Directions: Based on what you learned in the “Tone, Mood, Denotation, and Connotation” Live Lesson, for your collaboration read
the following excerpt and answer the questions below: Read the following excerpt from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail:
“I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say wait. But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity ; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an air-tight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her little eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see the depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form in her little mental sky, and see her begin to distort her little personality by unconsciously developing a bitterness toward white people …—then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into an abyss of injustice where they experience the bleakness of corroding despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.”
1. What is the mood of the excerpt?
2. What is the author’s tone of the excerpt?
3. Which words in the excerpt have a negative connotation?
4. Which words in the excerpt have a positive connotation?
1) The mood of this excerpt is disheartening. The majority of it lists reasons why African-Americans are at such a disadvantage, and it is sad and causes the reader to feel disappointed in humanity.
2) The author's tone is frustrated and persuasive. King writes this excerpt with the intention of getting the recipients to understand the desperate situation at hand, and in doing so, comes across as highly persuasive. There is also a tone of frustration in his writing, because he (seemingly) has been told to be patient, and there are many reasons why he shouldn't be.
3) Some words that have a negative connotation in this passage are: - Darts - Darts are usually not seen as a negative thing, but in this passage, are used to represent the pain of segregation. - Clouds - The word "clouds" often references a normal weather pattern. Here, however, they are negative in context, because they represent the corruption of King's young daughter's mind due to the effects of segregation.
4) One of the few words that has a positive connotation is the word "hope" at the end of the passage. Hope generally has a positive context, and continues to be here, as it represents the chance that those who read this letter will become more understanding, and open their eyes to the evils of segregation.
