English Composition II: ENGL 112Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Plan for Today

Section 1 (5:15-6:45)

– Weeks 4 and 5 Quizzes

– Making Up Week 4

– Lecture on Character and Drama

Section 2 (7:00-8:30)

– Discussion of A Raisin in the Sun

Section 3 (8:45-10:15)

– Essay 2 Assignment

– Peer Workshop Group Meeting

– Assign Homework

Weeks 4 and 5 Quizzes

Making Up for Week 4

Week 4 Quiz – just completed

Attendance Points for Week 4

– 5 for submitting Essay 2 Prewriting

– 5 for completing Virtual Peer Review

Virtual Peer Review

– Groups will meet briefly at the end of class to set their own deadlines

– Must copy me on the email with your feedback to receive credit for the Peer Review activity

Questions about Essay 2

– Can talk with me after class tonight

– Can schedule a meeting with me for Wednesday or Thursday

DramaReading and Writing About Drama

Literary Terms Related to Drama (pp 1249-1250)

Divisions

– Acts: larger divisions

– Scenes: smaller divisions within acts

Stage Directions

– specify characters’ entrances and exits

– describe what settings look like and how characters look and act

Main difference from fiction

– no narrator to tell us what characters think or to give background

– only know what characters reveal

Literary Terms Related to Drama (pp 1249-1250)

Dialogue: lines spoken by the characters, bulk of the content in drama

Monologue: extended speech by one character

Soliloquies: monologue in which a character expresses private thoughts while alone on stage

Aside

– brief comment by character

– reveals his/her thoughts by speaking directly to the audience

– comments not heard by the other characters

Character

Character and Characterization (p 254)

Character: a fictional representation of a person

Characterization

– way writers develop characters and reveal those characters’ traits to readers

– can be through • comments by narrator or other characters

• the character’s actions, reactions, speech, thoughts

Types of Characters (pp 254-255)

Round Character:

– well developed and closely involved in and responsive to action

– often flaws make them more believable

Flat Character: barely developed or stereotypical

Types of Flat Characters

– Foil: supporting character whose role is to highlight a major character by serving as a contrast

– Stock Character: easily identifiable types who behave so predictably that readers can readily recognize them

Types of Characters (pp 255)

Dynamic Character:

– grows and changes in the course of a story

– develops as s/he reacts to events and to other characters

Static Character: may face same challenges as dynamic character but remains essentially unchanged

Connections between Types of Characters

– Often, but NOT always, characters are both round/dynamic or flat/static

– Sometimes a lack of change is important in the presentation of a round character

– Minor characters often static because we don’t know enough to know if they change

Character in Drama (pp 1459-1465)

Characters’ Words

– Learn about character through monologue/soliloquy and dialogue

– Language that’s formal/informal, including slang and dialect

– Tone (in words and stage directions) shows his/her attitude

– Verbal and Dramatic Irony important

Characters’ Actions

– What they do

– What they don’t do

– How they interact with other characters

Character in Drama (pp 1466-1468)

Stage Directions

– Staging• Includes scenery, props, lighting, music, sound effects, costumes, etc.

• Contributes to the way the play looks and sounds

– Can also include physical descriptions about characters or the way lines are to be delivered

Actors’ Interpretations

– Actor chooses how to perform character or to follow stage directions

– Director can influence this as well, particularly through casting certain actors to play the characters

Theme

Theme in Drama (pp 1851-1855)

Ways to Identify Theme in Drama

– Title

– Conflicts

– Dialogue

– Characters

– Staging

A Raisin in the Sun

A Raisin in the Sun

How was the experience of reading drama different from fiction?

Read “Harlem” by Langston Hughes (pp 924-925). How does it relate to the play?

The textbook suggests that “I Stand Here Ironing” and “Everyday Use” are “related works.” How do you think they relate to the play?

How do you feel about the ending of the play? Was it satisfying?

Group Discussions of A Raisin in the Sun

How did the stage directions impact your reading? Find some examples in the text to share.

How does the setting (historical, geographical, and physical) impact the plot?

Which character did you think was the protagonist? The Antagonist?

What symbols appear in the play? How do you know they’re symbols? What does each symbolize?

What conflicts appear in the play? How do these conflicts contribute to the larger meaning of the play?

Considering Actors’ Interpretations of Character

End of Act 3 (pp 1397-1400)

– 2003 Version: Chapter 14

– 2008 Version: Chapter 27

Watch for the interpretations of these characters

– Ruth

– Beneatha

– Walter

– Lindner

– Mama

How does the ending of the 2008 version compare with the play?

Paper 2 – Literary AnalysisAssignment and Peer Workshop Group Meeting

Essay 2 Assignment

Two Options

– Literary Devices and Theme

– Film Adaptation

In both

– Choose one story (can’t be one you discussed in Essay 1)

– Choose three literary devices

– Discuss the way the literary devices contribute to larger meaning • For option 1: theme

• For option 2: larger meaning/point of film

– Use text as only source

– Length: 4-6 pages

Essay 2 Virtual Workshop Questions

Literary Devices Film Adaptation

General Review:•What is the essay’s thesis statement? Copy and paste that thesis.•What theme does the essay identify?•What three literary devices does the essay analyze and apply to the theme?•How much does the essay rely on plot? Too much? Not enough? Just enough?

General Review:•What is the essay’s thesis statement? Copy and paste that thesis.•What larger meaning does the film adaptation make?•What three literary devices does the essay propose to adapt?•How much does the essay rely on plot? Too much? Not enough? Just enough?

Specific Items:•Write a basic outline of the essay’s paragraphs. Is this organization logical and easy to follow?•Check MLA formatting. Are page numbers for the stories cited correctly?

Specific Items:•Write a basic outline of the essay’s paragraphs. Is this organization logical and easy to follow?•Check MLA formatting. Are page numbers for the stories cited correctly?

Essay 2 Virtual Workshop Instructions

Steps for Virtual Workshop

– Email essay as an attachment to group

– Use peer review questions to review essays

– Email responses to author and me in body of email reply

Items for Groups to Make Tonight

– Deadlines for• Emailing essay out

• Emailing responses to each other

– Exchange email addresses

– If group has more than 3 people, determine which 2 essays each person will review

– Submit these responses to me

Essay 2 Virtual Peer Review Workshop Groups

LD Group 1:Darrell – The StormMike – A Raisin in the SunPatty – I Stand Here IroningMark – The Yellow Wallpaper

LD Group 4:

LD Group 2:Peggy – A Raisin in the SunShamus – The Yellow WallpaperApril – I Stand Here Ironing

FA Group 5:Gerald – A Good Man is Hard to Find Roosevelt – Everyday UseCory – The Cask of Amontillado

LD Group 3:Paul – The Cask of AmontilladoRJ – A Raisin in the Sun Tim – The Storm

Homework

Reading (always including textual introductions):

– Poems: Dickinson, "I'm nobody! Who are you?”; Dickinson, "My life had stood-- a Loaded Gun”; Cummings, "anyone lived in a pretty how town”; Williams, "Red Wheelbarrow”; Lorde, "Rooming Houses are Old Women”; Poe, "The Raven”

– "Reading and Writing about Poetry," 817-818; "The Speaker in the Poem," 838; "Writing about Word Choice and Word Order," 902; "Imagery," 911; "Simile, Metaphor, and Personification," 928; "Allegory," 1019

Assignment

– Essay 2 due • to turnitin.com before class AND

• as a hard copy in class