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Setting Prompt • “Why don’t you go to bed, Pop? I will, son.” Jerome Weidman’s short story “My Father Sits in the dark” uses this interchange between father and son multiple times. It tells a very simple tale of a son who is fixated on discovering the reason his father sits in the dark each night. In the beginning, the story has the son mildly questioning his father’s nightly routine, but as the story progresses, the son’s curiosity turns to obsession. This obsession with his father’s nightly habit suggests the author’s wish to convey the message that children will always find some aspects of their parents a mystery. The message is aided by the tone and customs displayed within three specific descriptions of setting.
Quote Statement/TAG Statment “Why don’t you go to bed, Pop? I will, son.” Jerome Weidman’s short story “My Father Sits in the dark” uses this interchange between father and son multiple times.
Summary Statement It tells a very simple tale of a son who is fixated on discovering the reason his father sits in the dark each night.
Character Change Statement In the beginning, the story has the son mildly questioning his father’s nightly routine, but as the story progresses, the son’s curiosity turns to obsession.
Theme Statement The story conveys the truth that children will always find some aspects of their parents a mystery.
Thesis Include ALL aspects of the prompt. Be clear. Be specific.
Setting Prompt • “Why don’t you go to bed, Pop? I will, son.” Jerome Weidman’s short story “My Father Sits in the dark” uses this interchange between father and son multiple times. It tells a very simple tale of a son who is fixated on discovering the reason his father sits in the dark each night. In the beginning, the story has the son mildly questioning his father’s nightly routine, but as the story progresses, the son’s curiosity turns to obsession. This obsession with his father’s nightly habit suggests the author’s wish to convey the message that children will always find some aspects of their parents a mystery. The message is aided by the tone and customs displayed within three specific descriptions of setting.
Character Change Prompt “Why don’t you go to bed, Pop? I will, son.” Jerome Weidman’s short story “My Father Sits in the dark” uses this interchange between father and son multiple times. It tells a very simple tale of a son who is fixated on discovering the reason his father sits in the dark each night. The story conveys the truth that children will always find some aspects of their parents a mystery. The poignancy of this message emerges within the son’s change from mild curiosity to obsession.
Body paragraphs use power outlines! • TS: introduces the first topic from the thesis • At the beginning of the book, Weidman establishes the son within the house. • RDF: Contextualizes the quote (make clear son’s surprise) • E: where and when, what’s happening, etc. (paraphrase…how the first paragraphs) • RDF: Quote (Sometimes I come home very late…) • RDF: why the quote is important (Establishment of tone..”dark”) • E: how does this quote help explain the thesis (when author uses dark, he means “not light” • Conc.: Transition to the next paragraph (After establishing this tone, the author continues to support it and also adds specific customs within the setting.)
Then, write the paragraph • The story begins with the son introducing the father’s “peculiar habit,” and the setting is established shortly thereafter. The author gives us a picture of an older son who seems to have a life of his own coming into the house. The third sentence in the story tells the reader, “Sometimes I come home very late. The house is dark.” (p. 167) Even though these sentences are quite simple, they establish the fact that the story takes place late into the night. Also, the word “dark,” used throughout the story, connotes something also quite simple, the absence of light which gives the story a mysterious yet calming tone. From these first words, the author then continues to establish this tone as well as various customs within the world of the story.
