Writing a Five-Paragraph Essay (Re-post)

An essay is a group of paragraphs with one controlling idea. The controlling idea is the thesis statement. 

Writing is thinking on paper. 

Avoid plot rehashing. You don’t want to summarize the plot. You want to state your thesis and provide evidence from the text to support this thesis. Your thesis is an interpretation of the literature. 

A five paragraph essay contains an introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs supporting and explaining the thesis, and a conclusion. Every part of your essay should support your thesis. 

A story starts off at Point A. It eventually comes back to Point A, except A is no longer A because something has changed. 

You have to ask three or four basic questions to get to the main point:

1 What changes?

2 What makes it change?

3 In what way does it change? (You ask this question sometimes, but not always.)

4 Why does it change?

When you answer questions you have arrived at the theme. 99% of the time it is the main character or protagonist that changes. Mostly, this ends up being a character analysis. 

One of the best ways to write a good essay is to know the nuts and bolts, because that provides you with examples to use within your writing. You have to funnel these examples down to the best examples and quotations. Further, you must make sure that you understand the essay prompt and respond to it accurately and directly. 

Always use present tense verbs when you write about literature. 

Never use the pronouns I or you. 

What changes in “Daedalus”?

In the beginning Daedalus is happy. The text says he is “honored by all men”. What changes in the end is that he is no longer happy. The proof of this is in the text. In the end Daedalus watches his son’s body plummet into the sea. 

What makes Daedalus unhappy? 

Icarus develops the excessive pride Daedalus has. What causes Daedalus to be unhappy is, essentially, that “his pride raced away with his wits.” He has Hubris. In other words, his story follows the Homeric Pattern. He was striving to be the best and most excellent. He wanted to be the greatest inventor of all time. He has too much pride and goes too far. He commits Ate and faces Nemesis (the death of his son). 

In what way does he change? 

Daedalus realizes that having excessive pride is not good when his son dies. He come to this realization too late. 

Why does the author have Daedalus change this way? 

One of the purposes of myth is to teach ethics. It is wrong to have excessive pride (Hubris). Therefore, we should know ourselves (gnothi seaton) and stick to the middle (meden agan). Don’t fly too high or too low. Thus, we have arrived at our theme. 

There is a cliche we have that comes from this myth: “Pride goeth before the fall.” 

Characters are also symbols. Daedalus is a symbol for humanity. We have this pattern as part of our nature. 

Often, people who attain excellence have a pattern of behavior that causes them to fall of their own accord. 

Is pride itself a bad thing? No. Is excessive pride a bad thing? According to the rhapsode, it is. 

Five Paragraph Essays:

The essay should have a title. It should not be “Daedalus Essay”, but something that fits your main thesis. 

In the intro paragraph, there will be a thesis statement. It is the last sentence in the first paragraph. This paragraph will also state the name of the author and the title of the work. It might include the genre of the work and some historical or biographic information about the author. The intro paragraph also briefly states the three reasons you have come to your thesis opinion. There is also a hook. The very beginning sentence (or sentences) hooks the reader’s interest. You should also include any definitions that are necessary for the reader to understand your argument (in this essay you will want to define the Homeric Pattern). You also want to plant the “big picture seed”. The “big picture seed” will work together with the hook and the title, so that the reader will already know what you are going to say in your conclusion paragraph. 

What happens in the body (middle three) paragraphs is argument form. This means that everything goes back to the thesis opinion. You have to have three main reasons (each has its own paragraph) why the thesis opinion is right. Then you will have examples and quotations from the text which support this opinion. Finally, you will have an explanation which supports your quotations. Ultimately, your explanations support your quotations/examples, which support your main reasons, which support your thesis statement. 

Thesis statement > Main Reasons (3) > Examples > Quotations > Explanations 

A thesis statement includes the thesis opinion, three reasons, author, title, and genre.

Never lose focus on the thesis opinion. A thesis opinion is the part of your thesis statement that states the focus of your essay. 

The conclusion paragraph will have a thesis re-statement. You will state the thesis again but in a different way. An essay gets one opinion — the thesis opinion. You have to explain your examples and show big picture thinking. You could also compare what you are writing about to something else. Whenever you compare two things you have to keep them balanced. You could also use a critical technique in your conclusion. This means that you agree or disagree with the main theme. Whatever you chose, you need to demonstrate that you really understand the bigger picture.

For our three reasons, we could write about the Homeric Pattern. Which characters follow the Homeric Pattern? Daedalus, Icarus, Pasiphae, and Minos. We only have three paragraphs. We could group them together. In paragraph one, we could write about Daedalus and Icarus. In paragraph two, we could write about Queen Pasiphae and King Minos. That leaves an extra paragraph. 

Remember, characters are always a positive or negative example of the theme. The previously mentioned characters are all negative examples of excessive pride. If we include Talos, an example of a character who did not have excessive pride, in paragraph three, it would round out our essay and provide further support for our thesis. 

The last sentence in a body paragraph is known as a “clincher sentence”. It sums up the whole body paragraph and ties it back to the thesis opinion.

Don’t forget your transitions and topic sentences. 

Do not just give opinions. You need evidence and explanation.

The last sentence in the essay it the “Ta-Da Sentence”. It is your last chance to summarize your thinking and tie everything together. 

Eurolit Homework for 11/16/18

Re-read: Henry V as needed

Augment your notes

Honors 9 Homework for 11/16/18


Read: Jack London's "To Build a Fire" Twice

Write: Finish paragraph packets (add to Google Doc)

Due Monday

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.   

His house is in the village though;   

He will not see me stopping here   

To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   

To stop without a farmhouse near   

Between the woods and frozen lake   

The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   

To ask if there is some mistake.   

The only other sound’s the sweep   

Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.

This is a narrative poem – it tells a story. There is a denotative meaning (literal), and also a deeper, more symbolic meaning.

Words have certain associations. We have the concept of something that goes beyond its literal meaning. The better the symbol, the more associations it invites.

There are universal, cultural, and personal symbols. We decipher personal symbols by looking at how the author uses the symbol in the poem/literary work.

Ask yourself what the poem means, but also how the author establishes that meaning. Where do you get a sense of where the poem is not just a simple, denotative story.

One literary device is simple repetition. In the last line, Frost repeats the line “And miles to go before I sleep”.  Might this be suggestive of something more? What do you associate with sleep? Death.

What does Frost mean when he refers to the “darkest evening of the year”? What do you associate with “deep”? Profundity or wisdom. The poem establishes and strengthens its symbolic meaning through the use of figurative language and word choice.

When the poem starts, the author has a moment of self-consciousness, meaning he has a moment of awareness where he sees himself and asks why has he been sitting in the snow. What kind of being is he that sees these trees as woods?

The foil between the author and the horse establishes the author’s consciousness as separate from that of the horse. People have a different type of consciousness. We are aware that we are aware. Animals do not have this sense of their own being. This is an existential poem.

We have been introduced to Existentialism before now. We saw it in both “Old Man and the Sea” and “Siddhartha”.

Jack London (1876-1916) only lived to be 40 years old. Read more about his life online.

Man’s reach should exceed his grasp. We are self-surpassing beings. We are able to surpass ourselves because we have an awareness of ourselves.

Literary periods are spans of time in which literature shared intellectual, linguistic, religious, and artistic influences.

Romanticism à Realism à Naturalism à Existentialism

Herman Hesse was a neo-Romantic writer. They saw nature as everything and believed we are not able to logically understand nature. We are meant to go too far. This is how man becomes self-surpassing. We are the ones that create the idea of how or what heaven is, in order to reach for it.

In Naturalism, we exceed the bounds meant for us by nature, instead of the gods or fates. In Naturalism, there is an inevitable outcome – nature always wins. There are some Naturalists who say that there is nothing that is not natural. There is nothing that goes beyond the material. It is called Naturalism because of Charles Darwin’s natural selection (1859). Darwin is saying that we all are descended from one common progenitor. We are all objects. Naturalism is extreme objectivity. We are all just material things.

Existentialism: Descartes came up with the concept of “cogito, ergo sum” (I think, therefore, I am). We have, thus, the idea of mind vs. matter, or mind/body dualism. Descartes has to negate, or doubt, the existence of everything in the universe. However, he cannot doubt himself, because he experiences his own mind. Therefore, he can only confirm the existence of himself. That which transcends matter is the mind. 

It is called Existentialism because people are the only beings whose existence comes before their essence. This leads to the idea that our existence pre-supposes our essence, which feeds into the Existential belief that we do not have any inherent meaning; rather, we create our own meaning (essence). 

Eurolit Homework for 11/13


Read: Henry V as needed

Augment: your notes

Honors 9 Homework for 11/13/18

Study for Siddhartha Test Tomorrow

Siddhartha Study Guide

Characters

Siddhartha - protagonist, searches for enlightenment, forges his own path, individualism is important

Govinda- Siddhartha’s friend and follower, becomes a follower of the Buddha, Siddhartha’s character foil

   

The Samanas- wandering ascetics who shun the material world in hopes of attaining spiritual insights

Gotama (Buddha) - religious leader, founder of the Buddhist faith, based on the historical Buddha, teaches not to love but to have compassion

Kamala - Siddhartha’s lover, mother of his son, represents the physical or sensual world

The Son - the story comes full circle when Siddhartha’s son teaches him to love and then suffer, Siddhartha must let him so so that he can follow his own path

Kamaswami - the merchant, Siddhartha’s employer in the town

Vasudeva - the ferryman, achieved enlightenment, teaches Siddhartha to listen to the river

Plot

External Conflict - Will Siddhartha reach enlightenment?

Internal Conflict - Will Siddhartha be able to accept and love all parts of himself?

Climax (p. 72) - Siddhartha has a spiritual reawakening after he contemplates ending his life.

Allusions/Allegory - The story is allegorical in that it is a simple story with a deeper symbolic meaning. Siddhartha’s journey is physical but his path to spiritual enlightenment is highly symbolic.

Point of View - Siddhartha’s perspective for the first 11 chapters -- then it changes to Govinda’s p.o.v.

Theme (A comes back to A, but is no longer A.)

   

What changes?  Siddhartha. He achieves enlightenment and accepts every part of himself, which includes loving his son and suffering because of his love.

What makes it change? Siddhartha’s experiences. Namely his relationship with and loss of his son. He truly suffers as a result of his love and thus has to learn to accept his suffering.

Why does the author have it change that way? To arrive at the theme.

The theme is: If all is one, then we must learn to love all.

Symbolism:

The River - unity, timelessness, enlightenment

The Caged Bird - Siddhartha’s spiritual self, or his connection to the spiritual world

The Ferryman/Ferry - the bridge between two extremes, the middle path

Smile - enlightenment

   

The Voice - not entirely clear, but seems to be Siddhartha’s connection to the spiritual world or his soul

Hero’s Journey (Call to Adventure, Threshold, Mentor, Helper, Challenges/Tests, Abyss, Transformation, Return, Boon)

Call - Siddhartha is unhappy and wants to find enlightenment.

Threshold - The Samanas come into town and he leaves the known world to follow them.

Mentor - Himself, the Buddha, Kamala, the Ferryman, the river

Helpers - Govinda

Challenges and Tests - Numerous (one example is becoming a Samana and practicing self-denial)

Abyss - Siddhartha almost ends his own life, but hears the Voice again and feels a connection to the Brahman.

Transformation - Achieves enlightenment.

Boon - Knowledge/Wisdom (one example is that Siddhartha learns that “time is not real” on p. 115)

Main Ideas:  Love, Sansara, Enlightenment, Oneness, Suffering, Transcendance, Wisdom Through Experience, Individualism, Asceticism (Self-Denial)

East vs. West (in order to experience the oneness of all things, a person must follow their own individual path) There are many examples of the coming together of Eastern and Western ideas.

Existentialism: a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will.

The coming together of these two traditions is shown in various ways throughout the novel. One example is that, although this narrative is set in India and the characters espouse the beliefs of Eastern religion, Siddhartha must live authentically and follow his own path to achieve enlightenment. Thus, we see Siddhartha’s experience of the spiritual unity of all things (oneness) realized through the living an authentic life and following an individual path (Existentialism).

Eurolit Homework for 11/8/18

Read: Machiavelli's The Prince

Write: Study Guide Answers

College Bowl!!!!

Honors 9 Homework for 11/8/18

Read: "Siddhartha" pp. 95-122

Write: Paragraph #4

Polish paragraph #'s 2-4

Eurolit Homework for 11/6/18


Read: Machiavelli's The Prince

Write: Study Guide Answers ("Full Monty" required. Due Tuesday 11/13.)

College Bowl Tuesday 11/13

Honors 9 Homework for 11/6/18

Read: "Siddhartha" pp. 30-59

Finish writing the test anxiety paragraph and share it with Mr. Stewart.

Eurolit Homework for 11/5/18


Read: Machiavelli's The Prince

Write: Study Guide Answers ("Full Monty" required. Due Tuesday 11/13.)

College Bowl Tuesday 11/13

Honors 9 Homework for 11/5/18


Read: Siddhartha pp. 1-29

Review: Siddhartha Vocabulary

Please return The Old Man and the Sea to the A/V Room by Thursday

Eurolit Homework for 11/02/18


Read: "The Battle of Maldon"

Complete: Study Guide ("Full Monty" optional)

Due Monday

College Bowl!!!

Honors 9 Notes: "Old Man and the Sea"

The Old Man and the Sea

Characters:

Santiago (Experienced, advanced age. He has reached the end of his life. He is a good fisherman. Despite his experience and skill, people look down on him. He lives in poverty and is “unlucky”. What does he have to prove? [He’s still a man. He knows what is important. He is in complete control of himself.] Is it to other people or himself? Hemingway states that Santiago many of the other fishermen made fun of him and he was not angry [p. 10]. It appears that Santiago doesn't care what others think.)

Manolin (His protege -- a boy on the verge of becoming a man. Used to fish with Santiago, but his father made him stop. Does he still have anything to learn from Santiago?)

Marlin (He is old too. We can presume he is alone. The story about the marlin whose mate was killed suggests that this marlin doesn’t have a mate. He is like the old man in this way. For a fish, he is intelligent and determined.)

Tourists (The exact opposite of Santiago. They don’t understand his way of life or the struggle that Santiago has just been through. They don’t even know what kind of fish he has caught. They are living a lifestyle that allows for frivolous things. Santiago is concerned with survival. Tourists represent an outside perspective. There’s a little dramatic irony here -- they don't understand and know the things the reader knows.)

Other fishermen (They make fun of Santiago. They don’t possess his humility and kindness. The fact that he is not angry makes him Christ-like. At the end, they can appreciate Santiago’s ordeal but can’t really understand it.)

Plot:

External Conflict = Will Santiago catch his fish? [Hu]man vs. nature. Negative resolution in that he loses his catch.

Internal Conflict = Will Santiago give up? Is his will strong enough? [Hu]man vs. self. Positive resolution in that he never gives up.

Climax: The moment where the internal conflict resolution becomes inevitable. If the internal conflict is “will he give up?”, then the climax is the moment where it appears he might be defeated (p. 120)

Relationships:

Santiago and Manolin (father/son or master/protege or Christ/disciple)

Santiago and the Marlin (They are nearly equals; the marlin is a worthy opponent. Santiago respects the Marlin but determines that he must kill it.)

Santiago and Nature/the Sea (Santiago respects nature and the sea as he does the marlin. While other men liken the sea to a man, Santiago thinks of it as a woman who gives and takes.)

Allusion: to Christ, last supper (Are they worthy of him (the fish)? Santiago carries his mast, his hands are wounded, he lies on the bed with his arms spread, he tells Manolin “I know you did not leave me because you doubted.”)

Allegory (A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.)

Point of view: Third person omnipotent/limited. This book uses both.

Theme: A comes back to A, but is no longer A.

What changes? Manolin. The old man has not changed, he has merely “gone out too far”. “You can be destroyed, but not defeated.” Santiago hasn’t been defeated. Manolin’s view of Santiago changes and he sees that Santiago can teach him to be a man.

What makes the change happen? Santiago shows Manolin what it means to be a man. He displays his grit, fortitude, and mastery of self by catching the fish. Santiago never gives up.

Why does the author have it change this way? To arrive at the theme. The theme is to never give up.

Main theme: Never give up!

Symbolism: Symbolism creates layers of meaning. It can support or strengthen an author’s message. Often, a symbolic meaning underscores a literal elements of a story. We can identify symbols in literature by examining context, or the events or circumstances in which something occurs. We can also draw on knowledge of cultural and universal symbols. We can also look at how the author describes the symbol. One thing can represent multiple ideas.

Sail (Flag of permanent defeat.)

Manolin (His protege or disciple. Youth, inexperience, boyhood.)

Joe DiMaggio (Santiago’s hero. He has a lot of the qualities Santiago most values in himself.)

Lions (Youth and pride.)

Birds (The birds are out of place so far from shore. They are somewhere they don’t belong.)

Sea (Isolation or the unknown.)

Santiago (Compared to Christ. Of humble status, as Christ was. They both have incredible fortitude. Allusions include carrying his mast, the wounds on his hands, etc.)

Marlin (The restoration of honor or redemption. The honor that Santiago has lost. Internal strength or bravery.)

Santiago’s choice to go far out (His ate. Man’s grasp must exceed his bounds. Human nature.)

The cramp in his left hand (Mind over matter. Santiago’s mastery of his cramp demonstrates his mastery over his body.)

Christ (Compared to Santiago. Santiago/James was also the disciple who was a fisherman. Then he became a "fisher of men".)

Arm wrestling (Outward manifestation of internal strength. Shows that Santiago has always been able to attain mastery over himself and his state of being. Despite this, everyone dies, no matter their fortitude.)

Sharks (Unworthy opponents, they do not possess the self control of Santiago and the Marlin. Baser impulses. They are greedy and impulse-driven.)

Tourists (Outside perspective. They are ignorant of the struggle Santiago has just been through. Complacency.)

Eyes (Cheerful and undefeated. They are blue like the sea. The only part of Santiago that is not old. Human spirit. Fighting spirit.)

Setting sun (Death.)

Pain (It’s how we know we are alive.)

Age (Everything passes. Life and everything in it are transient.)

Main ideas:

Everything passes. Everything in life is transient. If nothing lasts, then what is the point? Our relationships and what we can pass on. Santiago will teach Manolin to fish, but also how to be a man. He will teach him to never give up. Santiago can pass on ideas. These are the things that survive.

Why do you think Hemingway chose to make his hero a poor fisherman? (Elevating the common man to heroic status. Christ was a common man, too. Anyone can be a hero.)

Does Santiago follow the Homeric pattern? Arete, Hubris, Ate, (Anagnorisis), Nemesis

Is he a tragic hero?

Hamartia – a tragic flaw that causes the downfall of a hero.
Hubris – excessive pride and disrespect for the natural order of things.
Peripeteia – The reversal of fate that the hero experiences.
Anagnorisis – a moment in time when hero makes an important discovery in the story.
Nemesis – a punishment that the protagonist cannot avoid, usually occurring as a result of his hubris.

“The Old Man and the Sea” Questions for Review:

How would you describe Santiago? What are his major characteristics?

As the story begins, how do we feel about Santiago? What emotions are evoked by Hemingway’s descriptions of Santiago?

What are Manolin’s feelings toward Santiago? How would you describe their relationship?

How does Manolin view Santiago?

In the first paragraph, Santiago is described as unlucky. What role does luck have in the story?

Do you notice any allusions (particularly religious allusions) in the narrative?

How does Santiago live? Explain.

What is the purpose of Santiago and Manolin’s discussion of baseball? Why do you think they say, for instance, the White Sox of Chicago? What is odd about their obsession with baseball? p. 17

Who is Joe DiMaggio? Why does Santiago idolize him?

What untruths do Santiago and Manolin tell each other? What do they reveal? p. 16

What are Santiago’s memories of Africa?

Read the passage that describes Santiago’s dreams on p. 25-26. What is significant about it? Why do you think he dreams of these things?

Describe Santiago’s relationship with the sea. p. 28-30

Why must Santiago hold the fishing line the entire time?

How does he plan on navigating when he returns to shore?

“I wish I could see him only once to know what I have against me.” Santiago can’t see the fish, and will not see it for quite some time. What does this add to the story?

Read p. 48. Santiago again expresses that he wishes the boy were with him. “I wish I had the boy. To help me and to see this.” What does he mean, “to see this”? Why?

Look closely at the passage on p. 48 beginning, “Then he began to pity the great fish that he had hooked.” Read all the way through the second paragraph of p. 50. What are Santiago’s feelings about the fish and why does he feel this way?

Has Santiago gone too far? Has he taken on too much? What might indicate that he has?

In the first paragraph of p. 51, Santiago cuts his other lines. Why is this important?

Read pp. 52-54. We see that Santiago has resolved that he will kill the fish. What is sustaining this resolve? In other words, where is he getting his strength?

Why does Santiago talk to his hand? What does this suggest? (p. 58)

Why is a cramp “treachery of one’s own body”? Why the word treachery again?

Santiago finally sees the fish on p. 62. Why do you think Hemingway waits so long to reveal him?

On p. 63, Santiago thinks, “thank God they are not as intelligent as we who kill them; although they are more noble and more able.” Why does he think this? Is Santiago’s respect for the animals he kills an important part of his character?

On p. 69-70, there is a flashback to an arm wrestling match in Casablanca. Where is Casablanca and when did this happen?

Relate the arm wrestling match to the current battle between Santiago and the fish. Are there parallels?

How does Santiago kill the fish?

How does he transport it back to shore?

How does the way Manolin views the old man change at the end?

Why was the perspective of the tourists included at the end?

Honors 9 Homework for 11/02/18

Study for "The Old Man and the Sea" Test on Monday

Bring Student ID and Book