Task for Tuesday (07/06/2011)

Homework

All of you: Read pages 99-114 (if you can manage it, please read pages 99 - 135) and be able to give a short summary in your own words.

Each pair should work on both tasks but you decide individually how to split it up, one of you can do task A, your partner does task B.

TASK A:

Writing a letter:

Imagine you are Miles. You are writing a letter to your parents after the Thanksgiving break at the end of November. Tell your parents that you are looking forward to coming home over Christmas. Write down Miles letter and put it online on your blog!

TASK B:

Mind Map "feelings":   

Create a mind map or a list of the feelings the characters have in different situations. Add new feelings to your mind map as you read on. Use different colours for positive and negative feelings. For each word, include the noun/verb/adjective as appropriate. Put the mind map or list online on your blog!

Bewertung mündlicher Sprachproduktion

Lieber Englischkurs,

Anfang Juli ist es soweit: Ihr werdet eure mündlichen Prüfungen zum Roman

"Looking for Alaska" ablegen.

Damit ihr euch bereits jetzt besser darauf einstellen könnt, was in der Prüfung von euch erwartet wird, sind hier die Bereiche, die wir beurteilen werden.

1. Aussprache und Intontation

2. Einsatz sprachlicher Mittel und Sprachrichtigkeit (Grammatik und Lexik, d.h. Wortgebrauch)

3. Strategie und Interaktion (wie gestaltet ihr eure Monologe und Dialoge, sind diese strukturiert, wie geht ihr miteinander im gemeinsamen Prüfungsteil um?)

4. Aufgabenerfüllung und Inhalt

Über die genauen Kriterien im Detail sprechen wir im Unterricht.

Point of view

The Point of view is the relation in which the narrator stands to the story.

Is there a character in the story speaking as “I”?
NO = third-person point of view			YES = first-person point of view
Are you informed about the thoughts and emotions of …			Is the narrator (who is a character in the story) …
all characters	some characters	no character	the protagonist	not the protagonist
omniscient narrator	selective narrator	objective narrator	protagonist-narrator	witness-narrator
unlimited perspective	limited perspective		limited perspective
the omniscient narrator can be neutral, but often comments on and evaluates what happens (“intrusive omniscient narrator”)	the selective narrator can also be called “limited omniscient narrator”	the objective narrator is impersonal, i.e. he/ she reports from the outside as a “hidden observer”	the protagonist-narrator is the central character of the story	the witness-narrator often is very close to the protagonist (e.g. a friend or relative)

Useful phrases
The author	·         is not identical with the narrator ·         uses/ employs a … narrator ·         makes use of a third-person point of view
The narrator	·         is the voice or character telling the story ·         tells the story in the first or third person ·         can have a limited or an unlimited perspective
A first-person narrator	·         is him-/ herself a character in the story, speaks as “I” ·         takes part in the action as a witness/ an observer or is the central character ·         is limited to what he himself knows/ experiences/ learns from somebody else
A third-person narrator	·         is not a character in the story ·         refers to the characters in the story as “he”, “she” or “they” or by their names ·         decides to what extent he informs the reader about the action and the characters
The omniscient narrator	·         enters the minds of the characters at will ·         can add his own comments and explanations
The selective narrator/ third-person limited narrator/ limited omniscient narrator	·         makes the reader see everything through the eyes of one character ·         confines himself to what is experienced, thought and felt by a single character
The objective narrator	·         is impersonal, unobtrusive, self-effacing ·         presents only the external action and not the characters’ thoughts and feelings ·         does not add comments and judgments

POV - point of view

The effect a story has on the reader or listener is strongly influenced by the point of view, or perspective, from which it is told. Basically there are three types of narrator that an author can employ to tell a story, but the types can be mixed and the point of view can change in the course or the story. Make sure you don't confuse the author, the narrator and the characters when you talk about a text.

Point of view

1. Third-person omniscient narrator

This type of narrator tells the story from the outside but knows about the characters' thoughts and feelings as well as the background of the story.

Sometimes this type of narrator even comments on the characters' behaviour, the story or the writing itself.

2. Third-person limited narrator

This type of narrator seems to tell the story from the outside, but knows only about the feelings and opinions of a particular character in a story. The narrator is not identical with this character, however.

3. First-person narrator

This type of narrator brings you close to the feelings and opinions of a particular character in the story because the narrator is identical with this character. You get to know only what this character knows. Ths first-person narrator is often, but not necessarily, identical with the protagonist. 

[Source: Green Line Oberstufe NRW, p. 242]

Narrative Perspektives

	First-person	Third-person limited	Third-person omniscient
Character-istics	e.g. ¯    narrator identical with one character in the story  (in most cases protagonist) ¯    knows feeling and thoughts of this character	e.g. ¯    story told from outside ¯    narrator knows only about the feelings and opinions of one particular character a but narrator is not identical with this character	e.g. ¯    story told from outside and inside ¯    narrator knows feelings and thoughts of different characters

Effect

e.g. ¯    reader has got access to this characters’ feelings and thoughts ¯    emotionally strongly involved and likely to identify with the narrator a identification figure ¯    reader is constantly informed about the protagonist’s thoughts and feelings

e.g. ¯    limited, possibly biased/unreliable information about events and other characters ¯    not enough information a may create suspense and encourage interpretation

e.g. ¯    reader gets comprehensive characterisations and interpretations

Solutions for "Practising Monologues" - "Describing "Tortilla Curtain

Dear all,

these are the solutions to the worksheet "Describing - The Tortilla Curtain". Please compare them with your answers and note down all the questions you have so that we can talk about those questions in class.

Step 1

Characters: "He had to laugh..."; "His face tightened..."; "...he winced."; "...her eyes were alive, shining..."; "...lips compressed around a private smile."; "...pouting, greedy lips,..."; "He'd promised."

 Relationship: "There is no fruit here"; "...you promised me, didn't you?"; "...lips he wanted to kiss and own."; "...a young girl like her and an old man like himself..."

Hopes and Dreams: "A clean white one made of lumber..."; "...with a gas range and a refrigerator,...", "...a little yard..."; "...plant a garden..."; "...a place for the chickens."; "...maybe a TV and a car..."; "...the lure of all those things, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, the glitter of the North like the second Eden."

 

Step 2

CONFLICT

Candido: 33, experienced migrant worker, frequently been to the US, injured, cannot work, proud of young wife, lured her to US, promised her share of American affluence.

America: 17, first time in US, young and naive, pregnant, knows nothing of job situation, impatient to get things Candido promised, determind to get these things

America: eyes were alive, shining, compressed lips around a private smile, pouting, greedy lips

LANGUAGE

Candido: nearly twice as old as America, laughs at her naivety, wants America, has made promises he cannot keep (house, garden, electrical appliances), persuaded her to come with him under false pretenses ("what else was he going to tell her"?)

HOPES AND DREAMS

Candido: wants America

America: has material dreams ("glitter", "second Eden")

Step3

your individual structure!

Step 4

- the excerpt  taken from " The Tortilla Curtain" by Boyle from 1996 depicts a Mexican couple who are in the US illegally

- first I am going to deal with the characters, then I will look at their hopes and dreams and finally I will describe their relationship

- the following quote backs up my description of Candido as having brought America to the US under false pretenses: "He'd held up the lure of all those things"

- to finish I would like to say that the text passage describes the material dreams that Mexican immigrants hope to realise in the US

Homework for Thursday, 26th May, 2011

Dear all,

please finish the worksheet (Step 1 to Step 4) "Practising Monologues - Describing" (topic East is East) for Thursday and be prepared to present your monologue (Step 5) in class. 

 

Furthermore, please read pages 83-99.

On Thursday we are also dealing with the topic "point of view" in our novel. Max has prepared a presentation for you and some tasks you will work on.

How to keep a Reading Journal - useful ideas

As you read the novel, stop from time to time and think back over what you have read. Here are some ways to make use of your journal:

                                 

¯ Jot down your thoughts and feelings as you read. Try to capture all your reactions.

¯ Copy out words, phrases or lines that you like and try to explain why you like them.

¯ Is there anything that puzzles you? Make a list of questions that you have about the text and that you might want to research, discuss with your friends or ask me.

¯ Sometime we are very moved by a literary text because it reminds us of a personal experience. If you like, describe that personal association.

¯ Do you find yourself really liking or really loathing any of the characters? What is it about them that makes you react so strongly? Make notes that you can add to as you read the text.

¯ Does our reading remind you of anything else you have read, heard or seen on TV or at the cinema? Jot down what it is and where the similarities lie.

¯ Now and again try to predict what will happen next in the novel. Use what you already know of the author and the characters to help you do this. Later record how close you were and whether you are surprised at the outcome.

¯ Sometimes words make pictures in your heads. Make a sketch of such a picture, and add words which create the picture.

¯ Can you picture the locations and settings? Draw maps, plans or diagrams.

¯ Is there is a chapter or scene that really strikes you, try to answer these questions:

o   What interests you about this chapter/scene?

o   Why does it strike you?

o   Say what you like (and perhaps dislike) about it.

¯ Perhaps a title or a line or a feeling gives you an idea for a short story or a scene in a play or a poem of your own. Write your own text.

[Ansgar Nünning: Englische Literatur unterrichten: Grundlagen und Methoden. Band 1. Stuttgart: Klett Kallmeyer, 2006]