1a. What events led to the death of the train operator?
2a. What did the workers say they wanted for their families?
3a. Why does "the law" have so much power?
4a. Identify the principal themes that are raised throughout "Newsreel LXVIII."
5a. How effective is the newsreel structure in presenting a portrait of life at a particular time?
1b. How did the train operator's death symbolize what was happening at the time to other American workers?
2b. Why couldn't workers buy what their families needed?
3b. "The law" underlines the conflict between what two groups in American society?
4b. What overall point do the materials selected by Dos Passos make?
5b. Use the notes you took in the Reader's Journal to create your own collage about life in contemporary American society. You might want to carry a notebook around with you for a day to add material to your collage. Use the lines below to note your ideas.
Collage. Which material used by Dos Passos in "Newsreel LXVIII" has the most impact in stating the selection's theme?
1. After researching the 1930s in the library or on the Internet, write three additional headlines to add to the Dos Passos newsreel.
2. Write an additional verse to the workers' song, expressing what the workers want their bosses to do for them.
3. Imagine you are the injured mine worker described in The Camera Eye. Write a letter to the editor describing your accident and your living conditions. Tell the editor what needs to be changed in the mines and in the lives of the mine workers.
Apostrophes. Rewrite the sentences below to correct errors in the use of apostrophes.
1. John Dos Passos U.S.A. depicts a moment in Americas history.
2. In each of his newsreel's, Dos Passos was able to capture a moment, including it's vivid contradictions.
3. Dos Passoss vision was molded by his wartime experiences and by the Great Depression.
4. Were fortunate to have been born after the Great Depression, arent we?
5. Todays society is no less troubled, and its clear that many of the same problems exist today.
Collage. Using the collage structure, create an impression of the year in which you were born. Use the library to research headlines, editorials, letters to newspaper columnists, letters to the editor, song lyrics, advertisements, and images of people in various situations.
Notes:
Sources Used:
Researching on the Internet. Use the Internet to locate a book and an article critiquing John Dos Passos's U.S.A. One site that you may find helpful is PAL: Perspectives in American Literature: A Research and Reference Guide at http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap7/dospassos.html. Click on the link to view an alphabetical list of American authors, then click on John Dos Passos's name to view an extensive bibliography of literature by and about Dos Passos. Then make a bibliography card for the book and the article.
