Tag: protagonist

Dreams

The psychiatrist Carl Jung believed that dreams often express our most hidden desires and fears – parts of ourselves that we do not want to or are too afraid to acknowledge when we are awake. He claimed that these neglected, or repressed, aspects of our personality often manifest themselves in dreams in the form of a relentless pursuer.

How does this theory apply to a protagonist from a text you have studied?

Jerks

In recognition of “Pink Shirt Day” …

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Add a jerk to your story.

Here are some suggestions …

  • Jerks are mean – have the jerk get our attention by saying or doing things to your protagonist that are upsetting.
  • Jerks ignore us – have your jerk ignore the protagonist but pay attention to someone else. Have the Jerk only pretend to listen and act like your protagonist doesn’t even exist.
  • Jerks make us feel stupid – have your jerk make comments about what your protagonist says that makes him/her feel stupid.
  • Jerks are sneaky – have your jerk act all nice to others or around teachers or adults and then have the jerk do something that only the protagonist sees when no one else is looking.
  • Jerks lie – have your jerk try and make someone look bad to make themselves look better by lying.

On the Sidewalk Bleeding

Read “On the Sidewalk Bleeding” by Evan Hunter

Respond to the following questions on the various aspects of the story:

  1. Who is the protagonist?
  2. What is/are the conflict(s)?
  3. The conflict is developed through the use of names that apply to the boy: Andy and a Royal. Skim the story to note how the names appear in critical places. What do these names represent?
  4. What effect does Andy’s jacket have on the people who find him in the alley?
  5. What are the reasons why these people do not help Andy?
  6. At what point does Andy realize he is dying?
  7. What does Andy do with the last of his strength? How is this important to the theme and to the outcome of the conflict?
  8. What is the climax or turning point? Sketch a Plot Diagram. Try this Plot Diagram Generator or find another.

    Create a Plot Diagram
    Create a Plot Diagram

    Plot Diagram created with Gliffy Diagrams from Chrome Webstore
    Plot Diagram created with Gliffy Diagrams from Chrome Webstore

  9. What is the police officer’s reaction to Andy? How does this contribute to the author’s message?

Assessment Activity: Who Am I?

Consider an essay planning map for this expository writing task
Consider an essay planning map for this expository writing task

Consider your own identity: who are you, what makes you unique, how do others see you, what do you want others to know and see about you. Write a post in your blog that represents yourself: embed visual elements and/or other suitable medium.

You may wish to include some of the following elements:

  • a personal motto or saying
  • a symbol that represents something about you
  • your attitudes about yourself
  • your strengths and talents
  • your hopes and dreams for the future
  • what you most like about yourself
  • what you are working on improving about yourself (with a positive focus) not what you dislike about yourself

Focus on the positive and create a post that makes you feel good about yourself while showing others all that is good about you.

Spend time reviewing the criteria from the assessment rubric.

Blog Post Rubric
Blog Post Rubric

Extinct Civilizations

Write a story in which your protagonist has discovered that s/he is a rare descendent of an extinct civilization – East or West.

Ancient Egyptian
The Inca
The Maurya
The Toltec
The Mayans
The Phoenicians
The Babylonians
The Sumerian
The Aztec
The Minoans

Extra ideas for consideration:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genealogical_DNA_test
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_genealogy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_profiling
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropology

The Quest for Identity

Many feature films contain protagonists who are faced with overwhelming questions relating to personal identity and one’s place in the world. Make a list of recent films that contain such a character. For each film, describe what questions of identity the character faced and explore how those questions were (or were not) resolved. Are there any general observations you can make about the way our culture regards the quest for identity?