summary for the story and answer the qus

Story: ________________________________ Name: _________________________ Author________________________________ Class: _________________________

Complete for each story before class (all on same sheet of paper)

1. Write a 1 paragraph summary of the story 2. Write a 1 paragraph response to the story (did you like it? What part(s)? Did you dislike it? Why? List 3

questions that you have about the story. 3. Read actively: highlight key passages, underline important passages and words, write notes in margin

(character names, important parts of story, etc) 4. Answer (don’t write questions):

Plot (events and their sequence) 1. Does it hold your interest and build to an effective climax? Why? Why not? ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Is the plot line well-connected or is it hard to follow? ________________________________________________

Theme (central idea/message) 3. What is the overall point / lesson / moral? _________________________________________________________ 4. Does the author convince you? __________________________________________________________________

Structure (organization and relationship of parts to the whole) 5. Does it skip around chronologically or geographically? Is this structure effective for this story? Why? Why not? ______________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Does one point lead logically to the next? _________________________________________________________ 7. Does the author use any special techniques (foreshadowing, flashback, story-within-a-story)? How do these contribute to the text? ____________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________

Characterization (traits, thoughts and actions of people in the plot) 8. Who/What is the protagonist? Antagonist? P: ________________________ A; ___________________________ 9. Are they realistic? ____________________________________________________________________________ 10. List the other characters: _______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________

Setting (time and place of action) 11. When is the story set? _________________________ Where? _________________________________________ 12. Are the descriptions of places vivid? _____________________________________________________

Point of View (the perspective from which the material is presented) 13. What is the point of view adopted by the writer? (1st, 2nd, 3rd) __________________________________________ 14. Who / what is the narrator? _____________________________________________________________________ 15. Did the narrator influence the way you reacted to the work? ___________________________________________

Imagery (pictures created by words) 16. Did the author use imagery or figures of speech effectively? ___________________________________________ 17. Is there a particular image repeated throughout the work (motif)? _______________________________________ 18. If there is a motif, what do you think it represents? __________________________________________________

Tone (the author’s attitude towards both subject and reader) 19. What is the tone? Is it appropriate to the theme? ____________________________________________________

Symbolism (the meaning beneath the surface of the words) 20. How are symbols used? List the symbols and what they represent. ______________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________