Article: AM I BLUE? "Ain't these tears in these eyes tellin'you?"

• EXPLORATIONS OF THE TEXT

1. React to the opening paragraph. Why does Walker describe the setting? What does the setting reveal about her psyche? Her place in the world?

2. How does Walker characterize "Blue"? Discuss the significance of his name. Why does she refer to his "companion" as "Blue's friend"?

3. What is the relationship of the examples given in paragraphs 7-10 to the main story line? Are these paragraphs tangential or relevant to her argument?

4. Is Walker projecting her own feelings onto the horse?

5. Walker's essay uses an extended analogy as the basis of her argument. Summarize her argument. Is this strategy effective?

6. Discuss the significance of the concluding sentence: "I am eating misery. . . ." Why is she upset?

7. Compare Walker's essay with Anna Lee Walter's poem, "My Name Is 'I Am Living,'" and Scott Russell Sanderss "Wayland."

• THE READING/WRITING CONNECTION

1. Do you believe that animals "suffer"? Are you an animal rights activist? Respond in a freewrite.

2. "Think" Topic: Interpret the title of the essay. Connect the title with themes of the poem.

3. Journal Entry: Alice Walker recognizes that Blue, a social animal, needs companionship to live happily. She relates this need to that of humans, another social animal. Do you think that humans are similar to other social animals? If so, which ones? Write a journal entry with your thoughts, referring to Walker or Sanders.

• IDEAS FOR WRITING

1. Create an argument based on an analogy. Use Walker's essay as a model.

2. Discuss Walker's essay and Marquez's story, "The Handsomest Drowned Man" as Utopian visions