All Boys, All Blogged: September 30, 2014

Focus: How can we deepen our understanding of Steinbeck's themes through writing?

1. Warming up: Celebrating a few fantastic thesis statements

GriffinESeptember 29, 2014 at 7:19 AM

1. Both Steinbeck and Hughes agree that dreams are in our everyday lives, but Steinbeck thinks that dreams are a good thing to have even if they will never be achieved, while Hughes suggests that dreams are something that need to be achieved or else they are worth nothing.

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2. 
   Reid CSeptember 29, 2014 at 7:19 AM

   Both Steinbeck and Burns agree that dreams are a good thing to aim at but Steinbeck thinks that dreams are not possible to achieve while Burns thinks its possible but you need some luck or blessing to achieve them.
3. ZacharyMSeptember 29, 2014 at 3:46 PM
   
   
   Both Steinbeck and Hughes agree that everyone has dreams and some can let you down, but Steinbeck thinks dreams are there to have something as motivation, while Hughes believes that dreams can make people crazy if not completed.

2. Using the Ms. Leclaire three-step process to writing the thesis statement:

Please write out these steps on your summary-response document.

Step 1: Find your best annotation/journal entry about the topic you've chosen.

Step 2: How does Steinbeck use this topic (power, women, etc) to make an argument about a bigger idea?

Step 3: Based on Steps 1 and 2, what is Steinbeck telling us about human nature or society?


3. Writing your thesis by drawing together the steps above

Sample successful thesis statements from the last few years:

The rabbit's disappearance in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men represents how easily human weakness destroys dreams.

In John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, Candy's missing hand is a symbol of the incomplete, deficient life of the migrant worker during the Great Depression.

In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Lennie is an eloquent example of how someone's past dictates whether they will prevail or fail in adverse situations.

John Steinbeck in Of Mice and Men illustrates that even in the Great Depression, trust, understanding, and love are the source of true power.

4. Composing your summary

HW:
1. Finish composing your paragraph of summary and your rough thesis statement.  They need to be ready to go for editing first thing tomorrow.

2. Find three specific quotations from the text (use those annotations and journal entries) that support your thesis.  List them, along with their page numbers, right on your summary-response document.

3. Independent reading