Monday. - June 9, 2014
10-3, English 10
Compare and Contrast workshop
Agenda
I. The overarching thesis: you need to develop an argument that acts as an umbrella for
your 3-4 topic sentences.
1. First begin by creating a concept web for your topic. This will help you answer the
question of why both authors use ____ to develop their ideas.
2. Using what you have found in your concept web, try formulating different versions of
the following sentence:
__X__ is _______________________________________. For this reason, both Conrad
and Kafka use __X __ to ________________________.
II. The introduction and conclusion
I. THE INTRODUCTION should:
•
•
•
•
•
Mention the full name of the author and the title of the novels (in italics) by the
end of the second sentence.
Provide a brief description of the context in which each novel takes place
Provide a description of the structure of each the novel
Relate the structure of the novel to the development of ideas
Provide a summary of the IDEAS the novel concerns itself with
Example:
Süskind’s novel charts the four-part development of an olfactory genius as he
navigates the social, political and economic upheaval of the transition into the
Enlightenment. The French Revolution, as the culmination of the Enlightenment, hovers
in the near future and Grenouille’s journey foreshadows the violence to come.
is better than
Süskind’s novel is about Grenouille, a man with a supernatural olfactory powers
but no scent of his own. He travels over various parts of France, exploiting others for the
sole purpose of attaining his goal: creating the perfect scent. Unfortunately, this involves
killing young girls. Ironically, despite acquiring the scent, Grenouille ends up disgusted
by people’s response to it and decides to commit suicide by allowing himself to be eaten
by Paris’ riffraff.
What follows the above summary should:
• Provide, very clearly, the argument you will be making and in doing so, identify
the major themes you will be focusing on in your paper and how they relate to one
another.
•
Provide the reader with a skeleton outline of the paper to follow. The reader
should be able to predict, from the introductory paragraph, the structure of the
paper as a whole.
THE CONCLUSION
In order to ensure that your conclusion goes beyond merely restating the introduction,
consider the following possibilities:
•
•
•
•
Comment on how effective you think Conrad and Kafka’s novellas are at
conveying his argument
Comment on the relevance of Conrad and Kafka’s concerns to contemporary life
Comment on whether or not you agree with Conrad and/or Kafka’s arguments
Discuss additional, unresolved questions raised by Conrad and Kafka’s argument
III. The critical lens essay
Read the directions here:
For this essay, you will choose TWO texts you read IN CLASS this year and discuss how
they prove or disprove the critical lens. In so doing, you must demonstrate to the grader
that you:
• actually read the book
• have a strong grasp of what the book is about
• can competently discuss literary features
• can recall details to support your claim
IV. INTERPRETING the critical lens: practice
Remember, if you simplify the critical lens, the highest grade you can get is a 5 out of 6.
You want to provide an interpretation that is CLEAR and one that you can use your two
texts to substantiate. However, you want to do more than simply REPHRASE it.
•
“The ultimate security is your understanding of reality.” ~H. Stanly Judd
~“The
truly educated man is that rare individual who can separate reality from
illusion.”
~“The real hero is always a hero by mistake…” ~Umberto Eco
•
"The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of civilization." ~
Ralph Waldo Emerson
•
"This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper." ~TS Eliot
IV. Once you have your rephrasing, work it into this format:
Humans have a tendency to overestimate the importance of individuals lives and
experiences. Perhaps this is a symptom of wishful thinking or some element of denial.
However, as T. S. Eliot once said, "This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a
whimper." What Eliot means is that life's meaning is not found at the end--the end is
rather empty and always much less dramatic than we might imagine. Instead, meaning is
found in the process of living, no matter how painful, banal or difficult. Both Joseph
Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis substantiate Eliot's quote
both in the manner of their protagonist's lives and their deaths.
Homework
1. Interpret the critical lens quotations in complete sentences.
2. Complete your critical lens chart completely. It will be graded and you will need it for
an in-class essay on Wednesday.
3. Complete Part III (both MC and short answers for the sample test. Write your
question 26 and 27 responses on loose leaf (MUST BE HANDWRITTEN).
4. Continue to refine your outline and write the introduction and conclusion.
1. "Good people... are good because they've come to wisdom through failure." William
Saroyan
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2. "A work of literature must provide more than factual accuracy or vivid physical
reality... it must tell us more than we already know." E. M. Forster
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3. "Good literature appeals to our intelligence and imagination, not merely our
curiosity." E. M. Forster
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4. "A writer should aim to reach all levels of society and as many levels of thought as
possible, avoiding democratic prejudice as much as intellectual snobbery." Saul
Bellow
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5. "I am interested in making a good case for distortion because I am coming to believe
that is the only way to make people see." Flannery O’Connor
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6. "A work of literature is limited by the dominant attitudes and ideas of the period in
which it is written." (unknown)
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7.
"If literature is nebulous or inexact, this inexactness is the price literature pays for
representing whole human beings and for embodying whole human feelings." Donald
Hall
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8. "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." ~George Orwell
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9. “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.” ~Philip K.
Dick
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10. “Humankind cannot stand very much reality.” –TS Eliot
_____________________________________________________________________
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11. ‘Reality’ is the only word in the English language that should always be used in
quotes.” (unknown)
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12. “The purpose of the writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” ~
Bernard Malamud
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13.
“When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers therefore are the founders of
human civilization.” ~Daniel Webster (1782-1852)
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14. “Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality.” –Jules de Gaultier
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Name: _______________________________________
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