Warm-Up: Anticipation Guide
Pick three of the following to answer on your sheet of paper.
1.
What are the consequences of being the victim of lies, rumors or
gossip?
2.
If you had three minutes to evacuate your home because of a fire, what
would you try to save? Justify your choices.
3.
How does home environment influence people? Give specific examples.
4.
What is essential for happiness? Defend your choices.
5.
Some people are lucky while others never have good fortune. True or
false? Explain.
6.
What connections does social class have with happiness or with
responsibility, both personal or social?
Homework
Chapters 1-4 due
Wednesday.
GRQs
Quiz #1 over Chapters 1-10
on Friday, 4/18.
Silas Marner Introduction
 Silas Marner, the Weaver of Raveloe,
published in 1861, is unique among
George Eliot's writings for its brevity
and its apparent allegorical clarity.
 The novel is only slightly longer than
the short stories that Eliot published in
her first work, Scenes of Clerical Life
(1858), and it is less than half as long as
her other novels.
 Still, it is no mere fairy tale, nor is it
ultimately less weighty than the bulk of
Eliot's output.
Silas Marner Introduction
 The story of Marner's expulsion from society and his eventual
redemption through the love of a child, Eppie, has powerful
Biblical and mythic resonances. It also expresses aspects of
Eliot's own life as a creative artist in several interesting ways.
 In addition, the novel strikes a bargain between the realistic
and the fantastic in its depiction of village life and culture in
nineteenth-century England.
 Although Eliot explored this blending of fantasy and realism
elsewhere in her career (works like Daniel Deronda and
Middlemarch), she never executed it so fully as in Silas Marner.
Ten-Minute Play: Objective Goals
 read a novel closely and analytically to understand the
relationship of the parts to the whole.
 identify theme, motif, symbolism, characterization, and plot of
a novel in order to integrate these elements in an original,
creative theatrical adaptation of a section of the novel.
 increase comprehension of a work of literature by challenging
it on an imaginative level.
 work collaboratively with peers in bringing a dramatic work to
life by staging it in class.
 participate in peer response activities to encourage critical
reflection on your work, as well as that of your classmates.
Ten-Minute Play: Groups
 Share the following with your group:
 Email addresses and/or phone numbers.
 Your personal organizational strategies for getting reading done on
time and not procrastinating.
 Your personal method of close reading: how do you note the
important parts of the novel? How do you keep up with characters?
 Since you will be discussing the novel tomorrow in class, decide
what will you all be reading tonight? Set a group goal for reading.
Make sure your group gets the reading done—remind them and
check-in over the next couple days.
 Begin reading Chapter 1 in class and when finished refer back to the
Anticipation Guide from the beginning of class. What connections do
you see between your response and the novel so far?
Warm-Up: Point of View Review
 First-person point of view is in use when a character narrates the story
with I-me-my-mine in his or her speech. The advantage of this point of
view is that you get to hear the thoughts of the narrator and see the
world depicted in the story through his or her eyes.
 Second-person point of view, in which the author uses you and your, is
rare; authors seldom speak directly to the reader.
 Third-person point of view is that of an outsider looking at the action.
Third-person omniscient- the thoughts of
every character are open to the reader.
Third-person limited- the reader enters
only one character's mind, either
the entire work or in a specific section.
throughout
Eliot’s Formal Techniques
Aphorism |ˈafəˌrizəm|noun
 A pithy observation that contains a general
truth, such as, “if it ain't broke, don't fix it.”
 Synonyms: saying, maxim, axiom, adage,
epigram, dictum, proverb.
 Can you think of any of your own?
 Why might Eliot include aphorisms?
 Is there a modern day equivalent to this usage?
Ten-Minute Play Group Meeting
 Review GRQs and discuss chapters read.
 Focus on characters and setting.
 Answer: Where are we? Who are we
with? What’s happening? And how is it
presented?
 Ticket out the Door: Predictions for the
major conflict in the novel?
Warm-Up: Metaphor and Simile Review
 Find one metaphor and one simile from the
book.
 Explain what two things are being compared
and how this simile or metaphor functions in
the novel; for example, to develop a
character’s hamartia.
 Pair-Share with a neighbor, focus on how it
functions in the novel.
Notes on Silas Marner
Developing Themes:
 Individual vs. Community;
 Free Will vs. Determinism (Habit/Routine);
 Human Relationships (Love, Forgiveness,
Betrayal, Pity-Sympathy, Outcast);
 Jealousy and Greed/Miser;
Notes on Silas Marner
Motifs:
 Class,
 Religion,
 Rural vs. Urban,
 The
Strange/Other,
 Superstition,
 Blame
Notes on Silas Marner
Settings:
Red House
The Stone-pits
Lantern Yard
The Rainbow
Ten-Minute Play Group Meeting
 Review GRQs and discuss chapters.
 Afterwards, discuss the themes, motifs
and settings with their groups.
 Which of these might you want to focus on
in your ten-minute play.
 Ticket out the Door: Pick one of the
settings and discuss the symbolism.
Warm-Up: Direct and Indirect
Characterization Review
 Collect a copy of the Character List handout.
 Direct Characterization- direct description of a character by
a narrator. Usually going to include subject complements
such as “He is tall, dark and handsome.”
 Indirect Characterization- the reader has to draw
inferences of a character’s personality from analyzing the
character’s words, thoughts and actions. Dialogue and
character interaction is key!
 On your sheet, list direct quotes and page numbers of both
direct and indirect characterization of that character.
Ten-Minute Play: Narrative vs. Dramatic Text
1. How is character revealed and developed in drama?
2. What would be a crucial symbol in a dramatic
adaptation?
3. What patterns of imagery should be included for effect?
4. How might you need to reorganize the plot for the
dramatic adaptation (e.g., begin with the last scene)?
5. Which scenes might work well in a dramatic setting?
6. How can you adapt the novel while still maintaining the
integrity of the text and original intent of the author?
Homework: Available on Class Site
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/inte
ractives/dramamap/
 As indicated on the rubric, use the ReadWriteThink Drama
Map to assist your and your group in beginning the process
of writing of an original adaptation of the novel by focusing
on character, setting, conflict, and resolution.
 Complete and print out your work and be sure to bring it to
class tomorrow.
 I will review each of your Drama Maps and provide necessary
guidance before you move further in the writing workshop.
Manuscript Format and Structure
 For additional guidance in preparing play manuscripts,
review the Virginia Commonwealth University School of
the Art's Playwriting Seminars Website (located on class
website).
 You can refer, in particular, to the Manuscript Format for
guidance. Direct your attention to the Dialogue Pages
near the bottom of the page.
 Requirements: 10 pages, proper formatting.
Final Draft due Monday 4/28.