Literary Essays: Thesis Development ENG4U

Theme Practice Which of the following are not themes of the movie Titanic? – Love – Jack and Rose – The boat – Pride – Classism – Leonardo DiCaprio

Theme Practice Which of the following are not themes of the movie Titanic? – Love – Jack and Rose – The boat – Pride – Classism – Leonardo DiCaprio

Theme Practice Which of the following are not themes of the movie Transformers? – Robots in disguise – The role of technology in war – Optimus Prime – Cool cars – Government conspiracy

Theme Practice Which of the following are not themes of the movie Transformers? – Robots in disguise – The role of technology in war – Optimus Prime – Cool cars – Government conspiracy

The purpose of a literary essay is to analyze the author’s choices and what we can learn from them It takes a lot of thought and planning to write a literary essay! The following examples are from Suzanne Collins’ novel The Hunger Games (the fall semester’s ENG3U novel)

Steps 1.Identify themes 2.Identify points of interest 3.Make connections 4.Ask yourself guiding questions 1.Determine the purpose of the connections 5.Create your thesis

Step 1: Brainstorm 10 themes 1)Freedom 2)Equality 3)Love 4)Friendship 5)Responsibility 6)Violence in media 7)Government 8)Utopia/Dystopia 9)Dehumanization 10) Power

Step 1: Find Thematic Connections 1)Freedom 2)Equality 3)Love 4)Friendship 5)Responsibility 1)Violence in media 2)Government 3)Utopia/Dystopia 4)Dehumanization 5)Power

Step 2: Brainstorm 5-10 unique, interesting features of your novel Things that are not unique points of interest: – Characters – “Their experiences” – Feelings

Step 2: Brainstorm 5-10 unique, interesting features of your novel Battles in the hunger games Sacrifice Genetics: muttations & the Capitol New country structure & districts Symbolic name meanings Rebellions Money as key to safety: tessera Sponsors & gamemakers

Step 3: Find Connections Make connections between your themes and points of interest

Step 3: Find Connections Choose a theme: Which points of interest does it connect to? Government could connect to: – Battles in the hunger games – Sacrifice – Genetics: muttations & the Capitol – New country structure & districts – Symbolic name meanings – Rebellions – Money as key to safety: tessera – Sponsors & gamemakers

Step 4: Ask Yourself Questions Write 3-4 questions that you would need to ask yourself to fully understand the connections you’ve made. What does the government gain and lose from making people fight? How do characters’ sacrifices affect the government’s power? Can an individual change the government’s decisions?

Choose your best question Which question will best allow you to analyze the connection between your theme and point of interest? How do characters’ sacrifices affect the government’s power?

Answer your question How do characters’ sacrifices affect the government’s power? – The districts’ inability to save its children shows the government’s initial control – Katniss makes people realize District 12 could be a threat when she volunteers to take Prim’s place – Katniss and Peeta deciding to kill themselves makes the government change its rules for the first time ever Therefore: the bigger the personal sacrifice, the more it threatens the government’s control

Step 5: Create your thesis Basic Structure (Author) uses (point of interest) to show the theme of (theme). Better Structure (Analysis!) (Author) uses (point of interest) to show (theme + “so what?).

Step 5: Write your thesis (basic) Theme: government control Point of interest: sacrifices Thesis In her novel The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins uses various characters’ sacrifices to show the theme of government control.

Step 5: Write your thesis (better!) Theme: government control Point of interest: sacrifices Connection: the more personal the sacrifice is, the more it threatens the government’s control Thesis In her dystopian novel The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins uses various characters’ sacrifices to show that an individual can have the power to bring about change from an oppressive government.

Try it together! Groups of 3 Novel: Lord of the Flies

Step 1: Themes List 5-10 themes from Lord of the Flies – Find connections between the themes

Step 2: Points of Interest Identify 5-10 unique features of Lord of the Flies

Examples Themes Civilization vs. Savagery Individualism vs. Community Order vs. Chaos Loss of innocence Fear of the unknown War Responsibility Points of Interest Jack’s war paint The Beast The fire The boys’ hunting dance Big ’uns vs. Little ’uns Pigs & Lord of the Flies …

Step 3: Make Connections Choose your best theme – Find connections between your theme and your points of interest

Step 4: Ask Yourself Questions Create analysis questions to help you find the importance of the connection between your theme and points of interest Choose your best question and answer it

Step 5: Write Your Thesis Basic Structure (Author) uses (point of interest) to show the theme of (theme). Better Structure (Analysis) (Author) uses (point of interest) to show the theme of (theme + “so what”?).

Example William Golding uses the beast to show the theme of fear of the unknown. (good)

Example In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the boys’ increasingly realistic hunting dances to show the theme of civilization vs. savagery. (good) So what?  If we’re not careful, civilized people can easily become savage In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the boys’ increasingly realistic hunting dances to show how dangerously easy it is to descend from civilization into savagery. (better)

Example William Golding uses the conflicts about basic survival needs at camp to show the theme of invididualism vs. community. (good) So what?  Working together is better & more effective than individualism William Golding uses the conflicts about basic survival needs at camp to teach that working as a community is preferable to individualism. (better)

Example William Golding uses the beast to show the theme of fear of the unknown. (good) In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the boys’ increasingly realistic hunting dances to show how dangerously easy it is to descend from civilization into savagery. (better) William Golding uses the conflicts about basic survival needs at camp to teach that working as a community is preferable to individualism. (better)

Guernsey Make a list of 8-10 themes List 8-10 points of interest: STOP! Get checked! Make connections between themes & points of interest Write 2-3 questions that can help you explain the connection between themes & P.O.I – Answer your best question Write your thesis – (Author) uses (P.O.I) to show (theme + “so what”)

Next Steps Assignment (details tomorrow) Plan essay for Guernsey – Thesis planning (done!) – 3 sources for possible works cited (details tomorrow) – Introduction paragraph (details tomorrow) Due Wednesday

Homework Finish thesis planning – Questions  Answer questions  Write thesis Tomorrow we will have time to work on research and writing. If you like to work on a computer, bring it with you. If you prefer to write by hand and type things at home, that’s fine too Bring Guernsey tomorrow