Name _______________________________ Date____________ Per. _____
English 9
A Separate Peace
Body Biography Museum Sign/Character Analysis Paragraphs
Have you ever been to a museum where you looked at a piece of art and went "huh?" before noticing a hopefully
helpful sign next to the painting explaining it? Today, you’ll imagine that your body biography is a work of art worthy of
a museum wall (!), and write the sign that hangs next to it explaining the chosen symbolism of your character but also
analyzing how this character fits in with the larger messages of A Separate Peace.
1. Start your paragraph with a topic sentence that links your character to a bigger idea or theme of the novel and
makes an argument about that character's importance to the overall story. Could be something like...
This art piece demonstrates that Finny is the central/most important character of A Separate Peace because
Knowles uses him to show how (insert “big idea/theme/message about life learned from the book” here).
This work demonstrates how John Knowles uses the character of Gene to represent the idea of (insert “big
idea/theme/message about life learned from the book” here).
Theme/“big idea learned about life from the book” ideas: the problems of competition, the negative
consequences of war, the power of friendship to achieve (something that you decide), the dangers of seeking
power over others….
2. Choose at least two pieces of evidence (symbols, quotations, etc) from your body biography and use them to
"prove" your first sentence (the argument you're making about that character's importance in explaining one of
the main themes of the book). Ideally these two pieces of evidence include one quotation and one “other”
piece of evidence from your poster (a symbol, something shown on a body part, the disconnect between the
mirror image and the image the rest of the world sees, etc.)
a. After your first/topic sentence, don’t just list the two pieces of evidence. Write a sentence for each that
mentions each of them separately, then write at least one more sentence after each that explains in
detail how that symbol or quotation connects your character to that theme/ “big idea about life” you
talked about in your first sentence.
3. End with one more sentence that ties it all together and reminds your reader one more time what the topic of
your argument is (x character is important to the story of A Separate Peace as he explains/exhibits
________theme/big idea about life_____).
The final draft of this paragraph is to be written on the back of your final copy of your body biography, started in class
Friday, 11/20, and ready to be entered in our ART COMPETITION (!) on Monday, 11/23.
What your grade is based on:
Topic sentence that includes a thesis statement (my argument about this character’s importance in the book)
/10
Two pieces of evidence taken from the poster that help prove what I’m saying about that character’s importance /10
EXPLANATION OF THOSE TWO PIECES OF EVIDENCE and how/why they help me prove my thesis/topic sentence /10
A closing sentence that ties everything together and reminds my reader of my argument /5
MLA Formatting and written on the back side of my body biography
/5
TOTAL: +
/50
Name _______________________________ Date____________ Per. _____
Hingle McCringleberry
English 98
Ms. Zero
20 November 2015
Museum Sign SAMPLE FOR YOU IF YOU NEED INSPIRATION/A MODEL
This art piece demonstrates how J. K. Rowling uses the character of Harry Potter to represent the theme of
friendship and love’s ability to overcome all evils. The artist uses the symbol of the lightning bolt on the character’s
forehead to demonstrate an evil action that turned good through the power of love. As Harry’s mother died to protect
him, the lighting bolt-shaped scar left on his forehead resulted from Voldemort’s killing curse bouncing off of his
forehead. Secondly, in the figure’s heart, we see the names and images of Harry’s friends and family. This is significant
because it represents how even though Harry becomes a famous and powerful wizard, he does not let this affect his
strong relationships with those people he loves and protects. This is completely unlike his arch-nemesis, Voldemort,
whose thirst for power destroys his relationships and, eventually, his soul. For these reasons, this poster represents J. K.
Rowling’s use of Harry as a character to demonstrate the importance of friendship and love.
***Topic sentence/thesis statement and/or restatement of topic sentence/thesis statement in conclusion sentence
***Two pieces of evidence taken from my poster that help prove what I’m trying to say in my “green” sentences
***Explanation of each of those pieces of evidence in a way that connects what actually happens in the book to the big
ideas I’m trying to express in my “green” sentences