Name: ELA Block:
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
Possible Themes or Topics to look for evidence of as you read: Fear, Hope, Love, Oppression, Religion, Shame, Pride
Part I: troubled about my soul
• A paradox is a statement that seems contradictory but really points to an important truth.
Tish states, “Like, if it didn’t make sense, how could it happen? But that’s really a terrible thought. It can only come out of trouble—trouble that doesn’t make sense” (3). She then goes on to describe how trouble can have a funny effect on the mind (reread last paragraph on p. 7-8).
Baldwin titles Part I: troubled about my soul, includes the paradox in the first paragraph, then explores the idea further on pages 7-8.
What message about ‘trouble’ is he trying to convey? Why does he use a paradox to express this idea? What truth is he revealing?
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Dialectical Journal: A dialectical journal is merely a double entry journal. The purpose of such a journal is to ident...