Life of Pi Unit

ELA 20-1

Task A: Reading Comprehension (TWO tasks):

- Pass Reading Quiz + TWO of the following:

Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Read “Secret Life of Walter Mitty”

& compare with Life of Pi

Active participation in Life of Pi

Circle Discussion

Read article on Life of Pi and write

Personal Response

Task B: Symbolic & Thematic Interpretation (TWO tasks):

- Animal symbolism assignment

- Dialectics Reading & Worksheet

- Power of Story assignment

- Semiotics Reading & Worksheet

- Symbolic Interpretation assignment (Algae Island, Blindness, Food & Religion)

Task C: Analysis (TWO tasks):

ONE of the following - Essay

- Thematic Analysis Paragraph

- Author Choice Analysis Paragraph +

- Symbolic Analysis Paragraph

Task D: Representation (ONE task):

- Personal Zoo project

- Creative Writing in Textual Context

- Art Gallery project

- Photo Essay

Task A: Reading Comprehension Worksheet Name:

Section 1

Character and Setting Identification

Match the character or setting in Column A with its description in Column B. (15 marks)

Column A Column B

_____1. Orange Juice

A. The man who said “I have a story that will make you believe in God.”

_____2. Indira Ghandi

B. Pi’s parents

_____3. Tsimtsum

C. Pi’s favorite teacher in secondary school

_____4. Mamaji (Francis Adirubasamy)

D. He is named after a swimming pool

_____5. Scarborough, Ontario

E. The Catholic priest Pi visits

_____6. Picine Molitor Patel

F. The hyena

_____7. Mr. Satish Kumar

G. A worker from the Japanese Ministry of Transport

_____8. Mr. Tomoshiro Okamoto

H. Pi’s brother

_____9. Santosh and Gita Patel

I. The Japanese cargo ship that sank

_____10. Richard Parker

J. Where Pi lives with his family in the present.

_____11. Father Martin

K. The leader of India as the novel opens.

_____12. Pondicherry, India

L. Where Pi received hospital treatment after his days at sea.

_____13. Ravi Patel

M. The orangutan

_____14. Tomatlan, Mexico

N. Pi’s wife

_____15. Meena Patel

O. Where the Patel family had their zoo.

P. The tiger

Q. The zebra

R. Where the writer finds the elderly man who tells him the story of Pi.

Section II

Multiple Choice

Read each statement carefully and select the most appropriate response. (1 mark each = 20 marks)

1. This novel is told primarily in ________________________ point of view from the perspective

of ______________________.

a) first person, Pi Patel b) third person, Yann Martel c) first person. Yann Martel d) third person, Pi Patel

2. The nickname young Pi receives in his school years, that even some teachers mistakenly adopt

is

a) Swimming Pool b) Lemon Pie c) Pissing Patel d) Pi Patel

3. Pi’s favorite teacher, Mr. Kumar, taught which subject?

a) English b) Biology c) Mathematics d) Religion

4. Pi and his brother are taught a harsh lesson at a young age by their father. What does the

father force the boys to witness?

a) the slaughterhouse van take away their favorite zoo animal b) a rotting, dead animal corpse in a cage c) the slaughter of goat by a purposefully starved tiger d) the death of a weakened tiger by a vicious hyena

5. In his youth, Pi seeks understanding in these three religions. They are

a) Christianity, Hinduism, Muslim b) Catholicism, Buddhism, Atheism c) Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism d) Catholicism, Islamism, Agnosticism

6. As an adult, Pi and his wife have _____ children.

a) 1 b) 2 c) 3 d) no

7. Pi’s zoology thesis from the University of Toronto focused on the study of the

a) thyroid glands of the three-toed sloth b) lymph glands of the Bengal tiger c) habitats in equatorial Brazilian jungles d) saliva glands of the meerkat

8. The three animals, besides Richard Parker, who end up on the life raft with Pi are

a) an orangutan, a hyena, a zebra b) a monkey, a lion, a warthog c) baby elephant, hyena, antelope d) three-toed sloth, cougar, camel

9. Pi’s first meal on the lifeboat consists of pale biscuits and water. What did he manage to feed

the hungry Richard Parker?

a) a piece of zebra b) one of the biscuits c) a rat d) a fish

10. Pi comes up with seven different plans on how to deal with the ever dangerous Richard Parker.

Which plan did he decide to enact?

a) attack him with available weaponry b) keep him alive c) wage a war of attrition (wait until he died) d) push him off the lifeboat

11. How does Pi go about establishing “his” territory on the life raft?

a) roping off the top of the lifeboat and the tarpaulin b) spreading his own urine around the tarpaulin c) laying his clothes on the tarpaulin d) creating a shelter with the tarpaulin

12. As Pi is about to try his hand at fishing for the first time, he is struck violently across the face by

a) Richard Parker b) a bird c) a flying fish d) a swarm of cockroaches

13. Why is Pi so anxious and disgusted with the prospect of killing any animals?

a) he is a humanitarian b) he is a vegetarian c) he is an anti-violence advocate d) he is an animal rights advocate

14. While on the boat, Pi’s favorite meal was

a) biscuits and water b) flying fish c) shrimp and green algae d) turtle

15. Which of the following senses did Pi lose while on the boat?

a) sight b) smell c) taste d) hearing

16. Pi encounters another lone survivor, on a lifeboat like his, who is blind. What does this person

attempt to do to Pi?

a) sink his raft and lifeboat b) coax Richard Parker overboard c) eat him d) steal all his supplied

17. Name the small animals Pi finds on the algae island.

a) meerkats b) squirrels c) gophers d) opossums

18. All of the fish, found in the fresh water ponds on the algae island were

a) sharks b) jumping out of the water c) deformed d) dead

19. After Pi and Richard Parker gain their strength back while on the algae island, what does Pi

teach the tiger to do?

a) roll over b) jump through a hoop c) speak d) walk on hind legs

20. One of the trees on the island appeared to be growing fruit, similar to small oranges. When Pi

breaks open one of the fruits, what does he find?

a) a human molar b) small black seeds c) slimy green ooze d) shiny fish scales

Section III

Short Answer (out of 30)

1. Why didn’t Pi drown with his family on the ship? (2)

2. Explain the frame narrative for the novel (2)

3. What does Pi say about wild animals in cities? Provide 2 examples. (3)

4. Who do you think the Frenchman is? Why? (2)

5. What strange behavior does Pi demonstrate in the hospital in Mexico? (1)

6. What does the Japanese report on the shipwreck imply? (2)

7. Why was the algae island so menacing? (2)

8. How old was Pi when the story takes place? How long was he at sea? (2)

9. Why does Pi practice 3 different religions? (2)

10. What are Pi’s 3 religions? What do they have in common? How are they different? (12)

Task A:

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

by James Thurber

"We're going through!" The Commander's voice was like thin ice breaking. He wore his full-dress

uniform, with the heavily braided white cap pulled down rakishly over one cold gray eye. "We can't make it, sir.

It's spoiling for a hurricane, if you ask me." "I'm not asking you, Lieutenant Berg," said the Commander.

"Throw on the power lights! Rev her up to 8,500! We're going through!" The pounding of the cylinders

increased: ta-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa. The Commander stared at the ice forming on the pilot

window. He walked over and twisted a row of complicated dials. "Switch on No. 8 auxiliary!" he shouted.

"Switch on No. 8 auxiliary!" repeated Lieutenant Berg. "Full strength in No. 3 turret!" shouted the Commander.

"Full strength in No. 3 turret!" The crew, bending to their various tasks in the huge, hurtling eight-engined

Navy hydroplane, looked at each other and grinned. "The old man will get us through" they said to one another.

"The Old Man ain't afraid of Hell!" . . .

"Not so fast! You're driving too fast!" said Mrs. Mitty. "What are you driving so fast for?"

“Hmm?" said Walter Mitty. He looked at his wife, in the seat beside him, with shocked astonishment.

She seemed grossly unfamiliar, like a strange woman who had yelled at him in a crowd. "You were up to fifty-

five," she said. "You know I don't like to go more than forty. You were up to fifty-five." Walter Mitty drove on

toward Waterbury in silence, the roaring of the SN202 through the worst storm in twenty years of Navy flying

fading in the remote, intimate airways of his mind.

"You're tensed up again," said Mrs. Mitty. "It's one of your days. I wish you'd let Dr. Renshaw look you

over."

Walter Mitty stopped the car in front of the building where his wife went to have her hair done.

"Remember to get those overshoes while I'm having my hair done," she said. "I don't need overshoes," said

Mitty. She put her mirror back into her bag. "We've been all through that," she said, getting out of the car.

"You're not a young man any longer." He raced the engine a little. "Why don't you wear your gloves? Have you

lost your gloves?" Walter Mitty reached in a pocket and brought out the gloves. He put them on, but after she

had turned and gone into the building and he had driven on to a red light, he took them off again. "Pick it up,

brother!" snapped a cop as the light changed, and Mitty hastily pulled on his gloves and lurched ahead. He drove

around the streets aimlessly for a time, and then he drove past the hospital on his way to the parking lot.

. . . "It's the millionaire banker, Wellington McMillan," said the pretty nurse. "Yes?" said Walter Mitty,

removing his gloves slowly. "Who has the case?" "Dr. Renshaw and Dr. Benbow, but there are two specialists

here, Dr. Remington from New York and Mr. Pritchard-Mitford from London. He flew over." A door opened

down a long, cool corridor and Dr. Renshaw came out. He looked distraught and haggard. "Hello, Mitty," he

said. "We're having the devil's own time with McMillan, the millionaire banker and close personal friend of

Roosevelt. Obstreosis of the ductal tract. Tertiary. Wish you'd take a look at him." "Glad to," said Mitty.

In the operating room there were whispered introductions: "Dr. Remington, Dr. Mitty. Mr. Pritchard-

Mitford, Dr. Mitty." "I've read your book on streptothricosis," said Pritchard-Mitford, shaking hands. "A

brilliant performance, sir." "Thank you," said Walter Mitty. "Didn't know you were in the States, Mitty,"

grumbled Remington. "Coals to Newcastle, bringing Mitford and me up here for a tertiary." "You are very

kind," said Mitty. A huge, complicated machine, connected to the operating table, with many tubes and wires,

began at this moment to go pocketa-pocketa-pocketa. "The new anesthetizer is giving way!" shouted an intern.

"There is no one in the East who knows how to fix it!" "Quiet, man!" said Mitty, in a low, cool voice. He sprang

to the machine, which was going pocketa-pocketa-queep-pocketa-queep. He began fingering delicately a row of

glistening dials. "Give me a fountain pen!" he snapped. Someone handed him a fountain pen. He pulled a faulty

piston out of the machine and inserted the pen in its place. "That will hold for ten minutes," he said. "Get on

with the operation." A nurse hurried over and whispered to Renshaw, and Mitty saw the man turn pale.

"Coreopsis has set in," said Renshaw nervously. "If you would take over, Mitty?" Mitty looked at him and at the

craven figure of Benbow, who drank, and at the grave, uncertain faces of the two great specialists. "If you wish,"

he said. They slipped a white gown on him; he adjusted a mask and drew on thin gloves; nurses handed him

shining . . .

"Back it up, Mac! Look out for that Buick!" Walter Mitty jammed on the brakes. "Wrong lane, Mac,"

said the parking-lot attendant, looking at Mitty closely. "Gee. Yeh," muttered Mitty. He began cautiously to

back out of the lane marked "Exit Only." "Leave her sit there," said the attendant. "I'll put her away." Mitty got

out of the car. "Hey, better leave the key." "Oh," said Mitty, handing the man the ignition key. The attendant

vaulted into the car, backed it up with insolent skill, and put it where it belonged.

They're so damn cocky, thought Walter Mitty, walking along Main Street; they think they know

everything. Once he had tried to take his chains off, outside New Milford, and he had got them wound around

the axles. A man had had to come out in a wrecking car and unwind them, a young, grinning garageman. Since

then Mrs. Mitty always made him drive to the garage to have the chains taken off. The next time, he thought,

I'll wear my right arm in a sling; they won't grin at me then. I'll have my right arm in a sling and they'll see I

couldn't possibly take the chains off myself. He kicked at the slush on the sidewalk. "Overshoes," he said to

himself, and he began looking for a shoe store.

When he came out into the street again, with the overshoes in a box under his arm, Walter Mitty began

to wonder what the other thing was his wife had told him to get. She had told him, twice, before they set out

from their house for Waterbury. In a way he hated these weekly trips to town-he was always getting something

wrong. Kleenex, he thought, Squibb's, razor blades? No. Toothpaste, toothbrush, bicarbonate, cardorundum,

initiative and referendum? He gave it up. But she would remember it. "Where's the what's-its-name," she would

ask. "Don't tell me you forgot the what's-its-name." A newsboy went by shouting something about the

Waterbury trial.

. . . "Perhaps this will refresh your memory." The District Attorney suddenly thrust a heavy automatic

at the quiet figure on the witness stand. "Have you ever seen this before?" Walter Mitty took the gun and

examined it expertly. "This is my Webley-Vickers 50.80," he said calmly. An excited buzz ran around the

courtroom. The Judge rapped for order. "You are a crack shot with any sort of firearms, I believe?" said the

District Attorney, insinuatingly. "Objection!" shouted Mitty's attorney. "We have shown that the defendant

could not have fired the shot. We have shown that he wore his right arm in a sling on the night of the

fourteenth of July." Walter Mitty raised his hand briefly and the bickering attorneys were stilled. "With any

known make of gun," he said evenly, "I could have killed Gregory Fitzhurst at three hundred feet with my left

hand." Pandemonium broke loose in the courtroom. A woman's scream rose above the bedlam and suddenly a

lovely, dark-haired girl was in Walter Mitty's arms. The District Attorney struck at her savagely. Without

rising from his chair, Mitty let the man have it on the point of the chin. "You miserable cur!" . . .

"Puppy biscuit," said Walter Mitty. He stopped walking and the buildings of Waterbury rose up out of

the misty courtroom and surrounded him again. A woman who was passing laughed. "He said 'Puppy biscuit',"

she said to her companion. "That man said 'Puppy biscuit' to himself." Walter Mitty hurried on. He went into an

A&P, not the first one he came to but a smaller one farther up the street. "I want some biscuit for small, young

dogs," he said to the clerk. "Any special brand, sir?" The greatest pistol shot in the world thought a moment. "It

says 'Puppies Bark for It' on the box," said Walter Mitty.

His wife would be through at the hairdresser's in fifteen minutes, Mitty saw in looking at his watch,

unless they had trouble drying it; sometimes they had trouble drying it. She didn't like to get to the hotel first;

she would want him to be there waiting for her as usual. He found a big leather chair in the lobby, facing a

window, and he put the overshoes and the puppy biscuit on the floor beside it. He picked up an old copy of

Liberty and sank down into the chair. "Can Germany Conquer the World Through the Air?" Walter Mitty

looked at the pictures of bombing planes and of ruined streets.

. . . "The cannonading has got the wind up in young Raleigh, sir," said the sergeant. Captain Mitty

looked up at him through tousled hair. "Get him to bed," he said wearily. "With the others. I'll fly alone." "But

you can't, sir," said the sergeant anxiously. "It takes two men to handle that bomber and the Archies are

pounding hell out of the air. Von Richtman's circus is between here and Saulier." "Somebody's got to get that

ammunition dump," said Mitty. "I'm going over. Spot of brandy?" He poured a drink for the sergeant and one

for himself. War thundered and whined around the dugout and battered at the door. There was a rending of

wood and splinters flew through the room. "A bit of a near thing," said Captain Mitty carelessly. "The box

barrage is closing in," said the sergeant. "We only live once, Sergeant," said Mitty with his faint, fleeting smile.

"Or do we?" He poured another brandy and tossed it off. "I never see a man could hold his brandy like you, sir,"

said the sergeant. "Begging your pardon, sir." Captain Mitty stood up and strapped on his huge Webley-Vickers

automatic. "It's forty kilometers through hell, sir," said the sergeant. Mitty finished one last brandy. "After all,"

he said softly, "what isn't?" The pounding of the cannon increased; there was the rat-tat-tatting of machine

guns, and from somewhere came the menacing pocketa-pocketa-pocketa of the new flame-throwers. Walter

Mitty walked to the door of the dugout humming "AuprËs de Ma Blonde." He turned and waved to the

sergeant. "Cheerio!" he said. . .

Something struck his shoulder. "I've been looking all over this hotel for you," said Mrs. Mitty. "Why do

you have to hide in this old chair? How did you expect me to find you?" "Things close in," said Walter Mitty

vaguely. "What?" Mrs. Mitty said. "Did you get the what's-its-name? The puppy biscuit? What's in that box?"

"Overshoes," said Mitty. "Couldn't you have put them on in the store?" "I was thinking," said Walter Mitty.

"Does it ever occur to you that I am sometimes thinking?" She looked at him. "I'm going to take your

temperature when I get you home," she said.

They went out through the revolving doors that made a faintly derisive whistling sound when you

pushed them. It was two blocks to the parking lot. At the drugstore on the corner she said, "Wait here for me. I

forgot something. I won't be a minute." She was more than a minute. Walter Mitty lighted a cigarette. It began

to rain, rain with sleet in it. He stood up against the wall of the drugstore, smoking . . .

He put his shoulders back and his heels together. "To hell with the handkerchief," said Walter Mitty

scornfully. He took one last drag on his cigarette and snapped it away. Then, with that faint, fleeting smile

playing about his lips, he faced the firing squad; erect and motionless, proud and disdainful, Walter Mitty the

Undefeated, inscrutable to the last.

Task A: Life of Pi article

Active Artist

Presentation by Yann Martel

Westin, Edmonton

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Here is some of what Yann Martel told us about Life of Pi:

What’s important is what Pi looked at, not what he looked like (the reader is Pi)

Faith is an attempt to understand what is beyond human comprehension; to glimpse at a small portion of a

larger picture.

Pi must learn to live with, and eventually comes to love, his fears.

Art is not an answer, it’s a beginning point.

Our life is a construction of narrative; a mixture of fact and fiction. It is the interpretation of that narrative that

gives it meaning.

Art is the key to explaining life and its alternatives; it isn’t inherently moral, it merely presents life as the artist

perceived it. It allows us to experience more life than we would normally have access to.

“I was weary of being reasonable; I wanted to see what else there was to life than being reasonable.”

It’s easy to be skeptical; people use it as a defense mechanism against participating in or examining their lives.

Because art is, at its core, a comment on life, it should be something that everyone can discuss, because

everyone loves to talk about life.

Images from the illustrated Life of Pi:

Task B: Animal Symbolism Assignment

“My majors were religious studies and zoology…Sometimes I got my majors

mixed up” (pp 3,5)

“I would like to say in my own defense that though I may have

anthropomorphized the animals till they spoke fluent English…the fancy was

always conscious” (p 14)

“A plague upon fundamentalists and literalists!” they “lack imagination and miss

the better story” (pp 54, 70)

“‘We believe what we see.’… ‘What do you do when you’re in the dark?’” (p326)

The List

□ Three-toed sloth (p3) □ Fish etc.

o Shark o Dorado o Flying fish o Whales

□ Hyena □ Zebra □ Orang-utan □ Tiger □ Meerkat □ Birds

o Albatross

Assignment:

Research the physical characteristics, “personality” traits, natural habitats, and symbolic references for each of

the animals on The List. Complete the Animal Symbolism Worksheet based on the information you found.

Remember that you will have to cite your sources, so write down where you find your information!

Task B: Animal Symbolism Worksheet Name:

Animal:

Reference from novel:

Physical characteristics:

Common Characteristics/Traits/Habits:

Natural Habitat:

Common Symbolism:

What do you think Martel used this animal to represent? Explain.

Animal:

Reference from novel:

Physical characteristics:

Common Characteristics/Traits/Habits:

Natural Habitat:

Common Symbolism:

What do you think Martel used this animal to represent? Explain.

Animal:

Reference from novel:

Physical characteristics:

Common Characteristics/Traits/Habits:

Natural Habitat:

Common Symbolism:

What do you think Martel used this animal to represent? Explain.

Animal:

Reference from novel:

Physical characteristics:

Common Characteristics/Traits/Habits:

Natural Habitat:

Common Symbolism:

What do you think Martel used this animal to represent? Explain.

Animal:

Reference from novel:

Physical characteristics:

Common Characteristics/Traits/Habits:

Natural Habitat:

Common Symbolism:

What do you think Martel used this animal to represent? Explain.

Animal:

Reference from novel:

Physical characteristics:

Common Characteristics/Traits/Habits:

Natural Habitat:

Common Symbolism:

What do you think Martel used this animal to represent? Explain.

Animal:

Reference from novel:

Physical characteristics:

Common Characteristics/Traits/Habits:

Natural Habitat:

Common Symbolism:

What do you think Martel used this animal to represent? Explain.

Animal:

Reference from novel:

Physical characteristics:

Common Characteristics/Traits/Habits:

Natural Habitat:

Common Symbolism:

What do you think Martel used this animal to represent? Explain.

Animal:

Reference from novel:

Physical characteristics:

Common Characteristics/Traits/Habits:

Natural Habitat:

Common Symbolism:

What do you think Martel used this animal to represent? Explain.

Animal:

Reference from novel:

Physical characteristics:

Common Characteristics/Traits/Habits:

Natural Habitat:

Common Symbolism:

What do you think Martel used this animal to represent? Explain.

Animal:

Reference from novel:

Physical characteristics:

Common Characteristics/Traits/Habits:

Natural Habitat:

Common Symbolism:

What do you think Martel used this animal to represent? Explain.

Animal:

Reference from novel:

Physical characteristics:

Common Characteristics/Traits/Habits:

Natural Habitat:

Common Symbolism:

What do you think Martel used this animal to represent? Explain.

Animal:

Reference from novel:

Physical characteristics:

Common Characteristics/Traits/Habits:

Natural Habitat:

Common Symbolism:

What do you think Martel used this animal to represent? Explain.

10 marks per animal x 13 animals = ____/130

(weighted at .25)

Task B: Dialectics Readings

Thesis -- Antithesis -- Synthesis

By Jim Meskauskas , November 6, 2001

"What is rational is real and what is real is rational."

--Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

The early 19th century German philosopher, Georg W.F. Hegel is best known for his system of inquiry into the nature of reality. This system is called the dialectic. Now, reading Hegel will confirm some of your worst nightmares about delving into philosophical writing. His work likely made his own contemporaries' eyes glaze over.

Simply put, the dialectical method involves the notion that the form of historical movement (process or progress), is the result of conflicting opposites. This area of Hegel's thought has been broken down in terms of the categories of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. Hegel's philosophy of history embraces the concept that a conflict of opposites is a struggle between actual and potential worlds.

A thesis can be seen as a single idea. The idea contains a form of incompleteness that gives rise to the antithesis, a conflicting idea. A third point of view, a synthesis, arises from this conflict. It overcomes the conflict by reconciling the truths contained in the thesis and antithesis at a higher level. The synthesis is a new thesis. It generates a new antithesis, and the process continues until truth is arrived at.

http://www.clickz.com/917191

Hegel and his dialectic

A Philosophy of History

In presenting this page we wish to thank David Burrell for consent to use material from his "A Historian Looks

at Hegel Philosophically: A Critical Examination of Hegelian Dialectic, Determinism, and Contingency" ( Term

paper, College of the Holy Cross, April 1991 ).

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel introduced a system for understanding the history of philosophy and the world

itself, often called a "dialectic": a progression in which each successive movement emerges as a solution to the

contradictions inherent in the preceding movement. To specifically apply this model of Hegel's view of world

history, it represents the manner in which the Spirit - for Hegel a total reality that is an inherent unity of a

mental or spiritual nature - develops gradually into its purest form, ultimately attaining unto its own essential

freedom. To Hegel, "world history is thus the unfolding of Spirit in time, as nature is the unfolding of the Idea in

space."

To quote Hegel himself in his Introduction to the Philosophy of History:-

“Spirit does not toss itself about in the external play of chance occurrences; on the contrary, it is that which

determines history absolutely, and it stands firm against the chance occurrences which it dominates and exploits

for its own purpose."

Although Hegel's dialectic often appears broken up for convenience into three moments called thesis, antithesis,

and synthesis, these terms were not original to or much used by Hegel himself. This classification was in fact

developed earlier by Fichte in his loosely analogous account of the relation between the individual subject and

the world.

Without the active opposition of an antithesis working through the dialectic, Hegel asserts, existence is simply

an empty task. "Periods of happiness are empty pages in history, for they are the periods of harmony, times

when the antithesis is missing." What is left to life is simply habit, "activity without opposition." This then raises

a crucial question: how can it be possible to have an end to history? If history ends in the ultimate realization of

the Spirit, then all opposition apparently has been negated. Not only has the past already been completed, but

the future is foreclosed to any further developments. What is left to life when the final synthesis has been

achieved and nothing stands in opposition of the immediate present?

Schools of thought influenced by Hegel tend see history as progressive, but also as a possibly painfully arrived at

outcome of a dialectic in which factors working in opposite directions are over time reconciled. History was best

seen as directed by a zeitgeist, or Spirit of the Age, and traces of the zeitgest could be seen by looking backward.

Hegel has a rather notable disciple in Karl Marx who adapted Hegels Dialectic away from being related to the

unfolding of Spirit and towards Marx's own Materialist Conception of History where the economic factors of

human society and the associated social relations would critically determine the unfolding of human history and

could only, for Marx, (Engels, Lenin, Trotsky and their millions of sometime ideological followers) result in the

establishment of Socialism.

http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/philosophy/history/hegel_philosophy_history.html

Dialectic

Prof. Eric Steinhart (C) 1998

Dialectical Motion

Hegel stresses the paradoxical nature of consciousness; he knows that the mind wants to know the whole

truth, but that it cannot think without drawing a distinction. Unfortunately, every distinction has two

terms, every argument has a counter-argument, and consciousness can only focus on one of these at a

time. So it fixes first on the one, then under pressure fixes second on the other, until it finally comes to

rest on the distinction itself. Hegel refers to this process of alternation and rest as dialectic. Dialectical

motion has three stages: THESIS, ANTITHESIS, and SYNTHESIS.

Dialectic of Personhood

THESIS: Start here: "I am born; I am a child."

ANTITHESIS: Negation of the thesis. "I have grown; I am an adult; so, I am NOT the child I used to

be."

SYNTHESIS: Negation of the opposition between thesis and antithesis. "I am NEITHER child NOR

adult, but a whole person."

Dialectic of the Drinking Glass

THESIS: Looking at a glass with some water in it, consciousness would not see anything at all if it did

not distinguish between what is water and what is not water. If we suppose that consciousness begins as

an optimist, then its thesis is an argument that the glass is half-full.

ANTITHESIS: Faced with the objection that this is not the whole truth, consciousness becomes a

pessimist who argues for the antithesis that the glass is half-empty. The antithesis is the opposite of the

thesis.

SYNTHESIS: Faced with the objection that this is not the whole truth either, and having already taken

both sides, consciousness realizes that the whole truth is a synthesis: the volume that is empty equals the

volume that is full.

Dialectical motion can be far more complicated than this simple example reveals. But the mind

generally moves from one side of an opposition to another, finally discovering a deeper unity from

which the two sides are derived. This motion is dialectic.

Dialectic of Existence

THESIS: Being

ANTITHESIS: Nothingness.

SYNTHESIS: Becoming.

http://www.wpunj.edu/cohss/philosophy/courses/hegel/DIALECTX.HTM

Task B: Dialectics Worksheet Name:

Who was best known for “his system of inquiry into the nature of reality?” Where was he from? When did he

live?(3)

What did he apply Dialectics to?(1)

Explain Dialectics in your own words.(2)

Name, define and provide an example (NOT in the reading) for each category of Dialectical motion: (9)

1. _

2. _

3. _

Draw a diagram of how these 3 categories work in relation to each other: (6)

What does the quote “Without the active opposition of an antithesis working through the dialectic, Hegel

asserts, existence is simply an empty task” mean to you? (4)

Explain the “paradox of consciousness” in your own words. Provide an example.(4)

/31

Task B: Power of Story Assignment

Why do we tell stories? What makes a story effective? How can stories be powerful? What role do they play in

the “real world”? Why is storytelling important to human existence?

Read the Prologue to “Goodbye Lemon” then write a personal response explaining how you see storytelling

playing a powerful role in human reality.

Personal Response* structure:

- Intro paragraph

- Paragraph on “Goodbye Lemon”

- Paragraph on “Life of Pi”

- Paragraph on personal experience (could be something that happened to you,

someone close to you, a book you read, a movie or TV show you saw, or

something realistic you make up)

- Conclusion paragraph

*a Personal Response differs from an essay in that it is solely based on your opinions, reactions, feelings and

ideas – there doesn’t have to be any critical analysis.

Goodbye Lemon

Adam Davies

Prologue: Theories of Dexter

His eyes were brown. His mouth was round. His fingers and toes were small and trinketlike.

His skin was nearly transparent; you could see delicate blue veins at his temples and in his

wrists and this inspired either an impulse to cruelty or the wild urge to protect him. His hair

was curly. Our mother cut it herself, and she kept it long. With its ringlets, and her irregular

technique with scissors, he looked like a sad little prince. He always seemed profoundly

melancholy and reluctant at the same time, as if he knew there were something urgently

required of him that he simply could not provide, and that because of his deficiency the people

around him would suffer.

Dexter liked to draw stars on his wrists in permanent makers. He had strong feelings

about uncapped tubes of toothpaste and made regular nighttime rounds to assure they were

intact. If he was nervous he would chew on the topmost button of his shirt, which made it look

like he had a drooling problem. When I was in another part of the house and he wanted to play

with me, he would always call out, “Where is the Jack Attack?” and I’d come running.

His favorite show was Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom but whenever the predation

segment came on-the scene of the cheetah tripping up the baby gazelle before cutting

dramatically to commercial - he would run crying from the room. He would wait just on the

other side of the door, his head in his hands, his eyes clenched shut, and beg us to tell him

when that part was over so that he could come back in. Press would always tell him it was

safe before it really was and every time when Dex would return to see the cheetah dragging

the beautiful, broken, velvety gazelle up a tree by its neck he would flee the room wailing. It

happened this way every Sunday night. Without fail Dex believed that Press was telling the

truth, and every time when Press fooled him he seemed astonished and crestfallen. Press

won’t say it now, but he thought Dex was a sucker. I think Dex just wanted to trust his big

brother.

He wanted to believe that his family wouldn’t let him down.

He was terrified of birds and moths. He loathed the sound of zippers and would do a

madcap, leprechauny jig of disgust when Pressman would zip his coat up and down over and

over just to torture him. He loved books, though, and could tell you everything you ever

wanted to know about mushrooms and pneumatics and reptiles. “Herpetology,” he would say

proudly, out of nowhere, as if he had just discovered a cure for cancer. “Herpetology is the

branch of zoology dealing with reptiles and amphibians. Herpetology. Herpetologist. Herp-e-

to-logic-al.” Cooking thrilled him; he would stand, petrified with wonder, as the packet of

powdered cheese turned white pasta coils into yellow macaroni as my mother mixed them

together in a pan. And he valued his personal space. In the backseat of our old pea-green

Volvo he would always separate himself from me or Press by lowering the armrest. He loved

us but he was afraid of us, too. He required a protective membrane around him to function in

the world, and Pressman and I, his own brothers, weren’t always allowed in.

Only six years old and already he was beginning to distrust his family.

It was as if he had intuited that one day soon he would be sucked under the waves of

Lake George and no one would be there to pull him back up.

But I could be wrong.

Maybe his eyes were hazel, like mine. And his mouth was lopsided and smirk-prone.

His fingers and toes were not trinketlike at all but long and flexible, brachiatory, made for

climbing hazardous branches and throwing curveballs. His skin was tanned and pulled taut

over compact muscles. He could rollerskate like the wind. His hair was straight but jagged

because even though our mother made him sit on the stool and endure her haircuts, he would,

five minutes later, administer his own finishing touches with dull safety scissors. This gave

him the appearance of a frantic muppet, but he didn’t care; he wanted control over his own

world and shrugged off the punishment he always incurred. He was braver than any of us,

even Pressman.

He wasn’t a timid, empathetic, bookwormy brother. He was a proud, unbeaten brother.

He was incisive, kinetic, pioneering, action-heroic.

But he was also kind. He smiled funny for photographs. His eyebrows would arch

wildly, his eyes bulging as if he were in shock, and his face would be split by a maniacal,

open-mouthed smile. The number of visible teeth was an infallible index of happiness, the

thought, so he tried to give you all thirty-two at once. It looked like he was trying too hard,

though, like he wanted to reassure you that it meant a lot to him that you were taking his

picture. He wanted you to see how grateful he was so that you would feel good about it. I can

still see him clearly in my imagination, that brittle smile creasing his face, eyes popping

clownishly out of their sockets, willing you to be happy.

He didn’t have time for books but he loved sports radio and prided himself on knowing

all the baseball players that the other kids didn’t know. Rolling naturally from his mouth came

names like Honus Wagner, Tris Speaker, James “Cool Papa” Bell, and if someone tried to

argue that George Brett was better, Dex would smite them with an unimaginable barrage of

stats and figures. And then, as his vanquished adversary stood there stunned and mute at the

verbal thrashing he had received, Dex would wrap his arm around him chummily and say, “Ah,

maybe you’re right. George Brett is pretty awesome.”

If he had lived I think he would have been a do-gooder talk show host or a lobbyist for

lost causes or a guidance counselor for at-risk youth. Something that required a lot of fast-

talking, but also conviction and love.

But this could be wrong, too.

Maybe his eyes were blue, like my mother’s. And you never saw his fingers because he

kept his hands in his pockets all the time. And his skin was nondescript. And his hair was

Nordic blond like Pressman’s, or black like our father’s, or inexplicably coded for baldness like

mine. And he didn’t watch TV, period, or ever listen to the radio and had no opinion on sports

or snakes or photographs or predation or mac-and-cheese or zippers. He didn’t chew

buttons. He was not the invigilator of uncapped toothpaste. He never invited me to play by

calling out to me, “Where is the Jack Attack?” and I never came running.

Maybe he wasn’t great at sports but wasn’t terrible either. Maybe he liked normal kid

things and was afraid of all the normal kid-scary stuff. Maybe he thought Pressman was aces

but didn’t like me because-even though I was only one year younger-I was still too little to be

much fun. Maybe he tried but failed to love our mother, just like Press and I did. Maybe he

was afraid of our father, too, and deep down inside his heart somewhere he knew that one day

he would drift out too far into Lake George when our father was supposed to be watching him

- not drinking - and that no one would be there to save him.

Maybe he felt it coming.

Maybe he was shocked. He couldn’t believe it was happening, even at the last moment,

when he felt his beloved orange flip-flops sucked off his feet. That last sensation might have

felt heavy, like being pressed under a mattress. It might have been epiphanic, like finally

getting a joke you never understood. Maybe it felt like being airborne. Or like forgiveness.

Sometimes I think he wanted it to happen. Maybe he felt alone and unloved and wanted

someone to notice him in the most dramatic way: a rescue. How luxurious it would be, he

could have thought, to have your father’s powerful hands snatch you from deadly water, pull

you up and return you to the shore where your family is waiting for you. Then they would

recognize how valuable you are.

You wouldn’t be ignored after that.

Every day you would be loved that way you deserve.

But I don’t know. I don’t know any of it. I can’t remember what my brother Dexter

looked like. I can’t remember his odor. I can’t remember what he loved or what he hated. I

can’t remember how it happened that day in August at Lake George. I was barely five years

old, too young to have a clear memory of it, and no one would ever tell me about it. I wasn’t

there when he waded into the water. I wasn’t there when his head went under. I wasn’t there

when our father struggled back to shore without Dex in his hands and with scotch on his

breath.

I don’t know any of this, and it breaks my heart.

What else can I do but try to write him back to life?

Task B: Semiotics Reading

What The Hell is Semiotics? And Other Useful Questions

ELA 20-1

Semi-What? We seem as a species to be driven by a desire to make meanings and semiotics endeavors to do just that. We

make meanings through our creation and interpretation of 'signs' and semiotics is the study of those signs.

'What do you mean by a sign?' people usually ask next. The kinds of signs that are likely to spring immediately

to mind are those which we routinely refer to as 'signs' in everyday life (road signs, pub signs and star signs);

signs can also be drawings, paintings and photographs, words, sounds and 'body language'.

One of the broadest definitions for semiotics is that of Italian scholar Umberto Eco, who states that it “is

concerned with everything that can be taken as a sign.” Meaning anything which 'stands for' something else.

Semiotics is often employed in the analysis of texts, so it would follow that an exploration of the signs of the text

would require an understanding of the rules governing that text. However, it should perhaps be noted that a

'text' can exist in any medium and may be verbal, non-verbal, or both, despite the logocentric1 bias of this

distinction.

Above all, semiotics is a peculiar point of view: a perspective which consists in asking ourselves how things

become carriers of meaning.

A Brief History of Semiotics

Ferdinand de Saussure, a Swiss linguist2, anticipated “a science which studies the role of signs as part of social

life… We shall call it semiology (from the Greek semeîon, 'sign'). It would investigate the nature of signs and the

laws governing them.”

Concurrently, American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce, founded an area of study dedicated to inquiry into

human communications, which he called semiotics.

The concept of semiosis (meaning the production of meaning) is a term borrowed from Peirce

which has been expanded by Eco to mean a process by which a culture produces signs and/or

attributes meanings to signs. For Eco, the production of meaning is a social activity; the

“culturization” of a sign provides its meaning. For example, a specific meaning has been

attached to Ed Hardy clothes; through cultural signification, Facebook groups like ‘Thanks to Ed

Hardy I Can Recognize Idiots from a Distance’ have helped to produce meaning for that signifier.

1 logocentric – from the Greek logos meaning word, this is a tendency to focus (or centralize) the concept of text to those

containing printed words 2 linguist – from the Latin lingua meaning language or tongue, this is a person who studies the formal structures and rules

governing language

^

Very

How Are We Going to Be Using Semiotics?

1. Understanding How Meaning is Established

Within the Saussurean tradition, the task of the semiotician is to

look beyond the specific texts or practices to the systems of

functional distinctions operating within them. The primary goal is

to establish the underlying conventions, identifying significant

differences and oppositions in an attempt to model the system of

categories, relations, connotations, distinctions and rules of

combination employed.

Semioticians argue that signs are related to their signifieds by

social conventions which we learn. In order to understand the meaning of signs, we must learn the conventions

that have given them meaning. We become so used to such conventions in our use of various media that they

seem 'natural', and it can be difficult for us to realize that meaning we recognize isn’t inherent in these signs.

When we take these relationships for granted, we treat the signified as unmediated or 'transparent', as when

we interpret television or photography as 'a window on the world'. Semiotics demonstrates that the

'transparency' of the 'medium' is illusory: we must recognize the system at work that establishes meaning.

2. Looking at How Semiotics Can Be Applied In Various Contexts

Semiotics can be applied to anything which can be seen as signifying something - in other words, to everything

which has meaning within a culture.

In English Language Arts, semiotics provides us with a potentially unifying conceptual framework and a set of

methods and terms for use across the full range of signifying practices, which include writing, speech,

photography, film, television and radio. It is an approach that can be used to interpret the variety of texts we

will deal with in this course.

3. Using Semiotics to Gain Insight into Texts

In the context of semiotics, 'decoding' involves not simply basic recognition and comprehension of what a text

'says' but also the interpretation and evaluation of its meaning with reference to relevant codes. It’s our

‘reading’ of a text.

Semiotics is invaluable if we wish to look beyond the obvious content of texts; it is well adapted to exploring

connotative meanings; searching for what is 'hidden' beneath the 'obvious' can lead to fruitful insights. Looking

behind or beneath the surface of the observed in order to discover the underlying organization of phenomena -

not just looking at what a text says but why its context lead to its creation and how its parts work to develop its

meaning.

Some Words to Impress People With

langue refers to the system of rules and conventions which is independent of, and pre-exists, individual users

(language)

parole refers to that language’s use in particular instances (speech)

signifier: the form which the sign takes

signified: the concept it represents

sign is the whole that results from the association of the

signifier with the signified; a single unit of meaning

* while the signifier and the signified work together to create meaning, their relationship is abstract

For example:

A certain combination of the letters E R D will form the sequence R-E-D; RED

denotes a particular color, but neither the individual letters nor the specific

combination of them has anything to do with redness.

C.S. Pierce distinguished 3 types of signs:

icon – is given meaning based on similarity of appearance (ex: a map= the location it shows)

index – is given meaning based on cause and effect (ex: smoke = fire)

symbol – is given meaning based on convention; connection to meaning is arbitrary

(ex: b = voiced bilabial, red = stop)

Internet Sources

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/semiotic.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_de_Saussure

http://www.nndb.com/people/396/000026318/

http://www.olinda.com/VC/lectures/Semiotics/semioticshistory.htm

Signifier the word ‘open’

Signified ability to conduct business OR

mechanical action of doors

Sign “You may enter this store to make purchases”

“This button holds open the elevator door”

an ‘open’ button elevator buttons buttons display their actions; the

in an elevator display the actions invention of navigational buttons

that control the car: for websites is easily understood

bell for assistance, because of the patterns set up for

numbers for floors the use of buttons

For example:

Task B : Semiotics Worksheet Name :

Explain Semiotics in your own words. (3)

What sorts of things constitute Signs in Semiotics? (2)

What is Umberto Eco’s definition of a sign?(1)

Provide an example of a Sign(not from the reading) and explain how it works. (2)

Define logocentric in your own words (1)

Name 3 linguists (3)

Explain in your own words how Eco sees culture playing a role in Semiotics. (4)

Provide & explain an example of “cultural semiotics” not outlined in the reading. (6)

What is the relationship between a Sign and a Signified?(2)

Explain how Semotics contributes to the why and how of reading. (2)

Explain how the RED example proves an arbitrary relationship between Signifier and Signified. (4)

Explain how one of the following examples would be examples of Semiotics. (6)

Wedding Ceremony Scoring a Goal in Hockey Thumbs Up

Task B: Symbolic Interpretation Assignment

Step 1:

Make a list of the most significant quotes regarding the following symbols; remember to include page numbers

for each.

- Algae Island

- Blindness

- Food

- Religion

Step 2:

Based on the context for the quotes you’ve collected, determine what you think would be the most reasonable

interpretation of each symbol.

Step 3:

Research what others see as reasonable interpretations of these symbols. Write down 1-3 of your favorite

interpretations. Provide support for why you think each interpretation is strong/reasonable or how you would

refute it.

Step 4:

Create an 8x11 poster for each symbol. Include the “title” (name + meaning of symbol), a visual representation

of the symbol, the most significant quotes from the novel in relation to the symbol. On the back of each, write

point form notes explaining your choice of meaning for that symbol (including any cited references you used to

make your decision).

Please hand in ALL STEPS with your final project.

Task C: Critical Analysis Paragraph

Choose ONE of the following from Life of Pi:

- a theme

- an author choice

- a symbol

Write a detailed (specific proof, clear and detailed explanations supporting your interpretation) analysis,

outlining your interpretation (idea), citing specific support from the novel (proof), and explaining how the proof

you’ve chosen supports your interpretation (explain). You may choose to use more than one Proof; please

remember that each Proof needs an Explain.

Task C: Essay

Choose ONE of the following essay topics for your essay on Life of Pi:

Discuss the idea(s) developed by Yann Martel in Life of Pi about the significance of idealism and truth

in an individual’s life.

Discuss the idea(s) developed by Yann Martel in Life of Pi about faith in the intangible.

Discuss the idea(s) developed by Yann Martel in Life of Pi about the darker aspects of human nature.

Task D: Personal Zoo

Yann Martel’s novel Life of Pi compels us to look closely at the nature of animals and calls into question the

differences we assume distance us as humans from the savagery and instinct-driven nature of the animal world.

Step 1: Compendium of Knowledge

It is important to be familiar with the characteristics of the animals you’d like to use. Think about which animals

you’d like to use, then make some research notes on them to see whether or not they will work (use the Animal

Symbolism notes from Task B as a guide).

Step 2: Creating Exhibits

Your zoo must contain at least 6 exhibits:

- one exhibit each for the FIVE people (or things) you consider the most important in your life

- one exhibit (the last) for yourself

Each exhibit MUST include:

□ a visual representation of the animal you’ve created

□ consideration for visual elements (color, layout, positioning, grouping, juxtaposition, size and shape)

□ a common characteristic that connects all visuals together as a unified whole (so it reads like a zoo as

opposed to a collection of pictures of animals)

□ use of line and focal point that directs the viewer’s eye where to start, in which direction to move and

compels them to continue to the next exhibit

□ an explanation (that does not interfere with the visual presentation of your zoo) outlining

□ visual choices made

□ layout choices made

□ symbols used

□ name for animal

□ support for choice of animal

Remember to choose an effective and purposeful visual layout for your zoo that includes your exhibits,

explanation(s) and a name for your zoo.

In this project you will create a visual representation of your personal zoo

that houses yourself and the people in your life who are important to you.

Task D: Creative Writing in a Textual Context

In this type of assignment, you are responding to a topic and a textual context through creative writing. What this means is

you are using thematically relevant descriptive phrases from a text (a textual context) in your creative writing on an

assigned topic.

An Example by Miss Donnelly:

Central Idea: We imprison ourselves when ignore reality in order to protect ourselves from unpleasant truths.

Textual Context: “And of Clay Are We Created” by Isabel Allende

Start with your planning: Determine how each text thematically approaches your central idea.

Ignoring Reality because of Unpleasant Truths

in And Of Clay

Ignoring Reality because of Unpleasant Truths

my idea for a story

Rolfe Carle ignores his past in order to be

emotionally detached from his world – keeps

everything at a distance so the power of emotions

never touches him, he traps himself in his television

reporter persona – a man without a past, but is

finally freed to find himself when he comes face to

face with the truths of his past

Nun struggles with the reality of freedom in her life

– her imaginary lover is not “real” but neither is her

confinement in the life she’s chosen – she chooses

to ignore the reality of her own freedom She feels

trapped in the life she has chosen, but is too scared

to seek the freedom of a new choice, a new life

Rolfe uses his camera to protect himself “I believe

the lens of the camera had a strange effect on him; it

was as if it transported him to a different time form

which he could watch events without actually

participating in them. When I came to know him

better, I came to realize that this fictive distance

seemed to protect him from his own emotions”

Rolfe refuses to acknowledge his reality just like he

used to hide from his abusive father “for eternal

hours he had crouched with his eyes closed, not to

see the darkness, with his hands over his ears, to shut

out the beating of his heart, trembling, huddled like a

cornered animal” “He understood then that all his

exploits as a reporter… were merely an attempt to

keep his most ancient fears at bay, a stratagem for

taking refuge behind a lens to test whether reality

was more tolerable from that perspective”

When Rolfe abandons the cameras, he is able to

begin accepting truths/reality that he had ignored

before “He had completely forgotten the camera; he

could not look at the girl through the lens any longer”

“But he had come face to face with the moment of

The Nun’s imaginary lover “transports her to a

different” life – one where she is free to give and

receive romantic love -- this fictive life is “safe”

for her because she can experience what she’s

missing “without actually participating in them”

and thereby breaking her vows. Having the dream

(fictive love) “protects her from” actually facing

her fears of freedom

Daydreams happen furtively “crouched, with eyes

closed” ignoring (not seeing) the reality around

her the “darkness” of her sadness/unhappiness/

loneliness. The fear of her “transgression” would

cause “the beating of her heart, trembling,

huddled like a cornered animal” when she realizes

that she is trapped in her loneliness. Her

daydreams are “an attempt to keep her most

ancient fears at bay” that she has made the wrong

decision for her life – Life, however “is more

tolerable from that perspective” of what she

knows, than starting over

Her daydreams would cause her to “completely

forget” her reality – but then she could not

Next, look for specific examples from the textual context that support your central idea – specific quotes are

what we’re looking for here. Then brainstorm ways to integrate those descriptions/that imagery into your

creative writing

truth; he could not continue to escape his past… he

was buried in the clayey mud; his terror was not the

distant emotion of an almost forgotten childhood, it

was the claw sunk in his throat” “Your cameras lie

forgotten in a closet”

Mudslide imagery // Rolfe facing his past “That night,

imperceptibly, the unyielding floodgates that had

contained RC past for so many years began to open,

and the torrent of all that had lain hidden in the

deepest and most secret layers of memory poured

out” “he found himself trapped in a pit without

escape, buried in life, his head barely above ground”

“Sorrow flooded through him, intact and precise, as if

it had lain always in his mind, waiting” “during the

night his defenses had crumbled and he had given in

to grief”

Finding freedom through acceptance (Azucena is

freed through death, Rolfe through acceptance of

past) “I felt how in that instant both were saved from

despair, how they were freed from the clay, how they

rose above the vultures and helicopters, how

together they flew above the vast swamp of

corruption and laments. How, finally, they were able

to accept death” “She sank slowly, a flower in the

mud”

imagine him any longer because he pain of not

having what she truly wanted was too painful –

she came “face to face with the moment of truth”

that she was unhappy in her life “her terror was

not the distant emotion of an almost forgotten”

past – the lover she never had “it was the claw

sunk in her throat” that she was truly unhappy

and unable to fix it Her imaginary lover was

abandoned to protect her from more unhappiness

All of a sudden he was back in her life, then all

that unhappiness she had when she was younger

came flooding back, “the torrent of all that had

lain hidden in the deepest and most secret layers

of memory poured out” She is trapped in a pit of

unhappiness and feels as if there is no possibility

for escape

She gives in to the unhappiness she knows instead

of facing the fear of the unknown – it feels like

relief, but it’s really trapping herself

You should try to aim for 5-8 quotes/images that you can directly transplant into your writing. The more direct the

integration, the more effective (direct quotes are fine and you don’t have to put “ “ around them for this type of

assignment). When you write your piece, integrate the imagery from your textual context into the flow of your narrative.

Miss D’s Example:

Lately he had been forgetting that he was only a dream, and had been coming to her when he was not expected. At first it

happened so she might believe that it was just her eyes playing games with her mind, like seeing him dash out of a room as

she entered it, but on and on it became harder to accept him as just a vision. He ran his fingers through her hair, and

brushed the tears from her face; just like she had imagined him doing a thousand times over. But his time it was different.

The warmth. It was the warmth she felt when he touched her that was different form all her dreams. That was what

convinced her that he was not a dream, that he was really real. The warmth. One can’t imagine warmth like his.

She had created him just after she had been joined in holy matrimony to the Lord Our God, and had devoted her

life to His service and love. At first he had been someone to talk with, and soon share her fears with. She had, at the time,

feared that she had made the wrong decisions for her life, but denied any such miscalculation adamantly. She fought

within herself over this, and could only speak with him of it, for fear that her sisters would have frowned upon her

weakness. The words of comfort that he offered were hers, and she had known it; yet she had found solace in them all the

same.

After a few years, he had become her companion; accompanying her on outings, and one (oh, shame!) to her

lonely bed, as she had wept into his arms. In her twentieth year of sisterhood she had realized her dependency on her

fantasy companion, and had cut their visits to only when she needed him most. And that is the way it has remained.

But now, he has returned to her. And with his return came the memories she had stored away with her

unmentioned sins. She remembered a real young man that she had encountered years ago, who had looked into her eyes

like she had make her companion do, and at the sight of this young man she had sensed something inside of her awaken

that frightened her. She had longer for that young man 0 at the time she had thought it lust, and had ran to the church and

done a day of Hail Mary’s to cleanse her should of the sin. But now, years later, with this sudden return of her companion,

she was able to see that what she had longed for was not to break her vows, but to have a real, living soul hold her in his

arms and be strong for her as she sobbed away her pain. This realization stuns her, for she has not acknowledged the

burden of pain that had hunched her back and wrinkled her skin. Now the urge to pull the metal ring from her hand and

run free into his awaiting arms returned. Her soul ached to be held, understood… (blush) loved…

For a moment her heart holds its breath as she teeters on the edge of decision. As she stands, and lets the wind of

all the might be brush through her hair and stroke her face, she notices her youth – fluttering away – in the distance. With

a quiet sigh of contented defeat, she falls back again into the loving hands of the Lord. She is too old to love. Too old to

start again

Choices for Topics for Your Story (use these to come up with a Theme):

Loss of innocence Ideas for this in Life of Pi

Golden Age of zoo life lost at sea forced to accept a harsh reality

Darker parts of us are never really gone

Ideas for this in Life of Pi Richard Parker disappears into the jungle turning the city upside down, animals would fall out If Richard Parker represents Pi’s savage survival, what would this mean? Could have had a very different ending if the tiger had eaten him.

Ends justify the means

Ideas for this in Life of Pi horrific ordeal given meaning with happy ending happiness is sweeter in the face of tragedy “without darkness there can be no light”

Getting your feet wet

Ideas for this in Life of Pi

idea of swimming/water as participation in life Pi jumps in whole heartedly while his family hesitates on the beach Pi survives, his family perishes (literally or symbolically?)

Task D: Art Gallery

Output:

You will be creating a visual representation of the thematic significance of Life of Pi

Process:

- Make notes for yourself about the relevant topics embodied in Martel’s novel.

- Use those topics to create a coherent, insightful theme for Life of Pi.

o Example:

Topics for Pleasantville

Freedom, Expression, Finding Yourself, Restrictions, Homogeny…

Themes from Pleasantville based on those topics

The pursuit of freedom can be dangerous

When we restrict ourselves to the homogeny around us, we are unable to

truly find ourselves

The freedom of expression creates opportunity

- Once you have a theme you’re happy with, make note of support of that theme in the novel (try to

find 5-8 strong quotations from the novel in relation to this theme).

- Brainstorm imagery associated with the key words from your theme as well as imagery used in the

pieces of support you’ve chosen from the novel.

o Example:

Theme: The pursuit of freedom can be dangerous.

Support from film:

Bill’s painting (freedom of expression) destroyed by the angry mob

(dangerous);

Betty and Bill’s relationship (freedom to choose);

Brainstorming:

freedom

birds

Broken

chains

sky

clouds

Open

hands

dangerous

Do not

enter

“no”

sign fire

mob

yelling

Sharp

teeth fists

weapons

angry

- Choose the most powerful images and plan how you could combine them in a visual representation.

o Consider things like

Medium (are you going to draw, paint, sculpt, build, computer generate etc. and

WHY that medium)

Size – how can this correlate with your message?

Focal point & subsidiary contrasts

Color

Layout – what are you going to put where and why? Also consider relative size of

your images to each other

- Create your visual representation.

- Write brief notes (point form is fine) explaining your representation and how you see it developing

your chosen theme – how it enhances the reading of the text etc.

Assessment:

Assessment for all representation projects is BASED ON INSIGHT NOT ARTISTIC TALENT. You can

demonstrate insight in the following ways:

- Creating a thoughtful, thought-provoking visual representation with a clear, insightful

message about the text

- Engaging in thoughtful, productive and observant conversations about other

representations and the text

- Providing a thorough, thoughtful and thought-provoking analysis of your visual

representation that has a clear, insightful message about the text

Task D: Photo Essay

Create and present a thematic photo essay

that centres around a theme from Life of Pi.

Your photo essay must include

at least 12 visuals comprised of photographs, ads, pieces of art etc and at least 2 created/taken by

you that effectively apply techniques of composition we’ve learned in class (focal point, subsidiary

contrasts, color etc.). All of which should follow the Types of Photos outlined in the Photo Essay

handout.

headlines, captions etc. are acceptable, and may enhance the “reading” of your essay, but are not

required

a written component to accompany the presentation of your visuals – the format may be creative

(narrative, poetry) or expository (speech, article). You will recite this written component aloud during

the presentation of your essay.

Photo essays may be presented physically (ie: photos printed and compiled like an art show) or digitally (ie:

photos are on the computer and presented via projector). NOTE: This is NOT in any way a slide show or photo

album presentation. Your project must maintain the look and techniques of a Photo Essay at all times.

You will need to create and practice both components (visual and auditory) in conjunction with one another so

your key images/phrases correlate with one another and so that the timing of both veins of media in your

presentation are aligned. Your presentation should not exceed 5 minutes.

The Photo Essay: Information ELA 20-1

A photo essay is a set or series of photographs that are intended to tell a story or evoke a series of emotions in the viewer. All photo essays are collections of photographs, but not all collections of photographs are photo essays. We all know that photographs and illustrations can support text, but in photo-essays that relationship is often reversed; the photographs lead the text. In photo-essays, you'll likely notice the photographs first.

The photos are chosen with the same care and precision with which the writer chooses the words. The photos are high quality and are featured prominently in the page layout. Each photograph contains a wealth of information and may generate an equivalent wealth of questions

and wonderings before the reader even approaches the text. Rather than merely providing a caption to the photographs, writers of photo-essays are often

responding in depth to what the photographs make them feel or wonder. Creating a photo essay is a combination of art and journalism. As with a written essay, the elements of a photo essay should be structured in a way that easily conveys a story to the viewer.

Each individual photo contributes to the overall story, theme, and emotions of the essay. The photos you choose must not only be compositionally and artistically strong, but also informative and educational. Finding photos that have both qualities can be very challenging, but the result can be very powerful. Photo essays are a form of art, and like any artistic creation, breaking the rules can sometimes create the most powerful result. Don’t be afraid to try something different.

Types of Photo Essays

There are two types of photo essays: the narrative and the thematic. The narrative essay tells a story through a sequence of events or actions. They may follow an individual or activity over a period of time and present this story in chronological order. A thematic photo essay focuses on a central theme (e.g. homelessness, the environment, etc.) and presents photos relevant to that theme.

Elements of Photo Essay Regardless of what type of photo essay you choose to present, the following elements should be considered during its creation: The story- The visual part of your essay should be able to stand alone, without a written article, and make logical sense to the viewer. A range of photos: A variety of photos (angles, genres, sources etc.) should be included. See the types of photos section discussed below. The order of the photos: It is important that the order of your photos effectively tell a story, in an interesting and logical sequence. Information and emotion: Your photos should include both informational and emotional photos. Those essays that effectively evoke emotion while providing information tend to convey their messages the best. Captions: In a photo essay, captions are your best opportunity to describe what is happening in words and ensure that the viewer understands. Include informational content in these captions if necessary.

Types of Photos By including a variety of types of photos in your essay, you will ensure that it is both interesting and informative. The following types of photos, presented together, can create a successful photo essay. Not only is it important to choose powerful photos, but also to present them in an effective order. While the order of some photos (e.g. the lead photo, and the clincher) is set, the order of most types of photos in your essay is your preference. The Lead Photo: Similar to the first two sentences of a piece of writing, your lead photo should effectively draw in your audience. This is usually the most difficult photo to choose and should follow the theme of your essay. It could be an emotional portrait or an action shot, but ultimately it should provoke the curiosity of the viewer. The Scene: Your second photo should set the stage and describe the scene of your story. The Portraits: Your photo essay should include at least one portrait. Capturing an emotional expression or telling action shot can effectively humanize your story. These photos often evoke strong emotions and empathy in the viewer (whether it is a positive and enthusiastic emotion, or a sympathetic and concerned emotion.)

The Detail Photos: Detail photos focus in on one element, be it a building, a face, or a relevant object. These photos are your best opportunity to capture specific objects. The captions of these photos should be informative and educational. The Close-up Photos: Similarly, close-up photos provide an opportunity to focus in on specific objects. These photos are tightly cropped, simple shots that present a specific element of your story. Again, this is an excellent opportunity to present information in the caption. The Signature Photo: The signature photo summarizes the situation and captures the key elements of your story in a telling moment. The Clincher Photo: The final photo, the clincher, should evoke the emotion you want the viewer to walk away with, be it a feeling of hope, inspiration, or sadness. Decide on this mood before you select this photo. Information from http://www.esiponline.org/classroom/foundations/writing/photoessays.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photo_essay http://www.collectivelens.com/article.php?id=4

Examples of Photo Essays as well as the Photo Essay planning pages are posted on Miss Donnelly’s wiki:

www.donnellywikiofgreatness.wikispaces.com

Appendix A: Marking Rubrics and Deadlines

Task A (due by Nov 30)

- Reading Quiz (marked out of 10)

- Reading Comprehension Worksheet (as indicated on worksheet; out of 65, weighted at .25)

- “Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (rubric attached below; out of 16)

- Circle Discussion (notes will be marked out of 10)

- Personal Response (rubric attached below; out of 16)

Task B (due by Dec 5, Dec 10)

- Animal Symbolism Assignment (marked out of 130, weighted at .25)

- Dialectics Reading & Worksheet (marked out of 31)

- Power of Story Assignment (rubric attached below; out of 24)

- Semiotics Reading & Worksheet (marked out of 36)

- Symbolic Interpretation Assignment (rubric attached below; marked out of 25)

Task C

- Critical Analysis Paragraph due Dec 11 (rubric attached below; marked out of 16)

- Essay due Dec 14 (rubric attached below; marked out of 24)

Task D (due by Dec 21)

- Personal Zoo (rubric attached; marked out of 30)

- Creative Writing in Textual Context (rubric attached below; marked out of 28)

- Art Gallery (rubric attached; marked out of 35)

- Photo Essay (rubric attached, marked out of 55; weighted at .6)

Secret Life of Walter Mitty/Life of Pi Comparison Name:

ELA 20-1

Proficient Satisfactory Limited Poor

Thought & Understanding (x 1)

All thesis statements are thoughtful & considered, competent comprehension of both texts. Literary interpretations revealing and sensible

All thesis statements relevant & straightforward, generalized comprehension of both texts. Literary interpretations general but plausible

Some thesis statements superficial or oversimplified, weak comprehension of one or both of the texts. Literary interpretations incomplete &/ literal

Most thesis statements largely absent or irrelevant, &/ do not develop topic. Little comprehension of either text demonstrated

Supporting Evidence (x 1.5)

Support from both texts is specific and well chosen to reinforce ideas in persuasive way. Sound connection to thesis statements capably maintained

Support from one or both texts is general, adequate, and appropriately chosen reinforce ideas acceptably, but may occasionally lack persuasiveness. Reasonable connection to theses suitably maintained

Support for one or both texts is inadequate, inaccurate, largely a restatement of what was read &/ inappropriately chosen to reinforce ideas, lacks persuasiveness. Weak connection to thesis statements maintained

Support from one or both texts is irrelevant, overgeneralized, lacks validity and/or is absent. Little or no connection to thesis statements evident

Form & Structure (x.5)

Paragraphs structured for effect

Paragraph structure Ineffective paragraph structure

Not in paragraph structure

Matters of Choice (x 0.5)

Diction is specific. Syntactic structures generally effective. Stylistic choices contribute to considered composition with capable voice

Diction is adequate. Syntactic structures straightforward, complex structures awkward. Stylistic choices contribute to conventional composition with appropriate voice

Diction is imprecise &/ inappropriate. Syntactic structures frequently awkward or ambiguous. Inadequate language choices contribute to vague composition with undiscerning voice

Diction inaccurate &/overgeneralized. Syntactic structures are uncontrolled or unintelligible. Lack of language choices contributes to confused composition with ineffective voice

Matters of Correctness (x 0.5)

Competence in control of correct sentence constructions, usage, grammar and mechanics. Minor errors in complex structures understandable

Control of basics of correct sentence constructions, usage, grammar and mechanics. Occasional lapses and minor errors, however communication remains clear

Faltering control of correct sentence constructions, usage, grammar and mechanics. Range of errors blurs clarity of communication

Lack of control of correct sentence constructions, usage, grammar and mechanics. Jarring errors impair communication

Personal Response Name:

Criteria Proficient Satisfactory Limited Poor

Ideas & Impressions

- exploration of topic

- ideas and reflection - support

Exploration is purposeful. Ideas/ Perceptions are thoughtful and considered. Support is specific and strengthens ideas & impressions

Exploration is generalized. Ideas/ Perceptions are straightforward and relevant. Support is adequate and clarifies ideas & impressions

Exploration is vague. Ideas/Perceptions are superficial &/ ambiguous. Support is imprecise and/or ineffectively related to ideas & impressions

Exploration is minimal. Ideas/ Perceptions are underdeveloped &/ irrelevant. Support is lacking &/ unrelated to ideas & impressions

Presentation - voice

- stylistic choices (quality of

language and creation of tone)

- development of unifying effect

Voice created is distinct. Stylistic choices are specific and creation of tone is competent. Unifying effect is capably developed

Voice created is apparent. Stylistic choices are adequate and creation of tone is conventional. Unifying effect is appropriately developed

Voice created is indistinct. Stylistic choices are imprecise and creation of tone is inconsistent. Unifying effect is inadequately developed

Voice created is obscure. Stylistic choices impede communication and creation of tone is ineffective. Unifying effect is absent

INS

- student has responded using form other than prose - student has written so little that it is not possible to assess Ideas & Impressions - there is no evidence that the topic presented in the assignment has been addressed - there is no connection between the text(s) provided in the assignment and the student’s

response

Power of Story Name:

ELA 20-1: Life of Pi

Criteria Proficient Satisfactory Limited Poor

Ideas & Impressions

- exploration of topic

- ideas and reflection - support

Exploration is purposeful. Ideas/ Perceptions are thoughtful and considered. Support is specific and strengthens ideas & impressions

Exploration is generalized. Ideas/ Perceptions are straightforward and relevant. Support is adequate and clarifies ideas & impressions

Exploration is vague. Ideas/Perceptions are superficial &/ ambiguous. Support is imprecise and/or ineffectively related to ideas & impressions

Exploration is minimal. Ideas/ Perceptions are underdeveloped &/ irrelevant. Support is lacking &/ unrelated to ideas & impressions

Presentation - voice

- stylistic choices (quality of

language and creation of tone)

- development of unifying effect

Voice created is distinct. Stylistic choices are specific and creation of tone is competent. Unifying effect is capably developed

Voice created is apparent. Stylistic choices are adequate and creation of tone is conventional. Unifying effect is appropriately developed

Voice created is indistinct. Stylistic choices are imprecise and creation of tone is inconsistent. Unifying effect is inadequately developed

Voice created is obscure. Stylistic choices impede communication and creation of tone is ineffective. Unifying effect is absent

Form & Structure

- coherent, focussed and

shaped arrangement and

discussion unifying effect developed & maintained

Purposeful arrangement of ideas & details contributes to controlled discussion which is developed capably. Unifying effect coherently sustained and presented

Straightforward arrangement of ideas & details provides direction for appropriate discussion. Unifying effect presented and maintained generally, however, coherence may falter

A discernible but ineffectual arrangement of ideas and details provides some direction for underdeveloped discussion. Unifying effect inconsistently maintained

Haphazard arrangement of ideas and details provides little or no direction for discussion; development is lacking or obscure. Unifying effect is absent

INS

- student has responded using form other than prose - student has written so little that it is not possible to assess Ideas & Impressions - there is no evidence that the topic presented in the assignment has been addressed - there is no connection between the text(s) provided in the assignment and the student’s

response

Symbolic Interpretation Assignment Name:

ELA 20-1: Life of Pi

Criteria Awesome Got It! Not Quite

Support

x2

Support from novel is specific. Information from research is well chosen to reinforce interpretation in persuasive way. Interpretations are well founded.

Support from novel is general. Information from research is adequate, and appropriately chosen reinforce ideas acceptably, but may occasionally lack persuasiveness. Interpretations are reasonable.

Support from novel is inadequate. Information from research is inaccurate, largely a restatement of what was read &/ inappropriately chosen to reinforce ideas, lacks persuasiveness. Interpretations are weak.

Visual

Organization x1

Visual presentation creates an interesting and eye-catching image through precise organization of visual elements (such as juxtaposition and balance)

Visual presentation creates a clear, unified image through basic organization of visual elements (such as placement and focal point)

Visual presentation creates a somewhat disorganized image through ineffective organization of visual elements (such as placement and focal point)

Written Support –

Ideas

x1.5

Written support effectively examines interpretations in an insightful way; adeptly demonstrates the student’s interpretation of the role/ significance as well as the effects of complex visual conventions

Written support clearly relays interpretations in a detailed way; clearly demonstrates the student’s understanding of the depth of as well as the purpose of basic visual conventions

Written support outlines interpretations in a general way; vaguely demonstrates the student’s knowledge of the existence of the general ideas associated with the symbol as well as the existence of general visual conventions

Creative Choices

x.5

Many varied and complex choices made in the creation of the visual develop the symbolism of the visual in a creative and insightful way; use of medium shows a high level effort and consideration was put into its creation

Many basic choices made in the creation of the visual contribute to the symbolism of the visual in a clear and effective way; use of medium shows consideration and effort were put into its creation

Some basic choices made in the creation of the visual hint at the symbolism of the visual in a vague way; use of medium shows a minimal level of consideration and effort were put into its creation

INS

Support not reasonable interpretation of Life of Pi and/or are not presented in a way that accurately represents their role/purpose in the novel Visual is so disorganized that it is difficult to decipher its meaning/purpose Use of visual conventions is absent and/or incorrectly applied Written support does not sufficiently explain the choices made in the visual and/or does not demonstrate the student’s interpretation of the symbol(s) indicated Errors permeate the written support to the point that the ideas presented are difficult to understand Symbolic choices are unoriginal, absent, unclear and/or inappropriate and not clarified/supported through written explanation.

Critical Analysis Paragarph Name:

ELA 20-1

Proficient Satisfactory Limited Poor

Thought & Understanding (x 1.5)

Understanding of literary technique thoughtful & considered, competent comprehension of text and technique. Literary interpretations revealing and sensible

Understanding of literary technique relevant & straightforward, generalized comprehension of text and technique. Literary interpretations general but plausible

Understanding of literary technique superficial or oversimplified, weak comprehension text and/or technique. Literary interpretations incomplete &/ literal

Understanding of literary technique largely absent or irrelevant, &/ do not develop topic. Little comprehension of text or technique

Supporting Evidence (x 1)

Support from texts is specific and well chosen to reinforce ideas in persuasive way. Sound connection to purpose of author choice capably maintained

Support from texts is general, adequate, and appropriately chosen reinforce ideas acceptably, but may occasionally lack persuasiveness. Reasonable connection to author choice suitably maintained

Support for texts is inadequate, inaccurate, largely a restatement of what was read &/ inappropriately chosen to reinforce ideas, lacks persuasiveness. Weak connection to author choice maintained

Support from texts is irrelevant, overgeneralized, lacks validity and/or is absent. Little or no connection to author choice evident

Form & Structure (x.5)

Paragraph structured for effect

Paragraph structure Ineffective paragraph structure

Not in paragraph structure

Matters of Choice (x 0.5)

Diction is specific. Syntactic structures generally effective. Stylistic choices contribute to considered composition with capable voice

Diction is adequate. Syntactic structures straightforward, complex structures awkward. Stylistic choices contribute to conventional composition with appropriate voice

Diction is imprecise &/ inappropriate. Syntactic structures frequently awkward or ambiguous. Inadequate language choices contribute to vague composition with undiscerning voice

Diction inaccurate &/overgeneralized. Syntactic structures are uncontrolled or unintelligible. Lack of language choices contributes to confused composition with ineffective voice

Matters of Correctness (x 0.5)

Competence in control of correct sentence constructions, usage, grammar and mechanics. Minor errors in complex structures understandable

Control of basics of correct sentence constructions, usage, grammar and mechanics. Occasional lapses and minor errors, however communication remains clear

Faltering control of correct sentence constructions, usage, grammar and mechanics. Range of errors blurs clarity of communication

Lack of control of correct sentence constructions, usage, grammar and mechanics. Jarring errors impair communication

Life of Pi Essay Name:

Essay Prompt:

Criteria Proficient Satisfactory Limited Poor

Thought & Understanding

(x1.5)

Ideas thoughtful & considered, competent comprehension of text and topic. Literary interpretations revealing and sensible

Ideas relevant and straightforward, generalized comprehension of text and topic. Literary interpretations general but plausible

Ideas superficial or oversimplified, weak comprehension of text and topic. Literary interpretations incomplete &/ literal

Ideas largely absent or irrelevant, &/ do not develop topic. Little comprehension of text demonstrated

Supporting Evidence (x1.5)

Support specific and well chosen to reinforce ideas in persuasive way. Sound connection to ideas capably maintained

Support general, adequate, and appropriately chosen reinforce ideas acceptably, but may occasionally lack persuasiveness. Reasonable connection to ideas suitably maintained

Support inadequate, inaccurate, largely a restatement of what was read &/ inappropriately chosen to reinforce ideas, lacks persuasiveness. Weak connection to ideas maintained

Support is irrelevant, overgeneralized, lacks validity and/or is absent. Little or no connection to ideas evident

Form & Structure

(x1)

Purposeful arrangement of ideas & details contributes to controlled discussion which is developed capably. Unifying effect coherently sustained and presented

Straightforward arrangement of ideas & details provides direction for appropriate discussion. Unifying effect presented and maintained generally, however, coherence may falter

A discernible but ineffectual arrangement of ideas and details provides some direction for underdeveloped discussion. Unifying effect inconsistently maintained

Haphazard arrangement of ideas and details provides little or no direction for discussion; development is lacking or obscure. Unifying effect is absent

Matters of Choice

(x1)

Diction is specific. Syntactic structures generally effective. Stylistic choices contribute to considered composition with capable voice

Diction is adequate. Syntactic structures straightforward, complex structures awkward. Stylistic choices contribute to conventional composition with appropriate voice

Diction is imprecise &/ inappropriate. Syntactic structures frequently awkward or ambiguous. Inadequate language choices contribute to vague composition with undiscerning voice

Diction inaccurate &/overgeneralized. Syntactic structures are uncontrolled or unintelligible. Lack of language choices contributes to confused composition with ineffective voice

Matters of Correctness

(x1)

Competence in control of correct sentence constructions, usage, grammar and mechanics. Minor errors in complex structures understandable

Control of basics of correct sentence constructions, usage, grammar and mechanics. Occasional lapses and minor errors, however communication remains clear

Faltering control of correct sentence constructions, usage, grammar and mechanics. Range of errors blurs clarity of communication

Lack of control of correct sentence constructions, usage, grammar and mechanics. Jarring errors impair communication

INS

- student has written so little that it is not possible to assess Thought and Understanding and/or Supporting Evidence

- no reference has been made to literature studied - only literary reference present is to the text(s) provided in the Personal Response to Texts

Assign no evidence of an attempt to fulfill the task presented in the assignment

ELA 20-1 Personal Zoo

Name: Zoo:

Criteria Excellent Proficient Satisfactory Limited

Visual Symbolism

of Exhibits

(x2)

All choices are creative

and symbolically

relevant to the zoo’s

overall purpose and

are explored in a way

that is both complex

and detailed

Most choices strongly

connect to each

exhibit’s characteristics

in thoughtful ways

through effective

consideration for detail

Most choices are clear,

though somewhat

literal representations

of the exhibits’

characteristics through

considered, but

general choices

Most choices are

simplistic, literal

and/or absent and may

not always reflect the

exhibits’ characteristics

in a complete or

accurate way

Explanation

(x2)

Written explanations

consistently show

thoughtful insight into

all complex aspects of

the exhibits as a

unified whole

Written explanations

mostly show a strong

analysis of various

aspects of each

individual exhibit

Written explanations

usually show a basic

consideration for the

general role of most of

the exhibits

Written explanations

show a somewhat

limited or incomplete

understanding of the

relevance of some

exhibits

Organization

(x1)

Layout of entire zoo

creatively catches and

guides the viewer’s

eye, maintaining

interest and unity

throughout through

effective

experimentation with

visual conventions

Layout of all exhibits

effectively catches and

guides the viewer’s

eye, attempting to

maintain interest and

unity throughout

through effective use

of visual conventions

Layout of most exhibits

catches and guides the

viewer’s eye in a basic

way; interest and unity

may falter occasionally,

though visual

conventions are used

appropriately

Layout of some exhibits

fail to catch and/or

guide the viewer’s eye;

interest and/or unity

are not maintained

due to inconsistent/

inappropriate use of

visual conventions

Voice

(x1)

Written work is

consistently engaging

with strong and

effective word choices;

artistic unity and

coherence are

creatively maintained

through effective

experimentation with

complex stylistic

techniques

Written work is

effective with

thoughtful and precise

word choices; unity and

coherence are

effectively maintained

through purposeful use

of specific stylistic

techniques

Written work is clear

through specific word

choice; attempts at

unity and coherence

are made through

appropriate use of

basic stylistic

techniques

Written work is unclear

and/or ineffective

through general and/or

inappropriate word

choice; unity and/or

coherence are lacking

through incorrect use

and/or absence of

stylistic techniques

Insufficient

No work submitted

Work submitted does not meet the assignment guidelines

Student has produced so little that it is not possible to assess ideas or impressions

No evidence that the student has addressed the assigned topics

Student has made no connections to the appropriate texts/themes

Personal Response Name:

Criteria Proficient Satisfactory Limited Poor

Ideas & Impressions

(x2)

Theme is purposeful. Ideas/ Perceptions are thoughtful and considered. Textual supports are creatively integrated and strengthen ideas & impressions

Theme is generalized. Ideas/ Perceptions are straightforward and relevant. Textual supports are adequate and clarify ideas & impressions

Theme is vague. Ideas/Perceptions are superficial &/ ambiguous. Textual supports are imprecise and/or ineffectively related to ideas & impressions

Theme is minimal. Ideas/ Perceptions are underdeveloped &/ irrelevant. Textual supports are lacking &/ unrelated to ideas & impressions

Presentation

(x2)

Story is engaging. Details are believable and well balanced. Unifying effect is capably developed

Story is creative. Details are effective. Unifying effect is appropriately developed

Story is straightforward. Details are unbalanced. Unifying effect is inadequately developed

Story is obscure. Detail is lacking. Unifying effect is absent

Matters of Choice

(x1.5)

Diction is specific. Syntactic structures generally effective. Stylistic choices contribute to considered composition with capable voice

Diction is adequate. Syntactic structures straightforward, complex structures awkward. Stylistic choices contribute to conventional composition with appropriate voice

Diction is imprecise &/ inappropriate. Syntactic structures frequently awkward or ambiguous. Inadequate language choices contribute to vague composition with undiscerning voice

Diction inaccurate &/overgeneralized. Syntactic structures are uncontrolled or unintelligible. Lack of language choices contributes to confused composition with ineffective voice

Matters of Correctness

(x1.5)

Competence in control of correct sentence constructions, usage, grammar and mechanics. Minor errors in complex structures understandable

Control of basics of correct sentence constructions, usage, grammar and mechanics. Occasional lapses and minor errors, however communication remains clear

Faltering control of correct sentence constructions, usage, grammar and mechanics. Range of errors blurs clarity of communication

Lack of control of correct sentence constructions, usage, grammar and mechanics. Jarring errors impair communication

INS

- student has responded using form other than prose - student has written so little that it is not possible to assess Ideas & Impressions - there is no evidence that the topic presented in the assignment has been addressed - there is no connection between the text(s) provided in the assignment and the student’s

response

Art Gallery Name: ELA 20-1: Life of Pi

Criteria Wow! Got It Almost Got It

Creation of Visuals

x3 communication construction symbolism

visual has clear connection to the theme

use of specific visual details (such as unique camera angles/

perspectives, line or juxtaposition) create an insightful symbolic

message

visual has general connection to the theme

use of general visual elements

(such as color, focal point and balance) create a simplistic

symbolic message

visual has vague connection to the theme

attempts to use general visual

elements (such as color, focal point and balance) create an ineffective symbolic message

Writing Conventions

x1 structures

thematic connection

experiments with many complex structures of creative writing in a variety of situations (such as spacing, grammar, and

word order) to develop the imagery and/or theme of the

piece

uses the basic structures of creative writing (such as description/imagery) to

purposefully parallel the imagery and/or theme of the piece

tries to apply the basic structures of creative writing

(such as description/imagery), but does so in a way that is

inconsistent with the imagery and/or theme of the piece

Language Use x2

figures of speech imagery symbolism

multiple, varied figures of speech effectively used

throughout writing to insightfully develop theme and/or mood

consistent use of creative and

precise details enhance the imagery of the piece

symbols established are

creative and effective in developing the theme of the piece

basic figures of speech (simile and/or metaphor) are used in the

piece to establish the theme

inclusion of some detail create imagery in the piece

symbols used are appropriate

to the theme of the piece

figures of speech are sometimes ineffective and/or do

not relate to the theme

attempts at detail are still vague and/or ineffective in

creating in image in the reader’s mind

symbols are ineffective and/or inconsistent and/or do not relate

to the theme

Gallery x1

participation insight

contributes varied and insightful comments on many of the exhibits

contributes one or two interpretive comments on a few of the exhibits

makes no contributions to the discussion of the exhibits

Insufficient

Does not include all of the visual/written components required of the project

Written work & visual were not created or presented in conjunction with one another

Project is not focused on one central theme

Project does not have a symbolic and/or thematic connection to Life of Pi

Creative choices are so haphazard that the theme of project is difficult to decipher

Comments:

Photo Essay ELA 20-1: Life of Pi Name:

Criteria Excellent Proficient Satisfactory Limited Poor

Photograph

Composition

x 3

Layout of elements is

adept – complex

symbolic techniques

such as juxtaposition,

framing or negative

space are used

insightfully to

enhance the quality

of the composition

Layout of elements is

thoughtful – symbolic

techniques such as

point of view, color, or

proxemics are used

effectively to improve

the quality of the

composition and/or

complex techniques are

correctly attempted,

but ineffective in

enhancing quality of the

composition

Layout of elements is

straightforward – basic

techniques such as focal

point, focus, or lighting

are used correctly to

ensure the quality of

the composition,

and/or symbolic

techniques are correctly

attempted, but

ineffective in enhancing

quality of composition

Layout of elements is

negligent – some basic

techniques are used

ineffectively and

negatively impact the

quality of the

composition, and/or

symbolic or complex

techniques are used

incorrectly, impairing

the quality of the

composition

Layout of elements is

faulty – most basic

techniques are used

incorrectly,

composition is not

created.

Concept

x 2

Photographs

demonstrate a high

degree of originality

and sophistication; a

coherent central idea

is insightfully stated

through effective

symbolic use of

visual elements and

cues

Photographs

demonstrate some

clear examples of

originality and

thoughtfulness; an

effective central idea is

creatively stated

through purposeful

symbolic use of visual

elements and cues

Photographs show a

straightforward

understanding of the

topic; a clear central

idea is clear and basic

through correct

symbolic use of visual

elements and cues

Photographs show a

vague understanding

of the topic; a faltering

central idea is unclear

and/or ineffective

through inattentive

and/or literal use of

visual elements and/or

cues.

Photographs show a

confused or inaccurate

understanding of the

topic; an ineffective

central idea is absent

or incorrect through

ineffective or failure to

use visual elements

and/or cues.

Organization

x 1

A judicious

arrangement of ideas

and visuals

contributes to a

fluent photo essay

A purposeful

arrangement of ideas

and visuals creates a

controlled photo essay

A straightforward

arrangement of ideas

and visuals provides

direction for the photo

essay

A discernable but

ineffectual

arrangement of ideas

and visuals provides

some direction for an

underdeveloped photo

essay

A haphazard

arrangement of ideas

and visuals provides no

direction for the

photo essay

Conventions

x 3 (photo essay,

written, presentation)

Adept manipulation

of conventions

insightfully enhances

presentation

Effective use of

conventions shows

thoughtful preparation

of presentation

Correct use of

conventions clarifies

presentation

Vague use of

conventions confuses,

inhibits presentation

Ineffective/incorrect

use of conventions

detracts from

presentation

Language Use

x 2

Diction is precise,

syntax is effective

and sometimes

polished, stylistic

choices create skillful

composition with

convincing voice

Diction is specific,

syntax is generally

effective, stylistic

choices create a

considered composition

with a capable voice

Diction is adequate,

syntax is

straightforward,

attempts at complex

structures awkward,

stylistic choices create

conventional

composition with

appropriate voice

Diction is imprecise or

inappropriate, syntax

frequently awkward or

ambiguous,

inadequate stylistic

choices create vague

composition with an

undiscerning voice

Diction is over-

generalized or

inaccurate, syntax

uncontrolled or

unintelligible, lack of

stylistic choices create

confused composition

with ineffective voice

INS - No assignment submitted - Work submitted does not sufficiently meet assignment guidelines