Bell Ringer: 9/8/14
IN THE WRITERS NOTEBOOK
SECTION, ANSWER THE
PROMPT ---YOU MAY FREE
WRITE IF NEEDED BUT IT MUST
BE A ONE PAGE LONG
RESPONSE
PROMPT: HOW IS A PERSON’S
IDENTITY SHAPED BY HIS/HER
FAMILY AND SOCIETY?
Symbols: Object, person, place, or experience that exists on a literal level
but also represents something else
Literal Meaning
Symbolic Meaning
 Blooming rose
 Love
 Wilted rose
 Loss
 Red
 Blood
 Green
 Greed
Direct Characterization
 The author tells the reader what the character(s) is
like…
 EX: Susie is very smart and likable.
 We know that she is smart and she is liked because
the author told us directly—there is no guessing or
interpretation.
Indirect Characterization
 The author shows the reader what the character is
like…
 EX: Susie was able to get a 100% on her test and no
one else in the class was upset with her good grade.
 We can infer that Susie is smart because of her
100% and that she is liked because no one was upset
with her good fortune.
5 Methods of Indirect: STEAL
 Speech: What does the character say and how does
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she/he speak?
Thoughts: What is shown about the character
through his/her private thoughts and feelings or
through the thoughts of others.
Effect: What effect does the character have on other
people? How do they feel or react to him/her?
Actions: What does the character do? How does the
character act in different situations?
Looks: What does the character’s appearance say
about his/her personality?
Foil characters
 One character provides sharp contrast to another
through their character traits: values, beliefs,
attitudes, and ideas
 A foil can make another character look better by
comparison
 A foil can try to bring to life distinct differences in
character traits
While we read: create and add to the Venn diagram in
order to compare/contrast the brothers as foil
characters in The Scarlet Ibis
Similarities:
Narrator’s traits:
Six years older
Enjoy
visiting
the
swamp
Doodle’s Traits:
Six years younger
James Hurst: Author
 Born: 1922
 The Scarlet Ibis
 North Carolina raised
published in 1960
 Critics loved the story
 Why?– beauty of
language, lure of setting,
emotional power of plot,
power of its two main
symbols: swamp and the
bird (the scarlet ibis)
 Lived through a
hurricane when young
 Numerous jobs:
Chemical engineer,
musician, banker in NYC,
 Wrote during free time
3 Big Ideas from the story
 Evaluate the conflicts that arise because
of love and pride
 Explore the consequences of human
selfishness, regret, and guilt
 Explain how societal and family
expectations affect individuals
Brief Summary of Plot
 The Scarlet Ibis is a troubling tale of two brothers.
 One brother, called Doodle, has physical and serious
health problems.
 Doodle’s older brother, unnamed, is desperate to
turn Doodle into a “normal” kid in time to face the
harsh world of school.
 The main part of the story is one big flashback as the
older brother is the narrator of the story.
Setting
 Time and place the story takes place
 Spans from 1912-1918 in flashback
 Southern area
 More rural
Vocabulary from 1st two paragraphs
 Clove: in between
 Ibis-bird
 Oriole—bird
 Magnolias are flowers from a tree
 Elm is a tree
 Weather vain– 5 o'clock
 Grindstone– rock wheel that turns so metal can be
sharpened
 Parlor– sitting room in a house
Create a visual from opening 2 paragraphs
 Create a picture of what
you think the house and
yard looks like in the
present based on the
narrator’s description
 Create a picture of what
you think the house and
yard looked like based on
the description from the
past
Setting: Think about as we read
 Historical Context
 Cultural Context
 Physical surroundings
 Symbolic qualities of the setting—esp. the swamp
Diction: Opening 2 paragraphs
 List all the words from the first 2 paragraphs that
have negative connotations–(the feelings and
emotions that the word creates is negative)
 Once list is complete, circle the words that are
associated with death
 Answer the question below:
1. How do the words from the list express the
feelings/emotions of somber and mournful?
Imagery
Text Evidence
Commentary
Sight
Touch
Smell
Sound
Answer this question using the chart above:
1. How do the images help to make the first
two paragraphs somber and mournful?