Assessment/Research Assignment:
Due by April 28 (Post to Blackboard)
50 points
Objective: To gain a factual/historical understanding of the social context in which the novel Fire in Beulah is set, in coordination with textual analysis of the novel.
Preparation: Look at some of the historical sources identified below, and also go to The Literary Encyclopedia, entry for Fire in Beulah. (Go to ECU website, then Library Page, then A -Z data bases, then L for Literary Encyclopedia, then search “Fire in Beulah” to get the essay. You may print it or read it online.
Prompt: Write a 750 – 1500 word essay that addresses the identity, culture and heritage surrounding the social contexts of the characters in Fire in Beulah. Attach your essay to Blackboard; Do Not write your answer in the text box.
You may integrate your discussion with certain characters or scenes from the novel, with factual details discovered from at least one or two of the following secondary sources (note: the websites contain a variety of sources embedded within each site), and from the article on The Literary Encyclopedia.
SOURCES:
Oklahoma Historical Society
https://www.okhistory.org/index.php
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History
https://www.okhistory.org/publications/encyclopediaonline
Tulsa Historical Society
Tulsa Historical Society – Oral Testimonies
https://tulsahistory.pastperfectonline.com/archive/4CC6CC07-C484-4B80-AB4F-817305282003
The Chronicles of Oklahoma
https://www.okhistory.org/publications/chronicles
SEARCH TERMS: (Be sure to look at several of these, and follow links where they lead you)
Senate Bill One Segregation Greenwood All Black Towns
KKK Lynching Tulsa Race Massacre (also search “riot”)
Dick Rowland Sarah Page Roscoe Dunjee
B C Franklin Edward McCabe Osage Others?
Your discussion should observe and comment on a particular scene or two, and/or dialogues that involve a character or situation of the novel, in conflict and/or coming to terms with her/his sense of self within her/his original culture and within her/his new experiences. Pay particular attention to scenes and speeches that demonstrate change within each protagonist, and then present a discussion that compares and contrasts them.
For example: you might notice ways the social context effects the way Althea, or Japheth or Iola (or anyone else in the novel), think about themselves in the greater social context, as illuminated by your investigation of the secondary sources.
Also, as has been pointed out, the novel uses many actual historical figures, so you may use one of those. The secondary sources will have articles about many of those who are mentioned in the novel (Dungee, Page, Rowland, et al); and, of course the search terms for things like KKK in Tulsa, All Black Towns, etc, all can provide you material that offers an understanding of the social climate in which the novel is set.
AS YOU FINISH:
At the end of the paper, provide a “Works Cited” section with proper documentation for the sources you cite.
Attach your Word document to the Blackboard Assignment tab. (please don’t use Share and google docs. Basic Word, works best.