Friday, Jan 4 library for reseach / writing

Group bonus material from yesterday was added into a homework assignment. Scores were as follows: Group 1 60 points; group 2 50 points; group 3 70 points and group 4 50 points.
Due today: vocabulary 6

Due Tuesday:The Scarlet Letter essay, which was assigned Wed, Jan 2.

 handout from class; another copy below.

In class: you should have chosen your public figure, theme and connection to the text. You have library time for reseach or writing.

For Tuesday, January 8 by midnight: our class is participating in the district ROC Read. This is a program that promotes- and rewards- the fundamental building skills of reading and writing; hence you lucked-out, as your reading was only additional, in the sense that you read over the break.  The second part of this project is writing.

 Your assignment: Choose a character from Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and discuss how one the following themes is paralleled in a public figure from the last 50 years. Your choice of themes is: revenge, women and femininity, compassion and forgiveness, hypocrisy, guilt and blame., justice and judgment or free will.

Details: MLA heading; 450-500 words (that is two typed pages and these must be typed!) Plan accordingly, and see me if you need computer time. I have arranged lab time for Friday in the library, so that you can prepare your outline. or do some research; however, make sure you have an individual in mind, so as not to waste time. At the end of the paper, include the word count. If you don't know how this is done on the computer, I'll show you. You must incorporate a minimum of three textual examples from The Scarlet Letter that support your thematic argument. Since you should know the novel very well- and we'll review some more tomorrow- research an historical, social or political figure that has encountered a similar thematic experience as your chosen character. You will need to spend some time researching this individual.

Organization

 Introduction: start out with a generalized statement about your chosen theme. Follow with your thesis statement, which draws a parallel between chosen character and the individual you chose. Make sure that this is narrow.  Do not say, Kim Kadashian encountered similar problems to Hester Prynne!

body paragraphs: you will have a minimum of three.  What types of choices did these characters have to make? Did they transgress societal standards? Think in terms of historical and environmental setting. Was someone affected? Protected? How did their choices affect their public and private personas?  Think about symbolism. The ones for the figures in the text are quite obvious, but think about how people dress, tattoos, jewelry, one's demeanor.

Conclusiion: I cannot stress enough that a conclusion is NOT a restatement of the introduction, but an opportunity to make an original, insightful observation. What can the reader take away from your having PROVED that the character you chose from The Scarlet Letter has parallel aspects in the figure you chose. This transcends literature to life or perhaps they are the same.

As it says above, this is due by midnight on Tuesday. NO later. Your work is due downtown on Wednesday. I must read them before then.  I will not take any work on Wednesday. As always, you may send me along the work, and I'll take care of the printing. Incidentally, as this is a Roc Read assignment, your name goes downtown and to an administrator, both of whom acknowledge your hard work