Friday, March 6, 2009

Focus #4 - Characters

ENGAGE
This novel has many themes, one of which is "coming of age" for Scout, the novel's main character and protagonist. How does she achieve this? Both the people who challenge Scout's beliefs and the challenges she faces help her to "come of age." Those people or things that challenge and oppose Scout are called foils.

EXPLORE
Activities

  1. Read Chapters 12 and 13 (pp. 99-126).
  2. Explore the protagonist and antagonist.
  3. Examine minor characters who serve as foils. With your partner, choose two of the following characters: Calpurnia, Boo, Tom, Miss Maudie, Aunt Alexandria, Miss Caroline, Uncle Jack, or Francis. By reviewing the first 13 chapters,
  • Outline their attributes.
  • Determine the moments when the characters bring reactions from Scout.
  • Explain how they help Scout learn about herself.

EXTEND
As a group, discuss the following:

  • Who or what you believe is the antagonist in the novel?
  • How are opposing characters forcing Scout to look at herself in profound ways? Support with reference to passages from the text.
  • Reflecting on the characters, what makes a good work of historical fiction?

Post your response.

7 comments:

  1. There are so many things that the foilers do in the chapters it can't fit in one tiny statement.

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  2. Scout feels pressured to act like what she is by jem and aunt Alexandra

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  3. Focus 4: Characters

    I don’t really know what to write for these things, but I did my best. ;D

    1.I think the antagonist is Jem, because Jem and Scout are always competeing for something. Scout wants to be just like Jem, or even better. So she tries her hardest to out do Jem.
    2. Scout’s Aunt Alexandra told her to be a lady, and to start wearing dresses. Scouts just being herself, and if being yourself is not wearing dresses then that is what she's going to do. you cant tell someone they cant be themselves, right?
    3. I don’t know what this question means.. D: Historical fiction on what?

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  4. The characters in the story are very complex and do not have just one side to them. For example, Jem and Scout perceive Mrs. Dubose, the old lady that lives near them, as just an old, cranky, downright mean lady. After the incident with Jem and the flowers, we come to see, through the eyes of Jem and Scout, what drives the anger in Mrs. Dubose. Jem and Scout find out she is a morphine addict and that she is fighting the addiction by herself. After she dies, Jem comes to somewhat appreciate her, but still has a few mixed feelings about Mrs. Dubose. This is a pivotal coming-of-age moment in the story for Jem.

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  5. Calpurnia is more than just a house worker for the Finch family. She is educated and can read. She even taught her son, Zeebo to read. When Aunt Alexandria told Atticus that now that she was there, they didn't need Calpurnia. Atticus defended Calpurnia by sayiong that she was good for the family and helped raise Scout. He says that Calpurnia is not leaving this house until she wants to. He says that the children have not suffered one bit from her having brougjht them up. She's been harder on them in some ways more than a mother would.

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  6. Final Post-Focus #4
    I believe the antagonist in the novel is Mr. Ewell because of sueing Tom Robinson for raping is daughter. Characters such as Aunt Alexandra are trying to change Scout to be more like a lady. All this time during the novel Scout has been more like a tomboy and not really doing things that a young lady would do. This novel represents as a good historical fiction because there is still the friction between the blacks and the whites, they would find any way to controdict or blame eachother.
    Katie Kreye

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  7. The antagonist in the book is the people who are racist and don't like the fact that atticus is standing up for a nigger. they don't like that atticus is being different and not on "their" side. Scout has a new influence on her life which is her aunt Alexandra. she wants scout to be more of a girl and scout wants to be more like a boy.

    ReplyDelete

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