By
Toni Cade Bamara
Toni Cade Bambara
(1939–1995) was born in New
York City. She received her
bachelor's degree from Queens
College and her master's degree
from City College of the City
University of New York.
In addition, she studied drama and
mime in Europe as well as dance in
the United States. She is best
known for her short stories,
articles, essays, and screenplays
that focus on African-American
people and issues.
She held a variety of positions
including welfare investigator,
director of community
programs, college teacher,
lecturer, and editor. Bambara,
who was active in civil rights
efforts for many years,
presented in her writing a
realistic, courageous, and
sensitive picture of
contemporary AfricanAmerican life.
Although the neighborhood of
Harlem was instrumental in forming
an important part of Bambara's
identity, the author says her greatest
influence and inspiration was her
mother: "My mother had great
respect for the life of the mind.” In a
poignant dedication to her mother in
The Salt Eaters, Bambara writes:
"Mama, Helen Brent Henderson Cade
Brehon, who in 1948, having come
upon me daydreaming in the middle
of the kitchen floor, mopped around
me. "
BEFORE READING
What’s worth the effort to you?
Have you ever wanted something so badly
you were willing to do anything to achieve
it?
What motivates you?
Discuss with your shoulder partner.
In this story, a spunky, young girl does
what it takes to be the fastest runner in
her neighborhood.
VOCABULARY
Prodigy n., person of highly unusual talent.
The talented young sprinter was considered a track
prodigy.
Sidekick n., a close friend
Mai’s teammate is also her good friend, or sidekick.
Liable adj., likely to
Ben is liable to get injured if he doesn’t warm up before
the race.
VOCABUlARY
Crouch v., to stoop with bent knees
At the start of the race, runners crouch close to the
ground.
Clutch v., to grasp and hold tightly
The runner needs to clutch the baton tightly when running
the race.
LITERARY ANALYSIS :PLOT
The plot is the series of events that happen in
a story.
Watch the plot development in this story.
There are five stages:
Exposition
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Resolution
READING SKILLS: MAKING INFERENCES
iNFERENCE SKILLS
When you are reading and make an
inference, you use clues from the story and
your own knowledge to guess about the
things the author doesn’t say.
Watch for these literary terms in the story,
“Raymond’s Run.”
Idioms
An expression that has a meaning different from the
meaning of its individual words.
For example, “to go to the dogs” is an idiom meaning
“to go to ruin.”
Hyperbole
A figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for
emphasis or humorous effect.
I have a ton of homework!
Allusion
An allusion is a reference to a famous person, place,
event, or work of literature.
"As the cave's roof collapsed, he was swallowed up in the
dust like Jonah, and only his frantic scraping behind a wall
of rock indicated that there was anyone still alive".
The allusion in the sentence above is to Jonah. The reader is
expected to recognize the reference to Jonah and the
whale, which should evoke an image of being 'swallowed
alive' ... in this case, behind a wall of dust and rock.
More Literary Terms in
“Raymond’s Run”
Alliteration
The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words.
"... his appearance: something displeasing,
something down-right detestable. I never saw a man
I so disliked and yet I scarce know why. He must be
deformed somewhere ..."
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,
Robert Louis Stevenson
More Literary Terms in
“Raymond’s Run”
Onomatopoeia
The use of words whose sounds echo their
meanings .such as buzz, twitter, and clank.
The term onomatopoeia is a Greek
word that means 'word-making'.
Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
He tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred...
'The Highwayman' by Alfred Noyes