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Writing Groups

Writing Groups. Has the writer identified a specific symbol or group of symbols to analyze? Is there a clear discussion of the literal role of the symbol(s) in the text? Is there a larger association for the symbol (meaning) that is supported by a discussion of the text?

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Writing Groups

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  1. Writing Groups • Has the writer identified a specific symbol or group of symbols to analyze? • Is there a clear discussion of the literal role of the symbol(s) in the text? • Is there a larger association for the symbol (meaning) that is supported by a discussion of the text? • Does the writer connect the symbol’s meaning to an interpretation of the story? • When you finish…read the short story you picked up when you came in.

  2. Theme AP Literature & Composition Short Story Boot Camp

  3. Northrop Frye • “educated imagination” • Where skills and knowledge meet creativity • Close reading practice, study of elements of fiction = skills & knowledge; • Your theme…your interpretation • Don’t wander from the text

  4. “First Day” • Plot • Uneducated mother takes her daughter to the first day of kindergarten. • They are refused at one school and must go to another • A kind person helps the mother complete the forms • The mother leaves the child at school, telling her to pay close attention to the teacher

  5. Thematic issues in the plot • Why would a mother who cannot read do her utmost, facing obstacle after obstacle, to get her child into school? • Is it possible that the people who truly understand the importance of education are the ones who haven’t had the benefit of one?

  6. Character and Theme • Who are the characters? • How does the daughter develop and change? • First day of what? • Look at the roles in the story—major and minor. What’s happening among the characters? • Role of community in raising children.

  7. Setting and Theme • Poor neighborhood in Washington, D.C. • Details of the “preferred” school • Is the church important? • “rock” • How does the setting reveal Mom’s anxiety about leaving her daughter? • Back to the role of community?

  8. Point of View and Theme • Daughter is narrator recalling the incident. • “long before [she] learned to be ashamed of [her] mother.” • Look at this in the context of the story’s focus on education. • Does she seem “ashamed”? • What does this reveal? • Changing perspective

  9. Symbols • Shoes • “my greatest joy” • “when one is nicked at the toe…my heart will break.” • Relationship with Mom? • The change breaks her heart…letting go

  10. Articulating Theme • Subject and theme are not the same • Theme should be a complete statement or two detailing what the work says/reveals about the subject. • Avoid clichés • Lazy; ignores the complexity • Pay attention to contradictions • Shame vs. pride • A Theme is not a moral • Theme is indirect • Literary works almost always have more than one! • Themes can be questions • Moral dilemma • Conundrum • Why must parenting always involve loss? • When do children appreciate and understand their parents?

  11. “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid • Pg. 719 • Try to articulate at least three possible themes. • Consider • Plot • Character • Point of View • Setting • Symbols

  12. Sources Jago, Carol, et al. Literature and Composition: Reading, Writing, Thinking. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2011.

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