Bildungsroman Syllabus—2015
Name__________________________
The published texts: Black Boy, by Richard Wright;
Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi; Beka Lamb, by Zee
Edgell; The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
Important Dates
Thursday, Feb. 12—Pep Rally
Friday, Feb. 13—No School for students--Professional Development
Monday, Feb. 16—No School--Presidents’ Day
Black Boy Goals:
 Know the general points of Wright’s biography (1908-1960).
 Know vocabulary words drawn from the novel’s opening segment.
 Be able to paraphrase Wright’s poem “Between the World and Me.” Note the point of
view shift and be able to relate the poem to Wright’s autobiographical novel Black Boy.
 Be able to explain the biblical epigraphs from the Book of Job. (These short passages
come before the novel’s first page.)
 Keep you eye out for biblical allusions in the novel. Be able to explain them.
 Know the themes of this episodic novel: hunger, the developing self-awareness of a
writer, the double binds of racism and authority, the issue of external and internal
authority, alienation, shame, suffering. Be ready to identify passages in the book which
relate to each theme.
 Understand the basic concepts of existentialism. Be ready to draw parallels between the
tenets of existentialism and Black Boy.
 Understand the concept of surrealism and the difference between factual and emotional
truth. Be ready to give examples from the text.
 Know the topics that blacks and whites did not discuss in the 1920’s. Be ready to explain
why the two races avoid those topics. (See p. 272.)
 Review the study guide and be sure you know the answers to its basic fact and opinion
questions.
Goals for Persepolis:
 Know the historical context of Persepolis and Marjane Satrapi’s biography (1969- )
 Understand the book’s title.
 Consider the conventions and purpose of the memoir genre. (We recently finished
another memoir/autobiographical novel/piece of creative non-fiction--Black Boy--while
Catcher in the Rye –yet to come--is clearly fiction written in the mode of memoir.)
 Consider the conventions of the dystopia genre. How does 1984 intersect with
Persepolis?
 Compare and contrast Satrapi’s memoir with Richard Wright’s.
 Compare and contrast Satrapi’s memoir with Zee Edgell’s novel.
 Compare and contrast Satrapi’s persona with that of Richard Wright, Beka Lamb,
Richard Wright, and Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye.
 Consider how the elements of the protagonists’ ethos, pathos, and logos intersect and
diverge in these texts.
 Consider how gender influences the presentation of each of the personae.

Begin considering your topic and/or thesis for your bildungsroman essay.
February 9-13, 2015
Monday: Continue discussion of Black Boy. Discuss surrealism.
Assign surrealism journal entry
Homework: Begin surrealism journal entry.
Tuesday:
Review conference sign-ups / Touch on surrealism assignment
Aliens
Begin discussion of existentialism:
 “Richard Cory” (1897), by Edwin Arlington
Robinson
 Overview of “A Primer of Existentialism”—getting
ready to read the packet
o Introduction
o Pt. 6—The pay-off
o Pts. 1 and 2—Looking back—Plato, etc.
o Pts. 3, 4, 5—The problem to solve
Homework:
Read the Introduction + Pts. 1 and 2—Consider how the ideas you already know can
support your understanding of existentialism and, by extension, Black Boy
Take notes! Annotate the assigned sections
Wednesday:
Continue discussion of existentialism
Homework:
--Finish surrealism journal entry; it is due on Thursday.
--Read on into the existentialism packet—make it your own!!!
Thursday:
Due: Surrealism journal entry
Homework:
1)Revise your essay on Macbeth—DON’T FORGET—You will need a total of six
quoted passages in your essay: 3 passages from Macbeth and one passage each
from Machiavelli, Greenblatt, and Aristotle.
2)FINISH THE EXISTENTIALISM HANDOUT—Take notes. Ask yourself this
question: how does Black Boy demonstrate elements of existential philosophy?
3)Optional: Begin reading Persepolis. Remember that you are looking, digging,
probing for a thesis to connect the four published texts with each other and to your
own bildungsroman.
Friday: Professional Development Day—No school for students
February 16-20, 2015
Monday: Presidents Day—No school!!! Tra, la!
Tuesday:
Due: Revision of Macbeth Film Viewing Assignment
Homework: Begin reading Persepolis. Please read pps. 1-153.
Richard Cory (1897)
By Edwin Arlington Robinson
Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
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But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich—yes, richer than a king,
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
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So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
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Went home and put a bullet through his head.