FOR SO LONG, I WAS FOOLISHLY PROUD OF THE SCAR ON MY THUMB

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AMORAK HUEY

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INSTRUCTIONAL

NOTE

Feel free to modify, add, or select specific questions from this bellringer to best fit your instructional goals and available time. Adjust as needed to align with your lesson focus or classroom pacing.

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Also, some of the materials in these bellringers contain sensitive subject matter and/or language. Please preview the resources beforehand and make any alterations as needed.

BELLRINGER FOCUS: FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

• Read “For So Long, I Was Foolishly Proud of The Scar on My Thumb” by Amorak Huey.
• Go to http://bit.ly/3GucONl to access the poem.
• Answer the following question(s):
• Look closely at the phrase “the teeth of handsaw / against skin.” What connotations do these words carry, and how might they reflect the speaker’s emotions?
• Find several figurative comparisons for the speaker’s wound. What emotional tone do these images create?
• Find another figurative image of the scar or wound, like “a wound that's worse / when I look at it.” How does this image help you interpret the speaker’s evolving relationship to the scar mentioned in the title?

CREATIVE WRITING EXTENSIONS

• Like the speaker, use a metaphor to describe a scar that once meant pride.
• Write about a moment when you thought you were fixing something but made it worse.
• Compare a wound or flaw to something natural, like coral or desert. What does the comparison reveal about you?