Black Like Me by John Griffin

Writing Assignment

In 1965, while I was attending Visitation Academy, John Griffin came to speak to the student body about his newly published non-fiction novel Black Like Me. I was so awed by what he had to say that I read the novel three times. It has always amazed me how Mr. Griffin left his family and friends, experimenting with skin pigmentation solutions to color his skin all because he was curious and determined to discover what it might be like to live as an educated black man in the still-prejudicial American South in 1950 America. After reading the novel, you have learned how this experiment answered Griffin’s questions. This year, we will be studying the play A Raisin in the Sun and the classic novel To Kill A Mockingbird. Both this play and novel deal with the life and plight of the Black American and the challenges and prejudices he/she had to face in the early part of the 20^th century before the Civil Rights Act was passed.

I am very curious to discover your opinion of this novel and the affect it had on you personally while reading it. I would ask that you write an opinion paragraph using the following topic sentence: “My opinion of the novel Black Like Me by John Griffin affected me in a positive or negative way. (Choose one) In the body of your paragraph give two reasons for the positive or negative affect the novel had on you and support these reasons well. You might state that the novel had both a positive and a negative affect on you. State that opinion and then give one reason for its positive affect and one reason for the negative affect the novel had on you.

REQUIREMENTS: Correct heading format.

Use first person point of view.

Use present tense.

Do not use contractions.

Word process your entry.

Double space your writing.

Length should be one paragraph.

On the due date, place your writing in the correct basket in Rm 214

by the end of break