Writing lab 1: Life of pi & The kite runner

Writing lab 1:Life of pi & The kite runner English 12 & English 12 Honors Ms. Lomauro

#1 - WRITING ABOUT THEME • A theme is a message. • A message is not the same as an idea. • A message will usually contain a noun and a verb.

#1 – Writing about theme For example: IDEA: Kanye West THEME: Kanye West might be the most arrogant human on earth, but his songs sure are snappy.

HOW COULD YOU BE SO HEARTLESS?

#1 – Writing about theme • Some examples from the Life of Pi Test: • “One theme of the novel is survival…” • “A theme of Life of Pi is religion…” • “A major theme of this book is fear…” • These are all salient ideas, concepts, motifs, but AS STATED, they aren’t themes.

#1 – Writing about theme • Themes: • “One theme of Life of Pi is that within us all lies the will to survive…” • “A major theme of this novel is that we all have the power to create the story of our lives…” • “The main theme of Life of Pi is that sometimes we must abandon morality in order to survive…”

#2 – authorial intent When writing about literature, we CANNOT speculate about ANY of the following: • What the author wanted to show us • What the author meant • What the author believes • What the author feels • What the author likes to do on the weekend • What the author thinks about the new American Idol judges

#2 – Authorial intent • Our focus must be on the text, not on the author • We have no idea what Hosseini, or anyone else, for that matter, wanted to show or do • All we can do is use our knowledge, experience, skills, empathy, curiosity, etc. to make our own meaning out of the text. • Avoid this trap in your writing. • Beware! Cuidado! Atchung!

#2 – AUTHORIAL INTENT • “Hosseini uses Amir to show us that he believes that the only way to achieve redemption is to act, not just to feel sorry.” • “KhaledHosseini is saying that the reason Amir struggles emotionally is…” • Who knows what Hosseini thinks? Did you ask him? Does he text you? Send you birthday cards? Do you have his recipe for falafel?

You cannot read my mind.

#2 – AUTHORIAL INTENT • Here’s the same idea, without the pitfall of authorial intent: • “Amir’s struggle shows us that it is not enough to simply feel badly about the past; the way to achieve redemption is through action.” • Same idea, solid argument, no speculation about what the author intended. • Boo-ya.

#2- AUTHORIAL INTENT • Maintain focus on the text. • Keep your writing character-focused. • The author’s intent is impossible to know, and therefore irrelevant. • Seriously.

#3 – CHECK THE FACTS • An error in fact can kill an otherwise strong paper. • You MUST reread portions of a novel that you plan on focusing your argument around. • Not doing so will ALWAYS present a problem. • Depending on how central the error in fact is to your overall argument, the impact can be considerable.

#3 – check the facts • The most common error in fact: Amir willingly goes back to Pakistan to save Sohrab as a means of getting the redemption he has been searching for. • Many papers contained this major error in fact. • The most common comment I made on all 48 honors papers.

#3 – Check the facts • Amir has never done anything to try and seek redemption. We can argue that if Rahim Khan did not intervene, this would have continued. • Amir is not on a quest for redemption. A quest is a purposeful endeavor. • Amir is guilted into returning to the Middle East by Rahim Khan, who is at the end of his life. • Amir is duped by Rahim Khan into retrieving Sohrab from the Taliban. He belives there is an American couple who will take custody of Sohrab once he returns. • Sohrab saves Amir from Assef with his slingshot. • Amir would have probably been beaten to death by Assef had Sohrab not intervened.

#3- check the facts • To omit the fact that Amir is duped into retrieving Sohrab from the Taliban is to vastly oversimplify the conclusion of the novel. • A hard truth to accept about Amir: • Had it not been for Rahim Khan’s deception, Amir would have never taken on the responsibility of Sohrab. • When he is being beaten by Assef, he is not thinking of Sohrab’s well-being, but about how good he feels to be receiving punishment.

#4 – be proud of yourselves • Writing is not easy. • Every paper had strong points. • A lot of insightful, thoughtful treatment of the characters. • Many shared personal connections – that takes courage and I appreciate that. • All papers showed effort. • We will continue to work on these higher-level writing skills throughout the year.

Writing lab 1: Life of pi & The kite runner