Preview

The Great Debaters

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
765 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Great Debaters
Stephanie Geno
Mrs.Kinyon
Great Debaters Essay
6 March 2013
The Great Debaters Based on a true story, the movie The Great Debaters is about a four person debate team at the historically Black, Wiley College in Marshall, TX. This team made up of one girl, Samantha Booke, and three young men, James Farmer Jr., Henry Lowe, and Hamilton Burgess. They travel all over to compete against the top Black colleges in the country and are also the first African American college to compete against a White college and win almost every debate. This is not their ultimate goal; their goal is to take on Harvard, the reigning national champions. They have several struggles along the way and in this essay I will inform you of them but also how as a team, they overcame them. Being an African American in 1935 was definitely hard. They had many struggles that today would be so uncommon, but they were allowed to attend college. Mr. Melvin Tolson is the head of the debate team at Wiley College and has to choose from 54 hopefuls and make his 47th annual debate team of four students. Samantha Booke is the first female to ever be on the Wiley College debate team and that in itself is a difficulty because she has to prove herself. James Farmer Jr. whom is fourteen years old is the youngest on the team and is the son of a preacher. He is raised in a very strict home and has to overcome his own insecurities with his self-confidence. Henry Lowe could be described as a “bad boy,” but he learns by being on the debate team about himself, and finally Hamilton Burgess is the returning team member from the last year’s team. The team faces many challenges and the first is fairly rough. Mr.Tolson is suspected to be a leader of communists in the area and is abruptly taken into custody by local police. Luckily, James Farmer Sr. talks the sheriff into letting him go for fear that the Black people of the town may start a riot. Another challenge is when Hamilton quits the debate team because his

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    "Remember The Titans."

    • 507 Words
    • 2 Pages

    After some minor conflict between the new coach and the players, they head to camp. Boone forces whites to sit next to blacks on the bus, as a way to make them get along. At camp he forces them to pair up white with black, and, at first, this idea didn't work. After the first few days at camp, everyone is finally beginning to get along. Ray Budds causes some problems, and has planted it firmly into his mind that he will never get along with blacks.…

    • 507 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Set in 1971 Alexandria, Virginia; High school football is the town's most popular sport. The school board is under a court order to integrate the public schools. In the process of integration, tension amongst individual in school becomes high. This film is a perfect concoction of two elements: a coup of an underdog sports team and a successful assimilation of high school football team in general. The interaction of two coaches, a black and a white, is quite a challenging part. Both Coach Boone and Coach Yoast had struggle to overcome their personal dilemma and worked for the betterment of their team. Although reluctant at first, Yoast accepted the demotion and conspired with Boone to produce a winning team! The sub-story between Gerry Bertier, Titan's white team captain, and Julius Campbell, an aptitude black player is also remarkable. It confirms that strong friendship can be forged despite the racial hatred plaguing the community.…

    • 2000 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imagine sitting in a court room as a black man. You are put on trial for something you never would have even though about doing. You look around at an all-white jury. You have little hope of getting out of this situation being ruled innocent, but you don’t give up. This is exactly what happens with the Scottsboro Boys. The Scottsboro Boys trial of the 1930’s parallels many of the events in Harper Lee’s Novel To Kill a Mockingbird.…

    • 721 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Scout learns that certain people in town are feared, distrusted or hated because of their skin color, personal decisions, or rank on the social hierarchy, also known as class warfare. Colored people don’t receive as much respect as white people because they are lower in the social hierarchy than the white people who are on the top. By stepping into the shoes of Boo Radley, Walter Cunningham, and Dolphus Raymond, Scout learns a lot about class warfare. Tom Robinson is a black man who is falsely accused of beating and raping Mayella Ewell. The jury finds him guilty, and Scout knows that it was wrong. Her father, Atticus, was Tom’s lawyer, so she was able to experience each step of the trial. Arthur “Boo” Radley was feared by all of Maycomb because he stabbed his father with a pair of scissors when he was younger. Scout constantly wonders what it would feel like to be trapped in your house for so many years and be all alone to understand why Boo does not have great social skills and is quite shy. He left many things for the children in the hole of a tree, but expected nothing in return. Scout and Jem both recognized that he was not a bad man, and just needed some friends. Dolphus Raymond was the town dunk. Actually, he wasn’t. He drank Coca-Cola out of a paper bag to make everyone think that he was drunk. Dill and Scout got the opportunity to talk to him during the trail, when they decided to take a…

    • 1211 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Od in Hoosiers

    • 946 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The movie Hoosiers was a great story that dealt with many of the topics covered in our readings for the week. The story is about a small-town Indiana basketball team that overcomes many challenges to win the state championship. The main character of the movie is Norman Dale, a passionate basketball coach that faces many obstacles in his attempt to teach his players about the benefits of working together as a team. The movie dealt with many team oriented topics such as team development, interdependence, group cohesiveness, intergroup problems, and confrontation.…

    • 946 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Debaters is an intriguing film set in the 1930s about a professor that goes by the name of Melvin Tolson who teaches students from Wiley College, in Texas, the fundamentals of debating. During this day in age, if an African American didn’t “stay in their place” they would be ridiculed for such insane behavior. One can only imagine how difficult it must have been for them to get through a debate without caring if they had crossed the line on a touchy subject. But through it all this debate team became one of the most successful teams in America. They were undefeated after they won national championships over Harvard University.…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On the narrator’s graduation day he delivered a speech that stressed, “Humility was the secret, indeed, the very essence of progress.”( ) Although he did not believe the words in his speech, it proved to be very popular among the important white citizens in the town. He was invited to give the speech at an occasion at a local smoker in front of a white audience. The occasion also included a battle royal which is a free-for-all fight in which their can only be one victor. The fighters are all African American boys. The narrator was told that he must join the fight with his schoolmates. The narrator is not particularly fond of the group he is about to…

    • 1725 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atticus Courage Quotes

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages

    26) Since Atticus is representing Tom Robinson, the kids are getting picked on. Atticus gets called a "nigger lover "by the town and even his own relatives. Francis tell scout that her grandma says Atticus is a "nigger lover quote and he's ruining the family. Then Scout gets to a fight with him only to be at fault in the end. Cecil Jacob says that Atticus is "defending a nigger" for the whole school to hear and Scout was about to get into a fight until she remembered Atticus was going to scold her. Atticus asked where Scout learned that word and told her if he wasn't defending Tom then Jem and Scout would no longer have to mind him. Mrs. Dubose ranted at Jem and Scout about how Atticus was no more use than the niggers and the people he's working for. The day after this rant, Jem went to her house and cut all the camellia bushes.…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Remember the Titans

    • 963 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The movie is a Hollywood drama based on the true story of a newly integrated school, T.C. Williams High School, Alexandria, Virginia, and its football team in 1971. The movie begins with a prelude explaining the integration of the school and a short background of Bill Yoast, a white football coach with a prestigious résumé. Drama begins when a black coach, Herman Boone, is chosen to be head coach of the newly established high school. Coach Boone is a strict leader with an unbelievable sense of pride, which can be seen within the first minutes of meeting him.…

    • 963 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The movie started with the integration of a high school in Alexandria, Virginia back in 1971. This led to the existing head coach, Coach Yoast to be replaced by Coach Boone. There is structural conflict because Coach Yoast does not want to work beneath Coach Boone due to different leadership style. Coach Yoast is people-oriented leader. He cares about his team players. He emphasizes on personal interests and the needs of members. Coach Boone is task-orientated leader. He emphasizes on perfection to achieve goals, he inspires members to transcend their self-interests for the good of the team and have an extraordinary effect on members. As for evidence, Coach Yoast with high relationship behavior…

    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Theme in Battle Royal

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Early in the story we learn a few things about the main character for example he is graduating from high school, also that he is an excellent speaker and that he is invited to read his speech in an all white men’s club. At this time the young man believes in the accommodations philosophy for his race “I visualized myself as a potential Booker T. Washington” (128). The main character speech is about humility and how by using humility improvement will be made. The protagonist arrives at the club ready to deliver his speech to the audience but when he arrived he was asked to participate in other activities. A boxing match or a Battle Royal is arranged and he is told to participate. The main character wasn’t the only one there, 9 other African American participated in this match as well.…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Presidential Debate

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Obama Nation! During the presidential debate, (Speakers) Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney both plead their cases as to why they each felt they’d be great presidents (Message). Romney would like to get the chance to serve his first term as The United States President, and Obama would like to serve another term. These men rebottled their statements to prove to the world they were ready. Although I’m not able to vote, those key points changed my perspective of each.…

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    After a fight at the school between a black team player and a white student, Garry and others decide to calla team meeting in order to bring the team back together. The teams desire to win over comes the community pressure to maintain the racial conflict.…

    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    This case brings up mainly the issue of race but also shows how the community is divided between the traditional south and the future of the south. People like Miss Dubose and Miss Merriweather are stuck in the old south, while people like Atticus and his children; bring forward new racial ideas about equality. Atticus forces people to be accountable for their decisions. This is best exemplified through the lynch mob. Atticus goes to the jail that night is to protect Tom Robinson so the mob does not kill him. This is illustrated through their disguise of “cold” weather clothing and drunken state. This clan of men represents the opinion of the community about the trial. These planned racist actions are averted by Scout’s innocent questioning. Scout picks a man out of the mob and isolates him by calling on him, which makes Mr. Cunningham realize his erroneous actions. She starts to talk about his son, Walter, and his entailment and this causes Mr. Cunningham to empathize with Atticus. Mr. Cunningham realizes that Atticus is helping Tom just like Atticus is helping him. In this realization, the mob departs. This later affects the verdict of the jury because a Cunningham is left to make a decision. This is a sign for a possible change. Mr. Cunningham and the citizens are affected by Atticus’s decision to defend a black…

    • 1093 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Denzel Washington

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages

    school team on their first season in a racially intergrated school. As the movie goes on there is…

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics