HISTORY OF THE OLYMPIANS

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Writing Assignments for How to Read Literature Like a Professor

by Thomas C. Foster (Adapted from Donna Anglin)

 

Assignment Details:

 

These short writing assignments will let you practice your literary analysis and they will help me get to know you and your literary tastes.  Whenever I ask for an example from literature, you may use short stories, novels, plays, or films (Yes, film is a literary genre).  If your literary repertoire is thin and undeveloped, use the Appendix to jog your memory or to select additional works to explore.  At the very least, watch some of the “Movies to Read” that are listed on pages 293-294.  Please note that your responses should be paragraphs — not pages! 

Put the title on the top of each paper turned in so that I will know which chapter you are referring to.  Turn in on the date due (you will fill in blanks as they are announced), or on the day you return when absent (with appropriate form).  Late work will require a Paynter Point for each day late.  Use the HRLP notes given you to help you identify works that might be used in your answer.  Remember that many of these works can be found online in full-text.  Use the Internet for any definition clarification or identifications (such as Greek gods) you may need. 

Concerning mechanics, pay special attention to pronouns.   Be clear on you identifications.  Example: Say Foster first; not “he.”  Remember to capitalize and punctuate titles properly for each genre.   This is a writing assignment, so do not get sloppy.   You may type your answer or it can be hand-written (legible, please).  There is no minimum or maximum, but you know if you have answered the question or just put “stuff” on the page.  Grades are for answers only.   Put your name on the paper.  Any without a name will just be put in the trash.

These are a daily grade, but there will not be an automatic 100.  If you do not answer the question or are “off base” to an extent that it is obvious that you did not read the chapter, you will receive little if any credit.  If it is reasonably clear that you copied your response from another (including Internet sources), you will receive a zero and if identified as the work of another student, so will your provider.  DO NOT COPY FROM ONE ANOTHER.  If this happens more than once you will also receive a referral, and so will your provider.

_______Introduction: How’d He Do That?

 

How do memory, symbol, and pattern affect the reading of literature? How does the recognition of patterns make it easier to read complicated literature? Discuss a time when your appreciation of a literary work was enhanced by understanding symbol or pattern.

 

_______Chapter 1 — Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not)

 

List the five aspects of the QUEST and then apply them to something you have read (or viewed) in the form used on pages 3-5.

 

_______Chapter 2 — Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion

Choose a meal from a literary work and apply the ideas of Chapter 2 to this literary depiction.

 

 

 

_______Chapter 3: –Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires

 

What are the essentials of the Vampire story? Apply this to a literary work you have read or viewed.

 

_______Chapter 4 — If It’s Square, It’s a Sonnet

 

Select three sonnets and show which form they are. Discuss how their content reflects the form. (Submit copies of the sonnets, marked to show your analysis).

 

_______Chapter 5 –Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before?

 

Define intertextuality. Discuss three examples that have helped you in reading specific works.

 

_______Chapter 6 — When in Doubt, It’s from Shakespeare…

 

Discuss a work that you are familiar with that alludes to or reflects Shakespeare. Show how the author uses this connection thematically. Read pages 44-46 carefully. In these pages, Foster shows how Fugard reflects Shakespeare through both plot and theme. In your discussion, focus on theme.

 

_______Chapter 7 — …Or the Bible

 

Read “Araby” (available online). Discuss Biblical allusions that Foster does not mention. Look at the example of the “two great jars.” Be creative and imaginative in these connections.

 

_______Chapter 8 — Hanseldee and Greteldum

 

Think of a work of literature that reflects a fairy tale. Discuss the parallels. Does it create irony or deepen appreciation?

 

_______Chapter 9 — It’s Greek to Me

 

Write a free verse poem derived or inspired by characters or situations from Greek mythology. Be prepared to share your poem with the class. Note that there are extensive links to classical mythology on the Internet.

 

­_______Chapter 10 — It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow

 

Discuss the importance of weather in a specific literary work, not in terms of plot.

 

Interlude — Does He Mean That

 

_______Chapter 11 –…More Than It’s Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence

 

Present examples of the two kinds of violence found in literature. Show how the effects are different.

 

 

 

 

_______Chapter 12 — Is That a Symbol?

 

Use the process described on page 106 and investigate the symbolism of the fence in “Araby.” (Mangan’s sister stands behind it.)

 

_______Chapter 13 — It’s All Political

 

Assume that Foster is right and “it is all political.” Use his criteria to show that one of the works you have read in high school is political.

 

_______Chapter 14 — Yes, She’s a Christ Figure, Too

 

Apply the criteria on page 119 to a major character in a significant literary work. Try to choose a character that will have many matches. This is a particularly apt tool for analyzing film — for example, Star Wars, Cool Hand Luke, Excalibur, Malcolm X, Braveheart, Spartacus, Gladiator and Ben-Hur.

 

_______Chapter 15 — Flights of Fancy

 

Select a literary work in which flight signifies escape or freedom. Explain in detail.

 

  Chapter 16 — It’s All About Sex…

­_______Chapter 17 — …Except the Sex

 

OK ..the sex chapters. The key idea from this chapter is that “scenes in which sex is coded rather than explicit can work at multiple levels and sometimes be more intense that literal depictions” (141). In other words, sex is often suggested with much more art and effort than it is described, and, if the author is doing his job, it reflects and creates theme or character. Choose a novel or movie in which sex is suggested, but not described, and discuss how the relationship is suggested and how this implication affects the theme or develops characterization.

 

_______Chapter 18 — If She Comes Up, It’s Baptism

 

Think of a “baptism scene” from a significant literary work. How was the character different after the experience? Discuss.

 

_______Chapter 19 — Geography Matters…

 

Discuss at least four different aspects of a specific literary work that Foster would classify under “geography.”

 

_______Chapter 20 — …So Does Season

 

Find a poem that mentions a specific season. Then discuss how the poet uses the season in a meaningful, traditional, or unusual way. (Submit a copy of the poem with your analysis.)

 

_______Interlude — One Story

 

Write your own definition for archetype. Then identify an archetypal story and apply it to a literary work with which you are familiar.

 

_______Chapter 21 — Marked for Greatness

 

Figure out Harry Potter’s scar. If you aren’t familiar with Harry Potter, select another character with a physical imperfection and analyze its implications for characterization.

 

  Chapter 22 — He’s Blind for a Reason, You Know

  Chapter 23 — It’s Never Just Heart Disease…

_______Chapter 24 — …And Rarely Just Illness

 

Recall two characters who died of a disease in a literary work. Consider how these deaths reflect the “principles governing the use of disease in literature” (215-217). Discuss the effectiveness of the death as related to plot, theme, or symbolism.

 

_______Chapter 25 — Don’t Read with Your Eyes

 

After reading Chapter 25, choose a scene or episode from a novel, play or epic written before the twentieth century.  Contrast how it could be viewed by a reader from the twenty-first century with how it might be viewed by a contemporary reader (from the century written).  Focus on specific assumptions that the author makes, assumptions that would not make it in this century.

 

_______Chapter 26 — Is He Serious? And Other Ironies

 

Select an ironic literary work and explain the multivocal nature of the irony in the work.

 

_______Chapter 27 — A Test Case

 

Read “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield, the short story starting on page 245. Complete the exercise on pages 265-266, following the directions exactly. Then compare your writing with the three examples. How did you do? What does the essay that follows comparing Laura with Persephone add to your appreciation of Mansfield’s story?

 

_______Envoi

 

Choose a motif not discussed in this book (as the horse reference on page 280) and note its appearance in three or four different works. What does this idea seem to signify?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                            Given____________

How To Write a Short Story

 

 To do a good job, a story must do these things:

     •        have an interesting main character that the reader cares about

     •        have a clearly-described setting

     •        show the main character solving–or trying to solve–a problem.

 

 

The Characters

 

 Stories need characters. Interesting characters are those that do and say interesting things. They have fears, friends, enemies, hopes for the future and favorite things they like to eat for breakfast, just as you have. In fact, I have a form that I often have students fill out before they start writing, on which they list these character details before they start writing. That way, the details are at their fingertips and they can slip them into the story at strategic points in order to make the writing more realistic. (NOTE: you need to USE these details where they would naturally show up in the story. You DON’T just list them at the beginning.) We also use those same details to generate the main problem of the story, as you will see below. Even if you don’t use the form, however, you should spend some time thinking of these character details before you get going.

 

The Setting

 

 The setting is the where and when of the story. You don’t have to go overboard in describing the setting. If everyone in the story is riding horses and hanging out in a saloon, I pretty much get the idea that the setting is somewhere in the west in the 1800’s. If the story starts with the hero riding the turbolift to the spaceport to catch the next rocket to Mars, I understand that I’m reading a science fiction story set in the future. Don’t get things mixed up, though: When you have a medieval monk take a break from his work copying books in the scriptorium to go play Nintendo 64, I’m going to get confused.

 

 A few well-placed details of setting can really set the mood. If the first scene opens in the dead of night with rain pounding against the windows and the wind howling outside, I’m ready to settle in for a really spooky story.

 

 Don’t ignore setting. It can help your story.

 

The Main Problem

 

 If you don’t have a main problem, you don’t have a story. All stories have problems that must be solved: the Good Terminator has to protect Sarah Connor from the Evil Terminator; Jim Hawkins has to elude the pirates and bring home the gold from Treasure Island; Dr. Grant has to save the kids from the rampaging dinosaurs of Jurassic Park. Let me make this clear: STORIES ARE ABOUT CHARACTERS SOLVING PROBLEMS.

 

 In class, we try to have big problems grow out of the details we have developed for our main characters. If our character wants to play professional football, what would be a good main problem for a story? Any number of things:

     •        His girlfriend–the love of his life–will leave him if he continues to play football

     •        He gets in an accident and has to fight his way back to playing condition

     •        He gets in an accident and must learn to adjust to life without football

     •        Congress passes a law prohibiting football

     •        In order to liven up the game, the NFL replaces the ball with a bomb set to explode at some randomly-determined time.

 

If the main character you’ve developed is deathly afraid of spiders, what could your story be about?

     •        Her house is invaded by millions of spiders

     •        The only job she can find is as the spider keeper at the zoo

     •        She finds herself slowly transforming into a spider

     •        She crash-lands in the jungle and must live among the !Lwana tribesmen of the Amazon basin, for whom enormous spiders are a staple food

 

You get the idea. Big problems for stories are easy to come by. A good story is about an interesting character facing–and trying to solve–a big problem.

 

Other Tips for Story-Writing Success

 

     •        Unless you’re writing a fairy tale, do not begin a story with the words, “Once upon a time” or its evil twins “One day,” “One dark night,” or anything similar.

     •        You should also avoid, “Hi, my name is…”

     •        Do use a lot of dialogue. People talk a lot, so characters in stories should, too. It brings stories to life. Just remember to make a new paragraph every time you switch speakers.

     •        Get a good mixture of dialogue and narration, so the reader can visualize the setting, what the characters are doing, and so on.

     •        Try beginning a story with either dialogue or action.

•    Don’t be afraid to rewrite. If it’s not great, fix it.

SENIOR Research Paper Information

Due Dates:

By 10/1/08 – Thesis due

By 11/3/08 – Outline due (WITH FINAL THESIS)

By 11/21/08 – EXTRA Credit  Turn-in (5 points)

On 12/1/08 – Paper due (you have had over three months)

12/2/08 – 25% off

12/3/08 – 50% off

12/4/08 – 75% off and LAST DAY TO TURN IN

Length and form:

·      Double space with standard margins (1 inch).  Font should be no larger than 12.sl

·      Always keep a copy in more than one location.  You must turn in a hard copy (no excuses).

·      You must have a title page.

      Include:

            Full Name     

            Eng IV: Period ___

            Title (required)

                  Date

·       Body 6-12 Pages of text – pictures, etc. do not count as text.

·       Highlight the thesis statement, which should appear in your first paragraph.

·       APA Citation (see hand-out or look online).  Don’t forget parenthetical notations in text.

·       Authoritative References (Minimums).  At least 50% must be literary.  Properly site for credit.

10 Total:

2 must be from books

2 may be from the Internet (watch that it is not just uneducated opinion)

6 must be authoritative  – books, journals, etc.

More and premium research will earn you a better grade.  The above are minimums.  This is a training tool for college.  Start now and you will benefit more.  Wait to the last minute and you will get a poor grade and miss the process.  If you need help, talk to me (before or after school) – early.

 

Research Paper Helps:

·      Use the sites on the student portal.  These are easy and free to you.

·      Go to a public or college library and talk to the research librarian.  Two visits required.

·      Look for versions of novels you may use that include literary analysis (Norton Critical Edition, New Riverside Editions, etc).  This material can be used as reference and will help you with your thesis.

·      Suppliment handouts with research on the Internet.

·      Start with a strong thesis statement (what your paper is trying to prove).   – Handout

 

·      Introduce content of your paper in your first paragraph (essay style)  - Handout

 

·      Document everything using APA style. – Handout

 

·      Be mindful of the research grading rubric – Handout

 

·      Look through and check-out a research notebook – Available in Class

 

Remember:

 

·      The paper must be a on a literary subject (novel, play, poetry, character, writing style, theme, motif, symbolism, etc.), not world hunger, global warning, etc.   If in question please get approval from the teacher.  This is a major grade and you do not want a zero for picking the wrong topic.

·      The paper must have a strong thesis that you are proving by your argument.   The form may be compare/contrast, or the following through on a theme, symbol, etc. 

·      Must have authoritative sources (literary and information relating to your topic).

·      Modern works will be harder to get authoritative sources for. 

 

Have Research Librarian sign (minimum of two times):

 

___________________     _____________________    __________________     ______________     _____

Print Name                               Signature                                                       Library                                Contact Number      Date

 

___________________     _____________________    __________________     ______________     _____

Print Name                               Signature                                                       Library                                Contact Number      Date

 

___________________     _____________________    __________________     ______________     _____

Print Name                               Signature                                                         Library                              Contact Number      Date

 

___________________     _____________________    __________________     ______________     _____

Print Name                               Signature                                                       Library                                Contact Number      Date

Writing Dialogue

The following dialogue is taken from the film “A Few Good Men,” to illustrate how some of you write your dialogue, and how it can be improved:

RULE #1: Use quotation marks to indicate words which are spoken by characters.



“You don’t have to answer that question!” “I’ll answer the question. You want answers?” “I think I’m entitled to them.” “You want answers?” “I want the truth!” “You can’t handle the truth!”



Now we know that these words are spoken, but by whom? Before we can answer that, we have to make this look right by putting each line and speaker in its own paragraph.



RULE #2: Always start a new paragraph when changing speakers. You cannot have two people speaking in the same paragraph.  

         

“You don’t have to answer that question!”


“I’ll answer the question. You want answers?”
         

“I think I’m entitled to them.”
         

“You want answers?”
         

 “I want the truth!”
         

“You can’t handle the truth!”



Now we can identify who is speaking. The most obvious way to do that is with a speech tag, i.e., placing a phrase like John said, “… at the beginning of the quotation or …,” said John at the end. There are other ways to write and place speech tags, as we shall see. You don’t need a speech tag for every line of dialogue, and there are situations where a speech tag should not be used. The important thing is that the reader is always intuitively aware of who is speaking.

RULE #3: Make sure the reader knows who is speaking. 


RULE #4: Use correct punctuation, capitalization and spacing.

“You don’t have to answer that question!” said the Judge.


“I’ll answer the question. You want answers?” said Jessop.
         

“I think I’m entitled to them,” said Kaffee.
         

“You want answers?” said Jessop.
         

 “I want the truth!” said Kaffee.
         

 “You can’t handle the truth!” said Jessop.



OK, this is grammatically correct, but what’s the trouble with it? There’s not much to it, obviously; we hear what the characters are saying, but that’s all. Consider the following:

         

The Judge turned swiftly toward the witness and declared, “You don’t have to answer that question!”
         

“I’ll answer the question,” Jessop said coldly, fixing his eyes on Kaffee. He asked the defense attorney, “You want answers?”
         

“I think I’m entitled to them,” Kaffee replied.
         

Jessop asked again, more forcefully, as if scolding an errant recruit, “You want answers?”
         

“I want the truth!” Kaffee shouted, banging his fist on the counsel table in defiance of Jessop’s intimidating presence. The court members sat in stunned silence.
         

The colonel leaned forward, rising to his feet, and thundered, “You can’t handle the truth!”  



This is overkill, obviously; the opposite extreme from the examples above, an attempt to demonstrate everything a writer could possibly do within six lines of dialogue. The key is to write dialogue that is useful to the story; to maintain the narrative flow and use speech judiciously, so the reader can visualize the dynamic of the conversation, but more importantly to create dialogue that actually helps move the story along. Remember that your story is not a movie, so you don’t necessarily need to provide everything the characters say. You don’t want the text to deteriorate into “stenographic renderings of empty scenes.” 



Most of the time, simply adding an adverb to the word “said” doesn’t accomplish much, in fact it can be ineffective and useless. Better to write the dialogue so the reader can discern the character’s tone of voice and state of mind from the spoken words themselves, and the context of the story. Using verbs other than “said,” “asked” and “replied” is another possibility, but this should be done thoughtfully and sparingly, only where the type of speech really needs to be indicated. Again, if the dialogue itself is written well enough to carry the emotional dynamic, this shouldn’t be necessary. You also don’t want to make the mistake of using transitive verbs like “told,” “stated,” “quoted” and “questioned” in speech tags, creating grammatical problems.



Vary the use and placement of speech tags. Don’t always identify the speaker in the same place; you can do it at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end. Once the characters and the flow of their conversation have been established, you may not need speech tags. The important thing is that the reader instinctively knows who is speaking; speech tags are only one way to accomplish that. And, if the quotation is long (more than one brief sentence or clause), DO NOT place a speech tag at the end; do it at the beginning, or at the first punctuation stop, or eliminate the speech tag and identify the speaker another way. It’s disconcerting to the reader when what he thinks has been a string of sentences turns out to be all one sentence. 

You also don’t want to place the speech tag at the end of the quotation if the character is speaking for the first time, has not yet been introduced, or has not otherwise been identified before he begins to speak; again, the reader should know who is speaking the moment he sees the first quotation mark.



Use narrative sentences to show the character’s concurrent acts, thoughts and/or perceptions. Don’t just show the reader what’s being said; intersperse sentences, clauses and phrases that illustrate what the characters are doing while the conversation is going on. You can also use sentences to identify the speaker and alleviate the need for a speech tag: Jenny put down the pen and closed her diary. “I’ll be right there, mom.” 



Ultimately, writing effective dialogue depends a great deal on the writer’s control of the language, storytelling skill, sensibility for how people really talk, and most importantly, experience with and appreciation for reading fiction.



Thanks to author Don Bredes for ideas and enlightenment on this topic. 


Character Profile Worksheet

 

Basic Statistics:

 

Name:

Age:

Nationality:

Socioeconomic Level as a child:

Socioeconomic Level as an adult:

Hometown:

Current Residence:

Occupation:

Income:

Talents/Skills:

 

Salary:

Birth order:

Siblings (describe relationship):

 

Spouse (describe relationship):

 

Children (describe relationship):

 

Grandparents (describe relationship):

 

Grandchildren (describe relationship):

 

Significant Others (describe relationship):

 

Relationship skills:

 

 

Physical Characteristics:

 

Height:

Weight:

Race:

Eye Color:

Hair Color:

Glasses or contact lenses?

Skin color:

Shape of Face:

Distinguishing features:

 

How does he/she dress?

 

Mannerisms:

 

Habits: (smoking, drinking etc.)

Health:

Hobbies:

Favorite Sayings:

 

Speech patterns:

Disabilities:

Style (Elegant, shabby etc.):

Greatest flaw:

 

Best quality:

 

 

Intellectual/Mental/Personality Attributes and Attitudes

 

Educational Background:

Intelligence Level:

Any Mental Illnesses?

Learning Experiences:

 

Character’s short-term goals in life:

 

Character’s long-term goals in life:

 

How does Character see himself/herself?

 

How does Character believe he/she is perceived by others?

 

How self-confident is the character?

Does the character seem ruled by emotion or logic or some combination thereof?

 

What would most embarrass this character?

 

 

Emotional Characteristics

 

Strengths/Weaknesses:

 

Introvert or Extrovert?

 

How does the character deal with anger?

 

With sadness?

 

With conflict?

 

With change?

 

With loss?

 

What does the character want out of life?

 

 

What would the character like to change in his/her life?

 

 

What motivates this character?

 

 

What frightens this character?

 

 

What makes this character happy?

 

 

Is the character judgmental of others?

 

 

Is the character generous or stingy?

 

Is the character generally polite or rude?

 

 

Spiritual Characteristics

 

Does the character believe in God?

 

What are the character’s spiritual beliefs?

 

Is religion or spirituality a part of this character’s life?

 

If so, what role does it play?

 

 

Relationships with other characters:

 

1.   Character’s Name: — (Describe relationship with this character and changes to relationship over the course of the novel).

 

 

 

2.   Character’s Name: — (Describe relationship with this character and changes to relationship over the course of the novel).

 

 

 

3.   Character’s Name: — (Describe relationship with this character and changes to relationship over the course of the novel).

 

 

 

4.   Character’s Name: — (Describe relationship with this character and changes to relationship over the course of the novel).

 

 

 

 

How character is different at the end of the novel from when the novel began:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Notes on This Character:

ASSIGNMENT LOG

 

 

Assignment	Parent Signature	Date Assigned	Date Due	Long Term

 

 

Student Name: ________________________­­____­­­­­    Period_______    Class_____________