The Outsiders Outline and Paragraph Themes, Thesis Statements, Topic Sentences, Evidence, Citations, and Context, and Analysis
Today s Target/Goal I can select a theme from The Outsiders and turn it into a thesis statement.
What is a theme? Review Theme The author s central message or idea stated in ONE sentence An author s observation about human nature What the author believes about human beings or life Found in all literary elements of a story: characters, setting, plot, and conflict Arguable Implied; not directly stated in the story Applicable to multiple texts (does not address specific characters or events) Example: Hard work results in success.
Review Theme What a theme is not A lesson Advice A you statement Fortune cookie message One word A summary Non-example: Slow and steady wins the race. How do you figure out a theme? What topics/big ideas does the story deal with? What is the author saying about these topics? Turn what the author is saying into a theme statement
Review Theme What topics/big ideas does The Outsiders deal with? Come up with three Find pages in The Outsiders where these topics appear What is the S.E. Hinton saying about these topics? The author is saying that Turn what the author is saying into a theme statement Record on scratch paper AND in your LA notebook Pass scratch paper to next group Read theme statements Make suggestions to improve and put a checkmark next to the one your group thinks is best
Review Thesis Statement What is a thesis statement/claim? Your main argument What you will focus your paper/paragraph on What components must be included in a thesis statement/claim? What you plan to argue How you plan to argue it Thesis template In The Outsiders S.E. Hinton uses (how will you argue what element will you focus on?) to present the idea that (insert theme). Homework Due tomorrow Thesis statement about a theme in The Outsiders Put it on a blank page in your LA notebook Write it clearly enough that others can easily read it
Today s Target/Goal I can brainstorm reasons my thesis is right to develop three topic sentences.
Brainstorming Why is your thesis statement right? Start by brainstorming moments in the story that you could use as evidence Example: In The Outsiders S.E. Hinton uses the greasers to present the idea that self-sacrifice exists even among the lawless. When Dally commits suicide to pay tribute to Johnny When Dally breaks the law by helping Pony and Johnny get out of town after Bob s murder When Pony recounts the time Dally let himself be arrested for a crime Two-Bit committed When Pony and Johnny go into the church to save the kids When Dally goes into the church to save Johnny When Johnny kills Bob to save Pony When Darry has to give up college to take care of his brothers
Brainstorming Group the moments you brainstormed Example: In The Outsiders S.E. Hinton uses the greasers to present the idea that self-sacrifice exists even among the lawless. When Dally commits suicide to pay tribute to Johnny When Dally breaks the law by helping Pony and Johnny get out of town after Bob s murder When Dally goes into the church to save Johnny When Pony recounts the time Dally let himself be arrested for a crime Two-Bit committed When Pony and Johnny go into the church to save the kids When Johnny kills Bob to save Pony When Darry has to give up college to take care of his brothers When Soda quits school to earn money for the family
Three Topic Sentences Due Tomorrow Turn three of your reasons into topic sentences First sentence of a body paragraph Identifies one aspect of the thesis Go back to the how you plan to argue part of your thesis and break it into parts Example: In The Outsiders S.E. Hinton uses the greasers to present the idea that self-sacrifice exists even among the lawless. Each of my topic sentences will focus on one greaser (Dally, Johnny, Darry) States a primary reason why the thesis is true Not a statement Should be an argument that supports your overall argument/thesis/claim Look at how you grouped the moments from your brainstorm and come up with a statement that covers all the moments in the group
Three Topic Sentences Due Tomorrow When Darry has to give up college to take care of his brothers Darry and Soda give up their future for the sake of their family. When Soda quits school to earn money for the family When Dally breaks the law by helping Pony and Johnny get out of town after Bob s murder In The Outsiders S.E. Hinton uses the greasers to present the idea that self-sacrifice exists even among the lawless. When Johnny go into the church to save the kids Dally sacrifices himself to protect and honor his friends. When Dally commits suicide to pay tribute to Johnny Johnny is willing to risk his life to do what is right. When Johnny kills Bob to save Pony
Today s Target/Goal I can create an outline and select evidence to support my topic sentences and thesis.
Selecting Evidence What moments in the story support your each topic sentence? Find direct quotes from those moments to back up your topic sentences
Selecting Evidence Every quote should have a reference after it to indicate where you got it Anytime you quote something, you need to give the author s name and the page number the quote is found on Think QUO-PAR-PUNC Listen, I don t mind dying now. It was worth it. It s worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for (Hinton 178). QUO Quote PAR Parentheses PUNC Punctuation
Context Two options for adding context BEFORE the quote Use a signal phrase Integrate the author s words into your own writing
Context Signal phrase Indicates you are about to use language that is not yours Example: When speaking to Ponyboy, Johnny says, Listen, I don t mind dying now. It was worth it. It s worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for (Hinton 178). BEWARE: Just adding a quote to the end of a related sentence does not mean that you have used a signal phrase Johnny tells Ponyboy he does not mind dying, Listen, I don t mind dying now. It was worth it. It s worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for (Hinton 178). Signal phrases must introduce your quote You are not writing a mystery story don t make the reader guess where your quote came from
Context Integrate the author s words into your own writing Example: At the end of his life Johnny reflects on his choices. He realizes that he don t mind dying now. It was worth it. It s worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for (Hinton 178). If you choose to incorporate the author s words into your sentence, the result must be grammatically correct No comma to separate the your words from the quote This only applies if you use this strategy
Context Do not refer to the quote in your context Example: Johnny tells Ponyboy he does not mind dying in the quote: Listen, I don t mind dying now. It was worth it. It s worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for (Hinton 178).
Context Good Context Examples DO THESE When speaking to Ponyboy, Johnny says, Listen, I don t mind dying now. It was worth it. It s worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for (Hinton 178). At the end of his life Johnny reflects on his choices. He realizes that he don t mind dying now. It was worth it. It s worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for (Hinton 178). Bad Context Examples DO NOT DO THESE Johnny tells Ponyboy he does not mind dying, Listen, I don t mind dying now. It was worth it. It s worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for (Hinton 178). Johnny tells Ponyboy he does not mind dying in the quote: Listen, I don t mind dying now. It was worth it. It s worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for (Hinton 178).
Today s Target/Goal I can explain exactly what my evidence means and how it relates to my argument.
What is analysis? Analysis Your explanation and interpretation of the evidence Tells the reader what the author means and how the evidence proves the topic sentence May include interpretation, argument, insight, and/or reflection. You should have twice as much analysis as textual evidence For every sentence of evidence, you should have at least two sentences of analysis
Analysis As you write your paragraph, look out for places where you make assumptions and where what you mean is not clear or logical Example Johnny is willing to risk his life to do what is right. At the end of his life Johnny reflects on his choices. He realizes that he does not mind dying now. It was worth it. It s worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for (Hinton 178). This shows that Johnny is willing to sacrifice himself for others. What questions do you have? What is not clear? What is not logical?
Analysis Ask yourself questions to create/add to your analysis What does this quote mean? What is the author trying to say? Why does this quote matter? Why is it significant? Why should people pay attention to this quote? How does this quote link to my topic sentence? How does it link to my thesis statement?
Analysis Example Johnny is willing to risk his life to do what is right. At the end of his life Johnny reflects on his choices. He realizes that he does not mind dying now. It was worth it. It s worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for (Hinton 178). This shows that Johnny is willing to sacrifice himself for others. Questions What does this quote mean? This quote means that Johnny understands that he has sacrificed himself for the greater good. He is at peace with dying because he knows that what he did was saved more lives than were lost. Why does this quote matter? This quote matters because Johnny is selfless. Even though the world consistently knocks him down, Johnny is still willing to fight for others. He is an example of what is good in the world because he is not self-obsessed. How does this quote link to my topic sentence? This quote proves my topic sentence because Johnny is willing to sacrifice himself to help others. He cannot stand by and do nothing while the children die. Even though he may be hurt, he is willing to put himself in harms way to get the kids out alive.
Revised Example Analysis Johnny is willing to risk his life to do what is right. At the end of his life Johnny reflects on his choices. He realizes that he does not mind dying now. It was worth it. It s worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for (Hinton 178). Johnny understands that he has sacrificed himself for the greater good. He is at peace with dying because he knows that what he did was saved more lives than were lost. Johnny is selfless. Even though the world consistently knocks him down, he is still willing to fight for others. He is an example of what is good in the world because he is not self-obsessed. Johnny is willing to sacrifice himself to help others. He cannot stand by and do nothing while the children die. Even though he may be hurt, he is willing to put himself in harms way to get the kids out alive.
Analysis Ask yourself questions to create/add to your analysis What does this quote mean? What is the author trying to say? Why does this quote matter? Why is it significant? Why should people pay attention to this quote? How does this quote link to my topic sentence? How does it link to my thesis statement?
Due Tuesday Homework Create an outline MUST BE TYPED Include your thesis statement, topic sentences, and quotes to support each topic sentence Use the outline template on the directions page Select one body paragraph from your outline and turn it into a complete paragraph MUST BE TYPED Be sure you include a topic sentence, evidence, context before your evidence, citations after your evidence, and analysis for each piece of evidence