Read the narrative essay, “Damn, Kendrick Lamar: Anatomy of a ‘Duckworth’ Epiphany” by D. Watkins in Salon, published 4/18/17.

As with all the narrative essays you’ve read for this chapter, pay close attention to the components of narrative writing and the ways this writer uses them to engage you.

Annotate this essay using the annotation chart — choose 5 passages that feel significant to you and record your responses to them.

Also respond to the following prompts:

• What does “epiphany” mean? What is the writer’s epiphany in this essay?
• Look closely at the details Watkins uses. Identify all the images you can picture in your head. For instance, he writes, “Lor Cuz bolted through the courtyard, pulling a new white T-shirt over his head.” What does the verb “bolted” convey? What other specific verbs does Watkins use throughout this essay that help you picture what he sees?
• Discuss Watkins’s use of dialogue in this essay. In what specific ways does it add to the narrative (or detract from it)?
• What is the plot of this narrative? Who are the characters? What is the theme?
• Think about your own experience with music. What kinds of stories could you tell about listening to a track that made you reflect deeply about something? Who was around you at the time (characters)? What was the setting (details)? What conclusion did you come to (epiphany or theme)?

http://www.salon.com/2017/04/18/damn-kendrick-lamar-anatomy-of-a-duckworth-epiphany/