Literature Circle JOURNALS & ANALYSIS

Journal #1 Tell us about the personality of your main character. What does he/she like? Dislike? What do they value? How are they special? What about them makes them able to face the challenges they are enduring? What are they worried about? Give us a good picture of WHO they are! WRITE THIS IN THE THIRD PERSON POINT OF VIEW. You’ll probably have to write at least ½ page to accomplish this…

Journal #2 (with your group  ) Review your text so far. Discuss items in the story that hold significance to your character. Identify at least THREE inanimate objects and determine their symbolic nature in the text. For each object: Write the object Explicate the object’s symbolic role in the text – how does it represent a bigger idea than just itself? Put a quote from the text that shows the object being mentioned – and you must cite it!!!!!!!!!!! EXAMPLE: Coffin; The coffin in the Scarlet Ibis represents the low expectations held for Doodle so much so that many expected him to die. “Sometimes I’d take Doodle up to the barn loft and make him touch the mahogany coffin meant for him” (Hurst 294).

Reflective Writing #3 1. Read the “Tower of Violence” sheet. Analyze the events of your text so far and determine where they would be located on the tower and why they fit there. Write a short paragraph that explains. Be specific. 2. When you are finished, make sure you’ve kept up with your quote tracker. Add quotes to it. Be specific.

Journal #4 Reflect on your story. What has been the most painful/difficult experience for your main character? Why? Explain how your character responded to this adversity or trial. What does his or her response say about them as a person? Use a quote to help support your answer. 100 words.

Themes: ALL Determine at least TWO themes for your text. Consider these topics for your novel: Tree Girl: education, family, hope, survival, struggle, war, regret, forgiveness, etc. Never Fall Down: music, belonging, persistence, survival, hope, guilt, etc. An Ordinary Man: family, culture, survival, war, words, justice, global responsibility, hospitality, ethnicity, societal position, hope, etc . Find at least one quote that support your chosen themes. Explain how your quote is connected to your theme. REMEMBER, themes are sentences, not a word! Be ready to share 

Final Thoughts Why did we read this book? Explain. What has it taught you about the different sides of human nature? Explain. What lessons from this book can you personally apply to your life? Be specific. How does the “Tower of Violence” fit into your understanding of why we read this book? Consider that violence can happen anywhere and violent acts aren’t just “murder.” Lastly, in light of this text, what changes should occur at Holmen High School?

Protagonist Analysis: Round Characters On a piece of loose leaf, answer the following questions so far about your story’s/memoir’s main character. 1.What is your character’s motivation in the story? How does it affect the plot of the story? 2. What information do you know about this character’s personality? History? Likes or dislikes? Dreams? Struggles? Etc. What does your character look like? What is important to them? 3. What do other characters say about the protagonist? Provide a few examples. 4. Choose TWO significant quotes that this character has said so far in the novel. After each quote, briefly explain why this is significant to your character and to the text. Be sure to include page numbers.

Culminating Discussion or Project?