By

Toni Cade Bamara

Raymond’s Run

Toni Cade Bambara(1939–1995) was born in New York City. She received her bachelor's degree from Queens College and her master's degree from City College of the City University of New York.In addition, she studied drama and mime in Europe as well as dance in the United States. She is best known for her short stories, articles, essays, and screenplays that focus on African-American people and issues.

She held a variety of positions including welfare investigator, director of community programs, college teacher, lecturer, and editor. Bambara, who was active in civil rights efforts for many years, presented in her writing a realistic, courageous, and sensitive picture of contemporary African-American life.

Although the neighborhood of Harlem was instrumental in forming an important part of Bambara's identity, the author says her greatest influence and inspiration was her mother: "My mother had great respect for the life of the mind.” In a poignant dedication to her mother in The Salt Eaters, Bambara writes: "Mama, Helen Brent Henderson Cade Brehon, who in 1948, having come upon me daydreaming in the middle of the kitchen floor, mopped around me. "

BEFORE READINGWhat’s worth the effort to you?Have you ever wanted something so badly you were willing to do anything to achieve it?What motivates you?Discuss with your shoulder partner.

In this story, a spunky, young girl does what it takes to be the fastest runner in her neighborhood.

VOCABULARY

Prodigy n., person of highly unusual talent. The talented young sprinter was considered a track prodigy.

Sidekick n., a close friend Mai’s teammate is also her good friend, or sidekick.Liable adj., likely toBen is liable to get injured if he doesn’t warm up before the race.

VOCABUlARY

Crouch v., to stoop with bent kneesAt the start of the race, runners crouch close to the ground.

Clutch v., to grasp and hold tightlyThe runner needs to clutch the baton tightly when running the race.

LITERARY ANALYSIS :PLOT

The plot is the series of events that happen in a story.

Watch the plot development in this story.There are five stages:ExpositionRising ActionClimaxFalling ActionResolution

READING SKILLS: MAKING INFERENCES

iNFERENCE SKILLSWhen you are reading and make an inference, you use clues from the story and your own knowledge to guess about the things the author doesn’t say.

Watch for these literary terms in the story, “Raymond’s Run.”

Idioms An expression that has a meaning different from the meaning of its individual words. For example, “to go to the dogs” is an idiom meaning “to go to ruin.”

HyperboleA figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or humorous effect.I have a ton of homework!

AllusionAn allusion is a reference to a famous person, place, event, or work of literature.

"As the cave's roof collapsed, he was swallowed up in the dust like Jonah, and only his frantic scraping behind a wall of rock indicated that there was anyone still alive".

The allusion in the sentence above is to Jonah. The reader is expected to recognize the reference to Jonah and the whale, which should evoke an image of being 'swallowed alive' ... in this case, behind a wall of dust and rock.

AlliterationThe repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words."... his appearance: something displeasing, something down-right detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked and yet I scarce know why. He must be deformed somewhere ..."The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson

More Literary Terms in “Raymond’s Run”

More Literary Terms in “Raymond’s Run”

Onomatopoeia

The use of words whose sounds echo their meanings .such as buzz, twitter, and clank.The term onomatopoeia is a Greek word that means 'word-making'.

Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,He tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred...

'The Highwayman' by Alfred Noyes