Week 14 Project Action Plan: Du Tenth Deserves Some Respect

I've decided to use the following project prompt to write my project:
 From a piece of fiction (short story, section of novel, or a play) choose a female character on whom to focus, and create a project that discusses some of the following questions: 

• What is the author’s attitude towards her? (how can you tell?)
• What is your attitude towards her? 
• How do (at least 2) other characters view her? 
• How does she view herself? 

I'll be writing about Du Tenth from "Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger." I think I'll address the question "how do other characters view her" and mention the ways that several characters view her and how their views change, if at all, throughout the story. I'll also be sure to share my attitude towards her in my project. I believe Du Tenth is genuinely a good person even if her profession causes people to doubt how sincere of a person she is. She's misunderstood and was betrayed by Jia Li in the story because he let every doubt possible overwhelm his mind instead of trusting her. Dialogue as a literary device will be a major contribution to my project since it will demonstrate how various characters think of Du Tenth. Point of view will also help because the story is told from Jia Li's point of view as opposed to Du Tenth's. If a reader doubts the integrity of their relationship, it's because of how the story is told from his point of view instead of hers. He talks to a lot of other characters who all warn him about her reputation and who she is and we get to see how he processes all of this information to reach his conclusions. We also get more background knowledge about Jia Li which explains why he's worried about being with her and his fears of his father's disapproval. If the story was told from Du Tenth's point of view, there would be zero doubts whatsoever as to how faithful she is to Jia Li. But I'm not going to mention or elaborate on what-if's for this project. I took very useful reading notes for this story which will help jog my memory and remind me of several moments in the story that would be great to mention in this project.

• Du Tenth lost her virginity when she was 13. She was 19 at the present time. (500)
• Tenth's madam viewed her relationship with Li as her being monopolized. Other heirs and lords couldn't have her now. Li was running out of money by spending so much on Du Tenth. His father found out that he was "passing time whoring in the pleasure district" and called him back home. (501)
• The more financial hardship Du Tenth saw Li in, the warmer she grew toward him (501).
• The madam is furious that Li has no more money to spend. Du Tenth mentioned how much he's spent but it didn't manner how much he had spent since he can't spend anymore. She called Du Tenth a slut and said she's been having to pay for the "upkeep of this bum of yours." The madam told Du Tenth to have him buy her out so she can be replaced with a new girl. The madam says Li has 3 days to get 300 in cash or the deals off. Du Tenth got the madam to agree on 10 days instead of 3. Du Tenth has doubts of the madam sticking to her word, but the madam says she's too old to be telling lies. (502)
• Liu put together 150 taels within two days and gave it to Li, not for Li's sake, but because he was moved by the sincere feeling of Du Tenth (505)
• Du Tenth asked about their settlement plans. Li said they can't go to his father since he'll be outraged that Li married a prostitute. (507)
• Sun Fu planted seeds of doubt in Li, saying that Du Tenth might be using Li just to meet up with another lover. Li was at a loss for words and asked what advice Sun Fu would give. (511)
• Sun Fu proposed that he would give Li 1000 taels if he were to "act decisively when opportunity presents itself." (512)
• Li was terrified of his father and told Sun Fu he needed to talk with Du Tenth. "I cannot in justice cut her off all at once" (513)
• Du Tenth told Li she didn't intend for their oath to be broken. She said there's no less than ten thousand taels in the box. She intended for Li to be able to use it all to return to his parents without shame. (515)
• She couldn't believe that he lost faith in her off of some groundless claims and betrayed her heart. (516)
• She wanted everyone to witness that she didn't betray him; he betrayed her (516).

These specific notes will allow me to go back and collect quotes, with context as needed, and address the questions relating to this prompt. My working thesis is: "Du Tenth is a mistreated prostitute who has done nothing that would reasonably suggest that she wouldn't remain faithful throughout her marriage."

Feng Menglong. "Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger." The Norton Anthology World Literature,

edited by Martin Puchner, third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton, 2012, pp. 497-517.

Week 14 Analysis: Close Reading of "Notes of a Native Son"

For my close reading this week, I picked the paragraph at the top of page 739 of "Notes of a Native Son" that begins with "his illness was beyond all hope" (739). This paragraph does a great job at demonstrating the disconnect between Baldwin and his father. Anytime Baldwin ever mentioned at any point in the story that he hated his father or felt they hardly knew each other, we can trace it back to this paragraph. When speaking of his father's illness, Baldwin says it was "beyond all hope of healing before anyone realized that he was ill" (739). From what's obviously apparent by Baldwin saying "before anyone realized that he was ill," we can see that it took a long time before his family found out he was ill (739). But, the use of the phrase "beyond all hope" when referring to when the family found out gives us a greater picture as to how long this has gone unnoticed. He's been ill for many years without anyone finding out, and it has reached the point where it's become too late for any doctor to assist him. Baldwin continues, "his long silences which were punctuated by moans and hallelujahs and snatches of old songs while he sat at the living-room window never seemed odd to us" (739). Reading over this the first time, I didn't notice exactly what this meant. Doing a close reading just now has helped me understand exactly what this means. To say that his "long silences" were "punctuated" by "moans and hallelujahs" indicates that his father's illness prevented him from being able to remain silent for long periods of time (739). Every time he sat still or tried to relax, his pain would cause him to moan. He would occasionally spout out a hallelujah most likely because it would make it seem like he's okay and that way his family didn't think they would need to worry about him. This is also evident from how Baldwin said it "never seemed odd to us" (739). Baldwin's father was hiding the fact that anything was wrong with for a long time. Most likely, he wanted his illness to sneakily kill him before his family could realize he was ill. If Baldwin's father could try to keep something this important a secret, it's no surprise that Baldwin claims him and his father never spoke much. His father wanted nothing more than to keep to himself. "It was clear from the beginning that there was no hope for him" (739).


Baldwin, James. "Notes of a Native Son." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 739

Reading Notes W14: Baldwin, Part A

• Baldwin's father died on July 29th, 1943. (736)
• His last child was born hours later after he died (736)
• A race riot broke out a few hours after the funeral (736)
• August 3rd of 1943, they drove his father to the graveyard through a wilderness of smashed plate glass (736)
• Day of funeral was his 19th birthday (737)
• Baldwin thought of this as an apocalypse (737)
• He didn't know his father very well. He didn't realize how little they spoke to each other until after his father passed away. He wishes he had spoken to him more (737)
• His father's mother was born during slavery. He was of the first generation of free men (737)
• His father was born in New Orleans (737)
• They had a picture of Louis Armstrong on their wall for a long time (737)
• His father would preach sermons, but Baldwin grew up to view his father as someone who looked like an "African tribal chieftain" (737)
• "He was certainly the most bitter man I have ever met" (737)
• "He knew that he was black but did not know that he was beautiful" (738)
• Baldwin had been gone from his home for over a year when his father died (738)
• After his father died, the other children feared inviting friends over to the house because their friends would feel insulted or that they'd rob the family of everything they owned. Baldwin claims to have hated his father because he didn't believe they owned anything that anyone would want to steal (738-9)
• "The only white people who came to our house were welfare workers and bill collectors" (739)
• At school, his young white schoolteacher wanted to take him to the theater. "Theater-going was forbidden in our house" (739)
• When his father got laid off from his job, this schoolteacher became important to Baldwin (740)
• His father warned him that his white friends in high school were not really his friends and that he would see when he was older how a "white man would do anything to keep a Negro down" (740)
• Baldwin, when hanging out with friends, would answer sharply with smart remarks to counterman at restaurants. Their answer to him would be "We don't serve Negroes here." (741)
• July 28th, Baldwin visited his father for the first time during his illness and the last time in his life (744)
• Baldwin went with his father's older sister to visit him. Baldwin also begun smoking (745).
• Baldwin didn't own a lot of black clothes for the funeral (746).
• Some girl Baldwin was going to go on a date with found a black shirt for him. He went to the funeral wearing that shirt, a black jacket, his darkest colored pants, and slightly drunk. (746)
• "Only the Lord saw the midnight tears" (747)
• "Thou knowest this man's fall; but thou knowest not his wrassling" From English author John Donne's Biathanatos, a defense of suicide. (747)
• His father asked him one time, "You'd rather write than preach, wouldn't you?" (748)
• He didn't want to go to the casket alone nor look at his dead father. A deacon walked up there with him. "I cannot say that it looked like him at all" (748)
• After the funeral, Baldwin still tried to celebrate his birthday. A Negro soldier got into a fight with a white policeman over a Negro girl. It ended with the shooting of the soldier (748-9)
• "All of my father's texts and songs, which I had decided were meaningless, were arranged before me at his death like empty bottles waiting to hold the meaning which life would give them for me. This was his legacy: nothing is ever escaped" (750).

Baldwin, James. "Notes of a Native Son." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. F, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 735-750