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The Reading: “Am
I Blue?”
If they have not already done so as a homework assignment, ask
your students to read the short essay “Am
I Blue?” by celebrated author Alice Walker. They can take
turns reading it aloud in class or read it silently to themselves.
After they have read the essay, lead a discussion using the following
questions and topics.
Animal Communication
In Walker’s essay, Blue was able to communicate with the story’s
narrator. He conveyed basic ideas, like the fact that he wanted
to eat apples, as well as complex emotional states and personality
traits, such as loneliness, boredom, independence, disgust, and
hatred. Urge students to discuss other ways in which animals communicate
with humans and each other.
Students can use the following links to learn more about animal
communication:
Anthropomorphism
Explain that historically, in the scientific community, applying
human characteristics to animals was considered to be inaccurate
and unscientific. Write “anthropomorphism” on the board
and ask students if they know what it means. After discussing your
students’ understanding of the term, write the American Heritage
Dictionary’s definition on the board:
Anthropomorphism: Attribution of human motivation,
characteristics, or behaviors to inanimate objects, animals, or
natural phenomena.
Share some examples of anthropomorphism with your students. You
could mention animals who speak English in Finding Nemo
and other movies. Ask your students to come up with other examples.
Once the definition is on the board and your students understand
its meaning, ask the following questions:
• Do humans and animals share any motivations, characteristics,
and behaviors?
• According to the definition, would attributing the motivations,
characteristics, and behaviors that we just mentioned to animals
be considered anthropomorphism, or does the term, as defined,
only concern itself with applying exclusively human characteristics
to animals?
• Does the concept of anthropomorphism, as defined, deny
recognition of the motivations, characteristics, and behaviors
that humans and animals share?
In the past, to avoid anthropomorphizing animals, many people denied
knowledge of some of animals’ abilities. Thankfully, pioneers
like Jane Goodall, who worked with chimpanzees in the wild; Francine
Patterson, who taught sign language to Koko the gorilla; and many
other scientists have documented the complex social, psychological,
and emotional lives of animals, thereby challenging the idea that
animals do not share characteristics, motivations, and behaviors
with humans.
The Complex Needs of Animals
Most people realize that animals have physical needs, such as the
need for food, shelter, and water, but some ignore animals’
need for companionship, mental stimulation, play, and exercise.
Ask students to explain some possible consequences of denying animals
their emotional, social, and psychological needs.
Neglecting the complex needs of animals can lead to situations in
which animals suffer and are confined for human use. The denial
of these needs also hinders scientists’ ability to understand
animals.
Walker’s Empathy
In the essay, Walker writes that animals are trying to tell humans
that “‘[e]verything you do to us will happen to you;
we are your teachers, as you are ours. We are one lesson.’”
Use the following questions to prompt a discussion:
• What does she mean by this?
• In what ways does our treatment of animals reflect or
guide our treatment of other humans?
Conclusion
Allow students to discuss and debate the following questions:
• At the end of the essay, the narrator took a bite of
steak and spit it out. Why?
• What did she mean when she said that she was “eating
misery”? How was this relevant to the information about
Blue?
• Do you think Alice Walker eats meat? Why or why not?
After the discussion has run its course, let them know that Walker
is a vegetarian.
Ask students to summarize the key points of the lesson and write
them on the board.
Resources
For information on the link between violence toward humans and violence
toward animals, visit HelpingAnimals.com
and read the Prosecutor
Pack.
You may also want to order
a free TeachKind poster for your classroom. This poster illustrates
the link between violence toward humans and violence toward animals.
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