project

http://www.angelfire.com/games5/marca1121/aoaog.ppt

marvane street chapter 6

Chapter 6 Response

Interpret the meaning of Socrates' dream and his reaction to it in terms of how it relates to his character and events in the book.

“We got to dig all’ a them up now. It’s time.” Page 94 lines 19-20

In Socrates dream he is told to dig up all the graves of the black people that had died from grief. Socrates spends a good amount of time every day remembering the women he killed. While it has become apparent that Socrates is no longer a violent person he still views himself to be. Socrates is a person that wants to accomplish everything that he can with his life yet he is holding himself back by using not giving himself a second chance. One interpretation of the dream is that it is Socrates telling himself that it is time to get on with his life and to stop his past mistakes from holding him back. Socrates has yet to move forward because of the women he murdered. An example of this is when Socrates is offered a job at Lula’s restaurant. Socrates tells her that he can’t work at the restaurant because he cant work in such a small place but the real reason is because he is afraid that he might kill her. When the Big man in Socrates dream tells him “We got to dig all’ a them up now. It’s time.” He is telling him that he needs to let go of all the grief he is holding in because he deserves a second chance.

chapter 12 response Firebug

Chapter 12 Response

Why does Socrates get so upset when Shreve mentions the reward money? Why does Socrates treat the reward the way he does and why does he keep Ponzelle Richmond's diary?

Quote from Page 179 line 9
Quote from page 181 line 22

Socrates is a person that is trying to make up for all of his wrong doings. The reason Socrates was willing to report Ponzelle Richmond to the police was to ensure that he Ponzelle would receive a fair trial. Socrates is proud of what he has accomplished. Socrates is not the type of person that would turn in a person for arson, just so he could get some cash. Socrates knows that if the police found out about Ponzelle through there own methods there would be a good chance that he wouldn’t be treated in a fair way while being arrested and while in jail. Socrates had no intention of claiming any reward when he went to the police. Socrates only intention was to make sure that he was treated like a man and received a fair trial as stated in the following quote “I want him treated like a man, officer. I want you”...”to tell me that you gonna go down there and make sure that he’s treated like a man. I don’t want him beat, or cursed, or cheated. I want a fair deal for the man I give you or so help me God I’ll be out there in the streets burnin ‘ just like he done.” The reason Socrates keeps Ponzelle Richmond’s Diary is as a reminder to himself of how he would be responsible for whatever the outcome of the trial was because he was the one that turned Ponzelle in. Another reason Socrates kept the diary was as a way of ensuring that Ponzelle Richmond received a fair trial. The diary had many incriminating messages about how Ponzelle wanted to cause the destructon such as "if we could just get them to see that we got to burn down all this mess we done stacked up and hacked up and shacked up all around us”. Another reason I think Socrates kept the Diary was because it made mention of many ideas and beliefs that Socrates had but would never act on such as thoughts of causing destruction and getting back at the world.

chapter 9 :Lessons

Interprete the following quotation in terms of the characters, themes and events of this chapter and the novel as a whole:"'You stood up for yourself, Darryl.' Socrates said. 'That’s all a black man can do. You always outnumbered, you always outgunned.'” (p. 131)

The neighborhood Darryl lives in is a violent area cluttered with gangs. The quote "'You stood up for yourself, Darryl.' Socrates said. 'That’s all a black man can do. You always outnumbered, you always outgunned.'” Implies that Socrates feels that as long as Darryl is able to over come all of violence in his neighborhood by whatever means necessary he will be able to over come them. Socrates feels that the only way to succeed in society is by breaking the rules. Socrates believes that the only way Darryl will surpass his current status in society is by earning the respect of the people in his neighborhood and if necessary by breaking some rules. Socrates believes that Darryl is faced with a problem that must be overcome through whatever means necessary. Socrates is used to living in a situation where he has to struggle to get by, and is at times forced to break certain laws to survive. The fact that Darryl was willing to try and fight was enough proof to Socrates that Darryl was willing to do whatever was necessary to make it. Even though Socrates knows that Darryl wouldn’t be able to win in the fight Socrates wanted to see Darryl try before he intervened as stated in the following quote“ you done your job, Darryl. Now leave it up to me.” Socrates believes that Darryl has to get used to being outnumbered and outgunned because he will have to learn to deal with it sooner or later.

chapter 14 last rites

Chapter 14 project
· What evidence in this chapter suggests that Socrates has changed as a person throughout the book? Explain.

“I need a hundred tablets of morphine. …three hundred dollars for a hundred ill give ya four.”
Page 201 line 2, line 20


Throughout chapter 14 it becomes apparent that Socrates has become a completely different person from who he was at the beginning of the book. Socrates has gone from being a reclusive hermit to being a person with a life that he is proud of. At the beginning of the book Socrates had a few friends of whom he mostly just discussed various issues with whenever it was necessary. After meeting Darryl Socrates life completely changed for the better. Socrates went from being a person with less than a dollar to his name to a person with over 14 thousand dollars that he had obtained honestly. Socrates is not one to cheat people out of money or anything of value. In chapter 14 Socrates buys one hundred morphine tablets for Right who is in severe pain and is near death. Socrates is willing to pay for whatever Right needs to ensure that his final days are spent doing what he wants. After receiving the tablets Socrates pays Blackbird the money and includes a one hundred dollar tip as stated in the following quote“ I need a hundred tablets of morphine. …three hundred dollars for a hundred ill give ya four.” Socrates has gone from being a person that can barely get by with an income of whatever he makes from the cans he finds to being a person with an okay income, who can afford to be give a tip of that amount to Blackbird, just because he did something that no doctor would do.
“Scared’a pain. I am scared’a pain alright but not no death, not no more.”



In this chapter Socrates proves that he has the ability to not only help himself but also to help other people. Prior to getting a job at the. Right is near death and all Socrates wants is to make his friend as happy and comfortable as possible during his final days. Throughout the book Socrates is described as a person with few friends. Because Socrates has no family he tends to treat his friends as though they were his family. Socrates was trying doing everything possible to make sure that Right had no regrets when he died. Socrates has had to deal with far too many deaths throughout his life. Far too many people Socrates knew have died. Rights ability to deal with the knowledge of his inevitable death the way he did probably helped to strengthen Socrates will to live. Socrates was prepared to deliver a loaded gun to Right so he wouldn’t have to suffer any more. Even if Socrates had given Right the gun Right probably wouldn’t have been willing to use it for the reason that he was happy. Even though Right knew he would die soon he was prepared for it. Right was prepared to deal with death, which was something that prior to talking to Right, Socrates probably would never have believed. The quote “Scared’a pain. I am scared’a pain alright but not no death, not no more.” Is proof the proof that Right was content with death and by being so he in a way helped Socrates to be happy. Knowing that his good friend Right was happy probably helped Socrates to deal with death and to deal with the notion that people can be happy even under the worst of circumstances.


Question 2: Why do you think Socrates was willing to do so much to ensure that Right’s final days were spent without pain and without any regrets?

“ But he don’t wanna go down there. Vii. You wanna die in some strange place far away from where you live”