Instructions:

Answer the following questions as thoughtfully and completely as you can in a couple of typed pages. Restate the questions at the beginning of your answers. Use one inch margins and double-space with 12 point font. Spell-check and proof-read your work. (Remember that titles of full-length plays are italicized.)

Papers may be printed on both sides. If more than one page is used, put your name on all sheets and staple the papers together in the upper left corner. (But try to keep it to two pages.)

Include a typical MLA header with the title of the assignment, the name of the class, your name, and the date at the upper left of the page.

Read the question carefully and be sure to answer all parts of a question completely. Support your assertions with quotes from the play, which may be cited in context, or other research, which should be cited in MLA style. Citatations in support of your answers should be from throughout the text, not just from the beginning. You're going to need to do a little research and support for these.

Questions:

1)           Baraka sets up a clear allegorical parallel to the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis with Clay and Lula. Discuss the parallels and contrasts between the bible story and his play. What might Baraka be saying about fate, self-determination, and control in his play?

2)            Clay's fate on the subway is a clear reference to the lynching of Emmett Till in 1955. Explore how Clay's experience is similar to the experience of Till. How do both Till and Clay relate to the stereotypes of black males and their relationship to/with white women in America both then and now?