Formal Assignment 1

Aliyah Vargas

March 10, 2015

0277568
Spring 2015

Formal Assignment 1


Before the Reading
1. Read the title and author information located above the reading. Based on this information, what do you predict the narrative will be about?
By reading the title and the author information above the reading, I predict that the narrative will be about love. During the Reading
2. In the space below, please note at least 4 questions/comments about Senna’s story that occurred to you as you read the essay.
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Who is this women Senna’s talking about?

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Why didn’t Senna’s grandmother want the women in her life dating black men if she was once married to one?

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My grandmother was sort of like Senna’s when it comes down to the way she lashes out, out of anger. ●

Senna’s grandmother seemed to be frightened after Senna lashed out on her.

3. Please identify and define 5 words within the text that you were unfamiliar with.
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Nobility: the group of people belonging to the noble class in a country

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Lineage: lineal descent from an ancestor

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Protestant: a member or follower of any of the western Christian churches that are separate from the Roman Catholic church and follow the principles of the Reformation

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Mischievous: causing or showing a fondness for causing trouble in a playful way

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Antiquated: old­fashioned or outdated

After the Reading
4. How is “The Color of Love” a comparison and contrast essay? Who or what is being compared and contrasted? How are the subjects the same? How are they different?
“The color of Love” is a comparison and contrast essay being that two people are being compared throughout most of the story. The author, Senna, compared herself to her grandmother. They were similar in ways such as they were both writers, and they both had a short temper. However, they were different in a way. Senna’s grandmother seemed to be racist but Senna was not. 5. The Author Danzy Senna describes her grandmother as someone who felt Senna needed to have a man in her life in order to be valued. How does the author illustrate this particular attitude of her grandmother’s in section 5?
In section 5, the author said “She believed a woman without a man was pitiable”. She also said that whenever she seen her, the first question her grandmother would ask her is. “do you have a man?” 6. How would Senna’s grandmother likely have felt if her granddaughter had brought home a
Hispanic boyfriend to meet the family? What clues are present in the story that suggest how she would react?
If Senna had brought home a Hispanic boyfriend to meet the family, her grandmother probably wouldn’t have been pleased. In section 5, Senna said that her grandmother looked pleased if visibly pleased if her boyfriend was a Wasp, neutral if he was Jewish, and disappointed if he was black.
Clearly, her grandmother wanted the woman in the family to only date white men. 7. Please consider the following lines from section 6: “She spent her visits to my grandmother’s house slamming dishes in the kitchen, hissing her anger just out of hearing range, then raving on the drive home, about what awful thing her mother had said this time.” What main idea do these details support?
The main idea that these details support, is that Senna’s mother was constantly receiving hurtful comments from Senna’s grandmother about her being unmarried.