Monday 1st February: Folio Feedback
During 4th Period you will be making changes to your folio drafts:
• You need to bring in the rough drafts/notes/plans for your
Personal Reflective piece (for Thursday).
• Finish your research for your persuasive essay and create a
bibliography and properly cite your sources.
In general these need:
• More clear evidence (cited)
• Persuasive devices
• More effective introductions
• Topic sentences
• SEAL paragraphs
Outstanding Folios
Creative:
Jay Alexander
Craig Ballantyne
Harry Chalmers
Fergus Watson
Check folders and bags!
I need to see a plan for these
by tomorrow so that we can
set time aside to do the
writing.
Persuasive:
Jay Alexander
Craig Ballantyne
Amy Black
Emira Grant
Harry Chalmers
Tim Shoreman
Cameron Stuart
Fergus Watson
Erin McPake
Topic Sentences – USE THEM!
This briefly states what your paragraph will be about. Remember that a paragraph should centre
around just ONE idea.
• Topic Sentence: To be an effective CEO requires certain characteristics.
• The topic is “To be an effective CEO” and the controlling idea is certain characteristics.
• Topic Sentence: There are many possible contributing factors to global warming.
• The topic is "contributing factors to global warming" and the controlling factor is "many reasons."
• Topic Sentence: Fortune hunters encounter many difficulties when exploring a shipwreck.
• The topic is “exploring a shipwreck” and the controlling idea is “many difficulties.”
• Topic Sentence: Dogs make wonderful pets because they help you to live longer.
• The topic is "dogs make wonderful pets" and the controlling idea is "because they help you to live
longer."
Bibliography
BOOKS
Authors name(s) in italics, Title of Book, Publisher,
Date of publication.
WEBSITES
• Name of website with date of production (if known)
in brackets, name of article (if known), full URL with
[date accessed in square brackets] e.g.
Ways to Make Impact
Dramatic impact
• emotive words
• forceful phrases
contrasts
• play on the
reader’s guilt
imagery
• exaggeration
(hyperbole) shock
tactics
Logic
• quote a reliable
source statistics
• criticise the
opposite opinion
• make negative
points impersonal
Stylistic tricks
• clusters of three
• catchy phrases or
slogans figures of
speech
• short sentences/
paragraphs
rhetorical
questions
repetition of
words/ phrases
Introductions
You should aim for this to be no more than one-tenth of the word
limit. A successful introduction will:
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•
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Set out the topic clearly
Give an indication of the current importance of the topic
Set out a few facts which will contextualise the topic
Give some indication of the main aspects to be studied
At this level, there should be no need to make statements like “This
essay will . . .”. Also avoid any lengthy explorations of the history of your
topic
Conclusions
In your conclusion, include an overview of the main arguments with
perhaps one main idea from each paragraph. Don’t just list them
and state where your opinion lies. Conclude strongly by evaluating
the nature of the arguments and make a final statement of
conviction.
'THE
FLOWERS'
BY ALICE WALKER
Critical Essay Short Story
2
Learning Intentions
By the end of this lesson you should be able
to…
• show your understanding of the plot of the story.
• understand the writer’s use of turning point, mood
and symbolism, and be able to explain how these are
created in a story.
What We Already Know:
Reading the Story
As we read the short story together, underline (in pencil) the
key elements of the plot.
You should be able to answer these questions:
• Who is the main character?
• What do we learn about her?
• Where is the setting?
• What happens to the character?
• What do you think is the theme of this story?
Literary Terms to Know
Homework: FAMILIARISE YOURSELVES WITH THEM.
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•
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imagery –the use of vivid language to create images in the reader’s mind.
symbol –something that stands for itself and something else.
setting –the time and place in which a story occurs.
narrative pace ‐the speed at which an author tells a story; the movement
from one point or section to another.
diction ‐the choice of words used in a literary work.
style ‐A writer’s way of saying things, or a philosophy that influences the
author’s viewpoint.
theme ‐an abstract idea that emerges from a literary work’s treatment of its
subject‐matter, or a topic recurring in a number of literary works.. Themes
include love, war, revenge, betrayal, fate, etc.
epiphany ‐an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure.
The Plot
Write yourself a short plot summary using the
questions to format your answer.
Myop is ten years old and lives in the country. She is
very observant of nature: animals, plants
(especially flowers). She loves the world and displays
childish innocence. When she goes on her daily walk
through the woods (collecting flowers) she strays
further than she normally would. She becomes
entangled with a dead body and drops her flowers.
The Setting: Sharecroppers
Despite giving African Americans the rights of citizens after the Civil
War, the federal government (and the Republican-controlled state
governments formed during this phase of Reconstruction) took little
concrete action to help freed blacks in the quest to own their own
land. Instead of receiving wages for working an owner’s land–and
having to submit to supervision and discipline–most freedmen
preferred to rent land for a fixed payment rather than receive wages.
By the early 1870s, the system known as sharecropping had come to
dominate agriculture across the cotton-planting South. Under this
system, black families would rent small plots of land, or shares, to
work themselves; in return, they would give a portion of their crop to
the landowner at the end of the year.
(http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/sharecropping)
• How does this help us to understand who Myop is?
The Setting: Lynching
• In the last decades of the nineteenth century, the lynching of black people
in the Southern and border states became an institutionalized method
used by whites to terrorize Blacks and maintain white supremacy.
• In the South, during the period 1880 to 1940, there was deep-seated and
all-pervading hatred and fear of black people which led white mobs to
turn to lynch law as a means of social control.
• Most of the lynchings were by hanging or shooting, or both. However,
many were of a more hideous nature burning at the stake, maiming,
dismemberment, castration, and other brutal methods of physical torture.
• Lynching therefore was a cruel combination of racism and sadism, which
was utilized primarily to sustain the caste system in the South. Many white
people believed that black people could only be controlled by fear. To
them, lynching was seen as the most effective means of control.
• How does this help us to understand who the body
might have been?
The Turning Point
• A turning point in a story is the point when there is a
significant change in the way a character is thinking or
behaving, in the mood or atmosphere of the story, in the
tension and so on.
• Decide where in the turning point occurs in ‘The Flowers’. Be
prepared to explain your reasoning to the class.
• Draw a line across the page at this point to cut the story in two.
Mood: a literary element that
evokes certain feelings or
vibes in readers through
words and descriptions.
Turning Point and Mood
In your pairs, one will look at the first part of the story,
and one will look at the second half – the separation
will be the turning point.
• We are going to look at how the author creates
mood.
• By the end of this activity you should be able to
answer:
How does the turning point influence the mood of the
story?
Turning Point and Mood
For your section of the story, highlight the
following:
•references to light and colour
• references to setting
• references to Myop’s actions.
In pairs, discuss how these references create
mood. Share your highlighting so both parts of
the story are highlighted appropriately.
Symbolism
Symbolism: the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.
Symbolism can be found in colours:
• Black is sometimes used to represent death or evil.
• White stands for life and purity.
• Red can symbolize blood, passion, danger, or immoral character.
Symbolism can be found in objects:
• Roses stand for romance.
• A dove is a symbol of peace.
Symbolism: Flowers
In the story, flowers could be said to be symbolic, i.e.
they are used to represent an idea.
• For your half of the story, find all the references to flowers
and highlight these.
• Think about what’s happening at the point in the story when
flowers are mentioned, and discuss what the flowers might
represent. Write notes in the margin.
• Then swap with each other so that you have both sections
highlighted.
• In pairs, work through all the references to flowers in the
story, and complete a table like this one.
• You should quote the reference, describe what is happening
in the story at that time, and then comment on what the
flowers could represent/symbolise.
Reference to flowers
What’s happening in
the story
What the flowers might
represent
'silver ferns and
wildflowers grew'
Myop is near her home
and picking flowers
Wildflowers – represent
her desire for
adventure.
Ferns – the protection
of her home.
Sample Analysis of the Symbolism of the
Flower
Flowers are an important symbol in the story, representing the
beauty and sweetness of innocence, ignorance and youth. Myop
carries flowers with her that are as beautiful and unknowing as she is
herself about the harsh world and all of its cruelties. Even the
wildflower that is sprouting out of the middle of the noose is
completely oblivious to the violence and death that had occurred so
close by. Myop is the same way; she is young, naive, and completely
oblivious to the fact that many people were lynched and hanged,
simply because they were black, people that she might have known,
that lived close to her. So, the flowers symbolize that unknowing
beauty that childhood often possesses. Then, at the end, when it
says ‘Myop laid down her flowers,’ it symbolizes how she laid down
her innocence and childhood. She turned a corner to adulthood and
was never able to go back. Giving up the flowers meant that she was
also leaving behind her naivety and ignorance.
Myop
Find and make a list of words that describe Myop’s innocence:
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‘skipped lightly’
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Her reaction to the body: ‘Myop gazed around the spot with interest’
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How does Myop react when she sees the body?
Why is this odd?
What does this suggest about her as a character?
‘Myopia’: the quality of being short-sighted.
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What hints do we have that Myop may not be able to see well?
How does this help us to understand the character of Myop?
What does this tell us about the overall theme of the story?
Symbolism: Summer
What does summer generally represent?
• Happiness
• Growth
• Freedom
• Young adulthood – life in full swing
• Sun (brightness)
• Clarity
‘And the summer was over.’
• What does this quote actually
mean?
• listWhat
does
the end
of Myop’s
Find and
quotes from
the passage
that represent
this view of summer:
• ‘golden surprise’
‘summer’
represent?
• ‘the days had never been as beautiful as these’
• ‘The air held a keenness’
• ‘She felt light and good in the warm sun’
Group Analysis
•Make notes on the following on your
sheet of paper:
How does Walker create mood, use a
turning point and use symbolism in her
story?
•You should discuss and note down as
much as you can, using quotations,
analysis and evaluation.
Self-evaluation
Answers these questions on the post-it note, and be
honest:
• How well do I understand mood, turning point and
symbolism in this story?
• How well do I think I understand these terms in
general?
• How well did I work in pairs/groups?
Essay Questions
Choose a novel or a short story or a work of non-fiction which
explores an important theme.
By referring to appropriate techniques, show how the author
has explored this theme.
Choose a novel or short story or work of non-fiction which has
a key incident.
Give a brief account of the incident, and by referring to
appropriate techniques, show how this incident is important to
the text as a whole.
Topic Sentences
• When following a SEAL structure for your critical essay, your Statement is
a TOPIC SENTENCE.
• It tells the marker what you will be looking at in the paragraph, and
should refer to the essay question.
E.g. Choose a novel or a short story or a work of non-fiction which explores
an important theme.
By referring to appropriate techniques, show how the author has explored
this theme.
Example topic sentences:
• Walker also explores Myop’s loss of innocence through her clever use of
changing mood in the short story.
• Furthermore, Walker goes on to use symbolism to emphasise the loss of
innocence in ‘The Flowers.’
• As well as this, Myop’s loss of innocence is highlighted again through the
imagery Walker uses throughout the short story.