“The Censors”
Luisa Valenzuela
Journal Writing
O What does it mean if something is censored?
O What is the purpose of censoring?
O Do you think that censoring is an acceptable
practice? Why or why not?
O Have you ever been censored? If so, where,
when, and about what?
Activity
O What is censorship? What types of things get
censored?
O http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxFIzGvoUCI
O Do you think that some people or things are censored
more than others? Why?
O http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQpZp8Vn1tw
O Do you think that censorship is overused?
O http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLsyzRKs8bw
O http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwQLyTdEGpc
Irony
O Irony: an outcome of events contrary to what was, or
might have been, expected.
O In other words, the opposite of what you expected or
intended occurs.
O For example, the government decided to put "Parental
Advisory Explicit Lyrics" labels on music albums to
prevent impressionable children from buying certain
music (this is an example of censorship by the way). The
result was that children became more inclined to buy the
black labeled albums because of it. The opposite of what
was intended occurred. That is irony.
Review
O Situational Irony
O Dramatic Irony
O http://ed.ted.com/lesso
O http://ed.ted.com/lesso
ns/situational-irony-theopposite-of-what-youthink-christopher-warner
ns/in-on-a-secret-that-sdramatic-ironychristopher-warner
Tone
O Tone: the speaker's, narrator's, or author’s attitude
towards the subject in the piece of literature
O In other words, how does the author, speaker, or
narrator feel about the subject at hand?
O Formal
O Informal
O Condescending
O Sarcastic
O Playful
O Serious
O Ironic
Biography
O Born in Buenos Aires
O Writer in Residence at Columbia
and New York Universities
O Received a Guggenheim
scholarship and was a Fulbright
Fellow
O Published six novels and eight
short story collections, which
have been translated into
various languages -- all into
English
O She is studied in universities in
the United States, England and
Australia
Reading
O Listen as I read “The Censors” to you
O Identify the tone of the story
O Identify any irony found in the story
O Please annotate and mark important passages
as I read.
Summary
The story centers on a young man named Juan, who
takes a job with the government censorship office in
order to intercept a letter he’d mailed to his friend,
Mariana. Mariana had fled the country for Paris, and
Juan knows that his letter may jeopardize her safety and
his own. The plot turns ironic when Juan becomes so
obsessed with his job that he ends up censoring his own
letter, thereby incriminating himself and causing his own
destruction.
Discussion & Questions
O Working with your seat O Do you think that Juan’s
concerns about Mariana are
partner, respond to the
justified, or do you think
questions on this and
Juan is being paranoid?
the following slides
Explain!
O What kind of
O Explain why Juan applies for
environment does
a job as a censor.
Juan live in?
O Explain why the Post Office’s
Specifically, what
Censorship Division accepts
textual references can
Juan as a candidate, despite
you quote that convey
the fact that they suspect
the sense of that
ulterior motives.
environment?
Discussion and Questions
O Describe the changes in behavior that Juan incurs after
he starts his new job.
O Explain the irony regarding Juan’s sharpened instincts
for subversive messages in letters.
O Juan’s obsession with being the “perfect censor”
reaches ridiculous and exaggerated proportions.
Analyze how the writer’s use of exaggeration suggests
her purpose in writing this story.
Questions and Discussion
O How is the line “he censored it without regret” an
example of situational irony?
O Explain what the writer means by referring to Juan as
“one more victim of his devotion to his work”. What
theme is suggested by this final phrase?
O Write a thesis statement expressing the story’s theme
and using three examples from the story to support
your position. Start your thesis statement with:
O Louisa Valenzuela’s “The Censors” explores…
Review: Define EACH term
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
Plot
Conflict
Theme
Thesis
Characterization
Tone
Satire
Irony
O Situational Irony
O Dramatic Irony
Conflict
O An inherent incompatibility between the objectives of
two or more characters or forces
O Effect – creates tension and interest by adding doubt to
the outcome
O Literature is not limited to a single conflict
O Types:
O Internal
O External
Internal Conflict
O Occurs within the
character’s own mind
O Types:
O Man against Self – a
struggle within the mind of
the character
O Character can be faced
with choices, paths,
his/her own nature, urges,
etc. (Gollum/Smeagle and
Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde)
External Conflict
O Occurs between a character and external forces
O Types:
O Man against Man – characters are against each other,
either in direct opposition or more subtly, such as a
shared love interest (Mean Girls)
O Man against Society – man stands against a man-made
institution (government, slavery, etc.) (Total Recall)
O Man against Nature – positions a character against an
animal or a force of nature (The Grey)
Characterization
O The way in which an author chooses to reveal a
character to his/her reader/audience
O Direct characterization – the author directly tells you
O Indirect characterization – the reader must infer what type
of person the character is based on clues within the story
O Types of characters:
O Protagonist – main character
O Antagonist – anything/one who opposes the protagonist
O Flat character – not well-developed
O Round character – well-developed
O Static character – stays the same
O Dynamic character – changes throughout the course of the
story
Activity
O You will be working in groups to analyze elements from
the story we just read.
O Each group will focus on a different element. These
include: characters, conflict, humor, plot, and theme.
O Each group will be given a handout to complete as you
analyze your literary element.
O You must cite examples from the story to support your
assertions.
Activity
O After each group has had about 30 minutes
of group discussion time, each group will
make a presentation of its findings to the
class, while other students evaluate the
presentations.
O You will be graded on your group
participation, your presentation, and your
participation in the evaluation process.
Groups 1st Block
O Characters:
O Conflict:
O Plot:
O Theme:
O Humor/Irony:
Groups 3rd Block
O Conflict: Nique
O Characters: Joseph
O Plot: Seth
O Humor/Irony: Ja’cquez
O Theme: Gregory
Groups 4th Block
O Conflict: Demonte, Jacob D,
O
O
O
O
Chase, Victoria
Characters: Jacob H.B.,
Christian, Sabera, Dominick,
Emmanuel G.
Plot: Dante, Sam, Ty’Rell,
Dominique, Kelbi
Humor/Irony: Hayley, Simeon,
Edrik, Morice, Jourdan
Theme: Aalyiah, Briana, Michael,
Jared, Emmanuel M.
Presentations
O As a group, come to the front and present
your finding.
O Your presentation doesn’t need to be
elaborate, but it does need to be thorough.
Each member should contribute something.
O Those of you in the audience should
complete the evaluation form. Do not talk
during another group’s presentation.
Exit Card
O What does irony mean?
O Give an example of irony.
O How does Valenzuela incorporate dark humor
into her story “The Censors”?
O Give your exit card to me as you leave class.