English Composition II: ENGL 112Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Plan for Today

Section 1 (5:15-6:45)

– Submit Paper Copy of Essay 1

– Week 4 Quiz

– Lecture on Character and Drama

– Begin Discussion of A Raisin in the Sun, Act 1

Section 2 (7:00-8:30)

– Discussion of A Raisin in the Sun, Act 1

– Read section of A Raisin in the Sun aloud

Section 3 (8:45-10:15)

– Essay 2 Assignment and Prewriting

– Assign Homework

Week 4 Quiz

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

DramaReading and Writing About Drama

Literary Terms Related to Drama (pp 1249-1250)

Divisions

– Acts:

– Scenes:

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

A Raisin in the SunDiscussion of Act 1

A Raisin in the Sun, Act 1

How was the experience of reading drama different from fiction?

How did the stage directions impact your reading?

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

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

Which character did you identify with the most? Which was most sympathetic? Were there any you didn’t identify with or find sympathetic?

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

Paper 2 – Literary AnalysisAssignment and Prewriting

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 Prewriting

Choose which option you will write about: [1] Literary Devices and Theme OR [2] Film Adaptation

Select story (can be anything we’ve read so far this semester, but can’t be one of the stories you discussed in Essay 1)

Determine your thoughts about the larger meaning:• [1] What is the theme of the story?

• [2] What will be the larger meaning/point of your film version?

Decide which three literary devices you will use as support: setting, point of view, style, tone, symbolism, allegory, myth, characterization, foreshadowing, and flashback

Write about how each of those three literary devices • [1] contributes to the reader’s understand of the theme you identified

• [2] will appear/be modified in film version to support the larger meaning

Homework

Reading (always including textual introductions):

– Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun (remainder of text from where we finished in class to p 1400)

– "Character," 1459-1469

– "Theme," 1851-1855

Assignment

– Bring 2 copies of Essay 2 (first draft) to class for Writing Workshop

– Email your draft and a question to me by noon next Tuesday if you want feedback on your draft