Sympathy

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Presentation By Yana Berezina

• Sympathy
• Paul Laurence Dunbar

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Aim How can we have a better understanding about
how it feels to be restrained from freedom?

• Do Now Did you ever feel stranded or feel like
  you couldnt get out of one place?

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Answer to the Do Now

• I felt stranded when I was getting an MRI on my
  head after my car accident. I went to the doctor
  and he said to see if everything to was alright
  I should get my head checked. When I went there I
  didnt know what to expect because I never got it
  done before. I had to lay down and I was put into
  a big tub that was closed everywhere. I felt like
  I couldnt breathe and I couldnt move. There was
  plenty of air in it but I was so scared I thought
  I couldnt breathe. The MRI took 30 minutes and
  after it was done I ran out of the office. I had
  to go back again for my neck but I never did
  because I didnt want to feel like that again. It
  was one of the worst experiences I ever had and I
  felt so crammed in that tube.

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What is the rhyme scheme in this poem?

• I know why the caged bird beats his wing
•         Till its blood is red on the cruel bars
    For he must fly back to his perch and cling
      When he fain would be on the bough a-swing
          And a pain still throbs in the old, old
  scars     And they pulse again with a keener
  sting     I know why he beats his wing!

A B A A B A A
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Can we remember the Formal Poetic Elements?

• What formal poetic element is this line
  describing?
• When the wind stirs soft through the springing
  grass
• Alliteration. The key words are Stirs, Soft,
  Springing.

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What is Imagery?

• Reminder- Imagery is words that create a
  picture in your head, usually using descriptions
  language that appeals to the five senses.
• Till its blood is red on the cruel bars
• I picture this as prison and someone getting
  killed. The persons blood is dripping all over
  the cage and their in a lot pain.

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What Thematic Poetic Element is described here?

• And the river flows like a stream of glass
• Simile- It uses the word like to compare the
  river to a stream of glass.
• What do you think this line means?
• This means that the river is very delicate
  because glass is very fragile and easily broken.
  The river had no meaning to it because glass is
  see through.

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What can we describe this line as?

• But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep
  core
• Personification.
• This is personification because humans pray and
  the bird cant send a prayer from the center of
  his heart. Hes in deep pain and hes crying for
  help not to die. Hes trying to reveal a message
  from the deepness in his heart.

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Overall Main Idea of the Poem

• The overall main idea about this poem is that a
  guy is comparing him self to the bird in the
  cage. He is saying that he is isolated from
  society and needs his freedom. When a bird is in
  a cage it cant fly out and enjoy it self. The
  bird can see the nature and fly free in its
  surroundings. Hes saying how he knows how a
  caged bird feels because he probably feels the
  same way.

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Conclusion ( Answer to the Aim)

• When you are restrained from freedom you dont
  get to experience life. You have no understand of
  the world around you and you dont know what to
  do. If you communicate with somebody that didnt
  have freedom much of their life, you would
  definitely be able to understand how that feels.
  Its like your whole life your missing out on.