Sandra K. Friday
Objective
: Using the observations and evidence they have gathered on their graphic organizers, students will write a five-paragraph essay, in which they discuss how well they think three different characters in the films and literature, because of their experiences, develop a respect for or adapt to an objective
place
that was previously not part of their experience.
Using the observations and evidence they have gathered on their graphic organizers, students will write a five-paragraph essay, in which they discuss how well they think three different characters in the films and literature, because of their experiences, develop a respect for or adapt to an objective
place
that was previously not part of their experience. In each case, because of their experiences, the characters adjust their assumptions, in some cases abandoning their assumptions altogether, and come to think of these objective
places,
in varying degrees, as subjective
spaces
. In each case, these characters experience something of an epiphany, coming to a new understanding about themselves and about the world.
In each of the films and in the novella, the students will have examined how we objectify the people who live in
places
we know only as locations on a map. For example, in the opening scenes of
Finding Forrester
, the boys, at home in their
space
on the blacktop basketball court in the "hood" across the street from Forrester's apartment, know absolutely nothing about Forrester except that he watches them, and they refer to him in a completely impersonal way as "the window," a
place
they do not know.
In
The Emerald Forest
, the engineer of the dam, who is also the father of the boy who has grown up with the Amazons, is resolute that once he finds his son, bringing him back to "civilization" is only a matter of course, objectifying the life and humanity of the Invisible People with whom the boy has made his home and developed his world view for the past ten years.
In
Walkabout
, Mary and Peter, at first, seem to think that the bush boy's raison d'etre is to rescue them from the Outback and set them on a course to Adelaide, objectifying him as their way out, and not considering that this is his home, where his family lives, or what sociological people he might be a part of.
In the five-paragraph essay, students will write about how successful they think each of three main characters in film and/or literature has been in adjusting his or her assumptions to accommodate a new
place
. In discussing the degree of success of these characters, students will
first
make observations about what the characters assumptions and expectations were, prior to their encounter with a
place
outside of their social and physical geographical
space
.
Next
, they will describe what happened to them to bring about their altered, expanded view of the
place
where they found themselves, and
then,
they will discuss
what that altered, expanded view is. In the case of each character, students will express how well he or she adapted to the
place.
Students will have completed a graphic organizer with these assumptions for each main character; therefore, as they prepare to organize and write their essays, they need not panic and start scrambling for content.
I have found that, first, students I teach need to learn that the most dependable place to look for their thesis is in the assignment. How often, over the years, when we assign an essay, students begin looking around, as if they expected to pull the thesis out of thin air. There is panic in their eyes, or, as if often the case with my students, resignation that they cannot possibly write an
essay
. They have no idea where to begin. Therefore, the first task I model is how to craft a thesis out of the assignment. Once students learn to look within the assignment, they become confident about crafting their thesis.
Students will be expected to assess their essay for form: does it follow the formula five-paragraph essay (flashlight), and content: have they made a case for how well each character adapted to
place
, with observations and evidence?