Conflict

1. Conflict

2. Definition: • The struggle between opposing forces that is the bases of the plot of a story.

3. Types of Conflict: • INTERNAL: • Person vs. Self (When someone is trying to make a decision)

4. EXTERNAL: • Person vs. NaturePerson vs. PersonPerson vs. Society

5. 1. Where does Shawn live and what’s special about it? • 2. In chapter one, what’s Shawn’s “good news”? Why is it ironic?

6. Chapters Two and Three • 1. Describe Shawn’s condition and what it does to his body. • 2. How does Shawn’s condition affect his family? • 3. Why does the author include the scene of the dog being hit by the car? • 4. What does Shawn mean when he says that his life is “just in his head”? • 5 Shawn thought he knew about death from watching TV, but something happens that changes his feelings, What happened? How does he feel about death now?

7. Discussion Questions 1. Shawn is able to remember everything that he has heard since age five. No one else is aware that Shawn is near genius. How does this lack of understanding of Shawn’s mental abilities influence how people interact around him? Would they talk as openly if they knew he understood what they were saying?

8. Discussion Question 2. Shawn talks directly to you, the reader. He says he may have overheard that fight you had with your girlfriend or what your father said when you were shopping for a particular baseball glove. How would you feel if you knew someone could remember in detail, an incident in your life you would rather forget? Explain.

9. Discussion Question 3. Shawn states, “My dad didn’t divorce my mom or my sister, Cindy or my brother, Paul-he divorced me.” Is Shawn correct in his assessment of the situation? Why or why not?

10. Chapter 4-5 • Why does Shawn think his dad wants to kill him? Do you have any ideas about how Shawn feels about his dad?

11. Double Entry Journal • As we read the novel together, make notes (written or visual) in their readers notebook – this should not be a summary of what was read, but a reaction to what was read. For this use a double entry diary

12. Double Entry Journal

13. Discussion Question #4 Mr. McDaniel won the Pulitzer Prize for the poem he wrote about being a parent of a child with Cerebral Palsy. Shawn is “introduced” to an audience his father has brought to tears with the poem. How does Shawn react to this situation? How would you feel in Shawn’s place?

14. Chapter 6 independent Questions • How strongly does Shawn feel about his seizures? (please provide text evidence) • How physically damaging can a seizure be? • Shawn states, “Seizure trips are as real to me as sitting in this wheelchair right now, remembering.” What is reality? Is it perception? Can we experience something that isn’t reality? [you may want to use a dictionary]

15. Chapter 6 4. Shawn describes what it's like to have a seizure. • How does he feel about his seizures? • Did this surprise you? • Why or why not? • Have you ever had experience with someone having a seizure?

16. Discussion Question #5 Unable to handle his feeling that Shawn is in great pain during his seizures, Mr. McDaniel is considering the option of euthanasia. Are Mr. McDaniel’s feelings justifiable? Is there ever a time that euthanasia is acceptable?

17. Chapter 7 - Character

18. Characters can be • protagonists (heroes), The main character around whom most of the work revolves. • antagonists, The person who the protagonist is against. This is often the villain, but could be a force of nature, set of circumstances, an animal, etc. • major, These are the main characters. They dominate the story. Often there are only one or two major characters. • minor,These are the characters who help tell the major character’s tale by letting major characters interact and reveal their personalities, situations, stories. They are usually static (unchanging).

19. Characters can be • dynamic (changing) - a character who undergoes an important inner change such as a change in personality or attitude: • static (unchanging) – a character who undergoes little or no inner change; a character who does not grow or develop. • stereotypical (stock), This is the absent minded professor, the jolly fat person, the clueless blonde.

20. Characters can be • round (3 dimensional) - This means the character has more than one facet to their personality. They are not just a hardcore gamer, but they also play basketball on the weekends. • flat (1 dimensional) - This is the character who is only viewed through one side. This is the hardcore gamer. That’s all there is to the character.

21. To describe the Character

22. Consider the character’s name and appearance. • Is the author taking advantage of stereotypes? The hot-tempered redhead, the boring brunette, the playboy fraternity guy. • Is the author going against stereotypes? The brilliant blonde, the socially adept professor, the rich but lazy immigrant. • Is the author repeating a description of the character? If so, then it is important. For example, Kathy in East of Eden is described as rodent-like and snake-like, “sharp little teeth” and a “flickering tongue.” • Is their name significant? Is it a word that means something, like Honor or Hero? Does it come from a particular place or time and make reference to that? Scarlett, Beowulf. • Appearance and visual attributes are usually far less important than other factors, unless their appearance is the point– such as in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Clothing also rarely matters, except to make him/her easier to visualize.

23. Consider if he/she a static (unchanging) or dynamic (changing) character. • Was the change gradual or rapid? • Was it subtle or obvious? • Are the changes significant to the story or are they a minor counterpoint? • Are the changes believable or fantastic? • What was his/her motivation to change? • What situations or characters encouraged the change? • How does the character learn from or deal with the change?

24. Consider how the author discloses the character: • By what the character says or thinks. • By what the character does. • By what other characters say about him/her. • By what the author says about him/her. • The short form for this is STAR (says, thinks, acts, reacts).

25. Look for these things within the creation of the character: Personality traits • Do these characteristics aid in the character being consistent (in character), believable, adequately motivated, and interesting? • Do the characteristics of the character emphasize and focus on the character’s role in the story’s plot?

26. Motivation • Is the character ethical? Is he/she trying to do the right thing, but going about it in the wrong way? •  Is the motivation because of emotion (love, hate) or a decision (revenge, promotion)?

27. Behavior / Actions • Does the character act in a certain way consistently? • Or is the character erratic? • Could one pluck the character from the story, put them in another story, and know how they would react?

28. Relationships • With other characters in the story • How others see/react to him/her Strengths Weaknesses Morals – Often a character will agonize over right and wrong. If a character doesn’t agonize and chooses one or the other easily, that is also significant.

29. History and Background • Sometimes a character analysis looks at the history of the individual character.  Was that person mistreated? abused? well-loved? liked? • Sometimes the history of the work matters more.  Is the story set in World War II?  In ancient Greece?  That makes a difference because culture changes stories.  If you don’t know the culture, though, you may not be able to comment on this.

30. Character’s function in story • Is the character an integral character?  (Cinderella) • Is the character a minor character? (The wicked stepmother in “Cinderella”) • Is the character someone who could have been left out or is gratuitous? (The second wicked stepsister in “Cinderella.”)

31. How to write a character analysis

32. Response log focusing on character analysis • What is going on in this passage? • What is your first impression of this character? • What line(s) raise questions for you that need to be answered? Why?

33. Criteria for response log (not met) This student makes reasonable inferences about the character, but does not support them with • details from the selection. • accurately describes setting, characters, and events, and their relationships • makes simple inferences about characters • offers a logical interpretation of the theme and provides some evidence; • tends to focus on the obvious

34. Criteria for response log (met) This student’s response includes an accurate analysis of character, well supported with • references to the selection. • accurately and thoroughly describes setting, characters, and events and their relationships • makes and justifies logical predictions about events in and “beyond” the selection • makes inferences about characters and story events, supported by specific evidence from the selection • makes logical connections to own ideas and knowledge; shows some insight (e.g., “typical teen that talks good and bad about her friend”)

35. Theme • make specific references to the words and actions of the characters • look for evidence “between the lines” as well as “on the lines” • focus their discussion on the specific passage they were given

36. Expectations Minimal This student focused on parts of the passage that made explicit mention of colour. • accurately describes characters and events, and their relationships • makes simple inference about characters; provides specific evidence as support; • omits some key points • offers reactions and judgments; somewhat general (e.g., “Just because your black it doesn’t mean your a bad person.”)

37. Expectations – fully met This student’s response is thorough and well supported with quotations from the passage. • accurately and thoroughly describes characters and their relationships • makes and justifies logical predictions about events in and “beyond” the selection (e.g.“Many of these thoughts have not changed in the past 50 years and although in this passage, it might seem like the view of only one man, it is not.”) • makes inferences about characters and themes; provides specific evidence from the selection as support offers and supports logical interpretations of the theme and author’s message • makes logical connections to own knowledge (e.g., “Many of these thoughts have not changed in the past 50 years.”)

38. Response Log • makes specific references to the text, • focuses on the important ideas, • offers personal views and reactions, • includes questions and speculation as well as information

39. Response log focusing on character analysis • What is going on in this passage? • What is your first impression of this character? • What line(s) raise questions for you that need to be answered? Why?