The goal of the lesson is to build on students’ understanding of theme and how it is communicated across genres in addition to contemplating a specific archetype—search for identity.

• To assess students’ grasp of the concepts, call upon different partners and students during the discussion times, walk around to lend assistance while students complete study guide questions for the play.
• Offer reteaching or examples as needed, and provide additional resources for more individual practice.

Focus Question: Why and how would an author purposely imply a theme? [IS.12 - Struggling Learners]

Part 1

Write these statements on the board: [IS.13 - Struggling Learners]

• When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
• Neither a borrower nor a lender be.
• If your friend jumps off a bridge, would you follow?

Ask students to write a brief response, [IS.14 - Struggling Learners] based on whether they agree with the statements. Tell students, “These aphorisms/maxims (a concise and often witty statement of wisdom or opinion) have been used for years.” Discuss student writings about the aphorisms. Ask students to evaluate their thoughts: Do they indicate a humorous outlook? [IS.15 - Struggling Learners] Insightful? Peaceful? Violent? Proactive? Reactive?

Say, “What a writer values or believes is communicated through a story’s theme or moral. What is the definition for theme?” (A topic of discussion or writing; a major idea broad enough to cover the entire scope of a literary work.) Point out that a theme is generally an idea for the reader to consider long after reading the text and to consider how it may apply to the reader’s personal life. [IS.16 - Struggling Learners]

Ask, “What is an archetype?” [IS.17 - Struggling Learners] Write a definition on the board. (An archetype is a universal pattern—or a theme that shows up across cultures and time periods because it applies to common traits of human development.) “The ‘search for identity’ is one such thematic archetype.” Discuss how one’s values influence career choices, establishing relationships, and political viewpoints. Discuss the origins of students’ opinions and values. [IS.18 - Struggling Learners] (Possible answers: family, friends, and society; magazines articles and ads, TV ads, movies, Internet, etc.)

Say, “Themes may show up in direct language or be woven throughout characterization techniques and dialogue.” In “If,” the poet uses an if/then rhetoric format to identify specific actions that will lead to society’s respect. Read the fixed verse poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling as a class or in pairs to identify the values or traits a male should have to be considered a respected man in Kipling’s era. [IS.19 - Struggling Learners] (Kipling wrote this poem for his son.) Count the number of times “if” is used to lead to the one effect at the end of the poem.

Possible discussion questions include: [IS.20 - Struggling Learners]

• “Are the traits Kipling advocated for his son applicable for a daughter (raising a daughter)?
• “What’s changed in society or cultures that may call for different values to be respected today?”
• “Which of those qualities are still respected traits in today’s society?”
• “What is the process by which individuals accept or reject the values that families and society impose upon them?”
• “What is the impact of the repetition or the number of conditions?”

Say, “Every person is part of larger groups based on such characteristics as gender, culture, faith, interests or ambitions. But within those groups, each person tries to determine how s/he fits in. After being told by society and families how one should be, ultimately the individual must decide.”

Read the latter part of Chapter 8 from Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography. With a partner, or as a full class, ask students to quote lines that clearly identify the author’s purpose in this section and the specific values that Franklin would like to internalize. Discuss the following questions: [IS.21 - Struggling Learners]

• “By identifying values Franklin wants to internalize, how is he also identifying weaknesses/bad habits he hopes to avoid?”
• “What are those weaknesses?”
• “Could Franklin’s experiment work today?” Evaluate and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of his plan as a way to clarify one’s search for identity.

Part 2

Say, “Poetry and nonfiction use similar techniques to express the author’s purpose and theme. [IS.22 - Struggling Learners] How do ‘If’ and The Autobiography excerpt communicate the search for identity archetype? Consider language, syntax, rhetoric, and text format.” [IS.23 - Struggling Learners] (Answers may range from declarative statement, if/then, numbered values, etc.) “How might a play script communicate it differently?” (Answers may range from character dialogue to costuming and actions.)

In class, read aloud Act I, scene I of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry—the two sections with Beneatha onstage. Provide students with Study Guide Questions (L-L-1-1_Study Guide Questions and KEY.doc). Discuss students’ answers as a class, especially the answer to question 6 in the handout, which is a key objective for this lesson.

Extension:

• Students who need additional practice inferring messages may analyze the media, magazine articles, and advertisements and compile a booklet portraying or projecting the ideal consumer.
• Students can read the entire play, A Raisin in the Sun. There are many more examples throughout the play of Beneatha’s search for identity.
• Students who are ready to move beyond the standard might create a poem, script scene, or memoir that suggests a search-for-identity theme.