Bell Ringer 10/30

1. Bell Ringer 10/30 • Please get ready for your Death of a Salesman watching quiz. • 5 questions • Formatted like our reading quizzes

2. Death of a Salesman WQ • Why didn’t Willy make it to New England? • Where does Biff invite Happy to go? • Based on his description of how he’s treated in New England, how does Willy see himself? • What bad news does Bernard deliver to Willy during the flashback? • What present does Willy give the Woman?

3. After the Quiz • Please get out your responses to the “Tragedy and the Common Man” questions so that I can check them. • What is Arthur Miller’s definition of Tragedy? • Boil it down to one or two sentences. • What are the characteristics of a Tragic Hero? • What is the Tragic Hero’s Tragic Flaw? • Periods 1 & 4

4. After the Quiz • Please get out your Foil notes and activity. • Who could we pair together as foils? • Predict what comparisons we could make. • Periods 2, 3, 7, & 9

5. After the Quiz • Please get out your Irony Examples so that we can discuss them and hand them in. • Situational Irony • Dramatic Irony • Verbal Irony • Period 3

6. English III • EQ: How did Arthur Miller’s point of view and purpose shape the content and style of Death of a Salesman? • Agenda • Bell Ringer/Discussion • EQ/Agenda • Irony (definitions and examples) • Foils (definitions and activity) • Tragedy Guided Notes • Pds. 1 & 4: Tragedy and the Common Man • “Tragedy and the Common Man” Notes

7. Irony • Situational: an event occurs that contradicts the expectations of the characters, of the reader, or of the audience. • Dramatic: there is a contradiction between what a character thinks and what the reader or audience knows. • Verbal: a word or a phrase is used to suggest the opposite of its usual meaning.

8. Irony Activity • Come up with an example for each type of irony: • Dramatic, Verbal, Situational • Use these characters and situation in your examples: • Sarah – 16 year old girl • Allen – 16 year old boy • Sarah and Allen are taking a road trip in a beat up old car. • You do not have to write a whole story, just short parts of a story that illustrate the examples. • Situational: Give character expectation and show them getting something opposite • Dramatic: We as the reader should know something that the characters don’t know • Verbal: the character must say something (use dialogue) but mean the opposite

9. Foils • Foil – a character who contrasts with another character (usually the protagonist) in order to highlight particular qualities of the other character. • A foil usually either differs drastically or is extremely similar but with a key difference setting them apart. • Example: Dumbledore vs. Voldemort

10. Foil Activity • Take a look at our character map. • Who could we pair together as foils? • Think in terms of categories: • Bosses • Fathers • Sons • Etc. • Predict what comparisons we could make.

11. Tragedy • A serious play in which the chief figures, by some peculiarity of character, pass through a series of misfortunes leading to a final, devastating catastrophe. • Usually these characters are of the noble class (kings, queens, dukes, etc.) • There are many different kinds and theories of tragedy, starting with the Greeks and Aristotle's definition in The Poetics, • "the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself...with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions." • In the Middle Ages, tragedy merely depicted a decline from happiness to misery because of some flaw or error of judgment.

12. Tragedy • The basic difference between tragedy and comedy and the epic is the "tragic pleasure of pity and fear" the audience feels while watching a tragedy. • In order for the tragic hero to arouse these feelings in the audience, he cannot be either all good or all evil but must be someone the audience can identify with (like a round character). • However, if he is superior in some way(s), the tragic feeling is intensified.

13. Tragedy • His disastrous end results from a mistaken action, which in turn arises from a tragic flaw or from a tragic error in judgment. • Often the tragic flaw is hubris, an excessive pride that causes the hero to ignore a divine warning or to break a moral law. • It has been suggested that because the tragic hero's suffering is greater than his offense, the audience feels pity; because the audience members perceive that they could behave similarly, they feel pity.

14. Tragedy • Atragedy is divided into five acts. • The first act – introduces the characters in a state of happiness, or at the height of their power, influence, or fame • The second act – typically introduces a problem or dilemma • The third act – problem reaches a point of crisis in the third act, but which can still be successfully averted • the fourth act– the main characters fail to avert or avoid the impending crisis or catastrophe, and the disaster occurs • The fifth act – traditionally reveals the grim consequences of that failure or disaster

15. Tragedy and the Common Man • As you read, please answer the following questions: • What is Arthur Miller’s definition of Tragedy? • Boil it down to one or two sentences. • What are the characteristics of a Tragic Hero? • What is the Tragic Hero’s Tragic Flaw?

16. Tragedy & the Common Man • According to Arthur Miller: • Tragedy is universal. • Tragedy is about people’s search to see themselves correctly and to take their desired place in society. • Conflict begins when someone tries to take away a character’s dignity

17. Tragedy & the Common Man • Tragic feeling occurs when: • Character challenges the accepted and realizes the world is never stable • We feel the character’s fear of being torn away from his or her rightful place and previous self-image • Characters are ready to lay down their lives for their sense of personal dignity.

18. Tragedy & the Common Man • Tragic Flaw • Not necessarily a weakness • Unwillingness to accept indignity without active retaliation • Character becomes noble as the stable world he or she has known is torn apart • Must be willing to lay down his or her life

19. Tragedy & the Common Man • The lesson of tragedy: the environment, not the hero, is evil. • Tragedy isn’t about sadness. It should “reinforce the brightest opinions of humanity.” • There should always be a possibility of success. • Tragic feeling won’t happen if the author fears to question everything • Anything that holds people back or down should be examined

20. Bell Ringer 10/30 • Please get out your stories from yesterday that start with, “She touched the little box in her pocket and smiled.” • What was your story about? • Get ready to explain it to the class.

21. Creative Writing • EQ: How can we engage and orient the reader when writing short stories? • Agenda • Bell Ringer/Discussion – Yesterday’s Prompt • Agenda/EQ • Shape and Structure Notes

22. Shape and Structure • All stories and novels have a shape • Be aware of what you’re using; be aware of whether it is workable. • Avoid these shapes: • The Blob: shapeless, going nowhere with no defined plot or resolution • The Tree: too many characters and too many things happening

23. Shape and Structure • Good Story Shapes • The Wave Shape: this goes on and on like a wave tumbling over rocks with interlocking loops. It has rhythm and style especially if the ending is good. • The Juggling Shape: the juggler keeps the balls of action, character and dialogue moving in the air. Occasionally he deftly throws in flashback as an extra ball. • The Onion Shape: peeling off the layers until you reach the heart of the story. This also works in reverse, starting from the inside and exploring outwards.

24. Shape and Structure • The Chinese Box or Russian Dolls shape: similar to the onion. You open a box that’s inside a box and inside is another box and so on. Also works in reverse. • The Trumpet Shape: this is a story of tension, two tight lines that suddenly explode outwards. The classic shape for a short-short, one that gives your story the greatest chance of success. • Keeping to a shape will help you keep to the right length • Keep the objective shape firmly in mind while your imagination roves freely.

25. Yesterday’s Prompt • Take a look at the story you wrote yesterday: • Does it have a shape? • If it doesn’t, what shape could you use if you revised it?