Curriculum  /  ELA  /  10th Grade  /  Unit 10: Sanity & Madness in A Streetcar Named Desire & Ma Rainey's Black Bottom  /  Lesson 22

Sanity & Madness in A Streetcar Named Desire & Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Lesson 22
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ELA

Unit 10

10th Grade

Lesson 22 of 23

Objective

Formulate and share unique arguments about Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. 

Support arguments with strong and thorough textual evidence in a summative Socratic seminar.

Readings and Materials

  • Book: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom‎ by August Wilson 

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Target Task

Discourse Questions

A tragic hero is a character in a dramatic tragedy who has virtuous and sympathetic traits but ultimately meets with suffering or defeat. To what extent is Levee a tragic hero? Is the title of tragic hero an accurate interpretation of Levee’s character? What other ways can readers reasonably interpret his character? What ultimately does Wilson convey through Levee’s downfall?

Throughout the play, there is significant tension between power and creativity. This tension also parallels the conflict between sanity and madness. Which characters in the play are mad? In what ways does Wilson portray the characters’ madness? Which characters in the play are sane? In what ways does Wilson portray the characters’ sanity? 

Key Thinking

Scaffolding Questions

What connections does Wilson draw between reality and sanity? Fantasy and madness? 

Where in the text does Williams make us feel sympathy for Levee? Where in the text does Williams make us feel outraged by Levee?

Key Ideas

  • Levee is somewhat of a tragic hero because there are a few moments in the text (i.e., when the producer tells him he no longer needs his music or wants to record him as a solo artist) where WIlson creates sympathy for him; however, most of the conflicts and tension in the text revolve around and can be easily avoided if Levee chose silence and/or took the back seat instead of trying to take the lead. For example, his desire for success, which is often displayed when he tries to ensure that the band will play his version of the song "Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom" or when he argues with Slow Drag for focusing on money rather than art, leads to unnecessary conflict in the text, so much so that his downfall in a band that never was his own was inevitable.
  • Unlike in A Streetcar Named Desire, most of the characters in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom do not show signs of madness. However, the one character that does is Levee and this is mostly highlighted through his consistent conflicts with Ma, Cutler, and Toledo. He clashes with Ma because he does not think her music is exciting enough and he gives Dussie Mae unwarranted attention in an attempt to steal her from Ma. He clashes with Cutler because he does not agree with Levee’s ideals of art and creativity. And finally he clashes with Toledo who thinks Black Americans need to come together and acknowledge their history in order to make a place for themselves in American society whereas Levee ignores the importance of tradition and focuses on moving forward and finding personal success instead. Because of his conflicts with other characters he falls down at the end of the play and loses any attempt to have personal success. He literally has a mental break when his anger towards Toledo turns to rage and he kills him. On the other hand, Ma is portrayed as sane, which is a shift from the portrayal of women as mad in A Streetcar Named Desire. Her sanity is conveyed through her power to flip the traditional power dynamics usually seen between Black musicians and white executives during this time period and her use of influence to gain creative control and respect. She is very clear on what she wants and how to get it and she never loses sight of it.

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Standards

  • LO 1.3A — Analyze how literary elements interact to develop the central ideas of a work of literature.
  • LO 1.3B — Analyze how the writer's use of stylistic elements contributes to a work of literature's effects and meaning.
  • LO 2.3A — Assert a precise central claim that establishes the relationship between a work's features and overall meaning.
  • LO 2.3B — Organize ideas and evidence to effectively develop and support a thesis.
  • LO 2.3C — Select and incorporate relevant and compelling evidence to support a thesis.
  • LO 2.3D — Use an appropriate style and carefully selected language to strengthen an analysis.
  • LO 5.1A — Extend the conversation around an idea, topic, or text by formulating questions and recognizing the claims and perspectives of others.
  • LO 5.1B — Cite relevant evidence and evaluate the evidence presented by others.
  • RL.9-10.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
  • RL.9-10.2 — Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
  • RL.9-10.3 — Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
  • RL.9-10.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
  • SL.9-10.1 — Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9—10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Next

Complete the performance task to show mastery of unit content and standards.

Lesson 23
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