1. Agenda: (Our library trip has been rescheduled to Tuesday next week
Agenda: (Our library trip has been rescheduled to Tuesday next week.) Independent reading “Making Willy Loman” Prep for essay –thesis and theme
Thursday, April 7, 2016
HW: Essay test tomorrow (Make sure you bring “Making Willy Loman” and all notes you’d like to use.)

2. Finish film

3. Independent Reading! Priorities: -Finish play
-Finish “Making Willy Loman”

4. “Making Willy Loman” *Look up words that confuse you.
*Highlight or take notes in the margin if you would like.
*Finish for homework

5. Check homework
What are three things that inspired Miller to write this play?

6. Essay Test
You may plan and prepare, but you may not begin writing until Monday.
It is not designed to be done at home.

7. Essay Test Instructions
Answer one of the questions.
Responses should begin with a one sentence introduction that serves as a thesis statement.
Each body paragraph should provide a focused topic/reason to support your answer (or thesis statement), which is stated in the topic sentence.
Each body paragraph should also include several carefully selected quotations from the play.
You must cite from “Making Willy Loman” by John Lahr at least once.
In-text citation punctuation must be correct. Here is an example of what your in-text citations will look like:
After Biff begs his father to come inside and explain things to Linda, Willy replies nervously, “No, no, I don’t want to see her” (128).
While citing Lahr’s article, do not worry about page numbers. Just be sure that you make it clear that you are citing Lahr by using a phrase like “According to John Lahr, …” or by adding (Lahr) after a direct quotation.
Write a brief and thought-provoking conclusion that points to the overall meaning of the work as a whole.
Write from third person point of view.
Proofread your work.

8. Today’s Objective
I will synthesize a thesis statement to answer the test question.
I will synthesize a theme statement to represent the takeaway of Death of a Salesman.

9. “Making Willy Loman” You’ve been assigned page ________.
Reread this page.
Write down the main ideas presented on this page. Consider paragraph by paragraph.
Your group will present a summary of the main ideas shortly

10. “Mad competition” in America today?

11. What is the takeaway? Remember what you wrote two days ago?
What else can you add?
How can it be more specific to the play?
More powerful?

12. Theme The central idea or meaning of a story.
It provides a unifying point around which the plot, characters, setting, point of view, symbols, and other elements of a story are organized.
Some are stated explicitly.
Most are presented implicitly.

13. Theme
Many stories share identical topics or subject, such as fate, death, innocence, loneliness, disillusionment.
But each story makes its own statement about the subject and expresses some view of life.

14. Example Subject : revenge
Theme: Instead of providing satisfaction, revenge defeats the best in one’s self.

15. Warning:
A tendency to look for a lesson in a story can produce a reductive and inaccurate formulation of its theme.
Clichés/short-circuit ideas.

16. Under circumstances of ______________________, some people will __________________________, but others will ____________________.

17. Under circumstances of fearing one’s insignificance, some will ____
When a person wants to “make it big,” some will _____

18. While trying to succeed, some people will maintain their integrity, and some may abandon their code of ethics in order to compete with the rest.

19. Under circumstances of family pressure, some will breakdown and others will break away.
Under circumstances of conforming to the traditional American dream, some people will succeed, but for others, it will lead to their demise.

20. Under the intense pressure of “mad competition” in America, one can either accept who he is and do the things that give him purpose, or one can insist on chasing the illusive American dream and be doomed.

21. Your Task: If you haven’t already, decide on a question.
Write a thesis statement. (This sentence should answer the essay test question in a broad way so that you can explore it more deeply in the body paragraphs.)
Write a theme statement. (This sentence is the takeaway –the little firework you are planning to set off in the conclusion.)