daviscityhigh.files.wordpress.com file · Web viewThink and wonder, wonder and think. Exploring Dr. Seuss. Assignment: Write an essay supporting your analysis of one element of a

English 9: Writing About Literature

Think and wonder, wonder and think.Exploring Dr. Seuss

Assignment: Write an essay supporting your analysis of one element of a Dr. Seuss book.

Why Seuss? Dr. Seuss books are perfect for us to analyze. We can summarize what the stories are about, but they also have deeper messages, themes, that child readers wouldn’t notice.

Which Seuss? The following titles will work best for this assignment: Yertle the Turtle Horton Hears a Who Horton Hatches the Egg What Was I Scared Of?

The Sneetches The Lorax Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose Gertrude McFuzz

How Do I Go About This?1. Choose a story to read carefully. Read it a few times to be sure you notice lots of

details.2. Distinguish between summary and analysis (page 2). Decide what the story is about

literally, and then decide what the story is really about.3. Pick an element of the story to analyze, like a theme, a character, or a symbol.4. Plan your thesis and evidence (page 3 & 5).5. Begin drafting your essay with an introduction, at least three body paragraphs, and a

conclusion.

What Else Should I Know? This is a formal analysis, which means you will generally not use “you” or “I.” Write about literature in the present tense (ex: Horton carries the egg with him;

Thidwick allows the creatures to nest in his horns). Use your best vocabulary. Avoid contractions and starting sentences with FANBOYS words (for, and, nor, but, or,

yet, so). Assume your reader has read the book. Italicize or underline book titles. Avoid slang and clichés. Double space your final draft.

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Summary: What the story is literally about; what happensEx: Horton Hears a Who is literally about an elephant who protects a tiny community from harm.

Analysis: What the story is ABOUT-- what is the meaning the author is creating (theme). This is where you examine how elements of the story are important to understanding the author’s message.

The kangaroos represent human’s ability to learn to respect others.Horton represents the very best of humanity. The vulture seems to represent evil and exploitation. Interesting that it is red and has a Russian name—related to Cold War?The author’s message is that all creatures, no matter how small, deserve protection from more powerful creatures.

Try this with your book.

Book title:______________________________________________________

Summary: What the story is literally about; what happens

Analysis: What is the story ABOUT? There are many possibilities for every book. Listen to your group members and list as many ideas as possible.

Which elements of the story are important to understanding the author’s message?

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Once you’ve decided what you will analyze, you will write your thesis, or your main argument in the essay. The THESIS is the single most important sentence in your essay because it establishes the focus/purpose of your essay.

The thesis: is the main idea or argument that a paper makes. is usually the last sentence of the introduction. relates to every body paragraph. In each paragraph, the author must show readers how the

ideas presented support the thesis.

A Good thesis: is argumentative/debatable.

Because the argument in the thesis should be debatable, it will not center around the most obvious points of the text.Ex. of a thesis with this problem: Romeo and Juliet is a play about family loyalty.Better thesis: Throughout Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare uses images of light and darkness to portray Juliet’s moral dilemma.

explains both what you see in the text and why that is significant to a larger idea (the so what).Often the “so what” is your debatable point about what the author is trying to do or what the author inadvertently does in the text. This is the moment when you create meaning.Ex. of a thesis with no “so what”: Money plays an important role throughout the novel Moll Flanders.Ex. of a better thesis: Moll Flanders’ language exemplifies her obsession with economics in every facet of her life and serves as a vehicle for Defoe’s critique of capitalism.

is analytical, not evaluative.The job of a literary critic is to create meaning by looking closely at the text; it is not to make moral judgments about characters or texts. Do not make evaluative judgments in analytical writing.Ex. of a thesis with this problem: In its departure from familiar metrical forms of the day, Whitman’s Leaves of Grass brings poetry into a wonderful new era.Ex. Whitman’s revolutionary form and content in Leaves of Grass challenge social conventions of his day.

has a strong verb.

Ideas for Strong Verbsto conclude to suppose to reflect to emphasize to acknowledge to justify to assert to exemplify to suggest to question to discount to maintain to critique to extol to refuteto claim to challenge to contend to reject to elucidate to account for to reflect to describe to fail to acknowledge /understand/ comprehend

Thesis:

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Identify the specific words you will look at carefully to explain the connection between the quote and the point


Topic sentence to support thesis

One thing that makes Horton an example of the ideal human being is his desire to help others.


Even when others challenge him in this mission to protect the small, Horton remains loyal to his calling.


Horton also provides a model of how all humans should respect others

Quote from the story to prove



…Some poor little person who’s shaking with fear” (6) “I’ll just have to save him” (6). “’I can’t let my very small persons get drowned! I’ve got to protect them. I’m bigger than they’” (14).

“

“’A person’s a person, not matter how small!’” “’…you very small persons will not have to die if you make yourselves heard!’”

“on through the afternoon, hour after hour…Till he found them at last! On the three millionth flower!” “beat him! They mauled him!”

fear

protect

small

bigger

on through

hour after hour

beat

maul

person

No matter how small

yourselves

heard

Thesis:Horton the Elephant represents what is best in humanity and proves that one person can make can make the world a better place.

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Identify the specific words you will look at carefully to explain the connection between the quote and the point





Quote from the story to prove this



Planning Sheet

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Essay StructureIntroduction:

Write a sentence to grab the reader’s attention.

Write a couple of sentences to give the story name, the author name, and a quick overview of key ideas in the book.

Write your thesis.

Body: You’ll construct at least three body paragraphs where you will prove your interpretation of the text. This is where you show your reader how you see what you see in the text and why it means what you say it means.

How to Build an Analytical Body Paragraphs

Your body paragraphs have four parts:

1. Topic sentence – this sentence explains how your paragraph will support your thesis, and it is the boss of the paragraph. Everything else in the paragraph has to connect to this sentence.

2. Context – this sentence (or part of a sentence) explains what’s happening in the story right around the time the quote comes up.

3. Evidence – this sentence or these sentences include the actual quote from the story, and they include it so that it’s a meaningful part of the sentence.

4. Analysis –these sentences explain how the quote proves your topic sentence, and as a result how it proves your thesis.

ConclusionTry to move beyond the summary of the key points. Consider explaining how the message from the book is still relevant or insightful to our society. Connect the book to other important texts. Discuss

Transitions are words or phrases that show readers the relationships between ideas in different paragraphs and within the same paragraph. Use transitions in your topic sentences to connect paragraphs. Some

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examples of transitions: first, later, next, in addition to, not only…but also, however, finally

A SAMPLE ESSAY

Mrs. DavisEnglish 9

Horton Heeds His Human Nature

A recent television commercial shows a series of individuals performing good deeds: A

man drops the hot dog he just bought on the ground, and the vendor immediately replaces it at

no charge. A woman walking by sees this random act of kindness and goes on to perform one of

her own in the next scene; it continues from there as each good deed inspires another. This

commercial is a reminder of the value of helping others without any thought of personal gain.

Of course, this idea isn’t new. This inspiration can be found everywhere, especially within the

pages of our favorite children’s books. A childhood favorite of many, Dr. Seuss inspired and

entertained children with his zany stories and his playful language. The inspiration to be a good

person and do good deeds is at the heart of his story, Horton Hears a Who. Horton the

Elephant represents what is best in humanity and proves that one person can make can make

the world a better place.

One thing that makes Horton an example of the ideal human being is his desire to help

others. When Horton first hears a noise from the speck, he imagines “…Some poor little person

who’s shaking with fear” (6) and immediately decides “I’ll just have to save him” (6). To keep

the speck safe, he places it on a clover, saying, “’I can’t let my very small persons get drowned!

I’ve got to protect them. I’m bigger than they’” (14). Without thought of reward or praise,

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Horton acts to save the creatures on the clover. He sympathizes with their fear and sees it as

his fundamental responsibility to protect them. What motivates Horton is his fundamental

sense of human decency, his knowledge that the strong must protect the weak, at all costs.

Even when others challenge him in this mission to protect the small, Horton remains

loyal to his calling. Vlad Vlad-i-koff drops the clover into the field of clovers, but Horton never

relents: he searched

“on through the afternoon, hour after hour…Till he found them at last! On the three millionth

flower!” Horton never gives up, despite the tedium of searching the clover field. Later, when

the Wickershams “beat him! They mauled him!” he still persists. In the face of this abuse,

Horton remains loyal to his sense of obligation to the Whos. He is willing to sacrifice himself for

others.

In addition to his unselfish devotion, Horton also provides a model of how all humans

should respect others. Throughout the story, his mantra is, “’A person’s a person, not matter

how small!’” He assures the Whos, “’…you very small persons will not have to die if you make

yourselves heard!’” Before Horton can convince the other creatures that the Whos exist, he

must convince the Whos to assert themselves. Because he convinces the Whos that every

creature’s voice counts, he is able to save the Whos and to convince the kangaroos that the

Whos exist. He reminds all of us how valuable each person’s voice and existence is.

In Horton Hears a Who, Dr. Seuss creates a world very much like our own: stronger

creatures abuse and intimidate smaller ones, and a hero emerges to defend the weak. That

hero is Horton the Elephant, a creature who represents all that is good in human nature. No

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matter what happens to him, Horton fiercely defends the Whos and does everything he can to

help them. In the end, he teaches the Whos and all his jungle friends that every single

creature’s voice counts. Perhaps, though, no voice is as important as that of Horton himself,

who reminds us that goodness rests at the core of our human nature.

WORDS OF WISDOM

Discuss the topic of your paper rather than the book. Yes, you are analyzing the book, but you are analyzing a topic in the book, so that should be your focus. The only time you mention the book should be in the introduction when you introduce the book and explain how your topic is dealt with in the book.

You do not need to use the words thesis, topic, sentence, context, or analysis in your paper. Do not refer to the physicality or structure of your paper. Merely state the point you have to make about the topic.

Each topic sentence should specifically state the idea of the paragraph. Try to be clear and concise in your topic sentence.

When analyzing the quote, please refrain from saying, “this quote says” or “in this quote.” Just state your point.The biggest thing that I want you to focus on is using the language of the quote to show your reader HOW it creates the meaning you say is there.

I’d like you to read your essay out loud before finalizing the draft. This will help you hear where your sentences may be incomplete, convoluted, confusing, or unclear.

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