“Was Tarzan a Three-Bandage Man?”

By: Bill Cosby

Writing: Nonfiction Narrative

Author’s Intent: Why did the author write this? What was the author trying to accomplish?Types of Humor: Understatement and Exaggeration

Focal Points

Connections: Compare/Contrast with piece, “Our Finest Hour”

Suffix: -ment

Who’s Bill Cosby?Comedian, author, actor, community leader…and so much more! Ever watch Fat Albert? Guess

who the creator is? Bill Cosby-and it is based on his boyhood friends!

Comedy Albums-Won eight gold records, five platinum records, and five Grammy Awards.

Cosby Quotes“I guess the real reason that my wife and I had children is the same reason that Napoleon had for invading Russia: it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“Parents are not interested in justice, they're interested in peace and quiet.”

A lot of Cosby’s humor focuses on parenting or children. Why do you think that is?

Cosby Quotes

“Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it.”

How is this quote different from the others?

Why is humor important-according to Cosby?

Author’s Intent

Inform

Entertain

Persuade

Reflect

The author is trying to amuse or entertain the readers.

The author is explaining or telling the reader about something.

The author is trying to persuade the reader to agree with their point of view, or to take an action.

The author is looking back on an event in their life.

Infer

*There are four main reasons authors write:EntertainInformPersuadeReflect

Based on what you have learned about Cosby so far, what do you expect his writing to be like?

VocabularyExaggeration (Humor): To stress ridiculous actions or stretch the truth to humorous lengths.

Humor: Comedy, funny.

Tourniquet: A very tight bandage to stop the flow of blood.

Emulate: To imitate.

Exaggeration (Humor): To stress ridiculous actions or stretch the truth to humorous lengths.

Tourniquet: A very tight bandage to stop the flow of blood.

Reference

Cosby’s mom refers to the Swiss Family Robinson-which is a novel about a fictional family stranded on a desert island.

In the days before athletes had learned how to incorporate themselves, they were shining heroes to American kids. In fact, they were such heroes to me and my friends that we even imitated their walks. When Jackie Robinson, a pigeon-toed walker, became famous, we walked pigeon-toed, a painful form of locomotion unless you were Robinson or a pigeon.

“Why you walkin’ like that?” said my mother one day.

“This is Jackie Robinson’s walk,” I proudly replied.

“There’s somethin’ wrong with his shoes?”

“He’s the fastest man in baseball.”

“He’d be faster if he didn’t walk like that. His mother should make him walk right.”

A few months later, when football season began, I stopped imitating Robinson and began to walk bowlegged like a player named Buddy Helm.

“Why you always tryin’ to change the shape of your legs?” said my mother. “You keep doin’ that an’ they’ll fall off - an’ I’m not getting’ you new ones.”

Although baseball and football stars inspired us, our real heroes were the famous prize fighters, and the way to emulate a fighter was to walk around with a Band-Aid over one eye.

People with acne walked around that way too, but we hoped it was clear that we were worshipping good fists and not bad skin.

The first time my mother saw me being Sugar Ray, not Jackie Robinson, she said, “What’s the bandage for?”

“Oh, nuthin’,” I replied.

“Now that’s a new kinda stupid answer. That bandage gotta be coverin’ somthin’- besides your entire brain.”

“Well, it’s just for show. I wanna look like Sugar Ray Robinson.” “The fastest man in baseball.”

“No, that’s a different one.”

“You doin’ Swiss Family Robinson next?”

“Swiss Family Robinson? They live in the projects?”

“You’d know who they are if you read more books instead of makin’ yourself look like an accident. Why can’t you try to imitate someone like Booker T. Washington?”

“Who does he play for?”

“Bill, let’s put it this way: you take off that bandage right now or I’ll have your father move you up to stitches.”

The following morning on the street, I dejectedly told the boys, “My mother says I gotta stop wearin’ a bandage. She wants my whole head to show.”

“What’s wrong with that woman?” asked Fat Albert. “She won’t let you do nuthin’.” “It’s okay, Cos,” said Junior, “cause one bandage ain’t enough anyway. My brother says the really tough guys wear two.”

“One over each eye?” I asked him.

“Or one eye and one nose,” he said. “Man, I wouldn’t want to mess with no two-bandage man,” said Eddie.

And perhaps the toughest guys of all wore tourniquets around their necks.

We were capable of such attire, for we were never more ridiculous than when we were trying to be tough or cool.

Most ridiculous, of course, was that our hero worshipping was backwards: we should have been emulating the men who had caused the need for bandages.

Cosby’s Boyhood Heroes

Why did Cosby choose athletes as his heroes? What made him want to imitate athletes instead of inventors or educators?

Sugar Ray Robinson(1921-1989): World Boxing Champ.

Jackie Robinson (1919-1972): First African-American to play Major League Baseball.

Cosby’s Mother’s Hero

Whom does Cosby’s mother admire? Why does she look up to this person instead of an athlete?

Booker T. Washington (1856-1915): Famous African American educator/author.

Born into slavery, Booker became an educator and wrote fourteen novels.

Booker became known as the leader of Tuskegee Institute and a philanthropist who supported education for African Americans.

Involved in politics, Booker worked tirelessly to promote education and rights for African Americans. His work led wealthy individuals such as Carnegie, Eastman, and Rockefeller to contribute money and influence to his projects.

Compare/Contrast

Cosby’s Heroes His Mother’s Hero

Both

• African Americans• Famous•First to accomplish…•Admired by others

Athletes

Known as being tough sports players

Pioneer in education

Involved in politics

Founded many schools

Main Message

Cosby’s story is entertaining, but underneath the humor he is making a statement-giving a message to the readers. Often, a author’s message tells us a lesson that the author learned. It might be a lesson that would help us in our everyday lives.

What message is Cosby trying to share with us?

Compare/ContrastCompare/Contrast the two nonfiction narratives we have read in the past week, “Was Tarzan a Three-Bandage Man?” by Bill Cosby and “Our Finest Hour” by Charles Osgood.

How are the pieces similar?

How are the pieces different?

Compare/ContrastConsider:

Classify what type of writing these selections are.

Decide what type of humor the authors use. Does one piece use one type of humor more?

What do the authors have in common?

What was their main intent in composing these pieces?

How do the writers connect to the readers? Is one more successful than the other?

How do the authors’ views of their experiences change over time?

Compare/ContrastCreate a Venn diagram of the two stories.

Cosby’s Piece Osgood’s Piece

Both Pieces