Character Analysis Essay & Character Narrative



Assignment: You must write a character analysis for the novel Pride & Prejudice. Your essay must be five paragraphs in length and will be graded based on the School Wide Writing Rubric and the Honors Grading Expectations.

Due Dates:

Rough Draft due (bring in two copies for peer editing): Class #17

Final Draft: Class #18 (Include RD, PE, WC & )

Step #1: When writing about character, ask yourself the following questions:

-How is the character revealed through actions, dialogue and thoughts?

-What are the values and traits of your character?

-How does the character undergo a change?

-What does the character represent?

-How do they impact the novel?

Step #2: Constructing the claim:

In a character analysis essay, you must make a BOLD statement, say something profound, about a character in the novel, and then prove it to be true using textual evidence.

Do not want say something mundane or obvious.

Example of a profound statement: Darcy’s haughty and aristocratic manner masks his true shyness which negates him from developing true meaningful relationships.

Example of a mundane statement: Darcy is a shy. Obvi.

Step #3: Develop and organize your claim:

Beyond proving your profound statement to be true, you must discuss how this fact about this character is essential to the development of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. You will do this by crafting an essay that contains specific examples from the text. This textual evidence will be organized to support your argument.

Organize your information using one of the two graphic organizers provided to you.

Step #4: Draft your essay

Complete a rough draft and check for the following:

✓ contains a strong thesis statement

✓ is five paragraphs

✓ seamlessly integrates textual evidence

✓ provides insightful literary analysis

✓ is MLA formatted

✓ is free of errors (Use your checklist and Peer Edit)

Step #5: After you have had your essay edited, revise and complete the final draft. This is a test grade so make sure you are careful to look over your work before you pass it in.

More information:

It is really important that you write this essay on your own. I don’t want to see any hint of SparkNotes, e-notes, 1-2-, cha-cha or the like. I want to see you as a writer.

On the due date you will hand in a hard copy of your essay and submit an electronic copy to online.

Please log on to in advance of the due date to ensure you can submit your essay on the due date. Below is class info you will need to submit your essay.

Writing a thesis statement…

A thesis statement is a sentence that makes an assertion about a topic and predicts how the topic will be developed. It does not simply announce a topic; it says something about the topic, and it provides the framework for your paper.

Never start a thesis with, “In this paper I will discuss…”

A thesis statement makes a promise to the reader about the scope, purpose, and direction of the paper. It summarizes the conclusion that the writer has reached about the topic.

For the writer, the thesis statement:

• Serves as a planning tool.

• Helps the writer determine the real focus of the paper and clarify the relationship between ideas.

• Becomes a hook on which the writer can “hang” the topic sentences that present evidence in support of the argument.

• Anticipates questions about the topic and provides the unifying thread between pieces of information.

For the reader, the thesis statement:

• Serves as a “map” to follow through the paper.

• Prepares the reader about what he/she is to read.

• Keeps the reader focused on the argument.

• Helps the reader spot the main ideas.

• Engages the reader in the argument.

• Offers enough detail for your reader to grasp your argument.

Be sure your thesis…

1. takes a stand- do not just state an observation.

2. expresses one main idea- keep it narrow and specific.

3. Has a clear MOD (Method of Development)

Example:

Through Miss Maudie Atkinson’s open-mindedness, optimism, and compassion, she helps Jem and Scout better understand Atticus and their community.

Quotations

Quotations - Copying any section of the text verbatim (word for word).

Example #1 Basic Quotation

A change in Jem’s attitude toward the Radleys is shown when Scout reports, “Less than two weeks later we found a whole package of chewing gum, which we enjoyed, the fact that everything on the Radley Place was poison having slipped Jem’s memory” (Lee 60).

Example #2 Quotation which already has quotation marks in the text.

Jem’s frustration with the injustices of the world is shown in the courtroom. “’Doesn’t make it right,’ said Jem stolidly. He beat his fist softly on his knee. ‘You just can’t convict a man on evidence like that – you can’t’” (Lee 220).

Example #3 Changing a word or two in a quotation to clarify its meaning.

Harper Lee helps her readers understand why this neighbor is so mysterious to the children of the neighborhood when she states that “Mr. Radley kept [Boo] chained to the bed most of the time” (Lee 16).

More information about integrating quotes can be found in the ‘Reading & Writing’ folder on the website. Or visit:

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Put author’s last name and page number…followed by a period.

Create an intro to your quotation that helps the reader understand its meaning.

Double quotation marks around the entire quote; single quotation marks to show where the quotations exist already in the text.

Put author’s last name and page number, followed by period.

Any changes to the text must be made in brackets.

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