Pride: A Pride and Prejudice Remix

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“A New Poem in a New Home”

In this activity, students will explore the role poetry plays in Zuri’s life by writing their own spoken-word poem from Zuri’s perspective.

In the novel’s final chapter, Zuri comments that “Canarsie really is the very edge of the world.” Why do you think it feels this way to her? How is she feeling about her new home and all the changes she has experienced? In this activity, you will write a poem that shares Zuri’s perspective on her new life in Canarsie.

Consider Zuri’s Perspective

• What are the most important things that happen to Zuri in this story?
• How do these events shape Zuri, and how do you imagine she will continue to change and grow?

Write Your Poem

• Begin your poem with the line “Canarsie really is the very edge of the world.”
• Your poem should refer to Zuri’s past and present, as well as the future she hopes for. When you mention events from the past, make sure these are based on events in Pride. When you imagine Zuri’s present and future, make sure that your choices are logical given her character and circumstances.
• Make sure that your poem has at least 10 lines, expresses Zuri’s perspective, and is school-appropriate.
• Give your poem a title that points to one of its main ideas.
• If you would like more information about spoken-word poetry, check out this 5-minute video from Penguin Books.

Share Your Poem

• Spoken word poems are meant to be shared through performance. Record yourself reading your poem, either in audio-only or video format.
• Share the file to the location your teacher designates.

Teaching Suggestion: Students will need access to technology to record their performances of their poems; for many students, this can be accomplished using their own device, but you may wish to create a discrete process through which students can notify you if they will need school-provided resources. Before students can share their work with you, you will need to decide whether you want the performances to be accessible to peers. If not, students can simply share completed files with you as they would any other file, but if you want peers to have access, you will need to create a sharing location on a platform or learning management system.

Differentiation Suggestion: Recording a performance of their poem may be an unreasonable obstacle for students with anxiety or those with speech fluency learning differences. You might allow these students to turn in a written copy of their work instead. Students who can speak fluently in a language other than English might be allowed to record in a language they are more comfortable using and turn in a translation of their work. Students who benefit from strategies with written expression might first jot their ideas down as a simple list and then, with some assistance from you or from a peer, work through the process of turning this list into a poem. If you are having students post their work for peers to access and have students with hearing impairments in your classroom, you might ask all students to also supply a written copy of their poems so that students with hearing impairments have equal access to their peers’ work.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Pride’s opening line mimics Austen’s opening line in Pride and Prejudice, but it also differs in key ways.

• How does Zoboi use similarities to Austen’s language to make a point about modern economic systems? (topic sentence)
• Explain the economic situation Austen’s opening line refers to.
• Compare the two opening lines. Support your interpretation of Zoboi’s purpose with three pieces of evidence from the text.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, briefly connect Zoboi’s opening line to the novel’s thematic concerns with The Dangers of Gentrification and Systemic Racism in American Society.

2. In Chapter 7, Zuri thinks of the difference between the old and new residents of Bushwick as being like “oil and water.”

• How do Zuri’s beliefs about the residents of Bushwick change over the course of the novel? (topic sentence)
• Explain what Zuri means when she uses this simile in Chapter 7. Then, analyze and discuss how her thinking changes over the course of the novel using three details or examples from the text.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, summarize how the changes in Zuri’s thinking relate to the novel’s thematic concerns with The Dangers of Gentrification, Systemic Racism in American Society, and The Manmade Nature of Class Structures.

3. The text of the novel contains several poems written by Zuri. Choose one of these poems to use as the basis for your response.

• What is the overall message of this poem, and how does its meaning help to characterize Zuri? (topic sentence)
• Give at least three pieces of evidence from the poem that support your interpretation of its meaning and the light it sheds on Zuri’s personality.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, show how the poem supports one or more of the novel’s themes.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. The Darcy home and the Benitez home are on opposite sides of the same Bushwick street. How does the juxtaposition of these two households in this setting communicate something to the reader about The Dangers of Gentrification and The Manmade Nature of Class Structures? How do language, descriptive detail, characterization, and plot detail help shape the reader’s reaction to these two households? Write an essay analyzing the thematic messages conveyed by the juxtaposition of the Darcy and Benitez households. Support your ideas with both quoted and paraphrased evidence drawn from throughout the novel, making sure to cite all quoted material.

2. In Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, there are many scenes in which the two elder sisters, Jane and Lizzie, are embarrassed by their mother’s and younger sisters’ lack of upper-class manners. The text’s language, detail, and perspective encourage the reader to share Jane’s and Lizzie’s feelings and to find the behavior of the other Bennet women ridiculous. Is this Zoboi’s intention in Pride? How does Zoboi use language, detail, and perspective to shape the reader’s response? Write an essay in which you analyze how Zoboi works to shape the reader’s reaction to Zuri’s embarrassment. Show how this element of the novel relates to the novel’s thematic concern with The Manmade Nature of Class Structures. Support your ideas with both quoted and paraphrased evidence drawn from throughout the novel, making sure to cite all quoted material.

3. Throughout Pride, food is a recurring motif that represents larger ideas. How does food function as a symbol in this text? What ideas and emotions are often associated with food, especially when it is served within a family context? Consider key scenes where food is emphasized. What larger ideas about family, culture, class, and human behavior are being conveyed? Write an essay in which you analyze the use of food as a symbol in Pride. Show how this element of the novel relates to the novel’s thematic concern with The Manmade Nature of Class Structures. Support your ideas with both quoted and paraphrased evidence drawn from throughout the novel, making sure to cite all quoted material.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which idea is something that Zuri struggles to accept throughout much of the novel?

A) Part of growing up is accepting responsibility.

B) Change is an inevitable part of life.

C) Most people are a mixture of good and bad.

D) It is wrong to use power to diminish others.

2. By the end of the novel, which statement would Zuri be most likely to agree with?

A) There are no real differences between Black and white members of the upper classes.

B) Wealthy people work harder and deserve to have comforts that others do not have.

C) Narrow ideas about who belongs in a particular place are a kind of prejudice.

D) Capitalism encourages racism and discrimination and should be abolished.

3. When Zuri chooses to believe what Darius tells her about Warren and Georgia, what does this most clearly demonstrate about how she has changed since the beginning of the novel?

A) Her understanding of the world outside of Bushwick has grown, making her able to trust someone she once discounted as an outsider.

B) Her growing romantic feelings for Darius are becoming more important to her than her feelings of loyalty to the people in her neighborhood.

C) Now that she has spent some time at Howard University, she is becoming more interested in social justice.

D) Now that she has become more integrated in Darius’s upper-class world, she is more able to see things from Darius’s perspective.

4. What message about class prejudice is conveyed through Georgia’s character?

A) A truly self-aware and good-hearted person does not entertain ideas that discriminate against other classes.

B) Even genuinely good and well-intentioned people can unknowingly absorb class prejudices.

C) Most wealthy people unconsciously believe in cruel and dehumanizing stereotypes based on class.

D) People will often defend class prejudices in ways that they would never defend racial prejudices.

5. Which most accurately states Zuri’s attitude toward gentrification?

A) Gentrification is only a problem when residents refuse to open themselves to new experiences and new people.

B) Gentrification creates greater divisions within a neighborhood and can lead to increased crime and violence.

C) Gentrification increases the diversity of a neighborhood, strengthening it against problems that impact any one group.

D) Gentrification has some benefits, but it also creates harms that disproportionately affect poor people of minority backgrounds.

6. Which character is most responsible for guiding Zuri through the changes she is experiencing in her life?

A) Madrina

B) Darius

C) Janae

D) Charlise

7. Which of the following is a defining character trait for Zuri?

A) Impulsiveness

B) Anxiety

C) Pride

D) Competitiveness

8. Which most accurately describes Zuri’s attitude toward her sisters?

A) Alienated

B) Envious

C) Protective

D) Self-sacrificing

9. Which character shows the most prejudice toward Bushwick?

A) Colin

B) Darius

C) Warren

D) Ainsley

10. Which character most clearly functions as a foil for Darius?

A) Warren

B) Colin

C) Georgia

D) Carrie

11. How does Janae’s character compare to Zuri’s?

A) Janae is an anxious and self-critical person, but she is also more loving than Zuri.

B) Janae is a gentler and less outspoken person, but she is also more worldly than Zuri.

C) Janae is a more ambitious and driven person, but she is also less talented than Zuri.

D) Janae is a more outgoing and friendly person, but she is also less open-minded than Zuri.

12. What important idea is conveyed through Papi’s job and his interests outside of work?

A) Some jobs are so physically demanding that they make it almost impossible for a person to enjoy hobbies outside of work.

B) People often try to compensate for uninteresting, low-status jobs by pursuing exciting and glamorous activities in their free time.

C) Wasting time outside of work on meaningless activities essentially guarantees that a person will never get ahead in life.

D) How high- or low-status a person’s job is indicates nothing about how intelligent and curious the person might be.

13. What is demonstrated by details like Zuri’s commentary on Mrs. Darcy’s accent, the way she imagines Carrie eats chicken, and her reaction to Warren spending so much money on a taxi?

A) Zuri uses her sense of humor to hide her emotions.

B) Zuri is naive about the world outside of Bushwick.

C) Zuri, too, is capable of harboring prejudices.

D) Zuri judges others by an impossibly high standard.

14. What is an important way in which Charlise contrasts with Zuri?

A) Charlise is less concerned with living up to society’s biased expectations for women.

B) Charlise is more interested in making a life for herself outside of Bushwick.

C) Charlise is less interested in romantic relationships with the neighborhood boys.

D) Charlise is more frustrated by the influx of outsiders into their neighborhood.

15. Which is an important function of Darius’s character in this novel?

A) His character challenges the reality of the American Dream.

B) His character challenges society’s gender norms.

C) His character challenges the reality of class distinctions.

D) His character challenges stereotypes about Black identity.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What do Zuri’s building and its fate demonstrate about what is being lost as Bushwick gentrifies?

2. How do Madrina’s remarks about the nature of rivers metaphorically suggest to Zuri how she should think about what is happening in her life?