1) Which sentence in the article do you consider to be its thesis? What point or argument does the article try to make about August Wilson, his work, or King Hedley II? In "'She Make You Right with Yourself': Aunt Ester, Masculine Loss and Cultural Redemption in August Wilson's Cycle Plays," authors Cynthia L. Caywood and Carlton Floyd explore themes and motifs that appear throughout August Wilson's work. Primarily, the authors discuss the need for divine intervention, a "Redeemer of the African-American community," to appear in these plays to give characters direction in the face of difficult choices about their lives going forward (Caywood and Floyd 75). These characters give a link to their ancestral past, so that the main characters can move forward with that power and knowledge. If there is a thesis in the article, it is that "Wilson posits that the possibility of moving forward toward a better future necessitates returning to acknowledge and recuperate a less than heavenly past" (Caywood and Floyd 75). Here, the authors demonstrate the need to show Aunt Ester through Wilson's plays as a force for cultural understanding, and a link to the past for African-Americans to utilize in making decisions for their future.
2) Who wrote it? Google the author and find information about his or her credibility. Does the author have a credible background to write a piece of this nature? The two authors of this piece are Cynthia Caywood and Carlton Floyd, both of which work in the English department of the University of San Diego - Caywood is a professor and Floyd is an assistant professor, respectively. At the University of San Diego, she primarily teachers women's literature, British literature and drama of the 17th and 18th centuries, while having other published work on the subjects of writing theory and women writers of those aforementioned centuries. Floyd, meanwhile, is a specialist in African-American literature and black issues, as well as mixed race and ethnic studies, among other pertinent issues relating to the work of August Wilson.
Separately, these two authors may not have a tremendously specific background to talk about August Wilson's plays and how they relate to identity and community; however, combined, Caywood and Floyd provide a great deal of expertise in these matters. Floyd provides the appropriate background on African-American race issues and literature, while Caywood has a lot of experience discussing drama as a genre, and how these kinds of subtexts are conveyed through works. Between these two authors, I believe the subject is being handled with an incredible amount of finesse and experience, bringing two distinct disciplines together to discuss this subject.
3) Who is the intended audience for this piece? Research the publication where the article appeared originally. What kind of people subscribe to such a publication? What's their likely education level? Professional interests? This piece was published in the scholarly journal College Literature, which has worked through 2003 to publish scholarly research on literary studies - primarily of English literature. The range of subjects is fairly wide, as all manner of social and political subjects are covered through the lens of English literature, likely for a college setting. It is published by West Chester University, and publishes several scholarly articles of various interdisciplinary subjects in each issue, which is released on a quarterly basis.
The kind of people who would subscribe to a publication like College Literature are likely the same as those who write for it - English literature students of varying levels in their education (from undergraduate to beyond), and English professors and scholars of different backgrounds. These kinds of people, for either educational or personal purposes, enjoy reading about scholarly interpretations and research into various aspects of English and college literature, from its political subtexts to its critical frameworks. They are likely fairly educated and highly intelligent, and are professionally interested in examining literature on this level. To that end, the publication is pretty esoteric, and restricted to a niche audience; however, this allows for a greater depth of analysis in these works as a whole.
4) Using a short direct quotation from the article each time, write three potential discussion questions. What evocative points in the article can serve as potential "discussion starters" for our event?
1) Of King Hedley II, Caywood and Floyd say that "Loss and longing is central to the play, and
families are torn asunder (85). How does this loss and longing manifest itself, and what does it have to do with the black experience as presented in the world of the play? What has King Hedley lost, and what has been reduced to in order to try to regain it?
2) After Aunt Ester dies, Stool Pigeon prays over a grave of a black cat; "Thus, like Berniece, Stool Pigeon calls for Aunt Ester’s return, but his call is neither echoed nor intoned by anyone else" (86). The authors also claim that the black cat symbolizes the resting place of African American history. What do you think Stool Pigeon is really praying to, and what does Wilson mean to express by having those prayers be unanswered?
3) The authors talk about Wilson's plays being about "The rise of a black middle class that has, in very limited ways, assimilated into mainstream America masks the fact that a majority of African Americans still face daunting oppression, lack of opportunity, and alarmingly escalated incarceration rates, especially for African American men" (89). How is this rise and treatment of black middle class African-Americans, particularly men, depicted in King Hedley II? What facets of African American masculinity are found in King Hedley himself, and the importance of Aunt Ester's role as the repository of ancient cultural knowledge?
Works Cited
Caywood , Cynthia L. and Carlton Floyd. "'She Make You Right with Yourself": Aunt Ester, Masculine Loss and Cultural Redemption in August Wilson's Cycle Plays. College Literature vol. 36, no. 2 (Spring 2009), pp. 74-95. Academic Search Complete.
