Elements of Oral

PresentationEnglish 112

Chicano LiteratureWednesday, 9/4/13

Presentations• Even though only three people will be discussing

each chapter, the entire class needs to also read each chapter and be prepared to ask questions of the presenters.

• Each person in the group will have written notes (to be turned in) and selected quotations with page numbers pertaining to his/her part.

• At the end of the presentation, the audience will ask questions about the reading.

I. Facts• This person will provide a summary

(paraphrased) of the chapter.• Your response should also include:

a. Things that impressed or pleased you.b. Things that surprised or confused you.c. Things that upset you.d. Events in your life or the lives of other individuals that are similar to

events described in the novel.

II. Interpretation• At least three interpretative aspects must be

mentioned.• We will discuss these further in the next few

slides.Plot Setting Charact

erTheme Point of

View

Plot1. What happens first?

o This will be discussed by the group that presents Chapter 1.2. What happens next?

o This will be discussed by the group that presents Chapter 23. What happens after that?

o This will be discussed by the group that presents Chapter 3

• In order not to have to give a “spoiler alert” the remaining groups will determine where the next aspects of plot are within the novel.

Conflicts & Rising Action

4. What are the conflicts or problems of the story?

5. What is the rising action?o The rising action of a story is that series of events that

begin immediately after the exposition (introduction) of the story and builds up to the climax.

o These events are generally the most important parts of the story since the entire plot depends on them to set up the climax, and ultimately the satisfactory resolution of the story itself.

The Climax of the Story

• The climax of the story is the turning point of the story; the moment when the ultimate suspense reaches its peak. o The climax is the problem of the story.

• Many believe the climax is the most intense or interesting part of the movie. o This is a common mistake as the climax is when the theme is proven,

which commonly is the most interesting or memorable scene. o After the climax, the story cannot be proven anymore, or there is no

more story to tell other than the conclusion. [Example Lord of The Rings - when the hobbit finally destroys the ring is the climax. The theme is, "Even the smallest person in the world can make the biggest difference."]

The Falling Action• The falling action occurs after the climax. • It is where all the loose ends of the story are tied

up. • This is also where you will see change in the

characters affected by the solving of the main conflict.

• The gradual subsiding of action after the climax.

The Resolution• What is the resolution of the story?

o What happens at the end

Setting• The setting of a story is the time, place and social and

religious environment. For example, a story that appears may be set in a poor part of early Victorian England among deeply religious people in a part of the country far removed from the industrial areas and so on.

• The specific location, time in history, and time of the year in which the story is set. The setting of a story, for example, could in the in Virginia, US, the fall of 1863. The setting also includes the specific environment of the plot and characters such as the main character's house.

• The social culture that frames the lives of the characters.

Setting• The setting of any story is known as the orientation. It

is when and where the story takes place, or the time and location in which it takes place.

• The setting is where (and perhaps when) the story takes place. The setting is often given or implied in the title or the first paragraph of a story.

Examples:• On a farm in Kansas, during the Great Depression • Driving around the United States with my dog Charlie • In a gleaming, huge, brightly painted space ship

Characters• Who is the protagonist?

o The main character. The plot revolves around the protagonist.• Is there an antagonist?

o Someone that opposes the protagonist.• Are there any static characters?

o A static character is one that doesn’t change throughout the story.• Are there any round characters?

o A round character is a character in a story that changes his/her personality or actions as the story unfolds.

• Are there any flat characters?o A flat character is similar to a static character; however, this person is

a main character where a static character is a minor one.

Theme• Outside of the plot, the 'theme' is often used to describe an

issue that runs through the story, for example, fatherhood, unrequited love, racism. But it can also be more subtle, - that which colours the plot, sets its tone, gives it context, for example, water, the sky, and can often be found in the story's imagery and metaphors.

• or • The central idea or concept in the story (Sometimes could be

the conflict of the story too)

• In some places, theme could mean an authors message. What point is the author trying to get across? Ex: Don't judge a book by it's cover (don't judge a person by how he/she looks).

Theme• Theme is the truth about life that a story reveals.• "Theme is the central message of a literary work. • It is not the same as a subject, which can be expressed

in a word or two: courage, survival, war, pride, etc. • The theme is the idea the author wishes to convey about

that subject. It is expressed as a sentence or general statement about life or human nature.

• A literary work can have more than one theme, and most themes are not directly stated but are implied.

• The reader must think about all the elements of the work and use them to make inferences, or reasonable guesses, as to which themes seem to be implied." o (from Laying the Foundation series of books published by AP Strategies in Dallas)

Theme• For example, if love is a topic/subject of two

novels, a major theme in one of the novels could be "Love, if taken to extremes, can be negative rather than positive," while in the other novel, the theme might be "Love can conquer even the greatest evil." Notice that the topic/subject is the same, but the messages about that

ThemeThink of theme in this way:• A theme is a meaning of a work. (Yes, there can

be more than one "meaning.") Can the meaning of a work be love? hate? greed?

• No-that makes no sense! Those are just topics, not themes.

• The theme is the statement an author is making about a topic.

Theme• How do you find the theme?

o To find it, just look for the main idea.• A theme is the writer's message about a topic. • Some examples of themes are: honesty,

acceptance, don't be greedy, treat others the way you want to be treated, beauty is only skin deep, love others, don't boast, don't think you are better than others.

Point of View• Point of view is the way the author allows you to "see"

and "hear" what's going on. • Skillful authors can fix their readers' attention on

exactly the detail, opinion, or emotion the author wants to emphasize by manipulating the point of view of the story.

There are three different points of view: •First-person point of view is in use when a character narrates the story with I-me-my-mine in his or her speech.

o The advantage of this point of view is that you get to hear the thoughts of the narrator and see the world depicted in the story through his or her eyes.

o However, remember that no narrator, like no human being, has complete self-knowledge or, for that matter, complete knowledge of anything. Therefore, the reader's role is to go beyond what the narrator says.

Point of View• Second-person point of view, in which the author

uses you and your, is rare; authors seldom speak directly to the reader.

• When you encounter this point of view, pay attention. Why?

• The author has made a daring choice, probably with a specific purpose in mind.

• Most times, second-person point of view draws the reader into the story, almost making the reader a participant in the action.

•

Point of View• Third-person point of view is that of an outsider

looking at the action. • The writer may choose third-person omniscient, in

which the thoughts of every character are open to the reader, or third-person limited, in which the reader enters only one character's mind, either throughout the entire work or in a specific section.

• Third-person limited differs from first-person because the author's voice, not the character's voice, is what you hear in the descriptive passages.

• What point of view is used in Bless me Ultima?

III. Stylistic Features• Stylistic features are what the author uses in

trying to pass on a message to his/her readers.• Stylistic features may also be known as rhetorical

devices.• Last week we learned about symbolism.• What is symbolism?

Stylistic Features• Literary devices are applicable to literature that

has a primary universal function as an art form expressing ideas through language to readers.

• The distinction between the two devices is so small that many of the devices are present in both forms.

• Rhetorical devices and literary techniques are closely related to tone and style. In fact, an author’s style partly consists of selecting and using certain devices; an author’s tone is partially determined by the type of techniques an author uses.

III. Stylistic Features: Tone

• What is the author’s tone?• Tone is the type of language writers use to

address their audience.• The expression of the author’s attitude and

feeling about the subject. • A writer’s tone might be objective—the case in

most textbook writing—or it might be lighthearted, sympathetic, angry, affectionate, respectful, or any of many other tones.

Figurative Language• Figurative language is the non-literal use of language.

• What figurative language is used in the book?

• Simile o A simile uses the words “like” or “as” to compare one object or idea with

another to suggest they are alike.o Example: busy as a bee

• Metaphor o The metaphor states a fact or draws a verbal picture by the use of

comparison. A simile would say you are like something; a metaphor is more positive - it says you are something.

o Example: You are what you eat.

Figurative Language• Personification

o A figure of speech in which human characteristics are given to an animal or an object.

o Example: My teddy bear gave me a hug.

• Alliteration o The repetition of the same initial letter, sound, or group of sounds in a

series of words. Alliteration includes tongue twisters. o Example: She sells seashells by the seashore.

Figurative Language• Onomatopoeia (on uh mat uh pee a)

o The use of a word to describe or imitate a natural sound or the sound made by an object or an action.

o Example: snap crackle pop

• Hyperbole o An exaggeration that is so dramatic that no one would

believe the statement is true. Tall tales are hyperboles.o Example: He was so hungry, he ate that whole cornfield

for lunch, stalks and all.

• Idiomo According to Webster's Dictionary, an idiom is defined

as: peculiar to itself either grammatically (as no, it wasn't me) or in having a meaning that cannot be derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements.

o Example: Monday week for "the Monday a week after next Monday"

• Clichés o A cliché is an expression that has been used so often

that it has become trite and sometimes boring. o Example: Many hands make light work.

More Stylistic Features

• For homework, find the definition of the stylistic on the handout I’m going to give you, along with an example of the rhetorical device.

Treaty of Guadalupe• Read the treaty• Review questions• But first let’s see what an audience member of the

Jimmy Fallon Show has to say about the treaty:• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn2FzuPyFlY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjUEBDOOSDM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hIlePIdYo4&list=PLDA9C596FF4F97C06

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2px-vmZCmQ&list=PLFB19F2EEA6F4C968

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL7KIMwWKic

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3_l4bnikB4