Character+Dialogue+Assignment

Character Dialogue Assignment May 15, 2009 English 363 100 Points Due on 5/27/09 -- Hard copy in class and turnitin.com by 8 A.M. Your paper must be submitted to me during class, and be submitted to turnitin.com by 8 A.M. in order to be on time. This semester we have focused on the idea of rebellion against American society. This has come in many forms: Richard Wright and Malcolm X rejected the hatred and hypocrisy of the white establishment and fought it openly with language as a weapon; Jay Gatsby went against the tide of 1920’s greed and materialism and dared to dream; Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson critiqued the inherent oppression of American consumer society and offered alternative realities; and finally, Alex Supertramp tossed both his trust fund and caution to the wind in order to seek an authentic life in nature. In order to process the aforementioned ideas, you will recreate the perspectives of the aforementioned characters/people. You will also address the ideas that these characters/people submitted to us with your own opinions. Here’s the deal: you will pretend that you have just entered a diner and the following group of people are sitting in a booth, drinking coffee, having a conversation: Malcolm X, Richard Wright, Jay Gatsby, Thoreau or Emerson, and Alex Supertramp. You are invited to sit down and join the conversation. The topic of the conversation is “Freedom, Conformity, and the American Way.” Here are, though, some questions to consider in order to focus your conversation: 1)    How did the characters rebel?    2)    Why did the characters rebel? What was lacking to them in American society? 3)   What were the characters trying to accomplish through their rebellion? What  change were they fighting for?    4)    What do you think of each characters act of rebellion? Address their ideas and what they represented. __ What You’ll be Graded On __ : (1) The degree to which you create a conversation amongst your characters; try to    capture each characters point of view properly. Would the characters disagree about something? Do you disagree with them? (2) It must be four to five pages typed, doubled spaced, and with a title page. (3) You must talk through the characters -- don’t talk about the characters. Example: When you are Malcolm X, you would speak and talk from his point of view, while addressing the questions listed above. (4) Show me that you have a firm understanding of the characters’ views and experiences. The purpose of this assignment is for you to draw conclusions, inferences, and extrapolations about how the texts we’ve read/watched relate to each other, and our society as a whole. (5) The depth to which you express your own personal feelings about what we      have studied. Be an active member of the conversation. __ Miscellaneous __ : --Watch out for stereotypical language. --Watch for spelling and grammar, but do also consider that it’s a dialogue piece. --Put this in the form of a screenplay or play. Dialogue example: Malcolm X: I believe in the Nation of Islam. Richard: I believe in the written word. Emerson: I love nature. Gatsby: I love Daisy. Alex: I love my bus. Joe/Jill Student: I love my cell phone. --BE CREATIVE AND ANALYTICAL!!!  