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Emancipation Proclamation
Girl at "colored" drinking fountain, county courthouse, North Carolina To Kill a Mockingbird:
An Historical Perspective

Study Guide for Activity Three: The Emancipation Oration

  1. Write a complete bibliographic entry for the Emancipation Oration using MLA format.

    2.  

  2. Define "oration:"

    3.  

  3. Who delivers the oration?

    4.  

  4. What do you know about this person?

    5.  

  5. What is the setting for the oration?
    6.  
    • Place delivered?
      •  
    • Date delivered?
      •  
    • Occasion?
      •  

  6. What is the theme of the oration?

    7.  

  7. What is the comparison Love makes in the first paragraph of Page 4?
    8.  
    • What does this comparison tell the reader about his belief in the African American spirit?

     

  8. Love's speech is rich in literary devices. Identify examples of the following:
    • Metaphor:
      •  
    • Simile:
      •  
    • Personification:
      •  
    • Allusion:
      •  

  9. Love addresses what he calls the "Negro Problem." How does he define this problem?

    10.  

  10. Explain Love's statement, "I judge it will not be denied that a man can do better without the right to vote
    and the protection of his ballot than he can without the right to live and the protection of his life."
    Why does Love proclaim that education is one of the most pressing needs of the Negro?

    11.  

  11. Briefly explain Love’s statement, "If we would help control the country, we must own it."

    12.  

  12. What fable does Love tell, and how does he relate it to the "Negro Problem"?

    13.  

  13. Love closes with a story of two black men who have been convicted of murder and sentenced to hang.  
    • What is the message of this story?
      •  
    • What does this story tell the reader of Love's views on justice?
     

  14. After carefully reading the oration, write a paragraph summing up what Love calls the "Negro Problem."
    Do you agree or disagree with Love? Explain your answer.

    15.  
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Last updated 09/26/2002