To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird 9th Grade Periods 2,3, and 6 Mr. Chao

High Five! Things You Did Well • Overall Structure • Using Quotes (5 Areas) • Using Plot Summary to show understanding of the book • Creativity This was a MUCH HARDER task than the last essay. The prompts were more difficult and required more thoughtful analysis. Most of you wrote better papers than the last few even if your rubric score doesn’t reflect this improvement.

Things To Improve • Topic Sentences (Strengthen) • Addressing the Prompt • Writing Strong Supports • Using SPECIFICexamples • Including ANALYSIS • Using ACTIVEvoice • There were more papers that MISSED or DID NOT ADDRESS THE PROMPT FULLY.

Using ANALYSIS • What is Analysis? • Analysis is YOUR PERSONAL INSIGHT into what the book has to say about a given topic. Analysis often follows TEXTUAL EVIDENCE in the form of explaining significance. Strong Papers follow up examples with analysis of how those examples PROVE THE ARGUMENTS THAT THEY MADE IN THE SUPPORTS. • Where do I include analysis? • After breaking down an example from the text. It’s important to use analysis because otherwise the example might not fit with your argument. • Why include Analysis? • Without Analysis, your examples do nothing else beside summarize the plot. With analysis, your paper shows your thinking and demonstrates how YOU read the novel.

Examples vs. Analysis When Scout is in a giant ham costume for her school play, it may look to be just a random memory but older Scout proves to us that it is not.“Jem said he would take me. Thus began our longest journey together” (340). We can determine that this event is going to be a crucial part of the story simply because older Scout lets us know ahead of time that something of great importance is going to happen. The perspective of younger Scout would have meant nothing because young Scout had no idea what was about to happen to her. She did not realize, until looking back, that this moment would change her life. • Note the difference between BLUE (Summary) and RED (Analysis). Analysis opens the door for your own ideas not mentioned explicitly by the author.

Structure I may need to re-evaluate my outline sheet after this paper: • Topic Sentence: Main idea AND outlines supports • Support #1 Specific Argument (TELLING) • Example #1 Specific Example (SHOWING) • Examples #2 Specific Example (SHOWING) • ANALYSISAddresses prompt • Support #2 Specific Argument (TELLING) • Example #1 Specific Example (SHOWING) • Examples #2 Specific Example (SHOWING) • ANALYSIS Addresses prompt • Support #3 Specific Argument (TELLING) • Example #1 Specific Example (SHOWING) • Examples #2 Specific Example (SHOWING) • ANALYSIS Addresses prompt • Concluding Sentence Summary + ANALYSIS

Topic Sentences • Common Issues • Topic Sentences that don’t actually say ANYTHING. Remember, Topic Sentences need to state ARGUMENTS. • Topic Sentences that DON’T CLEARLY OUTLINE SUPPORTS • “Lee uses symbolism through the characters as a way to express deeper meaning or ideas” “The inadequacies in the court and education systems are examined by Lee.” • What is actually being said here? • What arguments are presented? • Is this strongly worded? • What are the supports in this paragraph?

Topic Sentences Weak Topic Sentences • “Harper Lee displays discrimination in this story by showing people acting out against someone or something. There are three main occasions.” • “Lee uses symbolism in inanimate objects and surroundings such as the tree outside of Boo Radley’s house, the snowman that Jem and Scout build, and the fire at Ms. Maudie’s house.”

Topic Sentences “Harper Lee criticizes how others can turn a blind eye to the truth by thinking they are benefitting the subject when they are really hurting them, by using excuses to avoid the truth, and by ignoring a problem until it can’t be ignored.”

The Breakdown

The prompts said WHAT?!?!? Addressing the Prompt In order to ADDRESS THE PROMPT: • For SOCIAL CRITICISM, the paper needs to mention how Lee CRITICIZES ALL OF SOCIETY using either characters, symbols, or themes. • For SCOUT OR JEM GROWS UP, the paper needs to explain how a character CHANGES from in one of THREE areas from ONE PART OF THE BOOK TO ANOTHER. • For SYMBOLS, the paper needs to explain how the author/book uses symbols TO PRESENT A MESSAGE (THEME) by BREAKING DOWN THE SYMBOL’S TRAITS. • For THEME, the paper needs to DEFINE OR NARROW the main themes using clear ARGUMENTS • For PERSPECTIVEthe paper needs to explain how the author/book uses perspective TO PRESENT A MESSAGE (THEME) or AFFECT THE WAY THE PLOT IS PRESENTED.

Social Criticism Common Errors Leading to Missing the Prompt: • Social Criticism is a Criticism of SOCIETY. NOT a criticism of ONE INDIVIDUAL. • Criticisms that aren’t actually criticisms • “Maycomb has a social hierarchy” • Nonspecific wording • “Racism is addressed by local town gatherings mentioned in this book” • Unclear criticisms • “In Harper Lee’s town black people are criticized exclusively in three ways…”

Supports: Social Criticism Effective Supports • Lastly, we are shown that different religious groups can use their strength in numbers to assess different cultures and people, and force ideas unto that community or a single person. • Additionally, Lee uses Mrs. Merriweather to represent people who want to help, but do not put forward enough effort to accomplish their goal. • Being the small, tight-knit, Southern community that Maycomb is, community involvement is very important. Everyone in Maycomb has duties or responsibilities expected of them, and those who fail to follow these codes are rejected, basically socially shunned.

Supports: Social Criticism Weak Supports • “Aunt Alexandra is very focused on social hierarchy. She believes that her social status is very important.” • “Another instance of social class, is about Mr. Dolphus Raymond.” • The Ewell family is also toward the end of social classes, which makes people look down upon them. • A man’s job is a direct way people are judged in the county. Atticus is a lawyer; therefore he is smart and is from a good family

Growing Up Common Errors Leading to Missing the Prompt: • To show growth you need to COMPARE Scout or Jem’s growth from the beginning to the end and show how they’ve CHANGED. • Explaining which lessons a character LEARNSdoes not by itself reveal change. Change is revealed by a character doing something at the end that they didn’t/couldn’t do at the beginning • Saying a character LEARNED is different from the character SHOWING us.

Supports: Growing up Effective Supports Effective Supports show change by COMPARINGand CONTRASTINGthe progress towards a lesson in the beginning, middle, and end.

Supports: Growing up Issues: • “Scout realized that just because Aunt Alexandra is family, it doesn’t mean that what she says is always right.” • “Jem grew immensely from learning from the people around him. He does this by learning about bravery, why things are the way they are, and Atticus’ life lessons.”

Symbols Common Errors Leading to Missing the Prompt: • Not explaining what the symbols REPRESENT • Not explaining the LITERALobject • Not explaining the FIGURATIVEobject • Not including textual evidence that SHOWShow the symbol is used • Using things that aren’t symbols (like characters)

Symbols • How to Break Down Symbols: “Maycomb’s Usual Disease” • Explain what the symbol represents • i.e. The Disease represents prejudice • Explain how the symbols physical traits tell us something about what it represents • i.e. Diseases spread rapidly and you don’t really know you have it until it’s too late. Similarly, prejudice can take over regular ordinary people and make them do terrible things without even realizing what they are doing • Provide an example from the text and analyze how the symbol teaches a message • i.e. The mob is composed of regular everyday people who are normally quite decent (they help Miss Maudie with her fire) but are compelled by racism to do evil acts like trying to kill Tom Robinson. Which shows us how racism can affect even the best of us. (THEME)

Symbols “The final example that symbolizes social criticism in TKAM is the nut grass,which is one of the earliest displays of offhanded criticism towards certain aspects of society. (Explains what the symbol represents through TELLING) The open-minded, liberal-thinking… Miss Maudie presents to readers the nut grass. She explains that nut grass is the only creation on Earth that she despises, for the reason that it, though looking unassuming and harmless, can suddenly conquer an entire garden bed or lawn and suck it dry. Every bit of the plant population is infected and replaced with nut grass if it is not eliminated down to the taproot. (Explains physical traits through PLOT SUMMARY) Literally that is what nut grass is, but in a figurative sense, nut grass is actually the essence of a terrible rash on humanity, racism, and discrimination and often hatred between races. (Connects physical traits to figurative meaning using ANALYSIS) This is because racism may seem unassuming to the ignorant masses at the beginning, but can become infectious, and destroy the humanity in a whole population in a firghteningly swift advance fueled by lies and lust for Social Darwinism. The nut grass is not just a weed in this novel, it is a destructive, hateful force in society.” (Presents a THEME using ANALYSIS)

What you did there… I see it. Perspective Notes • To show PERSPECTIVE you MUST use textual evidence to demonstrate how the author USES point of view as a tool. • Like Light Imagery, Perspective is a TOOL that the author uses to affect the way the text is read or convey a theme. • Perspective as a THEME (Walking in another’s shoes)is not the same as Perspective as a TOOL(point of view). Although they CAN be used together.

ThEMES Notes • Work on using PARALLEL STRUCTURE to present your themes in your Topic Sentence (outline supports) • Try to avoid “you” in your themes • Make sure your supports actually back up or define your themes. Otherwise they’re off-topic

Quotes • Of the 5 things we mentioned needed to be done, most of you did 4. (IMPROVEMENT) • Introduce the quote with SPEAKER and CONTEXT • Provide the quote. • Properly CITE the quote. • Summarize the quote • Explain how the quote proves your point. This time only 5 was missing most of the time DON’T QUOTE AND RUN!!!!!!!!!!!

Excellent Quote Example The mixed children fathered by Mr. Dophus Raymond and mothered by a black woman are both beautiful and innocent. They represent the blending of races in an uncultured and pure way. Sadly, these children are neither accepted with the white children because they have black blood, nor accepted with the black children because they have white blood. This is shown when Jem is telling Scout about them and tells her “They don’t belong anywhere. Colored folks won’t have ‘embeause they’re half white, white folks won’t have ‘em because they’re colored, so they’re just in-betweens, don’t belong anywhere” (Lee 215). These mixed children cannot please anyone because of their mixed races. Although it is a beautiful and innocent thing, their mixed race is frowned upon and rejected, not pleasing anyone. Red = Argument Green=Speaker+Context Black=Quote Purple=Summary Blue=Analysis

Specific vs. Nonspecific The best examples are SPECIFIC examples, meaning that use the text’s plot to prove points by SHOWING rather than TELLING. • “Dolphus Raymond goes through so much trouble to make people believe he is crazy” • “Alexandra purposefully pretends to be a lady, a refined woman to impress her surrounding judges”

Telling vs. Showing • Indirect example (weak): “[Aunt Alexandra] believes that some people, including her, are even better than all of society because they are artificial, or have been on their land for a long time.” (TELLING) • Direct Example(stronger): When Aunt Alexandra has Atticus explain to the children that they are better than everyone else due to their breeding, this shows how she holds a flawed view of what makes a person decent. (SHOWING) • Direct Quote (best): Aunt Alexandra proves how flawed her method of evaluating innate worth by birth when she tells Scout that she cannot play with Walter because “He--is--trash” (Lee xx). Aunt Alexandra reveals how petty her beliefs are since she very obviously judges Walter’s character based off of things that are outside his control: his poverty, upbringing, and familial ties. This is clearly unfair, and a reason that Lee gives for why Society should be changed. (SHOWING)

Okay, that’s enough “to be” verbs. Time to write Active! Passive Voice Passive Voice weakens arguments • “It is explained that the reason for this is thatthe mockingbird, unlike other birds, does not cause problems...” • Note how this entire phrase can be simplified just by replacing that phrase with: “Atticus explains that” • “One of the symbols representing the temperament of some peopleis the corset.” • Again, note how the subject is somewhat ambiguous (could be the people or the corset) and the verb (is=state of existence) is weak • “Leeuses the corset to revealhow people try to be something they are not.”

Passive Voice To fix Passive Voice, avoid these sentence starters and replace with ACTIVE VERBS

Common Editing Errors • Capitalization • jem, scout, maycomb • Book Titles • To Kill a Mockingbird (Capitalized and Italicized) • Spelling • Mocking bird (Mockingbird), Euwell(Ewell), and my favorite: “mooching bird” • Contractions • it’s, aren’t, they’re • First and Second Person • I, you, we PLEASE PROOF READ PLEASE PROOF READ

Phrases to delete

And… that’s a wrap • Congrats on finishing your final take-home essay of this year! Here are some happy cats.

To Kill a Mockingbird