Literary Essay: Session 4 Crafting claims Literary Essay: Session 4

I CAN… …finish looking closely at details in the story to determine character traits for the protagonist. …analyze those traits, looking for patterns, and write long about the character and what he/she wants in life. …craft a claim by mulling over my ideas about a character.

Protagonist: Squeaky CHARACTER TRAITS PAGE # TEXT EVIDENCE (BLURB) Responsible Protective (of Raymond) Cocky/protective Protective (of self) Self-centered/ cocky/competitive Hardworking/competitive Protective (of Raymond’s safety) Hardworking Protective Protective/mean Mean/rude Competitive Proud/loving/compassionate Friendly/ decided to not be so protective 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 She babysits her brother, Raymond. “…, they have to come by me.” “I much rather just knock you down.” “And if things get too rough, I run.” “…I’m the fastest thing on two feet." “There is not track meet that I don’t win the first-place medal.” “I can practice my breathing exercises…” “I’ve got Raymond walking on the inside close to the buildings,…” “I’m serious about my running.” “I don’t feature a whole lot of chit-chat, I much rather just knock you down right from the jump…” “You got anything to say to my brother, you say it to me…” “Hazel Elizabeth Deborah Parker, I correct him…” Give the teacher a bad look for suggesting that she let someone else win for once. Realizes that Raymond would make a great runner. Tears up when sees him running. Decided she may train him. “And I smile.” She smiles at Gretchen and thinks about being friends with her and having her help train Raymond.

Squeaky seems tough and angry, wanting to knock down people, but even though she seems tough, what shines through is how much she loves Raymond. He is disabled in some way, I’m not sure exactly how, and having him tag along could make some people crazy. But she wants to stay near him to look out for him. They go everywhere together. If people tease her brother or treat him badly, Squeaky gets very mad. She knows he is different and that he can’t protect himself. PROTECT. That’s a good word for what Squeaky does. She wants to protect her brother from the world. She watches that he walks on the safe side of the sidewalk and knocks anyone down who so much as looks at him. It is like she sees the world as enemies to her and Raymond. Maybe she’s gotten tough because people have made fun of her and she uses that toughness to protect Raymond. But while she thinks she is just protecting Raymond, she is also pushing people away and I sort of wonder deep down, is she lonely? She must be exhausted to have to act tough all the time for Raymond. I imagine it is a very tiring thing to have to keep up everywhere you go and I think Squeaky has a lot of responsibility for a young kid, especially since Raymond is older than she is. Connection You have 10 minutes to finish working on your character traits chart. Read the story and jot down traits that describe your character along with evidence. Once you are done, review the traits and reread the story. Look closely at your character and then write a response or a write long about him/her. Is there a trait that shows up multiple times? Is there something your character really wants in life? What motivates your character to act that way?

Connection You have 10 minutes to finish working on your character traits chart. Read the story and jot down traits that describe your character along with evidence. Once you are done, review the traits and reread the story. Look closely at your character and then write a response or a write long about him/her. Is there a trait that shows up multiple times? Is there something your character really wants in life? What motivates your character to act that way?

Teaching Point Today I want to teach you that when literary essayists write about a character, they work hard to come up with an idea, a claim, that captures the whole of that person, so the claim is big enough to think and write about for a while and maybe even become the central idea of the entire essay.

How to Write a Literary Essay about Character Reread selected bits Notice the details, think, talk, write to explore: Why this detail? Think, “what does the character really want?” and write long Use thought prompts to push your thinking Think about deep down internal motivations Once you have an idea about character motivations and some evidence, reread again, reread more of the text, reread more closely and expect your original idea to change. Try to generate an idea about the character that encompasses the whole character and the whole text.

Teaching/Modeling What is a claim? What was our claim for our “Three Little Pigs” essay from session one? Claim: The Third Little Pig is an admirable character.

Teaching/Modeling To come up with a strong claim about a character, it helps to reread one’s entries and notes and to think again about the text, coming up with a draft of “possible claims”. Let’s review our entries and ideas about “Raymond’s Run” and ask ourselves: What is the main thing we really want to say about Squeaky?

Active Engagement Follow along as I read these entries out loud. (pass out journal entries) What is the main thing we really want to say about Squeaky? Try to come up with a claim that you think is big enough to encompass all of your most important ideas about Squeaky. Your idea might come from these entries or from the story itself. Jot down your possible claims in your notebook. Title the page: Claims for “Raymond’s Run”

Protagonist: Squeaky CHARACTER TRAITS PAGE # TEXT EVIDENCE (BLURB) Responsible Protective (of Raymond) Cocky/protective Protective (of self) Self-centered/ cocky/competitive Hardworking/competitive Protective (of Raymond’s safety) Hardworking Protective Protective/mean Mean/rude Competitive Proud/loving/compassionate Friendly/ decided to not be so protective 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 She babysits her brother, Raymond. “…, they have to come by me.” “I much rather just knock you down.” “And if things get too rough, I run.” “…I’m the fastest thing on two feet." “There is not track meet that I don’t win the first-place medal.” “I can practice my breathing exercises…” “I’ve got Raymond walking on the inside close to the buildings,…” “I’m serious about my running.” “I don’t feature a whole lot of chit-chat, I much rather just knock you down right from the jump…” “You got anything to say to my brother, you say it to me…” “Hazel Elizabeth Deborah Parker, I correct him…” Give the teacher a bad look for suggesting that she let someone else win for once. Realizes that Raymond would make a great runner. Tears up when sees him running. Decided she may train him. “And I smile.” She smiles at Gretchen and thinks about being friends with her and having her help train Raymond.

Squeaky seems tough and angry, wanting to knock down people, but even though she seems tough, what shines through is how much she loves Raymond. He is disabled in some way, I’m not sure exactly how, and having him tag along could make some people crazy. But she wants to stay near him to look out for him. They go everywhere together. If people tease her brother or treat him badly, Squeaky gets very mad. She knows he is different and that he can’t protect himself. PROTECT. That’s a good word for what Squeaky does. She wants to protect her brother from the world. She watches that he walks on the safe side of the sidewalk and knocks anyone down who so much as looks at him. It is like she sees the world as enemies to her and Raymond. Maybe she’s gotten tough because people have made fun of her and she uses that toughness to protect Raymond. But while she thinks she is just protecting Raymond, she is also pushing people away and I sort of wonder deep down, is she lonely? She must be exhausted to have to act tough all the time for Raymond. I imagine it is a very tiring thing to have to keep up everywhere you go and I think Squeaky has a lot of responsibility for a young kid, especially since Raymond is older than she is.

Active Engagement TIP 1: Think about whether a claim can be supported by the whole story—the beginning, the middle and the end—because the best ideas encompass not only the whole character but also the whole story. TIP 2: Remember you are not searching for facts about the character but for ideas– for things that are not explicitly said in the story itself but ideas that you thought up on your own.

Active Engagement Reread the claims about Squeaky that you have jotted, star the one you think best captured her, in all her complexity, and get ready to share. (Have each student share their best claim.)

Claims about Squeaky

Claims about Squeaky Squeaky seems tough and angry, wanting to knock people down, but what shines through is how much she loves Raymond. Deep down, Squeaky just really wants to protect Raymond. Squeaky acts tough to people and pushes them away. In spite of her big talk and her toughness, Squeaky is lonely. But she doesn’t want people to know. Squeaky is hardworking. Squeaky tries to be tough on the outside, but is lonely (nice) on the inside. Squeaky is protective of Raymond. Squeaky is independent. Squeaky is lonely. Squeaky is loving toward Raymond. Squeaky is determined. Squeaky has no time for her friends. Squeaky acts tough to protect her brother, but ends up pushing people away.

Active Engagement Always remember that after you draft a few possible claims, essayists look them over, weighing which one seems the most accurate-- which encompasses the whole character and which rings truest? Review the claims we have come up with as a group about Squeaky with your partner and decide which one comes the closest to capturing her true essence.

Name a Claim I think you are realizing that this process involves not just choosing between a bunch of possible claims but tweaking the claim that seems closest to what you want to say and rewriting it until it is just right. Get your pencils going and try making a claim that is more precise.

Claim: Squeaky is a fiercely protective character. I heard one that I think is especially strong—it encompasses a good deal of the story and it is very clear.

Review What you have done is what essayists do: Reread your entries and story. Generate a list of claims (ideas about your character). Cross out the ones that just talk about one side of a person. Realize it’s wise to try for one that feels bigger and that encompasses the whole person. After finding one that generally works, you revised it and tested it again.

Link Today you’ll work with others that read the same story as you. Take a look at the entries you made about this story. Come up with a list of possible claims. Test them out to see if they fit with the whole character and the whole story. TIP: Remember you are not searching for facts about the character but for ideas– for things that are not explicitly said in the story itself but ideas that you thought up on your own.

Mid-Workshop Teaching: Some of you may have your claim and are ready to plan your essay, so let me get you started. Remember the Boxes-and-Bullets Structure from the first lesson. (one reason) (another reason) and above all, (a third reason) Use this structure to begin planning your essay. (A character) is (a trait) because

Mid-Workshop Teaching: Some of you may have your claim and are ready to plan your essay, so let me get you started. Remember the Boxes-and-Bullets Structure from the first lesson. she watches out for Raymond’s safety. she defends him. and above all, she protects herself from being hurt by others. Squeaky is a fiercely protective character because…

Sharing: First, you and your partner need to annotate the beginning of our class essay looking particularly at the structure of it. Then, share your entries with your partner. In addition, discuss the process you used for developing this entry.

Homework: Go back into your story and look for two passages that include details that support your claim. Then, write about the details you see in those two passages and the ways those details reveal the character.