Prompt for Essay 3

Prompt for essay 3

1.Little Scarlet begins as Easy walks from his office to explore the rubble left by the Watts Riots. As Easy Explains on page 82, to the principal of the school where he works, the uprising was a release of the justifiable anger that Black people felt after centuries of racist injustice by white America.  He realized that things would never be the same, although nobody really knew what had been won and lost, and what would come next. As Easy looks for the killer of Nola Payne, he explores the changing relationship of the power that divides black and white, learning as he searches.  Write an essay that examines what Easy saw and how he understood the events triggered by the Riots. In the section beginning on p. 81, Easy says it was the beginning of the breakup of the Black community. On p. 82 he tells Ada Masters, the principal, that The Watts Riots were the beginning of the breakup of our community. Remember, to answer this question you will stick close to Easy’s words, thoughts, and deeds.

2. The reason Easy was hired was to find Nola’s killer. Police were afraid a white man killed her, so they wanted to find him before another riot started. It turned out that Nola and her boss, a white man, were in love. Their affair - instead of showing that racial barriers were changing - ended with murder, and was triggered by a Black woman trying to pass as white. Explain the forces that existed back then and why someone would try to pass. Explore the situation Harold’s mother faced and all the emotions that resulted. Show what forces linked all those people together. Remember, you must base your opinions on what you read, not on your opinions, or as you understand the matter from today’s perspective..

3. Easy’s relationship white people changed because of the riots. In some ways he was better friends with the white people in his life. How do the Riots - an uprising against white racism and injustice - help explain this.