Bring this completed outline to the exam: you will NOT be allowed to use your book!
Prep-in-advance Final Exam Essay: Curious Incident
A general expectation for a novel is that the main character will change in some way over the course of the plot. You’ve read Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, which was published as both a young adult novel and as a general release at the same time. Many of its reviewers refer to it as a “coming of age novel”, a general type of literature in which the main character matures, learning important lessons about his/her society. In a thoughtful, developed 4 - 6 ¶ essay supported by at least three direct quotations and plenty of examples, discuss how Christopher changes, and in what way, over the course of the book. Is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time a coming of age novel or not?
NOTE: You must fill out the outline form in advance and bring it into the exam with you: you will NOT be allowed to look for quotes DURING the exam. PREPARE in ADVANCE, git it?????
You need to decide what you think about C’s development: I have seen strong essays that prove he HAS matured, and equally strong ones to prove he is the same at the end as he was at the start. Your outline will vary depending on what you choose to argue!
If you say he HAS changed, you’ll want good proof of what he’s like at the start (par. 1), then probably two that show how he has altered (pars. 2 and 3), and your conclusion will end by discussing how the changes reveal his maturity.
If you say he HAS NOT changed, you’ll want three strong pieces of evidence that show him being the same way at the beginning and at the end; each paragraph will focus on one piece of evidence. DO NOT retell the story! Your conclusion will discuss what the fact that he hasn’t changed says about. . . him, his handicap, human nature????
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Leamon 9/10 Final Exam: Spring, 2010
Maturing/learning through hardship
Most stories focus on a character who suffers and survives. If they are tragedies, they show the person becoming worse (or even dead!) from that suffering; if they are less tragic, they show the person surviving to become better in some way: stronger, smarter, kinder, more mature.
For your final exam essay, you are to show how the main character in your novel changes through hardship or suffering over the course of the book. •DO NOT JUST RETELL THE STORY!•
To start, think: what hardship/suffering did the character experience?
How did that experience change him/her?
Once you have your answer, you have your thesis, and you can start your outline.
. *Intro ¶: title, author, brief summary of story, leading into THESIS STATEMENT:
*¶ 1: TOPIC SENTENCE ABOUT HARDSHIP/SUFFERING(tied to thesis):
*Intro to and quoted passage:
*Discussion of what quotation proves:
Intro to and second passage:
Discussion of this one, too:
*¶ 2: TOPIC SENTENCE ABOUT CHARACTER AT START OF EXPERIENCE(tied to thesis):
*Intro to and quoted passage:
*Discussion of what quotation proves:
Intro to and second passage:
Discussion of this one, too:
*¶3: TOPIC SENTENCE DISCUSSING HOW CHARACTER CHANGES: (tied to thesis):
*Intro to and quoted passage:
*Discussion of what quotation proves:
Intro to and second passage:
Discussion of this one, too:
*CONCLUSION ¶: So what does your story and your character’s experience teach the reader (you!) about dealing with hardship? Is it JUST bad? Are there positive sides to it? What is the best way to deal with it? How can it help a person?
(Underlying question: what does this character’s experience have to teach YOU?)
YOU SHOULD BRING IN THE COMPLETED OUTLINE (AT LEAST STARRED SECTIONS) FOR THE EXAM ON FRIDAY. YOU SHOULD NOT BRING IN A COMPLETED DRAFT.