Blues+Ain't+No+Mockin+Bird

Shannon Schlegel Rebecca Raso Kimmie Hakvaag ** Blues Ain’t No Mockin Bird **
 * Pg. 570 **
 * Toni Cade Bambara **
 * Published: 1971 **

The setting takes place in a rural community at the Grandmother’s house in Southern America. The setting is outside around her house. It also takes place in the 1950's. Granny really does not like the filmmakers at her house, filming her family or her. She believes some things should be kept private and not for the public eye. The filmmakers are attempting to use her life to make a political and social statement, sponsored by the state government, about the black rural poor. She believes they have no right to be there. Both Granny and Cathy tell stories of other people and how when their lives were invaded they were messed up and became worse then before. These camera men are invading them for only selfish reasons, which is to get their footage. The story of the man jumping shows how selfish people are. People need to mind their business and be responsible towards others. The lesson would be that people should think of how other people will feel about their actions and not be so inconsiderate. These charactes can be seen as static characters since they do not change in any part of the story. ** ** Critique ** The rating of this book is 2 stars out of 3. There was a good theme and understanding to what is going on in the book. The way the grandmother acts really puts some style in the text. It also adds to the mood of the story. But was the story really interesting? Would anyone really want to read it again? The only characters that actually are described well are Granny and her husband. Much is left to the imagination about the other characters. The two men could have been more expressed in the story than just through their actions. The narrator could have also described herself and her family much better. The setting on the other hand was very good for what the story is about. The story could have gone into more detail though about what the setting looked like. I would also like to add that there could be more information on the plot of the story. The men said they were filming for the county. Why? What is important about this film? Are there troubles in this community? These questions were never answered. As for the plot, it was a good idea, but could have been explained in more depth. The story should have been longer to make the plot more understandable. The writing of this story was great but could have used more advanced words. The dialect was correct for the setting and added flavor to the story. Since this story was mostly left to imagination, to most of the younger generations, this would most likely be boring to read. I would not recommend this short story as a story for school education.
 * Setting **
 * Theme: Responsibility Towards Others **
 * Main Characters
 * Granny- ** is the narrator’s grandmother who is really trying to “protect” her family. She does not like the idea of the filmmakers filming her family. She thinks they have no right to be there and they are just selfish people trying to expose the poor. It was mostly her who got rid of the filmmakers but her husband had helped. She is a static character because no part of her personality changes throughout the story. Granny can also be seen as a round character because the story shows that granny is independent and strict.
 * Cain/ Grandaddy- ** is Granny’s husband. He has a very forceful presence. But he isn’t as rude and mean when he asks the filmmakers to leave unlike Granny. He is thought to be like a king. He is also a staic character because the author gives no evidense of his being changing. Grandddady can be seen as a flat character because he is seen as noble.
 * Filmmakers (Camera & Smilin)- ** they are the people who come to granny’s house in the beginning of the story. They claim they have to film movie pictures for a food stamp campaign. But they were being selfish and not taking no for an answer. They had left when Cain told them to leave. The filmmakers are also static because they do not change their point of view of the rural community even though some get along with out the county's help. The filmakers are flat characters because they are disrespectful. The story does not tell of other traits.
 * Cathy- ** she is one of the 4 children who understands the stories Granny tells. She basically understands the adult world and the family. She is a third cousin of the narrator. In the end of the novel she talks about writing a book. She is not a major character and does not have evidence of changing. Cathy could be seen as neither because her traits are not really talked about, but you can infer that she is a flat character because she seems to have a leadership or mature nature.
 * Terry & Tyrone- ** are two twin boys who live next door but are there in the yard when the filmmakers arrive. They don’t really pay attention to what is going on they just stay in the yard wrestling each other. Though they are static characters, Terry and Tyrone can be seen as a flat character because they are described as playful. Tyrone also could possibly be considered mean, but their is little in the stroy that shows this.

** Point of View & Explanation ** The point of view is in 1st person because it is told through the voice of a character in the story whether they are minor or major. The character telling the story is the grandaughter of Granny and Cain. Readers only hear and see what she does. The narrator in this story is also a character. We only know what is going on because she tells the story in her point of view. The mood of the story is serious. Granny isn’t joking around when she lets the filmmakers know they are not welcomed there. The whole time through the story Granny has anger and is not fooling around. Everyone in the story is serious about the filmmakers being there and don’t like the fact that they are there. Toni Cade Bambara was an American fiction writer, scriptwriter, and essayist. She was known for her words used to describe black life. She was born on March 25th, 1939 in New York City, New York. She had a brother by the name of Walter and a mother by the name of Helen Brent Henderson Cade. Bambara lived in Harlem, Bedford Stuyvesant, Queens, and New Jersey City, New Jersey. Toni Cade Bambara who was encouraged as a young girl to be creative, to follow her dreams, and she was raised with a lot of love. So was her daughter Karma. The name Bambara was discovered as a part of a signature on a sketch book that Bambara found in her great-grandmother’s trunk. She legally changed he name to Toni Cade Bambara in 1970. She also received a bachelor’s degree in Theater Arts and English from Queens Collage. Toni Cade Bambara also served as a social worker and director of neiborhood programs, while she was publishing short stories in periodicals. She was also very active. Toni Cade Bambara enjoyed the art of writing and she loved to teach. She did these to tell about social and political messages about the welfare of African American community and of the African American women. Bambara had an objective goal to describe the urban Bambara’s emotional language of her characters is one of the most distinctive qualities of her writing. In 1993 Toni Cade Bambara got news that she had colon cancer she wasn’t surprised. Bambara was tired and felt “stuck”. Toni Cade Bambara died December 9, 1995.
 * Mood of the Story **
 * Author Biography **


 * Timeline of events in 1950ish ;) **

1950- U.S enters Korean War. 1951- Julius and Ethel Rosenburg were found guilty of conspiracy of wartime espionage and sentenced to death. They were executed June 19, 1953. Morton Sobell was also convicted of the crime and sentenced to thirty years in prison. 1952 - At Eniwetok Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, the first hydrogen bomb, named Mike, is exploded. On January 7, President Harry S. Truman announces the development of the H-Bomb. 1953- First color television goes on sale. 1954- Korean War ends. 1955- Rosa Parks refuses to follow segregation rules on Montgomery Bus. 1955- Martin Luther King Jr. begins organizing protests against black discrimination. 1959- Alaska becomes 49th state. 1959- Hawaii becomes the 50th state. This molded the nation we have today. 1961- Alan Shepard becomes first U.S astronaut in space. 1963- President John f. Kennedy assassinated in Dallas, Texas. 1965- U.S combat troops sent to Vietnam to stop communism.

**Examples of Suspense** “‘Can I have the camera back?’ say the tall man with no machine on his shoulder, but still keeping it high like the camera was still there or need to be. ‘Please, sir.’” Pg. 575  This quote was suspenseful because I didn’t know what he was going to do with the camera. I knew he was going to do something to it, but I thought he might hit them with the camera. " You standin in the misses' flower bed," say Granddaddy. "This is our own place."

This could be seen as suspenseful for before he says this, he had broken the camera. The filmakers are not sure if the Granddaddy will hurt them physical. This quote could be seen as threating under the friendly command. Granddaddy may make them leave if they do not freely.

Works cited: [] This link is for anyone who would like more information on Toni Cade Bambara. [] Go here for more information on the author [] look here for more information about the author and more symbols of the story.



** Important Quotes and Explanations ** “I said to tell that man to get away from here with that camera.” “Me and Cathy look over toward the meadow where the men with the station wagon’d been roamin around all mornin. The tall man with a huge camera lassoed to his shoulder was buzzin our way.” Pg. 570

Granny thinks that the men are going to be trouble for her and her family.**
 * This quote introduces two men who, in Granny’s view is going to be part of the conflict.

“Good mornin,” he said, head all down the way Bingo does when you yell at him about the bones on the kitchen floor. Pg. 572

“So they backed on out, buzzin at our clothesline and the twins’ bicycles, then back down the meadow.” Pg. 572
 * In this quote, the camera man is starting to feel the old woman’s displeasure at his presence in her home realizing that he is not welcome.**

“So here comes. . . this person. . . with a camera, takin pictures of the man and the minister and the woman. Takin pictures of the man in his misery about to jump, cause life so bad and people been messin with him so bad. This person takin up the whole roll of film practically. But savin a few of course.” Pg. 573
 * In this quote, the men leave knowing that Granny will not let them film. Though, they still can not help themselves but take pictures any way. This shows their disregard for Granny which later in the story is proven when they approach Granny’s husband.**

“Then Granddaddy’s other hand flies up like a sudden and gentle bird, slaps down fast on top of the camera and lifts off half like it was calabash cut for sharing.” Pg. 575
 * In this quote Granny talks about the reason she is against filming. She talks of a time when camera people could not give a suicidal man the privacy he needed. By being there, they encouraged him to jump as to get a story.**

//** Characterization **//
 * In this quote, Granddaddy breaks the camera. He does this because these men have disrespected his wife’s wishes and come to him. He is proving that he will stand behind his wife’s wishes.**
 * __ Direct Characterization __ - “Then here comes Camera and Smilin __all big and bad now__ that the awful screechin thing is on its back and broken, here they come.” Pg. 575 **
 * “Cathy says its because he’s __so tall and quiet and like a king__.” Pg. 574 **

**__ Indirect Characterization- __ “I don’t know about the thing, the it, and the stuff,” said Granny, still talking with her eyebrows. “Just people here is what I tend to consider.” Pg. 572 **
 * __ Indirect Characterization __ - “You woulda done whatcha always do-go cry to Mama, you big baby.” said Tyrone. Pg. 573 **
 * __ Explanation __ : Tyrone would be considered being mean in this passage. **
 * __ Explanation __ : Granny could be seen as opinionated and strong in her beliefs. **

__ **Vocabulary** __ ex: The woman traded in her food stamps for food for her family at the local store. ex: The young boy enjoyed a calabash under the hot sun. ex: the formality of the english civilization is much different that what it is today.
 * __ Food Stamps __ - stamp or coupon by government to persons with low income, redeemed for food at stores. **
 * __ Calabash __ -large gourd like fruit **
 * __ Formality __ - established rules or customs **



**__ Other Works __**  ** First short story was Gorilla, My Love- published 1972 **  ** Raymond’s Run **  ** Wrote Introduction to This Bridge Called My Back (1981) **  ** Those Bones Are Not My Child-1999 **  ** The Black Women: an Anthology-1970 ** **Imagery Examples **  ** Pg. 572 **
 * “ Tryin to talk him out of it was what they was doin. The minister talking about how it was a mortal sin, suicide. His woman takin bites out of her own hand and not even knowin it, so nervous and cryin and talking fast.” **
 * In this example, Granny uses imagery to describe what the women was going through as her man was deciding to commit suicide. She describes the women as horrified and scared for her man’s life. The woman is nervous that he might leave her and not even think about what it will do to her .**
 * “Smilin man was smiling up a storm. So was Cathy. But he didn’t seem to have another word to say, so he and the camera man backed on out of the yard, but you could hear the camera buzzin still.” Pg. 572 **
 * In this example, the author describes the second man. This man is seen smiling, most likely to get granny’s approval. Though Granny told the men not to film, the buzzin they hear is used to describe the camera clicking pictures of their home. **

** An example of a symbol in this short story is the camera. This camera represents the difference between the societies of the two men to the family of Granny. The camera shows the men’s fascination in the rural family but also how the men think they are superior to them. Though granny tells them not to take pictures of her family, they still take pictures on their way out and eventually go behind her back to ask her husband. By doing this they do not respect granny or her family. By taking pictures they say they hope to help them, but they do not really care. They are exposing how the family lives, grouping them with others who really do need the food stamps. Do to their lack to see that this family is sufficient, the camera takes pictures of what they see and what they believe is rural community life for all blacks. **
 * Symbol **