Literature Analysis: Advocating Social Change in Novels and Plays
Explore how novels and plays advocate for social or political changes in attitudes or traditions by analyzing specific works and techniques used by authors to influence readers or audiences. Avoid plot summaries and focus on identifying key societal conflicts, desired modifications, and impactful elements such as characters, conflicts, dialogue, and themes that support the call for change.
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AP warm up- Open Ended Prompt Dissection Add this to your Class Notes and Knowledge section 3
Prompt: Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or political attitudes or in traditions. Choose such a novel or play and note briefly the particular attitudes or traditions that the author apparently wishes to modify. Then analyze the techniques the author uses to influence the reader's or audience's views. Avoid plot summary.
Dissected 1: Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or political attitudes or in traditions. Translation: Choose a novel with a good moral lesson for the time period during which it was published.
Dissected 2: Choose such a novel or play and note briefly the particular attitudes or traditions that the author apparently wishes to modify. Translation: Explicitly state what the main conflict of the society at the time was, and what attitude or tradition from which it resulted. This will be evident in the plot of the story, from what happens to the main characters to what the resolution happens to be (happy, sad?)
Dissected 3: Then analyze the techniques the author uses to influence the reader's or audience's views. Translation: List at LEAST 3 different elements that help to prove that this issue needs to be changed, according to the THEME that comes from the text. This could include character, conflict, dialogue, resolution of the plot, imagery, and of course, THEME
Finally: Avoid plot summary. Translation: This does NOT mean not to use plot as a supporting device/technique. This means you do not provide a chronological retelling of the entire novel. Only include details that are pertinent to the explanation of theme. For this essay, theme is SOCIAL CHANGE. It may not work in the novel, but will readers want to change their views as a result?
Practice: Of Mice and Men tries to advocate for the social change for migrant workers during the Great Depression. Lenny and George lead a hard life without any stability. George does not have the opportunity to be free from Lenny, mostly by choice, but also because of the work situation, which leads to conflict for George. Lenny is misunderstood and gets into trouble because of his lack of a support system beyond George.
Rule of 3s Try to find at least 3 main supporting details that you can thoroughly and accurately discuss.
Introductory Rule: ALWAYS include author and title in the introduction Address the prompt carefully- if it states A character, only choose 1. If it asks about A moment- don t try to squeeze in 3.
Your Turn: Novels and plays often depict characters caught between colliding cultures -- national, regional, ethnic, religious, institutional. Such collisions can call a character's sense of identity into question. Select a novel or play in which a character responds to such a cultural collision. Then write a well-organized essay in which you describe the character's response and explain its relevance to the work as a whole.
