Writing Observations
Jack Arnold Character Analysis
Character Analysis: Jack Arnold
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Most of you have a very firm grasp of the structural
components: person, tense, complete sentences.
You have come a long way, and I thank you.
Those of you still writing in first person and past
tense – I just couldn’t be more puzzled by that,
given how many times we have addressed it.
I know you know what this means by now. So to still
be violating the rules indicates that you did not put
serious time and thought into drafting and editing
this paper, which is a further indictment of the
effort.
Character Analysis: Jack Arnold
Other “Grrrr!” issues:
 Inaccuracies:
 Karen gets the duffel bag that her father used in the
army, and he finally lets go of her daughter when
there is a honk heard outside.
 Kevin does this because he wants to show that he
still cares for Kevin.
 Jack cares about his family so much and will do
anyone for them.
 Jack has to let Karen make her own discussions.
 Jack and Kevin both end up working for Jack’s boss,
Kim Stain.
Character Analysis: Jack Arnold
You must get the episode names
and the quoted material correct.
 Advice: Take pride in what you
do, even if it’s a rough draft.
Your effort says a lot about you:
Make sure the message is
positive.
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Character Analysis: Jack Arnold
In general:
 You must give your paper a compelling title:
something better than “Character Analysis” or
“Jack Arnold”
 Be sure to place the show (and Jack) in the
proper era: Part of the conflict comes from
trying to maintain his values in a socially
turbulent time, the late 1960s and early ’70s.
 Early in the paper, introduce and give a little bit
of information about the characters. Don’t just
jump into an example involving Kevin when the
reader doesn’t know who Kevin is yet.
Character Analysis: Jack Arnold
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Don’t confuse episodes: For example, the leak in the
foundation of the house happens in “The House That
Jack Built” not “Dinner Out.”
Don’t confuse dialogue: When Jack says, “I work
hard for my paycheck; you can work hard for
yours,” he is referring to Kevin doing more chores to
earn more allowance. He is not referring to Kevin’s
job as a caddy.
Jack says, “We’ll find our own way”: This is not said
while Jack and Kevin are literally lost and trying to
find the suit store. Jack says this in a much more
symbolic context at the end of that episode to
indicate that he and Kevin can find their way in their
relationship.
Character Analysis: Jack Arnold
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This is the biggest one:
Develop your examples thoroughly. To your
credit, many of you try hard to avoid just
summarizing each episode. However, each
episode/example that you reference needs
at least some background or context.
For example, we need to know what
circumstances lead to Kevin and Jack’s
“hero” discussion after the big basketball
game. We need to know who Bobby Riddle
is, why Jack is at that game, why Kevin is
so irritated, etc.
Character analysis: Jack Arnold
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Other context examples:
 Saying Jack opposes Karen
living with Michael without
mentioning that Karen is only
19 and that she and Michael
are unmarried.
 Not establishing the reason
why Jack purposely loses the
golf game.
Character analysis: Jack Arnold
Mentioning the neighbor lady in
the tree house episode without
explaining why she causes the
awkwardness between Jack and
Kevin.
 Let’s look at this one in detail
and determine how to develop
enough context.
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Character analysis: Jack Arnold
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With just one speaker, there is no
dialogue. Include the quote in the
paragraph: Don’t set it aside as its
own paragraph, formatted like
dialogue.
The only time you would make a
single speaker’s quote its own
paragraph is if it is longer than four
lines of type.
Character analysis: Jack Arnold
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Work in as many details as you can.
Original: Jack Arnold may seem like a tough,
man’s man because of his old-fashioned views.
Revised: Jack Arnold, the father on “The
Wonder Years” television series, may seem like
a tough, man’s man on the outside because of
his old-fashioned views.
Original: Jack is trying to raise three teenagers
on traditional values during a time period when
dramatic cultural changes are taking place.
Revised: Jack is trying to raise three teenagers
on traditional values during a time period when
dramatic cultural changes are taking place: the
late 1960s and early 1970s.
Character analysis: Jack Arnold
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Original: Even though he despises his job at
Norcom, Jack puts forth full effort to make ends
meet.
Revised: Even though he despises his middlemanagement job at Norcom, a military parts
supplier, Jack puts forth full effort to make
ends meet.
Original: This is based on his relationship with
his daughter, Karen.
Revised: This is based on his rocky relationship
with his rebellious, college-aged daughter,
Karen, whose liberal views clash with Jack’s
traditional values.
Character analysis: Jack Arnold
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That said, don’t over-write. If I
have crossed out whole sentences,
I’m suggesting that this information
is unnecessary or repetitive. For
example, you don’t need to keep
writing – “Jack’s oldest daughter,
Karen,” – after you have said that
once.
Character analysis: Jack Arnold
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Clutter
This refers to using too many words to
state your point.
Removing clutter makes your writing
leaner and more potent.
This scene really shows the trait of
stubbornness in Jack. (9 words)
This scene shows Jack’s stubbornness.
(5 words).
Word count reduced by nearly half.
Character analysis: Jack Arnold
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Kevin becomes conscious about Jack’s
diverse thoughts and actions that were due
to being born into an era around the time
of the Great Depression and serving in
Korea while he was in the Army. (35
words)
Kevin learns that Jack is influenced by
Jack’s Depression-era childhood and Army
service in Korea. (15 words).
Character analysis: Jack Arnold
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Avoid passive verbs; don’t use contractions for
subject/verbs
Passive: When Jack is interacting with his children…
Active: When Jack interacts with his children….
Passive: Being so conservative, it’s hard for Jack to
deal with Karen’s views…
Active: Jack’s conservative nature often collides with
Karen’s liberal views…
Passive: Jack’s struggling to make his kids share the
same values…
Active: Jack struggles to make his kids share his
values…
Character analysis: Jack Arnold
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Use formal language in this paper;
avoid cliches, colloquialisms, slang.
When Karen moves in with her
boyfriend, Jack is one unhappy
camper.
Jack is a DIY kind of person.
Wayne is jacked up.
Character analysis: Jack Arnold
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Proofread carefully for grammar, spelling, and
punctuation errors.
For example, after every writing assignment we
have done, I have reminded you that commas
and periods go inside quotation marks.
And yet I still see them outside of quotation
marks.
In the name of human decency, I ask, “Why?”
Then I turn off the computer and go to sleep.