Mrs. Landry
Bend 1: Session 7
Counterargument within Literary Essays
Yes! This is hard work! I am so proud of your efforts to try! You are taking risks as a
thinker, writer, and student.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Logical thinking strengthens arguments. I am proud of you for thinking about logic
in your essays.
 Can you incorporate that logical thinking to counter alternative interpretations?.
Look at an alternative argument, then look for weaknesses in the logic in order to
rebut it.
All Summer in a Day:
An alternative interpretation is that the kids are less jealous than they are mean, maybe
because William does so many mean things, that it seems to show that he’s just that type of
person, a cruel character, not just acting out of jealousy.
But the logic seems to fail a little bit – if William is a cruel individual, if this is a trait of
his, then he should still be mean in the resolution phase of the novel. Instead he appears to
be reflective, looking down at the round and letting Margot out of the closet. Therefore,
William is not a mean individual, but instead his meanness seems to be motivated by an
outside factor, such as the jealousy he feels toward Margot.
Could there be another way of seeing this? Could someone debate me here?
Pay attention to word choice when describing the themes or characters, thinking about
whether someone else might have another idea, or might use another word. After I figure
out what that counterargument might be, it will be important for me to refute that
argument in my writing. But let’s get started by finding a place in my essay where
someone might have an alternate interpretation.
Body paragraph:
By the middle of the short story, the reader begins to see that the children, in their painful
jealousy, hurt Margot with words and with force. First they mock her poetry and her
memories, claiming she never did see the sun. Then they shove her. Finally, they lock her
in a closet so she won’t see the sun. The text even describes the children’s hatred toward
Margot more explicitly when Bradbury writes, “They hated her pale snow face, her
thinness, and her possible future.” (6) The other children have never seen the sun, but
dream of it every night. The children are jealous that Margot has seen the sun and Margot
is grieving the loss of it. This shows that everyone in this story is hurting in their own way
– Margot because she has lost the sun and the children who have never seen it.
 Could someone debate me on this point?
 Is there an idea on which someone might take issue specific to theme or the
characters?
 Could someone say the children are not jealous? Not really…
 Maybe someone could say this short story is not mostly about how jealous they are.
 Someone may be able to argue that this story is really about the children’s
meanness.
 I don’t agree, but I guess someone could say that really this story is more about how
mean the kids are, not how jealous they are.
 Once you have found a spot in your essay where there could be debate, it’s your job
to argue why you are right, or more right.
Thought prompts to use:
Prompts to Argue Counterpoints in Literary Essays
 “While some might argue…they forget that in the text the author notes…”
 “Some people might interpret this to mean… But clearly…because…”
 “Certainly it could be said…While this is a good point…it fails to account for…”
Continuing to write:
Certainly it could be said that the children are more mean than they are jealous. While
this is a good point, because the children are definitely mean, it fails to account for how
much pain the children are in. They are not born mean; their pain – their jealousy—has
created in them, the meanness.
Look for places in your essay where someone might have a different interpretation of the
text, then use a thought prompt to help argue back, tightening your essay by being sure to
explain why your interpretation is best and why any alternative ideas are missing.
Partner trade: What could someone say differently? Remember, you can always be on the
lookout for a way your partner describes the themes or characters, that you think could
have an alternate fit, like I did with JEALOUS and MEAN.
How about an alternate to this theme claim? “Make the choice to trust people.” --“Forgiveness is the answer.”
Use one of the thought prompts to help you.