While you closely read and annotate Fahrenheit 451 and Into the Wild , answer the questions below.
Please type up your responses. On the first full day of school (Tuesday 8/26 for A day; Wednesday
8/27 for B day), I will have you submit your assignment to turnitin.com.
Also, during the first week of school, there will be three assessments over the summer reading:
1) an annotations check ( see pages 4-5 of this packet for annotation expectations)
2) an objective test over both books ( multiple choice, quote- and character-matching, true/false, etc .)
3) a short-answer timed writing component, which will require responses very similar to those below
opic Sentence
An opening statement that declares your answer to the question. At its heart, a topic sentence consists of the claim (an opinion, not merely a fact) that you are advancing.
etail
A direct quote or (preferably) a quote fragment from the text that serves to prove or support the claim you expressed in your topic sentence. Be sure to select details that strongly support your topic sentence and to cite the page number of the selected detail.
laboration
Factual information (context)—woven with the selected detail— that serves to orient your reader. Elaboration largely answers
“How?”
the writer went about developing his or her ideas. It can take several forms:




The placement of the Detail in the text, physically, and what happened prior to its use.
The context of the Detail being used – in the moment. (How is it used in the text? What’s happening at the time?)
The specific device(s) being used by the author in the selected Detail.
Paraphrasing of the Detail into your own words may be necessary if the
Detail is hard to understand by itself.
ommentary
xplanation of the significance of the D+E combo that accomplishes at least one of the following:

Make clear to the reader the connection between your claim (Topic
Sentence) and your selected Detail.

Explain why the author included the Detail, what his or her purpose was in creating the text that you quoted.

Try extending the meaning of the Detail by either explaining its larger (i.e., thematic) significance, connecting it to your knowledge/experience of society, history, pop culture, etc., or even by questioning the validity of the writer’s idea.
See the next page for a sample TDECDEC response.
Detail and elaboration should be factual— information coming directly from the text that can’t be disputed.
Commentary — much like the topic sentence—should be more opinionbased. Because it carries your personal insight, it is arguable.
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1 Jim Gallien’s recollection of their car ride reveals his conflicted opinion of McCandless; while he seems concerned about Chris’s naïve understanding of the unforgiving Alaskan wilderness, he is impressed by
1 Topic sentence provides a claim to defend. Notice that I’ve promised the reader I will prove TWO different ideas. the boy’s intelligence and determination. 2 Gallien—recalling that
McCandless lacked basic essentials, such as a compass, snowshoes, anti-
2
Detail (direct quote) woven into a sentence with elaboration
(paraphrased context) mosquito protection, an ax, heavy-duty boots, or a proper gun—initially finds fault with Chris, assuming him to be “one of those crackpots from the lower forty-eight who come north to live out ill-considered Jack London fantasies” 3
(Krakauer 4).
4
Perhaps Gallien, himself an experienced Alaskan
3 Parenthetical citation with author’s last name and page number of selected detail at the
end of the sentence. outdoorsman, even feels insulted by Chris’s naivety, his lack of
4 Commentary that extends the significance of the Detail. preparedness in a harshly unforgiving environment. 5 However, 6 Gallien
5 Transition word of contrast—signaling a shift to the second part of my thesis. also notes that Chris, who seemed “well educated” and who asked Gallien
“thoughtful questions about the kind of small game that live in the country, the kinds of berries he could eat,” was not merely some inexperienced
7 “nutcase” incapable of surviving on his own 8 (5).
9 Despite whatever offensiveness Gallien might have felt because of Chris’s naivety, he is
6 Start of DEC#2—
Details (direct quotes) woven into a sentence with elaboration
(paraphrased context) clearly impressed with the boy’s unshakeable grit and excitement about his
7 “nutcase” is such a specific word choice, so it’s quoted plan to hike into the Alaskan bush and live off the land .
10 Krakauer likely chooses to begin his book with Gallien’s conflicted impression of Chris because he expects his readers to experience this same ambiguity, forcing
8 Notice, the second parenthetical citation only needs the page number us into a deeper examination of Chris McCandless.
9 Commentary that connects the Detail to my Topic
Sentence and then 10 attempts to explain how the Detail helps the writer achieve his larger purpose.
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TDECDEC Analysis Questions for Fahrenheit 451
1) What makes Montag’s experience at 11 North Elm—the “flaking three-story house in the ancient part of the city” where the owner opts to die with her burning, book-filled house— different from the usual fire call (37)? [Remember to make your topic sentence claim-based, not merely factual.]
2) Captain Beatty explains to Montag that over time the content of films, radio programs, magazines, and books were “…leveled down to a sort of pastepudding norm…” (51). Explain why the content of books and other media has been “leveled down” in the society of the novel.
As part of your response, explain why paste pudding is an appropriate metaphor for the content.
(You’ll likely need to look up the terms “pastepudding” and “norm” before answering this question.)
**I recommend answering this question only after you’ve read the entirety of the conversation between Montag and Captain Beatty (pgs. 50-59) at least twice. It’s arguably the key passage of the novel, containing a majority of Bradbury’s ideas.**
3)
After reading Montag’s conversation with Faber (pgs. 76-87)—another of the novel’s key passages worth multiple readings— think of a specific example of a TV show, movie, or album that you have seen or heard that, in your opinion, meets Faber’s definition of “quality.”
* *Make sure to use elements of Faber’s definition of quality when discussing your example.**
4) At the end of the novel, when Montag is returning to the bombed-out city with Granger and the others, how does Granger’s suggestion that, when they rebuild the city, they “build a mirror factory first and put out nothing but mirrors for the next year and take a long look in them”
(157) correlate with the ideas he previously shares with Montag (pgs. 140-157)?
TDECDEC Analysis Questions for Into the Wild
1) In Chapter 6, Chris strongly advises Ronald Franz—especially in the letter Chris sends from
Carthage, South Dakota—to change the way he is living. Summarize and explain Chris’s philosophy, which he advocates through his encouragement to Franz.
As part of your commentary, describe an area of your life or behavior where you presently practice the ideas reflected in Chris’s advice ( or...think about a specific area of your life that you feel would benefit from the philosophy Chris advises Ronald Franz to follow ) and explain how your personal example reflects Chris’s philosophy.
2) Chapter 7 – Through his exploration of Chris’s apparent chastity, what observation is Krakauer making about societal attitudes toward the subject of sex?
3) Chapters 11-12 – How does Krakauer characterize Chris McCandless in these chapters?
Identify and defend a specific character trait.
4) In Chapters 14 and 15, what is Krakauer—through the use of his own story of climbing the
Devils Thumb—attempting to argue about Chris McCandless and his adventure in Alaska?
Consider what, from Krakauer’s perspective, they were both seeking, and what, because of their youth, they were both naïve about.
5) Chapter 17 – What theory does Krakauer propose about why young people take risks and to what extent do you believe this to be true?
In your commentary, cite your own personal experience with risk-taking as you respond to Krakauer’s theory.
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Annotating is a permanent record of your conversation with the text. Through marking the text and writing notes, it’s a way for you to interact with, talk back to, and join in the conversation with the author and the work he or she created. It’s important that you create an annotating system that works for you. This system might involve various symbols and highlighter colors. However, simply making marks and drawing symbols is not annotating; it’s the notes and comments you make in the
margins that create the conversation.
There is no one way to annotate a text. It can involve any of the following:
 defining any unfamiliar vocabulary, terms, or references to help you comprehend the text
 summarizing a passage or a section or a single paragraph
 paraphrasing difficult text into your own words—simple, easy-to-understand language
 recording questions that enter your mind as you read
 marking sentences or word choices that you feel are significant
 identifying important moments in the plot, such as conflict and tension
 figuring out the point of view of the story
 commenting on info about characters and how/why they change
 making connections between the text and your life, pop culture, society, history, etc.
 noting details about the setting, time period, culture, world of the story
 analyzing the author’s craft—figurative language, literary devices, description, how the text is organized, sentence structure, tone, mood, word choice, style, etc.
 predicting what may happen next
 charting your own reading comprehension—marking places that confuse you that you need to reread, further break down, or discuss
 marking anything the writer does—with diction, syntax, imagery, details, etc.—that intrigues, delights, disturbs, surprises, or moves you
 recognizing big picture thematic ideas that emerge from the text
But doesn’t this slow the reading down? Yes, absolutely! Because annotating forces you to put on the breaks and drive slowly, you are far more likely to notice the scenery and uncover ideas that would not have surfaced otherwise. As students, many of us have mastered the art of surface (or pseudo) reading. Annotating helps thwart our scheme to merely skim and “fake read.”
Other benefits of annotating:
 increases the likelihood that we will retain and be able to recall information from the text
 makes it much easier to write about or discuss a text later on because we have notes to draw from
 forces us to be active and alert readers, rather than passive and disengaged readers. (This is especially important when we’re reading something we don’t like or find boring.)
 eliminates or greatly reduces the “I read it but I totally didn’t get it” problem
 helps us stay awake and focused when we’re totally exhausted but need to read
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Example of an annotated text – Chapter 2 of Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield
**This is a fairly average representation of the sort of annotations I’m expecting. When reading a book, you will find that certain passages are more dense—more literarily or rhetorically rich—than others.
So, I expect some of your pages of Fahrenheit 451 and Into the Wild to contain more annotations than in the above example, some less.
** Always annotate for unfamiliar vocabulary, terminology, references, and allusions.
Write out the definition in your copy of the book or, if there isn’t room, on a separate sheet of paper. If the dictionary provides more than one definition, select the one that best fits Bradbury’s or Krakauer’s usage.
I imagine you might be feeling a little overwhelmed at this point. That’s okay. It’s normal…and good.
This summer reading assignment will require some significant time and effort from you; however, I feel pretty confident in saying that the amount of time and effort you put into it will be commensurate with the amount of pleasure you derive from it. And I’d say that’s true for this class as a whole.
I look forward to getting to know you next school year. I’m excited that we get to begin our time together discussing these two books. I really hope you enjoy them.
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