Write a Personal Narrative Like the characters in My Favorite Chaperone and The Latehomecomer, many people struggle to adjust to new situations or to fit in with different groups. Think about a time when you faced that type of challenge and write a personal narrative about your own experience.

A successful personal narrative

• establishes a situation and introduces a narrator and characters

• organizes a well-structured event sequence

• uses narrative techniques such as dialogue, pacing, relevant descriptive details, and reflection to develop experiences

• provides a conclusion that reflects on the narrated experiences and events

The harlem renaissance dawned in an era of pervasive racism and segregation. although legally "free," many african americans were still bound by ideas that had their roots in the slavery of earlier centuries. identity and freedom are important ideas presented in many of the poems from the harlem renaissance. furthermore, the values of identity and freedom are not unique to particular times and places. as hughes expresses in "dream variations," all humans want to be able to develop their identities in freedom. what role does freedom play in the poems you read in this unit? what is required of a society to enable each individual to be true to his or her identity and be free to live by that identity? write about at least three of the poems, describing how the poet uses imagery to depict freedom and identity, the lack of it, or the desire for it.