was Friday; the Eagle
always flew on Friday.
on relief
on welfare, i.e.
government assistance.
The kids without Dads ended up on
relief.
nappy
hair in tight curls.
I brushed my hair down so it wasn't
so nappy.
"idiot's seat"
chair for kids who
misbehave in school.
The teacher put me in the idiot's
seat.
a warm coat.
When I moved out east, the first
thing I needed to buy was a warm
mackinaw.
mackinaw
Vocabulary
1. complexion: the natural color or appearance of the skin on your face:
1) Drinking lots of water is good for complexion.
2) A pale/ruddy[r∧di]:pink, healthy complexion
2. popularity
1) Western music is steadily gathering in popularity.
2) The president’s popularity has declined considerably.
popular adj.
1) Henry was popular at school
2) Video games are very popular with children.
3) Contrary to popular belief/view, gorillas are basically shy, gentle creature.
3.
1)
2)
3)
4)
wink
Joe winked at me, and I realized that he was joking.
not get a wink of sleep/not sleep a wink: not be able to sleep at all
tip sb. the wink: secretly warn someone about something or give them information
as quick as a wink
4. applause
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1) thunderous applause
2) Let’s have a round of applause (a short period of applause) for our speaker today.
applaud v.
1) clap
2) express strong approval of an idea, plan etc.: we applaud the decision to go ahead
with the new building.
5.
1)
2)
3)
idiot
Some idiot drove into the back of my car.
Idiot box: a television set
Idiot light: one of the lights in a car that warns you when something is wrong
6.
1)
2)
3)
troublemaker
a handful of troublemakers are damaging the club’s reputation.
Mapmaker/watchmaker
Decision maker/peacemaker: she was the peacemaker in a family that was always
quarreling.
7. sneak
1) They managed to sneak past the guard on the gate.
2) steal something unimportant or of little value: We used to sneak cigarettes from
Dad to smoke in the garden.
3) Sneak on: 告密 Adrian is not popular because he’s always sneaking on other
kids.
4) Sneak up: 悄悄接近 Don’t sneak up on me like that. You gave me quite a shock.
8. pregnant
1) a pregnant pause/silence: Dave’s outburst was followed by a pregnant pause.
2) Pregnant with: Every phrase in this poem is pregnant with meaning.
9. squirm
1) 扭动：Stop squirming so I can finish doing you hair.
2) Feel very embarrassed or ashamed: Greg turned red, squirming with guilt.
10. pledge
They have pledged to fight any changes to the abortion laws.
Pledge n.
1) Industrial conflicts continued in spite of a no-strike pledge by the unions.
2) The government’s pledge to make no deals with terrorists
3) Eisenhower fulfilled his election pledge to end the war in Korea.
11. scared
1) be scared of: I have always been scared of dogs.
2) Don’t be scared of asking if you need any help.
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3) scared that: I was scared that they might tell the police.
4) scared to do sth: Janice lay on the floor trembling, too scared to move.
5) scared stiff/scared to death/scared out of your wits
6) I was scared stiff at the thought of having to make a speech.
12. relief
1) Money, help: a relief fund for refugees
2) I felt a huge surge of relief and happiness.
3) In a way it was a relief to know exactly what we were up against.
4) To our great relief the children all arrived home safely.
5) “The boss didn’t realize you were late.” “What a relief!”
6) The men went away and she heaved a sigh of relief.
13.thrill
1) Even though I’ve been acting for years, I still get a thrill out of going on stage.
2) Peter reckons that using guns gives him a thrill.
thrill v.
3) The magic of his music continues to thrill audience.
4) He thrilled to the magic of the world’s greatest guitarist.
Phrases:
1. get over
1) She’s still trying to get over that bout of flu she had.
2) Some people never really get over the early death of a parent.
3) There’s no point in having brilliant ideas unless you can get them over.
4) Once we’ve got over the first few months, we should be making a reasonable
profit.
2. be ashamed of
1) I was ashamed of having lied to my mother.
2) Barry was ashamed that he had lost his temper.
3) You ought to be ashamed of yourself- treating your sister like that!
4) Sherry is at that age when kids are ashamed of their parents. (feeling
uncomfortable)
5) That kind of behavior makes me ashamed to be British.
3. look right at
look directly at
4. turn away
1) refuse to let someone into a place: they turned 100 people away at the theatre
because all the tickets were gone.
2) Refuse to give sympathy, help, or support: Europe cannot turn away from these
refugees.
3) I can’t turn her away. She’s my brother’s child.
5. kind of: spoken language
1) slightly or in some ways: I’m kind of glad I didn’t win.
2) When you are explaining sth and want to avoid giving the details: I kind of
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made it look like the post office had lost his letter.
V. Group discussion
What is your most memorable childhood experience?
VI. Further reading:
In the text, Dick Gregory relates an early lesson learned in school in the
nature of hatred and shame. His fantasies of an ideal home life and future are
publicly dashed and ridiculed. His anger at this experience prevents him from
helping another human being, the story’s most valuable lesson. Students will be
asked to write about an important lesson they learned, relating the situation, the
teacher, and the value of the lesson.
The following several paragraphs in Dick Gregory’s autobiography. It is
suggested for students to have a better understanding of the text.
There was shame there. Now there was shame everywhere. It seemed like the
whole world had been inside that classroom, everyone had heard what the teacher had
said, everyone had turned around and felt sorry for me. There was shame in going to
the Worthy Boys Annual Christmas Dinner for you and your kind, because everybody
knew what a worthy boy was. Why couldn't they just call it the Boys Annual
Dinner-why'd they have to give it a name? There was shame in wearing the brown
and orange and white plaid（格子花呢） mackinaw' the welfare gave to three
thousand boys. Why'd it have to be the same for everybody so when you walked
down the street the people could see you were on relief? It was a nice warm
mackinaw and it had a hood（兜帽）, and my momma beat me and called me a little rat
when she found out I stuffed it in the bottom of a pail（桶） full of garbage way over
on Cottage Street. There was shame in running over to Mister Ben's at the end of the
day and asking for his rotten peaches, there was shame in asking Mrs. Simmons for a
spoonful of sugar, there was shame in running out to meet the relief truck. I hated that
truck, full of food for you and your kind. I ran into the house and hid when it came.
And then I started to sneak through alleys, to take the long way home so the people
going into White's Eat Shop wouldn't see me. Yeah, the whole world heard the
teacher that day-we all know you don't have a Daddy.
It lasted for a while, this kind of numbness. I spent a lot of time feeling sorry for
myself. And then one day I met this wino in a restaurant. I'd been out hustling all day,
shining shoes, selling newspapers, and I had googols（很多） of money in my pocket.
Bought me a bowl of chili for fifteen cents, and a cheese- burger for fifteen cents, and
a Pepsi for five cents, and a piece of chocolate cake for ten cents. That was a good
meal. I was eating when this old wino(酒鬼) came in. I love winos because they never
hurt anyone but themselves.
The old wino sat down at the counter and ordered twenty-six cents worth of food.
He ate it like he really enjoyed it. When the owner, Mister Williams, asked him to pay
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the check, the old wino didn't lie or go through his pocket like he suddenly found a
hole.
He just said: "Don't have no money." The owner yelled: "Why in hell did you
come in here and eat my food if you don't have no money? That food cost me
money."
Mister Williams jumped over the counter and knocked the wino off his stool and
beat him over the head with a pop（汽水） bottle. Then he stepped back and watched
the wino bleed. Then he kicked him. And he kicked him again.
I looked at the wino with blood all over his face and I went over.
"Leave him alone, Mister Williams. I'll pay the twenty-six cents."
The wino got up, slowly, pulling himself up to the stool, then up to the counter,
holding on for a minute until his legs stopped shaking so bad. He looked at me with
pure hate. "Keep your twenty-six cents. You don't have to pay, not now. I just finished
paying for it."
He started to walk out, and as he passed me, he reached down and touched my
shoulder. "Thanks, sonny, but it's too late now. Why didn't you pay it before?" I was
pretty sick about that. I waited too long to help another man.
VII. Assignments
1. Vocabulary dictation
2. TEM 4 dictation (A passage)
3. The recitation (Paragraph 5-6 )
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