Do Now!

Imagine someone is writing a story about your life. What would be an important SYMBOL? What would be an important MOTIF?

Identify ONE SYMBOL and ONE MOTIF from the story of your life, and say why they are important.

SMARTBOARD

VICTOR

NILVIANI KENYA

DIAMOND

ANIYAH

JENIELAMINAH

DAYANNA

RACHEL

TIERRA

IDALIA

JENNIFER

TAYANNA

MIRTALIS

MARIANGELY

MARIELYNAYANTE

DESK

NOLLY

10B

SMARTBOARD

DESK

10A

LONAE

LORENZO

RODNEY

KAMYRIA

EDGAR

DIAMOND

JAILENE NIKOLASTIANA

XAVIERJOSE G.

EMILIO

MABELY NAH-AZIA

JOSE R.

JULISSA MAKIR

SMARTBOARD

ZENAI

TOMMY

BRIA

JALYSA JAVON

EFRAIN

AJ

NELVIN

RICHARDJOSELINE

MELIZA

AYANNA

LIZOMARY

DESK DESK

LUIS

11B

SMARTBOARD

DESK DESK

11A

JAN CARLOS

DAVID TAYLOR

ADANANGEL

PEDRODIANA

MARIEANAYENIFERRAYSATYSHEEN KAYLAJEICOB

YOMAIRA

*Do Now!

*Finish our Intro to Literary Analysis

*Imagery + Diction

*Characters + Conflict

*Practice: analyzing “The Lottery”

*Due WEDNESDAY, 9/11

*READ “The First Day” (Jones) and complete a Literary Analysis Matrix

*Will be collected for a HW grade

*Continue to develop reading comprehension strategies

*Continue to discuss language of Literary Analysis

*Apply knowledge of Literary Analysis to a story

*From last class:

*What is the best way to read a novel and get something out of it?

*What should we be looking for when we read a novel?

*Last class we read an excerpt from Foster’s How to read Literature Like a Professor

*Remind me: what was his main point? What did he tell us about how to read literature?

*Literary Analysis is a fancy way of saying “understanding what the author did and why he may have done it”

*Better way to think about it: HAVING THOUGHTS AS YOU READ

*Literary Analysis is all about making connections and engaging your whole brain (memory, opinions, emotions, intellect) as you read

Themes

Symbols Motifs

Imagery/Diction Characters + Conflict

LITERARY ANALYSIS

MATRIX

*Memory, Symbol, and Pattern are ways to CONNECT with a text

*The Literary Analysis Matrix is a way to keep track of those connections you make, and organize them into different areas of connection and meaning

*Each section on here touches on Memory, Symbol, and Pattern

*Using this matrix will help you better get something out of a text

*Our goal as readers is to make connections with what we are reading in order to make meaning from what we read

*Literary Analysis Matrix: way to record connections

Themes

Symbols Motifs

Imagery/Diction Characters + Conflict

LITERARY ANALYSIS

MATRIX

Themes

Symbols Motifs

Imagery/Diction Characters + Conflict

LITERARY ANALYSIS

MATRIX

*A SYMBOL is anything that stands for or represents something else

*For example, words are symbols for ideas*Word “FREEDOM” [stands for] idea of “FREEDOM”

*Ex. a flag is a SYMBOL for a country

*Match the symbols below to the idea they represent.

Symbols

Cross

Engagement Ring

Diploma

The color black

A rose

Peace sign

Symbols

Cross

Engagement Ring

Diploma

The color black

A rose

Peace sign

Death, dyingDeath, dying

Achievement Achievement

A

B

RomanceRomance

UnityUnity

ChristianityChristianity

CommitmentCommitment

C

D

E

F

*Match the symbols below to the idea they represent.

Symbols

Cross

Engagement Ring

Diploma

The color black

A rose

Peace sign

Symbols

Cross

Engagement Ring

Diploma

The color black

A rose

Peace sign

Death, dyingDeath, dying

Achievement Achievement

A

B

RomanceRomance

UnityUnity

ChristianityChristianity

CommitmentCommitmentC

D

E

F

F

A

B

C

D

E

*Authors use symbols to represent ideas

*Symbols are objects/things that represent an idea in literature

*They can also be characters or settings that represent an idea

*YOU MUST GO INTO EVERY READING WITH THE IDEA THAT EVERYTHING/EVERYONE REPRESENTS SOMETHING ELSE

*Finding SYMBOLS requires close, careful attention to objects, people, and places while reading – everything represents something else!

*SYMBOLS can be people or places as well as objects

*PAUSE & JOT

*What are some symbols you remember from stories you’ve read/movies you’ve seen?

YOUR

TURN!

*A MOTIF is anything that comes up over and over again in a story – like a pattern

*A MOTIF can be an image:*Ex. images of fire

*A MOTIF can be an action:*Ex. walking, dancing

*A MOTIF can be a concept or idea:*Ex. good vs. evil, light and dark

Themes

Symbols Motifs

Imagery/Diction Characters + Conflict

LITERARY ANALYSIS

MATRIX

*Recognizing a pattern helps us to be aware while we read

*We notice, “Hey, he’s doing it again!” or “Boy, they sure are talking about the color red a lot.”

*It helps us as readers make meaning of the text

*PAUSE & JOT:

*What PATTERNS am I seeing over and over again?

*What IMAGES do I keep seeing? What are characters DOING repeatedly?

*Trailer

YOUR TURN!

Themes

Symbols Motifs

Imagery/Diction Characters + Conflict

LITERARY ANALYSIS

MATRIX

*IMAGERY refers to the mental images the reader gets when reading

*We talk about imagery in relation to how it makes us feel when we read something

*Ex. The Dark Knight Rises trailer has a lot of violent imagery

*DICTION refers to the kind of words the author uses in the story

*Ask: how do the words sound together?

*Can be characterized as simple, choppy, intense, violent, depressing, formal, slang*Ex. Formal diction: “We request your attendance at our home this weekend”

*Ex. Informal diction: “Yo, come to our crib on Saturday”

*Ex. Choppy diction: “Our house. Saturday. Be there.”

*Ex. Corny diction: “We’d be thrilled if you came this weekend!”

*PAUSE & JOT:

*Let’s try: take the sentence below

*“WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND?”*Now try writing in different dictions below:

*Informal

*Angry

*Sad

*Violent

*Positive

*Negative

YOUR TURN!

*Examining IMAGERY and DICTION help us understand how the author wanted to tell his/her story

*Was the author speaking to a certain audience? Was the author forceful in his words or message? Was he unsure of what he wanted to say?

*How would you characterize the IMAGERY and DICTION in this excerpt?

*She stepped out of the apartment into the freezing rain. It was pouring by now; beating her shoulders and the backs of her thighs mercilessly. She didn’t care, she just wanted to get away – from John, from their problems, from the mountains of unpaid bills and relentless phone calls – from everything. She realized she had been standing in the open for some time when she finally pulled her eyes away from her heart, and started walking.

YOUR TURN!

*How would you characterize the IMAGERY and DICTION in this excerpt?

*She stepped out of the apartment into the freezing rain. It was pouring by now; beating her shoulders and the backs of her thighs mercilessly. She didn’t care, she just wanted to get away – from John, from their problems, from the mountains of unpaid bills and relentless phone calls – from everything. She realized she had been standing in the open for some time when she finally pulled her eyes away from her heart, and started walking.

*How would you characterize the IMAGERY and DICTION in this excerpt?

*I think the imagery is very depressing, but also hopeful in a way. The image of her stepping into the cold rain is a sad one. The author’s diction like “beating” and “mercilessly” when describing the rain also helps give an impression of being pressured or weighed down. You also get an image of her wanting to escape, from the “mountains” of pressure she has. The author’s final image of her “pulling her eyes” away shows that she’s reluctant but knows she has to leave.

Themes

Symbols Motifs

Imagery/Diction/Tone Characters + Conflict

LITERARY ANALYSIS

MATRIX

*We use CHARACTERIZATION (the way the author presents the character) to examine CHARACTERS and their actions/thoughts/feelings

*Knowing who CHARACTERS are helps understand other elements of the story

*We often ask, “Would I have done the same thing in that position?”

*Tip: authors helps us learn a lot about characters through their names – pay attention to what characters are named in stories!!

*CONFLICT refers to the problem or struggle the CHARACTERS experience

*Can be a large conflict

*Man vs. Man

*Man vs. Society

*Man vs. Nature

*Can also be a struggle or point of tension in a book

*Man vs. Self

*A clock ticking, time passing, sickness, language barrier, etc.

*Read the passage below. How would you describe the CHARACTER? What CONFLICTS do you see?*When I came home to dinner my uncle had not yet been home. Still it was early. I sat staring at the clock for some time and, when its ticking began to irritate me, I left the room. I mounted the staircase and gained the upper part of the house. The high, cold, empty, gloomy rooms liberated me and I went from room to room singing. From the front window I saw my companions playing below in the street. Their cries reached me weakened and indistinct and, leaning my forehead against the cool glass, I looked over at the dark house where she lived. I may have stood there for an hour, seeing nothing but the brown-clad figure cast by my imagination, touched discreetly by the lamplight at the curved neck, at the hand upon the railings and at the border below the dress.

YOUR TURN!

*Read the passage below. How would you describe the CHARACTER? What CONFLICTS do you see?*When I came home to dinner my uncle had not yet been home. Still it was early. I sat staring at the clock for some time and, when its ticking began to irritate me, I left the room. I mounted the staircase and gained the upper part of the house. The high, cold, empty, gloomy rooms liberated me and I went from room to room singing. From the front window I saw my companions playing below in the street. Their cries reached me weakened and indistinct and, leaning my forehead against the cool glass, I looked over at the dark house where she lived. I may have stood there for an hour, seeing nothing but the brown-clad figure cast by my imagination, touched discreetly by the lamplight at the curved neck, at the hand upon the railings and at the border below the dress.

*Read the passage below. How would you describe the CHARACTER? What CONFLICTS do you see?

*The character in the excerpt seems very isolated. He likes to be alone and feels “liberated” by cold empty rooms. He seems to live with his uncle, and is upset by the passage of time. He also seems to be struggling with the loss of someone, a woman, who used to live near him. He sees her shape in his head and seems to long for her by pressing his head against the glass. This guy (sounds like a guy) likes being alone but longs for her company.

Themes

Symbols Motifs

Imagery/Diction Characters + Conflict

LITERARY ANALYSIS

MATRIX

*Theme refers to THE MESSAGE of an author’s written work

*Usually an insight or examination about/into life or human behavior revealed in a story

*Good way to remember what theme is:

*THE MESSAGE

*Sometimes referred to as the piece’s “moral”*“The moral of the story is…”

*Some examples:*The loss of innocence as children grow up

*The afterlife is a big unknown

*Power corrupts even the noblest of men

*In most stories, the theme is not stated directly.

*Instead: revealed to us through characters’ experiences

*Different writers from different cultures often express similar themes

*A theme is a generalization about life or human nature certain experiences are common to all people everywhere

*These are called universal themes

*Match the familiar stories below to the appropriate theme.

Stories

Beauty and the Beast

The Three Little Pigs

The Ugly Duckling

The Frog Prince

Stories

Beauty and the Beast

The Three Little Pigs

The Ugly Duckling

The Frog Prince

It pays to work hard and plan ahead.

It pays to work hard and plan ahead.

Appearances can be deceiving.Appearances can be deceiving.

A

B

*Match the familiar stories below to the appropriate theme.

Stories

Beauty and the Beast

The Three Little Pigs

The Ugly Duckling

The Frog Prince

Stories

Beauty and the Beast

The Three Little Pigs

The Ugly Duckling

The Frog Prince

It pays to work hard and plan ahead.

It pays to work hard and plan ahead.

Appearances can be deceiving.Appearances can be deceiving.

A

B

B

B

B

A

*NO! The subject is simply the topic and can be summed up in one word (Ex. “loyalty,” “World War II,” “Two feuding families”)

*The theme should make some revelation about the subject and should be expressed in a sentence (Ex. “Loyalty to a leader is not always noble,” “War is a necessary evil,” “Fate is an unstoppable force”)

*Questions to ask when identifying/connecting with theme:*What does the author want me to learn/think about from reading this text?

*What MESSAGE or MORAL is this book teaching through what happens in the story?

*What do the characters LEARN? How do they CHANGE?

Themes

Symbols Motifs

Imagery/Diction Characters + Conflict

LITERARY ANALYSIS

MATRIX

WHY is this in the

middle like this?

What does this

tell you about the

relationship

between theme

and the other

parts?

Themes

Symbols Motifs

Imagery/Diction Characters + Conflict

LITERARY ANALYSIS

MATRIXEvery other p

iece

of the lit

erary

matrix fe

eds into

the book/story’s

THEME

Theme is the

BIGGER PICTURE

TOGETHER—all

the other elements help to

MAKE THE

BOOK/STORY’S

THEME

*Below is a poem by Tupac Shakur called “The Rose that Grew from Concrete”

*Read the poem and write:*The SUBJECT of the poem

*The THEME of the poem and WHY you think it’s the theme

Did you hear about the rose that grewfrom a crack in the concrete? Proving nature's law is wrong it learned to walk with out having feet. Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams, it learned to breathe fresh air. Long live the rose that grew from concretewhen no one else ever cared.

Did you hear about the rose that grewfrom a crack in the concrete? Proving nature's law is wrong it learned to walk with out having feet. Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams, it learned to breathe fresh air. Long live the rose that grew from concretewhen no one else ever cared.