- Students should identify significant moments in the reading and connect these passages to larger ideas in the novel.
- Students should gather literary evidence of theme.
If you can, try to track an idea with your journals. So, if you notice that the relationship between parents and children is a significant idea in the book, use journals to track that idea. Remember, the goal of journals is to help you gather evidence and ideas for a theme essay. A theme essay focuses on one theme and two or three literary elements. If you scatter your journals so that every journal discusses a different theme, you aren't going to be able to use all your journals on the essay. If you group your journals so that all of your journals on Lord of the Flies focus on either fear or power, then at the end, you can write on either fear or on power and you have a lot of evidence. Make sense?
Don't turn journals into busywork by doing them poorly: choose well and journal well so they become tools that will help you on the essay.
from Speak
"One time when I was little, my parents took me to an orchard. Daddy set me high in an apple tree. It was like falling up into a storybook, yummy and red and leaf and the branch not shaking a bit" (p 66).
This is a great passage because it both has a pattern and breaks a pattern... two in one! Through most of the book, Melinda is horribly depressed and upset, and this passage changes that pattern by having her remember a perfect moment. It continues a pattern because this is about the thirtieth tree mentioned (which means something is important with trees). So, what triggered the change in Melinda's attitude from depressed to nostalgic and what is the author trying to get you to see with the use of trees? Remember, you must link to a literary element. Here, you can see this is a strong piece of characterization.
from Brave New World
"They were passing Metre 320 on rack 11. A young Beta-Minus mechanic as busy with screwdriver and spanner on the blood surrogate pump of a passing bottle. The hum of the electric motor deepened by fractions of a tone as he turned the nuts" (p 12)
This is a description of fetuses in a "baby factory." This would be a great passage to journal because it's strange to describe babies being gestated in terms of pumps and motors and turning nuts and mechanics. So, since this is strange, what is the author trying to get you to see? What is the literary element? You have the "hum" and how it "deepened by fractions" and the "tone." This is imagery.
from Lord of the Flies
....."About being called Piggy. I said I didn't care as long as they didn't call me Piggy; an' I said not to tell and then you went an' said straight out--"
.....Stillness descended on them. Ralph, looking with more understanding at Piggy, saw that he was hurt and crushed. He hovered between the two courses of apology or further insult.
....."Better Piggy than Fatty," (24-25)The internal (person versus person) conflict in the passage shows that Ralph has two conflicting motivations. What are those motivations, and how do those two forces that pull at Ralph affect the other boys and the rest of the island? This person versus self conflict would be a great journal.
Remember, the goal here is to connect the passage to larger, more important ideas. There are a number of different things you can do, but consider the following *options.*
First...
Identify the literary element, and make sure you are labeling it correctly! Explain how that element is typically interpreted or what the typical connotations are. In the tree example, talk about how the tree is often a symbol for life with Genesis and Norse mythology showing this. Sometimes you may need to ask for some help because at this point, you may struggle to know what the "typical" connotation or interpretation is because you don't have a lot of exposure to literature.
You might want to....
1. Look at individual word choice (diction). Why does the author use "descended" in the Lord of the Flies passage. Descended from where? Explain how this diction fits into the story's plot.
2. Look at the way the words flow (syntax). In the Speak passage, why does she use the string of short, childish words connected in a sentences that isn't technically correct in terms of grammar ("yummy and red and leaf and the branch not shaking"). Explain how this syntax fits into the story's plot.
3. Look at the emotional impact of the words. How does it feel to "see" fetuses lined up in bottles as a guy with a screwdriver plays with the machine? Explain how this emotional impact fits into the story's plot.
4. How does this relate to other major pieces of literature. Talk about how Ralph's conflict between doing the right thing and acting to impress others is similiar to another character from CLASSIC lit. Explain how this relates to the story's plot.
5. Relate the passage to other events in the book. Talk about how the devalueing of the babies in Brave New World is simliar to the devalueing of the adult humans later in the book. Talk about how the tree image in Speak is similar to other trees that have appeared already in the book and the plot of the book.
DON'T do all of these in any one journal, but pick the type of commentary that seems to fit your passage
.
You definitely need to...
Connect this idea to the author's purpose in telling the story. How is this related to the belief or point of view that the author is trying to express? GO TO THEME. Even if you later decide that you were wrong, just discussing the theme in the journals will get you thinking.
Keep in mind: Literature is not all that different from science.
- You read.
- You form a hypothesis (theme statement) about the author's intent.
- You keep reading and test your hypothesis (theme) against the text.
- You say "oh yeah, I got the theme," meaning your reading has proven your hypothesis (theme) correct.
- Either that or you say, "crap, that doesn't work," and then like all good scientists, you change your hypothesis (theme) to match the new evidence.
- You decide on the best hypothesis (theme) and then write up why you think it works.
If you don't ever try to figure the theme out as you go, you can't form theories, and then you won't focus on looking for the right evidence, and the theme essay will become about three times more difficult.
Audience: Your teacher
Format: Handwritten or typed. Two columns is better
Style: Don't make silly mistakes, but no formal style analysis is required.
Length: long enough to say something insightful
Presentation: Neat, in pen, one side of the paper or typed, double spaced, 12 pt font, 1 inch margins
| AP Scale | Score |
| Demonstrates significant understanding of the passage. Full in analysis; strong reasoning, insightful, articulate. Rare flaws. | 9 |
| Correctly analyzes topic, reference to text well. Strong but not necessarily insightful or unusually clear reasoning. Minor flaws | 8 |
| Correct analysis, clear references to the text, clear reasoning. Minor lapses in how well things are explained. Minor flaws. | 7 |
| Demonstrates understanding of the ideas and writing. Commentary is limited or confusing at times and shows clear insight and clear reasoning at other times. Some flaws. | 6 |
| Analyzes is correct, but the explanation is inconsistent and uneven; no special insights but no gross errors in understanding. Some flaws. | 5 |
| Inadequate response because the commentary is incorrect, partially off-topic, or simply confusing. Makes assertions without supporting evidence or while ignoring evidence which contradicts the interpretation. Many flaws. | 4 |
| Commentary simply paraphrases the topic or is so off topic that the student demonstrates no understanding of the passage. No supporting evidence at all. Interpretation cannot stand up to logic. Many flaws. | 3 |
| The same lack of logic as a "3" journal only much shorter | 2 |
| The name is on the paper | 1 |
The AP teachers like columns. I don't care if you use columns or just put the quote at the top.
....."About being called Piggy. I said I didn't care as long as they didn't call me Piggy; an' I said not to tell and then you went an' said straight out--" |
This internal conflict happens as Ralph stops and considers his answer to Piggy's tacit accusation. The image of something descending makes stillness seem like some outside force... like the boys are never naturally still. Normally descent is a negative term suggesting that something is falling. Here, the silence is actually the kind part. Ralph has this "understanding" in this stillness. It's almost like the boys never stop to think, and so Ralph stopping to think about and understand his answer makes him different from the others--well, except for Simon who seeks out the stillness. But Ralph then takes this new understanding he's found in the quiet and instead of apologizing, he just hurts Piggy more. The other boys are thoughtlessly cruel, but Ralph is taking the time to think about the consequences of his words, and then he's deliberately decending into even more cruelty. Golding is really showing the viciousness of these boys and the way that human nature is thoughtfully and deliberately cruel.
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...."One time when I was little, my parents took me to an orchard. Daddy set me high in an apple tree. It was like falling up into a storybook, yummy and red and leaf and the branch not shaking a bit" (p 66) |
This characterization of Melinda is in sharp contrast to the Melinda we see in the rest of the book. Here she's remembering being in a tree. Quite often, trees are associated with life... Genesis contains a tree of knowledge and a tree of life and the Norse believe in the world tree. So here, Melinda is remembering a very different life from the one she now has. Now, she is withdrawn, depressed and self-destructive. Here, she is remembering being not only happy but also childlike with short choppy sentences that sound immature. She isn't describing this memory as a teen remembering her past, she's almost living in the past, and the image of her being in a tree shows that this is a Melinda who is in a completely different life and reality than the one the reader knows now. Clearly, she's trying to escape, but this escape is short lived and followed almost immediately by more awkward and painful interactions with her classmates. And this happens in the same class where she has her strongest flashback to the attack that has made this happiness impossible for her. This demonstrates one of the strongest themes in the book, that a person who does not acknowledge and deal with the past will never be able to overcome the pain in it. |
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Last Updated on 7-10-2008 |