Literary Analysis Essay

Transcription

1 Performance tasks are the primary vehicle for student learning and assessment at mastery learning schools in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD). Performance tasks yield a tangible product and/or performance that serve as evidence of learning and they typically take several days to weeks to complete. CMSD s performance tasks are aligned to competency statements adopted by the district s mastery learning schools. They are designed to give students experience with the skills they will need to be successful in college and a variety of workplaces. A review of the college freshmen workload at a variety of U.S. colleges and universities by redesign 1 resulted in a clearly articulated list of tasks that new college students are expected to complete. CMSD s anchor performance tasks prepare high school students for these college tasks. Therefore, anchor performance tasks are the core of a mastery school s assessment system. This is designed to provide teachers with the structure and tools needed to implement anchor performance tasks in their courses. 1 "Performance Tasks." ReDesign. N.p., n.d. Web. 21.

2 Part 1: Task Description Task Information Product Authentic Assessment Literary Analysis Essay Being able to write literary analysis essays proves that students can read critically, evaluate complex information, and write cogent informative or persuasive text. With these skills, people can work as writers, thinkers, editors, and teachers in a variety of career fields such as medicine, law, business, media, and public service. Product-related Competencies: Students will be assessed on these competencies related to writing, discussing, or presenting their work product. CMSD Competencies to Be Assessed SW.1 Vocabulary and Language SW.1.2 Use academic vocabulary and language while writing ELA.3 Writing Informative Texts ELA.3.1 Introduce the topic ELA.3.2 Develop the subtopics with facts ELA.3.3 Use words and transitions to create cohesion ELA.3.4 Maintain a formal style and objective tone ELA.3.5 Provide a compelling conclusion -or- SW.4 Writing Arguments SW.4.1 Introduce claims SW.4.2 Use evidence to develop claims and counterclaims SW.4.3 Use words and transitions to create cohesion SW.4.4 Maintain a formal style and objective tone SW.4.5 Provide a compelling conclusion Pre-product Competencies: Students may also be assessed on these competencies related to reading and language use depending on the learning experiences that prepare students to develop or perform the work product. SW.1 Vocabulary and Language SW.1.1 Acquire and use academic vocabulary while reading and/or researching SW.1.5 Use precise language, vocabulary, and relevant techniques ELA.1 Reading Literature ELA.1.1 Cite evidence ELA.1.2 Identify central theme/idea ELA.1.3 Analyze developments ELA.1.4 Interpret words and phrases ELA.1.5 Analyze structure of texts ELA.1.6 Assess point of view ELA.1.7 Compare and contrast texts and media Content Area Competencies: Teachers will determine additional content area competencies to be assessed based on customization of the task for their courses. Page 2 of 25

3 Sample Connections to CMSD Scope and Sequence Title Essential Questions Content Standards Description Title Essential Question Literary Analysis Essay Expository Writing -What impact does context have on a novel and on the reactions of readers to it? -How does a key scene from a novel contribute to the work as a whole? English 9, Unit 3: Coming of Age in Changing Times Genres: Literary Fiction and Photoessay (CMSD English Scope and Sequence 2016, p. 9-12) Students write a literary analysis essay about a context of a key scene in a novel, citing textual evidence to support their ideas and inferences. Key texts to analyze as examples might include To Kill a Mockingbird, In Defense of To Kill a Mockingbird, Jim Crow: Shorthand for Separation, excerpt from Letter From Birmingham Jail, film clips from To Kill a Mockingbird. Literary Analysis Essay Persuasive Writing How do complex characters advance the plot and develop the themes of drama? Content Standards Description English 10 Unit 5: Building Cultural Bridges Genres: a song, films, articles, a press release, an editorial, and a speech (CMSD English Scope and Sequence 2016, p ) Students write a literary analysis essay examining the development of a tragic hero and argue that the character advances the plot and theme. Key texts to analyze as examples might include I Need to Wake Up, Bend It Like Beckham, Life in the Freezer: The Big Freeze, The 11th Hour, DiCaprio Sheds Light on 11th Hour, A Roaring Battle Over Sea Lions, The HSUS and Wild Fish Conservancy File Suit to Stop Sea Lion Killing at Bonneville Dam, Sea Lions vs. Salmon: Restore Balance and Common Sense. Page 3 of 25

4 Part 2: Model Tasks Literary Analysis Essay Model A The Joy Luck Club Literary Analysis Essay Expository Writing, Gr 10 Amy Tan s book The Joy Luck Club explores the relationships between four Chinese American daughters and their oftenmisunderstood, more traditional Chinese mothers. By sharing quotations from the book, the student author of this literary analysis shows how, as they grew up, the daughters came to understand, respect, and appreciate their mothers more. My Interpretation of The Joy Luck Club Children, as they become adults, become more appreciative of their parents. In The Joy Luck Club, the attitudes of four daughters toward their mothers change as the girls mature and come to realize that their mothers aren t so different after all. As children, the daughters in this book are ashamed of their mothers and don t take them very seriously, dismissing them as quirky and odd. I could never tell my father... How could I tell him my mother was crazy? (p. 117). They don t try to comprehend their culture, which is a big part of understanding their traditional Chinese mothers. On page 6, one of the daughters states, I can never remember things I don t understand in the first place, referring to Chinese expressions her mother used. When their mothers show pride in them, the girls only show their embarrassment. One daughter shows her shame when she says to her mother, I wish you wouldn t do that, telling everyone I m your daughter (p. 101). The girls cannot relate to their mothers because they were raised in a different world. No matter how much the mothers care for them or how much they sacrifice to make their girls lives better, the daughters are blind to their mothers pain and feelings. All four of the Joy Luck mothers need their daughters to understand them, pass on their spirit after they are gone, and understand what they have gone through for their girls. One mother dreams of doing this on her trip to a new life: In America I will have a daughter just like me... over there nobody will look down on her... and she will always be too full to swallow any sorrow! She will know my meaning because I will give her this swan... it carries with it all my good intentions (pp. 3-4). Another mother plans how she will give her daughter this perception: She [my daughter] has no chi... How can I leave the world without leaving her my spirit? So this is what I will do. I will gather together my past and... see a thing that has already happened. The pain that cut my spirit loose. I will hold that pain in my hand until it becomes hard and shiny, more clear. And then my fierceness can come back... I will use this sharp pain to penetrate my daughter s tough skin and cut her tiger spirit loose. She will fight me, because this is the nature of two tigers. But I will win and give her my spirit because this is why a mother loves a daughter. (p. 286) Things don t exactly turn out the way the mothers hope, though. Their hopes and dreams are shattered when they realize their daughters misconceptions of them. On page 282, a mother laments, When my daughter looks at me, she sees a small, old lady. If she had chuming [inside knowledge of things] she Page 4 of 25

5 would see a tiger lady. One daughter sees the fear of the remaining mothers after she tells them that she doesn t know anything about her dead mother that she can pass on: They are frightened. In me, they see their own daughters, just as ignorant, just as unmindful of all the truths and hopes they have brought to America. They see daughters who grow impatient when their mothers talk in Chinese, who think they are stupid when they explain things in fractured English... They see daughters who will bear grandchildren born without any connecting hope passed from generation to generation. (p. 31) This fear does not persist, however. As the daughters mature, the two generations discover that they aren t so different after all. One mother says, She puts her face next to mine, side by side, and we look at each other in the mirror... these two faces, I think, so much the same! The same happiness, the same sadness, the same good fortune, the same faults (p. 292). One daughter, after her mother s death, sits down to play the piano that she had refused to touch before to defy her mother. Amy Tan uses the metaphor of two piano pieces to compare the mother to this daughter: The piece I had played for the recital... was on the left-hand side of the page... and for the first time... I noticed the piece on the right-hand side... It had a lighter melody but the same flowing rhythm [as the recital piece and]... was longer but faster. And after I played them both... I realized they were two halves of the same song (p. 155). The daughters, as they grow to be adults, become more appreciative of their mothers. Their attitudes change over time to create an understanding and respect that hadn t been there before: I saw what I had been fighting for. It was for me, a scared child, who had run away a long time ago to what I had imagined was a safer place. And hiding in this place, behind my invisible barriers, I knew what lay on the other side: her side attacks. Her secret weapons. Her uncanny ability to find my weakest spots. But in the brief instant that I had peered over the barriers I could finally see what was really there: an old woman, a wok for her armor, a knitting needle for her sword, getting a little crabby as she waited patiently for her daughter to invite her in. (pp ) In conclusion, as children, the daughters didn t understand their mothers or their culture. The daughters were being raised in a different world. Their perceptions of their mothers changed, though, as they grew up and realized that they weren t so different from them after all. They finally understood and respected their traditional Chinese mothers. "Student Model: My Interpretation of The Joy Luck Club." K-12 Thoughtful Learning. N.p., n.d. Web. 29. Page 5 of 25

6 Model B Macbeth Literary Analysis Essay Persuasive Writing, Gr 12 In this literary analysis from an English language arts class, the student has taken a position on who the hero of Shakespeare s Macbeth is. In anticipation of his claim that Macduff is the true hero of the play, he begins by acknowledging the counterclaim that Macbeth is often described as the tragic hero of the play, then states his own claim that the hero is in fact Macduff. Macduff: A True Hero Though many refer to the titular character of William Shakespeare s Macbeth as a tragic hero, another character stands out as a much greater protagonist. While Macbeth is driven towards madness and to committing atrocities through his tragic flaw of ambition, Macduff lacks such a flaw and remains uncorrupted and heroic throughout the play. As Macbeth strives to gain power and prestige at the expense of the lives of his king, his friends, and his countrymen, Macduff meanwhile endures great personal loss in his attempts to stop Macbeth s tyrannical rue and to restore justice and freedom to Scotland. With a name so similar to Macbeth s, it is ironic yet fitting that Macduff acts so much more nobly than his king (Piotr 20). Throughout the tragic, events of William Shakespeare s Macbeth, Macduff serves as a heroic figure through his demonstrations of intelligence, loyalty, and righteousness. Macduff s prevalence is minimal early in the play, though his intelligence can first be noted in his actions that follow King Duncan s death. While many Scottish nobles prepare to welcome Macbeth to the throne and accept him as their king, Macduff shows his skepticism of the story surrounding the king s demise. Though Macduff at first accepts the verdict that Malcolm and Donalbain are the most likely suspects in the murder of their father, he does so reluctantly and only because the evidence points to them given that they have fled the scene. When asked if he will attend Macbeth s inaugural ceremonies, Macduff responds, No, cousin, I ll to Fife (2.4.36). Macduff is less convinced than the others that the mystery of the king s death has been solved, and he wisely distances himself from Macbeth, in whose home the murder occurred, rather than simply accept Macbeth as his new king. When news spreads that Banquo too has been murdered in Macbeth s castle, Macduff is again the first to act, as noted when Lennox states, Thither Macduff/ is gone to pray the holy King, upon his aid/ To wake Northumberland and warlike Siward ( ). Macduff demonstrates his intelligence in astutely connecting Macbeth to the murders of King Duncan and Banquo before any other nobles come to such a realization. Macduff s intelligence and willingness to act on what information he has gathered demonstrate his heroism and help to save Scotland from destruction. In all of Macduff s actions, he remains loyal to his country and acts solely in the interest of Scotland. When Macduff travels to England to raise an army against Macbeth, he must leave his family behind. As noted by literary critic Piotr Sadowski, once Macduff has chosen to serve the political cause all qualms about abandoning his family became suppressed (21). Though a loving family-man with devotion towards his pretty chickens and their dam, or his children and his wife, Macduff s other loyalties are stronger Page 6 of 25

7 ( ). Macduff selflessly puts his country before those he loves, leaving his family vulnerable to attack from Macbeth so that he may raise an army to defeat him and end the tyranny that plagues his country. It becomes clear that Macduff is sincere in his displays of loyalty when he is tested by the young Malcolm, who will inherit the throne if Macduff succeeds in overthrowing Macbeth. After Malcolm proudly asserts his sinful nature in his voluptuousness (4.3.61), his stanchless avarice (4.3.78), and his complete disregard for virtues, Macduff s loyalty to Scotland goes unbroken in his response to Malcolm, who asks if he is fit to govern. Macduff states, Fit to govern/ No, not to live. O nation miserable! / When shalt thou see thy wholesome days again ( ). Macduff s display of loyalty towards his country over its potential ruler suffices to prove to Malcolm his loyal nature and lack of selfish motives. Malcolm agrees to lead the forces against Macbeth in a move that ultimately saves Scotland. In all events of the play, Macduff acts to combat tyranny and all that is evil, making him a truly righteous character. From serving King Duncan to protecting Scotland and taking the throne back from Macbeth, Macduff acts in service of what is morally just and does not boast in his deeds or in any way act for himself. After learning that his family has died at the command of Macbeth, Macduff weeps for them and expresses first his anger and regret, showing his human side, but he then accepts what has occurred and begins to ponder his next action. Realizing that he serves no one by weeping over his loss or boasting about how he will avenge his family s death, Macduff simply states, Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself; / Within my sword s length set him. If he scape, / Heaven forgive him too ( ). Macduff believes that it is right and just to kill Macbeth, not only for what the tyrant has done to his family, but for how he has brought pain and suffering to an entire nation. In stating his hope that Macbeth s sins be forgiven if he fails to kill him, Macduff further reflects his righteous, almost biblical qualities in his ability to not hold a grudge against the man who has killed his family. In the end, Macduff seems destined to kill Macbeth given that the former was from his mother s womb / Untimely ripped ( ), and that, In folklore, the child born through what later became the Caesarian section was said to possess great strength and the power to find hidden treasure and to see spirits (Piotr 20). Not only do the witches prophesies point to Macduff as the one who has the power to dethrone Macbeth, but Shakespeare also uses a common supernatural theme of his day to portray Macduff as a character of a higher power who seems the only one fit to take down a powerful military ruler as Macbeth. When Macbeth emerges from battle victorious in the final scene and holds Macbeth s severed head, the image created is one of good finally triumphing over evil. Regardless of the events and fortunes surrounding Macduff s character in William Shakespeare s Macbeth, he serves as a heroic figure for his qualities of intelligence, loyalty, and righteousness. As the first to recognize the mystery and guilt surrounding Macbeth and the murders that seem to line his path on his rise to power, Macduff displays an inquisitiveness and prudence that his fellow nobles seem to lack. Using his knowledge for the good of his country, Macduff balks at opportunities for personal gain and acts solely in the interest of his beloved nation, to which he demonstrates supreme loyalty. This loyalty runs so deep in Page 7 of 25

8 Macduff that not even the murder of his family can deter him on his righteous quest of vanquishing from the Scottish throne the evil that has befallen it. In his heroic qualities, Macduff emerges as the true hero of Macbeth, far more so than the titular character whose flaw of ambition drives him to the point of being a plague upon the nation he so desires to govern. In the words of politician Edmund Burke, All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. Macduff s role as a good man in Macbeth is not simply to bring about justice to an oppressed nation. Rather, his character reminds readers that justice cannot be done without the vigilance and actions of ever wise, virtuous men and women who loyally devote their efforts to upholding what is righteous. Works Cited Sadowski, Piotr. Macbeth. Fofweb.com. Bloom s Literary Reference Online Web. 13 Dec erecord-true. Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. New York: Signet Classics, Print. "Macduff True Hero." Argument/Opinion: Range of Writing. Achieve the Core, n.d. Web. 29. Page 8 of 25