American Literature-11th grade
Ms. Onstott
Authors: What’s the Point?
Through the last few days, we have read “Good Country People”, “A Good Man is Hard to
Find”, and “Videotape”. I have only provided you with the reading and a few questions to think
about as you read. Now I am giving you a worksheet to incorporate into your writing at the end
of this unit. Everything you write on this paper will be used in your essay.
Why do I have you read these weird stories?
Well, I want you to be able to pick up on the reasons why authors write the way they do. (Their
style—you have to incorporate some vocabulary otherwise I have failed you.) It is important to
understand who these people are exactly and what might have influenced them to write the way
they do. (Twilight’s author might not have had a true reason to write about Bella and Edward but
these writers had purpose.)
Assignment: You will learn more about Flannery O’Connor and Don Delillo. By learning about
these authors, students will have a better understanding connecting the author’s lives to their
work. Remember F. Scott Fitzgerald? The writer of The Great Gatsby had put a lot of his own
life into the lives of his characters of Jay Gatz and Nick Carraway. At the end of this assignment,
you are expected to write an essay based on the prompt:
Often in literature, authors will write about their time period and incorporate their
backgrounds into the lives of the characters of their works. In a well-organized
essay, explain how Flannery O’Connor’s and Don Delillo’s works reflect the
times in which they lived. Possible literary devices to incorporate include setting,
allusions, bibliomancy, and diction.
The following page of this assignment is your research collecting part. I have put some basic
questions on the sheet for you to answer as you go through with your research.
“What websites should I use?” you ask.
I suggest looking through Britannica and the Purdue Online Writing Lab website for help. These
sites have a lot of information to offer students and they do not only pertain to English. These
websites are online database research engines that can be used for general research on anything.
REMEMBER!! If you every have any questions, feel free to ask me and any of the other
students in the class for assistance.
When where they born?
How/when did they die?
Children?
Other works? (List)
Question
Flannery O’Connor
Don Delillo
Where are they from?
Influences?
Works similar to theirs
(optional question in case you
have some in mind)
Anything you learn that
surprises you
about them here.
If you haven’t already, compare and contrast the stories. What makes “Videotape” different than
“Good Country People”? What makes “Videotape” different from “A Good Man is Hard to
Find”? What about “Good Country People” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find”? What makes
them similar?
“Videotape” Questions (Even if you do not incorporate these thoughts in your essay, it would
help your process immensely if you answered these):
1) Who is the main character of “Videotape”? If you can think of several, consider how each
answer would affect the focus of the story and thus its theme and message.
2) What evidence of traditional elements of plot, such as conflict, rising action, and climax
do you find in “Videotape”? How does DeLillo subvert and change some of these?
3) Can you consider the point of view of this story to be second person? The speaker
addresses the reader and yet the reader doesn’t have a wife named Janet…or any wife at
all. How does the “you” of the story become another character but also represent the
reader? How does this technique enhance and change the story?
4) Based on your reading of the story, what is the message regarding mass media and the
impact of media on our society? Find evidence in the story to support your ideas.
“Good Country People” Questions
1) Pay attention to the names everyone is given in this story. Do you see anything
interesting about them? Ironic? Weird?
2) What’s the point of adding the bible salesman in the story?
3) What does “good country people” mean?
4) How many references to comparing and contrasting can you find?
5) Is this story in favor of religion or against it? Why even bring up the fight about
Hulga/Joy’s education and the thought of religion?
6) Is the bible selling man good or bad?
“A Good Man is hard to find”
1)
2)
3)
4)
Who is truly responsible for the car accident?
Gender: What do you notice about the women and men in this story?
Why did the family meet the Misfit? What do you think was the point of that irony?
Are there any elements of this story that coincide with O’Connor’s “Good Country
People”?
5) Why did the cat come up to the Misfit at the end? What does this mean?
6) Who is the real bad guy (antagonist) in this story?
As my final gift to you, I am incorporating the rubric for this assignment. Please take the
time to review it so that you may have a stronger essay. 
Criteria
Thesis
0
No thesis
present.
1-2
Thesis is
apparent but
does not lay
out the rest
of the
essay/no
connection.
3-4
Thesis is
apparent and
properly
connects to the
prompt but the
following
paragraphs do
not connect.
5
Thesis is
apparent and
properly
connects to
the prompt.
This rating
means that
you can
connect your
main ideas
from the
thesis in the
Score
/5
Grammar/Spelling
Completion of the
questions/Analysis
Content
Multiple
spelling
mistakes
made,
simplest
form of
words used,
and personal
pronouns
used.
The student
did not
attempt to
answer the
questions;
therefore, no
analysis.
The essay is
completely
off topic.
Nine spelling
errors,
simple
terminology
used, as well
as personal
pronouns.
Six spelling
errors, simple
terminology
used. Personal
pronouns used
sparingly.
Questions
answered for
only one
author or
only half of
the questions
are answered
for each
author. Little
to no
analysis.
Questions are
answered but
lack complete
understanding.
The student
did not come to
the teacher or
any classmates
for help. Meets
the
requirement of
one piece of
analysis for
each piece of
evidence.
The essay
follows the
basic fiveparagraph
structure,
and five
sentences in
each
paragraph.
No evidence
or proper
explanations
are used.
The essay
flows from
paragraph to
paragraph in
an easy to
follow fashion.
All examples
are explained
thoroughly;
connect back
to the thesis
and one
another.
rest of your
essay.
Three or less
spelling
errors, proper
language and
terminology
used. No
personal
pronouns
used.
Questions are
answered to
the best of the
students’
ability and
they
demonstrated
the ability to
get help if
they did not
understand
something.
Analysis
present and
thoroughly
explained.
The essay
flows from
paragraph to
paragraph in
an easy to
follow
fashion. All
examples are
explained
thoroughly;
connect back
to the thesis
and one
another.
Properly
includes
literary
devices.
/5
/5
/5
Compared the works Did not
compare the
stories.
Properly laid out the
essay
The essay
does not
follow the
thesis and
has five
randomly
placed
paragraphs.
Slightly
mentions the
works but
does not go
into detail
about them.
Compares at
least two of the
works with two
examples and
justification
for them.
The essay
slightly gets
off topic
when
compared to
the thesis
and is only
five
paragraphs
long.
The essay is on
track with the
thesis and has
more than five
paragraphs
that go from
the weakest
point to the
strongest with
compare and
contrasting
examples.
Total Score x6 =
Additional Comments:
Compares all
three works
with three
examples and
justification.
The student
demonstrates
complete
knowledge
with their
control of
diction.
The essay is
completely
tuned with
the thesis, has
more than
five
paragraphs,
proper
examples, and
concludes in a
way that
challenges the
reader.
/5
/5