The House on
Mango Street
Have out at the bell:
Objective: Students will improve their
understanding of the elements of literary
style, and continue creating thematic
message statements.
Binder & Agenda
paper & writing
implement HW & Unit
Calendar
Homework Check & Pair
Share
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Get out your unit calendars and homework
(annotations and paragraph)
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I’ll be checking homework while you swap paragraphs
with your partner and peer review.
○ Ask the author questions
○ Remember to be polite
○ give constructive and specific feedback
Synthesis Paragraphs
Exit Ticket
Please answer on your notecard,
in complete sentences
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Select a quote from the book and discuss the element
(s) of style in the passage.
Answer: How does the style add to the meaning?
Include the following on your card:
○ Page Number Quotation
Technique used
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HW
HW: WP # 17 Write synthesis paragraph
focusing on character in “Alicia who Seems
Mice” and “Only Daughter.”
Recognizing style:
Mood and Tone
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The author’s language and descriptions show us how she
or he feels about the subject, this is Tone.
The reader’s emotional reaction to a story is called Mood.
Tone Example:
His house was falling apart, and it
was clearly his fault. The peeling
paint formed dirty little piles along the
walls inside. The formerly-white rug
was stained with ugly blobs of grey
and yellow where things were spilled
and never cleaned up.
Mood Example:
During the holidays, my house
glittered with decorations. We ate
cookies and drank cider while we
helped her wrap bright packages and
trim the tree. We felt warm and
excited, listening to Christmas carols
and even singing along sometimes.
Tone: Disgust, How do we know?
Words like “dirty, stained, ugly,” are
used by the author to imply that they
think the house being so unclean is
unacceptable.
Mood: Happy, How do we know?
Words like "warm, excited, glittered”
that are always used positively are
used by the author to make the
reader feel positive about the story.
Thematic Message Statements
Use words to state the main ideas of the work (thematic topics).
Your words should describe concepts or ideas like alienation, prejudice,
ambition, freedom, love, loyalty, passion, etc.
Combine those ideas with comments that reflect the author’s observations
about human nature, the human condition, or human motivation. In other
words, what is the author saying about the abstract idea? Is he/she, for
example, saying something about the qualities of people and/or commenting
on society?
Thematic statements do NOT refer to the specific names or events in the
writing. A thematic statement does not summarize a work, but it does reflect
what happens in the work. Instead of character names use more general
terms like “parents,” “leaders,” “society,” or “young people” in a general
observation about the human experience.
.
Examples:
The Most Dangerous Game
Our reason, courage, and strength can reach their full potential when challenged by a hostile
environment.
Macbeth
Although others can tempt us, our acceptance and performance of many acts remains our
responsibility; our willful choices often determine our future.
Elements of Style
Look at your “Elements of Style (and how to find them)” handouts
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Sentence Structure
Pace
Vocabulary
Dialogue
Point of View
Characterization
Tone
Figures of speech
Thematic topic
refers to a single word or short phrase related to the
subject or concept of a text (such as betrayal or the value
of giving).
○ Thematic message
refers to a message expressed about the world outside of
the text, much like an author’s thesis (such as honesty is
the best policy or love requires sacrifice).
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Theme Vocabulary
*Abstract ideas to use to write thematic message statements.
Alienation
Faith / loss of faith
Memory / the past
Ambition
Falsity / pretense
Mob psychology
Appearance vs. reality
Family / parenthood
Music / dance
Custom / tradition
Free will / will power
Mysterious stranger
Betrayal
Games/contests/sports/tricks Persistence /
Bureaucracy
Greed
perseverance
Children
Guilt
Patriotism
Courage / cowardice
Heaven / paradise / utopia
Poverty
Women / feminism
Home
Prejudice
Cruelty / violence
Heart vs. reason
Prophecy
Defeat / failure
Initiation
Repentance
Despair/discontent/disillusionm Illusion / innocence
Resistance / rebellion
ent
Instinct
Revenge / retribution
Chance / fate / luck
Journey/psychological
Ritual / ceremony
Domination / suppression
journey
Scapegoat / victim
Dreams / fantasies
Law / justice
Search for identity
Duty
Loneliness / alones
Social status
Education / school
Loyalty
Supernatural
Escape
Materialism
Time/ eternity
Exile
War