Frida displayed a pattern in her life to rebel against Anything, Anyone, Anywhere. In The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo, Frida not only rebelled against people she didn’t like, but she also rebelled against friends and family close to her. Clare Booth Luce was a friend. Chapter 18 begins with Clare’s bone-chilling scream at the sight of what Frida painted for her: The Suicide of Dorothy Hale (238). Clare was a famous magazine publisher who asked Frida to paint a portrait of her long-time friend who had just committed suicide by jumping out the window of a tall New York skyscraper. She wanted a beautiful painting for eveyone to remember the exceptional qualities of Dorothy. The young woman who took her own life – her name was Dorothy Hale – had been suffering for years since her husband had died in a car accident. She had once been a successful Hollywood movie actress, but now she couldn’t find work and was living on the generosity of friends. As her desperation progressively worsened, she entered a deep depression that she couldn’t come out of. This scene in the novel is intense, for the gruesome way Frida depicted her suicide. In this painting, Frida details every bloody step of the woman’s plunge to her death. This was New York City in 1938, Frida had recently separated from her husband, Diego Rivera. She was struggling with her art. She felt lost and abandoned. Clare Booth Luce is a rich gringa socialite. She keeps an office in a building on Fifth avenue. This fun fact may have something to do with the way Frida chose to depict Dorothy Hale. Although Frida and Clare appeared to be friendly on the surface, I’m not so sure of Frida’s affection for rich white people.
Frida’s artwork reflects her deep identification with the Mexican people. Because of her devotion to Mexican culture, Frida harbored a different outlook for death. To her, pain of loss can be aleviated somewhat by the memory of life, so in her painting, she chose to concentrate on Dorothy’s beautiful eyes. Friends told her that Dorothy’s eyes had often been compared to those of Elizabeth Taylor. In this painting Frida showed the building, the blue-gray sky, and Dorothy’s upside-down figure still intact, her dress still glistening, and her eyes wide-open the very moment before she splatters against the sidewalk below. Frida is many things to many people. Her personality is complex. Her behavior is often weird. Maybe it’s due to the pain she suffered. Or, her rebellious spirit. You never know what you are going to get. But there is one thing people will always agree upon, the truth comes out in her painting. She paints what she feels. She loves her Mexico. Everything else comes in second.
Above is Jay’s Practice Frida K MVP. For most, if not all, of my assignments, I try to provide my students with a teacher’s writing model in advance in my Canvas instructions. Like, if Jay were a student in this class, what would he do?
At the time I’m writing this, two of my classes are on schedule to complete a 333-page novel based on the life of an international icon. The title: The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo. Mexican author F.G. Haghenbeck took on the challenge of fictionalizing both Frida’s Life and Death from the study of her personal diary entries. I know this because I have the same copy of her diary that he must have, here on my shelves in Mexicali. Haghenbeck artfully transformed many of these entries into vivid, heartbreaking chapters in his novel. Apparently, my students enjoyed the reading experience. Currently, they are all finishing up extensive Frida K research papers. Some have chosen to write about the physical pain Frida had suffered through her life. Others write about her deep love and connection for Mexico, or her turbulent relationship with her husband Diego Rivera. Jaja, I anticipated there would be a great diversity in their topics selected. I’ve read the novel myself now four times: TWICE in English, TWICE in Spanish. For this research project, we compared what we read in the novel with what we discovered about Frida on our campus databases. Frida is an inspiration to us all. I mean, we are still coming up with new ideas to write about every day.
As we approach the completion of our research papers, I have asked my students to ADD one more paragraph that will lead into their conclusion. I call it the MVP paragraph – (M)ost (V)aluable (P)art of their reading. I tell my students this:
- Your MVP doesn’t have to be the MOST IMPORTANT idea in the book, but it has to be IMPORTANT to you.
- It could be anything: a character, scene, quote, idea… but it has to SUPPORT your THESIS.
- Read your thesis out loud – What scene comes to mind when you say the words.
- You will be GRADED on the way you JUSTIFY your PICK.
This is the cool part: There is no right or wrong position in a student’s vote for MVP. There is no concrete definition for “valuable.” It can be the best part. It can be the worst part. ( I tell my students Time Magazine once put Donald Trump on their cover under the title “Man of the Year”). Maybe it’s a character the novel could not do without. Maybe it’s an event that changed everything. Maybe it’s an idea no one speaks about in class, but it may be most important to us all. I’m most happy with both the historical perspective and personal intimcacy for the choices my students make.
Why Are We Doing This?
You won’t find an assignment like this at the back of any standardized college text book. At the time I assigned this paragraph – 300 words – I know, I know we hadn’t even yet concluded our novel, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t share our MVP selections. I hear this discussion every day on Sports Talk Radio – talkshow hosts voting for their MVP selections for NBA basektball. The season doesn’t end for another week or two.
- I thought a FRIDA K SECRET BOOK MVP would be FUN to integrate into their Frida K Research Papers.
- Up until this point, my students have SUMMARIZED, PARAPHRASED, and QUOTED their research.
- Now they have the opportunity to express their thoughts and opinions for Frida in their own voice.
- Their Secret Book MVP will be a great display of their Critical Thinking Skills.
Jay’s Tips for Getting Started:
Think IDEAS, SCENES, CHARACTERS, CONVERSATIONS, ACTIONS, HISTORICAL EVENTS, GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS. Below I provide a few samples that went through my head when I developed this assignment:
1. SETTING
- Students may want to choose an important setting that serves to represent a main idea from the book
- Identify the time and place of the story.
- Represent the setting with related images, symbols, and words including any relevant historical events.
Jay’s Example: If my essay focused on HEARTBREAK and BETRAYAL, I just might choose the Xochimilco Boat Trip – This is where Frida “exploded like a volcano” (196). Many of my students will be writing about the TURMOIL in Frida’s marriage to Diego. On this family excursion, Frida discovered that her husband had been sleeping with her favorite sister.
2. CHARACTERIZATION
- Choose a character who played a meaningful role in the novel
- It doesn’t have to be a good role. It may be a bad one. But whatever this character did leaves an impression with the reader.
- Select vivid adjectives to describe this person’s personality, looks, relationship with Frida.
- Include quotations to support your characterization along with related images.
Jay’s Example: If my main idea of my research paper was Frida’s views on Death, I just might choose Eva Frederick (129). This is the lady that Frida met on a park bench near the Golden Gate Bridge. Weird! They didn’t know each other, but they share important feelings for Death and Suicide.
3. REAL WORLD CONNECTION
- Make a connection between this book and either a current/historical event or another famous work of art.
- Students may want consider universal themes that affect society, the world, and the human condition.
- What would ____ be like if…they found themselves in “this” situation.
- How would people look at “this” in today’s world.
Jay’s Example: Can you imagine how it would be for TWO artists like FRIDA and DIEGO to maintain their love for each other over a long period of time. I mean, they were like Beyonce and Jay-Z! The egos they must have had. How could they possibly tolerate any threat of competition from the other? Would this comparison help my students analyze the marriage of Frida and Diego?
In my Canvas instructions, I suggest my students SUMMARIZE their MVP scene from the book by using the chart below:
Jay’s MVP Chart:
| TOPIC SENTENCE – YOUR MAIN IDEA | |
| WHO? Who or what is the main focus of your MVP | |
| WHAT? Do you have a scene? What is it about? What is the “Who” doing? | |
| WHEN? What is the timeframe for the action taking place. | |
| WHERE? Where is the location mentioned. What details are important to the setting? | |
| WHY? Why is “this” happening. Why is “this” important to the characters? To the novel? | |
| HOW? How does this idea AFFECT you. Or HOW does it AFFECT Frida. How does your scene AFFECT the rest of the book? |
Here are some possible TOPIC SENTENCES that I’ve jotted down to introduce my MVP – The Suicide of Dorothy Hale
- For my students, the KEY to SUCCESS on this paragraph will be to begin with a topic sentence that reflects their thesis: then, they can proceed to their MVP discussion. Like these:
1. Frida displayed a pattern in her life to rebel against Anything, Anyone, Anywhere. In The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo, Frida not only rebelled against people she didn’t like, but also to friends and family close to her…
2. Frida’s first thoughts that went into her painting were most always rooted in her Mexican culture. Everything else was second….
3. Because of her devotion to Mexican culture, Frida harbored a different outlook for death.
Once they identify their MVPs, here are some possible sentence starters they may want to consider:
- This part connects to another part in the story by…
- This part shows evidence of the theme because…
- This part doesn’t make sense because…
- This quote shows the character is…
- This passage reminds me of a time in my life when…
- I think the character is going to…
- This shows that…
- This part is important to the story because…
- I think the author is trying to show that…
- This quote reminds me of another book I read
because… - These words stand out because…
Jay’s Suicide of Dorothy Hale MVP Chart:
| TOPIC SENTENCE – YOUR MAIN IDEA | Frida displayed a pattern in her life to rebel against Anything, Anyone, Anywhere. In The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo, Frida not only rebelled against people she didn’t like, but also to friends and family close to her. Clare Booth Luce was a friend. |
| WHO? Who or what is the main focus of your MVP | Chapter 18 begins with Clare’s bone-chilling scream at the sight of what Frida painted for her: The Suicide of Dorothy Hale. Clare was a famous magazine publisher that asked Frida to paint a portrait of her long-time friend who had just committed suicide by jumping out the window of a tall New York skyscraper. She wanted a beautiful painting for eveyone to remember Dorothy |
| WHAT? Do you have a scene? What is it about? What is the “Who” doing? | The young woman who took her own life – her name was Dorothy Hale – had been suffering for years since her husband had died in a car accident. She had once been a successful Hollywood movie actress, but now she couldn’t find work and was living on the generosity of friends. As her desperation progressively worsened, she entered a deep depression that she couldn’t come out of. This scene is intense, for the gruesome way Frida depicted her suicide. In this painting, Frida detailsevery bloody stepof woman’s plunge to her death. |
| WHEN? What is the timeframe for the action taking place. | This was New York City in 1938, Frida had separated from her husband, Diego Rivera. She was struggling with her art. She felt lost and abandoned. |
| WHERE? Where is the location mentioned. What details are important to the setting? | Clare Booth Luce is a rich gringa socialite. She keeps an office in a building on Fifth avenue. This fun fact may have something to do with the way Frida chose to depict Dorothy Hale. Although Frida and Clare appeared to be friendly on the surface, I’m not so sure of Frida’s affection for rich white people. |
| WHY? Why is “this” happening. Why is “this” important to the characters? To the novel? | Frida’s artwork reflects her deep identification with the Mexican people. Because of her devotion to Mexican culture, Frida harbored a different outlook for death. To her, pain of loss can be diffused by the memory of life, so in her painting, she chose to concentrate on Dorothy’s beautiful eyes. Friends told her that Dorothy’s eyes had often been compared to those of Elizabeth Taylor. In this painting Frida showed the building, the blue-gray sky, and her upside-down figure still in tact, her dress still glistening, and her eyes wide-open the very moment before she splatters against the sidewalk below. |
| HOW? How did this scene affect you. | Frida is many things to many people. Her personality is complex. Her behavior is often weird. Maybe it’s due to the pain she suffers. Or her rebellious spirit. You never know what you are going to get. But there is one thing people will always agree upon, the truth comes out in her painting. She paints what she feels. She loves her Mexico. Everything else comes in second. |
I HOPE THIS WORKS!
This summer, I plan to publish our Frida K student writing in a new classroom blog. I do this every year. Somethimes TWICE. I combine Canvas content I have written throughout the course of a semester and publish my best student research papers. I will introduce the blog to my students on the first day of instruction of a new semester. It PULLS them in. The blog gives them an indication of where their instructor is coming from and where they are going.
It used to be like this: My students would write three or four essays per semester. They knew it. I knew it. The requirements for each essay are printed in the syllabus. I worked hard to create engaging assignments, but in the end, I just didn’t feel the enthusiasm or see the effort I was looking for. Students went through the motions. Writing for publication, however, changes things. When students realize someone beyond their teacher will read their writing, they appear to step up their game. They feel a greater sense of responsibility. They take ownership for their ideas. On Canvas, students write more, edit better, and revise more carefully. Since I have begun creating classroom blogs, I have seen an increase in both the amount and quality of student writing. Students spend a lot of time sharing their ideas on classroom discussion boards, and they contact me more often with meaningful questions about their writing. Now with the blogs in play, it’s more collaboration, and less isolation.
The writing brings us closer together.
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