“SONG OF THE TREES”
By Mildred D. Taylor, Literature Book, page 332-346

First, read page 332. On a piece of binder paper, answer the following in your own words!Do not copy the question; echo it in your answer. Remember that many questions have more than one part. Make sure you respond to all of the parts of the question.

  1. Explain the difference between a short story, novella, and novel.
  2. Define theme.
  3. When did the Depression happen? What happened? What is segregation? If you don’t know, look it up in the dictionaries at the back of the room. How were African Americans or Black Americans treated during the 1930s?

*Read “Song of the Trees.”

Responding to literature as a READER

  1. What did you like about the story? Find a spot in the story that you think is good—that you reacted to strongly and explain why that part “got you.”
  2. How do you think Cassie felt when she heard Mr. Andersen threaten, “Besides, I guess I oughta know how to handle David Logan. After all, there are ways….”
  3. Describe the climax and resolution of the story.
  4. After reading the entire story, what are some of the themes in “Song of the Trees”? Remember, a theme is not a one-word answer, rather it is the underlying meaning of the story, and as such it usually takes a sentence or two to describe a theme. It’s a general truth about life.

Responding to literature as a WRITER

  1. How does the author build suspense?
  2. Characterization: How does the author draw the reader into the story and make one care about what happens to Cassie, her brothers, grandma and parents? Find evidence from the text to show how Taylor shapes her characters and makes one feel strongly about them.
  3. Point of view: Mildred Taylor tells the story from Cassie’s point of view. This is called a first person narrator. What impact does that have on you as a reader? Why would Taylor choose a first person narrator instead of an omniscient narrator (a third person who isn’t in the story who knows what people are thinking and can narrate their thought?)
  4. Dialogue and dialect: How does the author’s use of dialogue (conversations between characters) affect you as a reader? How does the author’s use of dialect affect you? Here’s an example of the dialect used by the characters: “Ah, cut that out, Cassie. Them trees ain’t singing.”
  5. Hemingway claimed, “All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence you know.” Has Mildred Taylor succeeded in writing fiction that tells the truth about human nature and challenges in life? Back up your opinion with evidence from the text. How does she succeed or fail?

Response to Literature as a Reader/Writer created by L. Clark-Burnell