Tableau

In the first stanza, the poet describes the two boys walking as “the black boy and the white.” He contrasts them as day and night and “golden splendor” with “sable pride.”

• TRUE

• FALSE

Tags

CCSS.L.6.4A

CCSS.L.6.5A

CCSS.RL.6.1

CCSS.RL.6.4

How do the people react to seeing the boys walk together? (See lines 7-8)

• They are indignant, or angry, that the boys dare to walk together.

• Even though it is uncommon to see a black and white boy walking together, the townspeople are pleased to see a friendship forming.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.1

CCSS.RL.6.1

Which of the following selections best explains how the two boys respond to their disapproving neighbors?

• They pay no attention to them.

• They stop walking because it upsets them.

• They cross into their neighbors’ front yards.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.1

CCSS.RL.6.1

CCSS.RL.6.3

Oblivious to look and word

They pass, and see no wonder

That lightning brilliant as a sword

Should blaze the path of thunder.

The final quatrain of the poem (lines 9-12) suggests mainly that __________.

Remember: quatrain = a four line stanza

• the neighborhood where the boys walk is having severe thunderstorms

• the boys don’t plan to walk past these unkind neighbors ever again

• the boys don’t realize the significance of what they are doing

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.1

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.6.5

Which of the following inferences is best supported by the poem?

• People in their homes are gossiping about what they see.

• The boys are ashamed of their relationship with each other.

• The walk only lasts for a couple minutes.

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.1

CCSS.W.6.9A

Which couplet from the text most strongly supports your answer to Question 5?

Remember: couplet = 2 lines of verse

• “They pass, and see no wonder / That lightning brilliant as a sword”

• “From lowered blinds the dark folk stare / And here the fair folk talk,”

• “Locked arm in arm they cross the way / The black boy and the white,”

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.1

A metaphor compares two seemingly unlike things but implies a comparison instead of stating it directly with the words “like” or “as.”

In stanza 3, the boys’ passing is compared to “lightning brilliant as a sword (blazing) the path of thunder.”

What do you think the metaphor means?

• It means that each boys is proud of their culture and skin color despite what the gossiping disapproving neighbors think.

• It means that the boys walking as black and white together is a surprising and shocking event that cuts through old ways of thinking.

• It means that the townspeople are willing the accept the friendship of the black and white boys and see beyond racism.

Tags

CCSS.L.6.5A

CCSS.RL.6.4

Find the word oblivious in line 9 of “Tableau.” Use context clues in the surrounding lines, as well as the line in which the word appears, to determine the word’s meaning.

• I think oblivious must mean “not noticing or knowing.” The boys don’t see the looks or hear the words of their disapproving neighbors.

• I think oblivious must mean “having a poor attitude” The boys see the looks and hear the words people say and hate their disapproving neighbors.

Tags

CCSS.L.6.4A

CCSS.RL.6.4