QUEST 8th Grade Summer Reading Assignment: Dialectical Journal to Analyze the Main Character
1. You are to keep a dialectical journal over your summer reading assignment novel.
o What is a dialectical journal?
It is a journal that records a dialogue, or conversation, between the ideas in the text (the words
that you are reading) and the ideas of the reader (the person who is doing the reading).
Your journal should reflect the whole novel – from exposition through resolution.
o Your dialectical journal should follow a specific format as described below.
1. Write the title of the novel at the top of the page.
2. Create a folded “T” bar down the remainder of your paper (the left side will be about 1/3 of the page,
the right side 2/3 of the page)
3. Label the left side: “Quotes”
4. Label the right side: “Commentary”
As you read the novel, write down at least 15 quotes and page numbers (in the left-hand column, “Quotes”) that relate
to or involve the MAIN CHARACTER in your novel. These will be quotes that
o Catch your attention,
o You don’t quite understand,
o You question about the character,
o Is something about the character that reminds you of something you’ve seen, heard about, or
experienced, or
o Something you’d like to address or explore more thoroughly.
In the right-hand column, “Commentary”, label the type of comment you are making about the quote you chose.
(Remember your quotes are about the MAIN CHARACTER.)
o The types of comments should be a combination of the following six types:
• Question/Prediction • Analyze/Evaluate • Personal Connection • Reflect • Interpret • Interact
What do I record? This table provides instructions for your dialectical journal.
Quotes (page number)
Write a sentence, quote or passage that is
significant, powerful, thought provoking or
puzzling to you as it relates to the MAIN
CHARACTER (include the page number).
Commentary
Write a commentary (reaction/response) as it relates to the quote.
Question/Predict: While you read, ask questions about the
character or try to predict actions of the character based on
the quote.
Connect: Relate to personal experiences. Relate to life, self,
or others. Compare and/or contrast.
Analyze/Evaluate: Analyze the quote. Form opinions and
develop your own judgments about the character and your
own ideas about events taking place at this point in the
novel. What is the author trying to say about the character?
The quotes you choose:
• May relate to the character’s challenges,
struggles, hardships, joys, or memories.
• May remind you of something.
• May make you think, question or realize
something.
• May be something the character said that was
pleasing or disturbing or confusing.
• May address a change in the character or a
behavior that is out of the ordinary.
Reflect: What does the quote say about all people and
humanity? What does it say about the other characters in the
book?
Interact: Argue with or speak to the character.
• May be something else that stands out as
powerful to you about the character.
o
Interpret: Determine the meaning of what you’ve read, and
relate it to the character’s traits, personality, or values.
What does this look like? Example of a partial dialectical journal is shared in the table on the next page.
QUEST 8th Grade Summer Reading Assignment: Dialectical Journal to Analyze the Main Character
Example: Dialectical Journal for The Outsiders (Remember, your journal has at least 15 quotes and comments.)
Quotes (page number)
“That was the truth. Socs were always
behind a wall of aloofness, careful not to let
their real selves show through…
That’s why we’re separated, I said. “It’s not
the money, it’s feeling – you don’t feel
anything and we feel too violently.” (p.38)
“I heard someone coming up through the
dead leaves toward the back of the church,
and I ducked inside the door. Then I heard
a whistle, long and low, ending in a sudden
high note. I knew that whistle well enough.
It was used by us and the Shepard gang for
“who’s there?” (p.70)
“Then I hurried to take a shower and
change clothes. Me and Soda and Darry
always got spruced up before a rumble.
And besides, we wanted to show those Socs
we weren’t trash, that we were just as good
as they were.” (p.132)
Commentary
Interpret:
Ponyboy and Cherry are discussing their roles in society and realizing
their commonalities. They are also realizing that the stereotype that they
had always held onto of money being the dividing factor is actually
incorrect and that they are really divided by the ability to truly FEEL
things.
Question/Predict
Who is whistling, and is it a sign of danger? They are in the church and
on the run after the murder. Could this whistle be a friend or foe? Are
they going to be found out, or is there help coming? I predict that they
will have assistance for a short time, but that danger will soon follow. I
think this because of the fact that they have just committed a serious
crime, and there is no way they can get away with it. Is there?
Reflect
This statement says a lot about society and stereotypes. Ponyboy was
self conscious enough of his social status that he wanted to be
presentable for a rumble! The pride (or is it false pride?) that this
reflects is remarkable. It speaks to humanity as a whole in that we
divide ourselves into these arbitrary classes and do all that we can to
preserve the “face” of those classes. Ponyboy, Darry and Soda were not
trash, but they were so afraid that they were perceived as such that they
cleaned up for the fight…to at least look good.
2. Character Questions
The below are guiding questions for your dialectical journal. You do not need to answer all the questions; these questions
merely give you some things to consider as you read your summer reading novel and keep your journal.
o How does the main character VIEW him/herself? How do OTHER characters view the main character?
o How does the SETTING affect the main character? Does the CHARACTER CHANGE when the SETTING
CHANGES?
o What EXTERNAL challenges does the main character face? Does he/she overcome these challenges?
o Does the main character face any INTERNAL challenges? If so, what are they, and how does the character deal
with these internal challenges? How do the INTERNAL challenges impact the character?
o How does the main character CHANGE over the course of the story? What causes the character to change?
o What MOTIVATES the main character’s actions?
o What events from the main character’s past SHAPE or IMPACT his/her personality in the story? What is
important to the main character? What does the main character VALUE? WHY?
o What TALENTS does the main character have? What WEAKNESSES?
o If you have to choose 10 ADJECTIVES to describe the main character, what would those be?
3. Character Traits
In addition to the questions above, analyze the main character in terms of the following character traits. Be prepared to
discuss these in class.
o Physical – what the main character looks like
o Mental – what the main character thinks
o Emotional – what the main character feels
o Behavioral – How the main character behaves, acts or reacts
o Relational – How the main character relates to others
o Spiritual – What the main character believes in, his or her core values
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