Microtheme Test By The Waters of Babylon The narrator is the son of a priest and he visits the Dead Places with his father to collect metal Only priests and sons can go to these places When he gets older he tells his father he must go on a journey His father approves and oversees ID: 669550
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "Review, Group Evaluation, and" is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
Review, Group Evaluation, and Microtheme Test
“By The Waters of Babylon”Slide2
The narrator is the son of a priest, and he visits the Dead Places with his father to collect metal. Only priests and sons can go to these places. When he gets older, he tells his father he must go on a journey. His father approves and oversees a purification ceremony for his son. During the ceremony the narrator tells his dream of the Dead Place and the gods.
What is the story about?Slide3
He goes on his journey, crosses a river on a raft, and enters the Place of the Gods, a great city of tall buildings all in ruins. He is chased by dogs that do not fear him, and escapes into a tall building, where he stays for the night. He is amazed at the mysterious things he finds. During the night, he feels the spirit is of the gods drawing him out of his body and he sees the city when it was still alive, filled with lights, chariots, and people.Slide4
Then he witnesses the destruction of the city in the Great Burning. The next morning he finds the body of the god who lives in the place where he slept. He realizes that the god was a man. The narrator then returns home. His father acknowledges his son’s achievement and observes that the truth must come out little by little. The narrator promises that when he is the chief priest, he will take his people to the Place of the Gods to begin building again.Slide5
What is the effect of telling the story in 1st person point of view?
We know only what the narrator knows, which allows the reader to truly recognize how the world has changed from the “Great Burning” and why the Place of the Gods is not what it was before.
Question 1: This is an overview…Slide6
What conclusions can you draw so far about the setting of the story?Future, Earth, has to have taken place after something cataclysmic has taken place… the world is
not
the way we know itThe people are primitive, superstitious, and collect metal from ruins (from what appears to be an advanced civilization). They find books that they do not understand either.
Question 2: This is an overview…Slide7
Simple sentences allow:The character to be understood to be: innocent, unsophisticated, but slightly educated. The way he talks to the reader mimics how a person might speak and think.
Question 3: This is an overview…Slide8
Conflict: INTERNAL.He is afraid to visit the Place of the Gods.
Conflict: EXTERNAL
If this world was destroyed, what could harm him? It’s the unknown.
Question 4: This is an overview…Slide9
Great Burning: the destruction of the city and of civilization (nuclear warfare, etc.)Bitter Water: the riverPlace of the Gods: New York City
Question 5: This is an overview…Slide10
“My skin ready for danger”: His skin is prickling as sometimes it happens when we feel fear.
Question 6: This is an overview…Slide11
The statue represents George Washington
How could you have known this? Clues!
Long hair that was tied back
The inscription has half of his name
Question 7: This is an overview…Slide12
The dog is to add a sense of realism. The dogs have learned how to survive independently (like wolves!) without humans, and may not have ever seen a human. The dog reverted to his “wild side” and is now a predator. They would have no reason to fear a human, and would consider them a form of prey.
Question 8: This is an overview…Slide13
The long-small chamber is a hallway.The bronze door is an elevator door.It doesn’t open… but it gives you an idea of the technology that was available.
Question 9: This is an overview…Slide14
This is an opinion question that the group should have answered!The answer varies, but it might be uneasiness or fear.
Question 10: This is an overview…Slide15
The city was destroyed in the Great Burning. A weapon of mass destruction (nuclear weapon) caused the city to die.War unlike any known to the narrator’s world
Came from the sky (a rocket)
A mist poisoned the city (a fallout)
Remained toxic (nuclear poisoning)
Question 11: This is an overview…Slide16
The title question:It occurs beside a large river and tells the destruction of a great civilization and of the narrator’s sorry at the loss of all the knowledge and brilliance of that dead society.
Babylon is a world that represents lost societies. There is a real city from 1894 BC that was lost but the foundations still exist today.
Question 12: This is an overview…Slide17
Another opinion question
Question 13: This is an overview…Slide18
You are going to need:The instructions from last week. We do NOT have extra copies! You may have to write more down than your peers if you lost your paper!
A pen/pencil.
Microtheme
Test:Slide19
Circle words that have a strong emotional appeal (aka: connotation).
In the margin: how does this word
impact the reader? Explain.
We shall go to the Place of the Gods – the place
newyork
– not one man but a company. We shall look for the images of the gods and find the god ASHING and the others – the gods Lincoln and Biltmore and Moses. But they were men who built this city, not gods or demons. They were men who were here before us. We must build again (Benet 272).
Step One: ANNOTATESlide20
In the white space on your worksheet, answer the question:WHAT IS BENET’S NARRATOR SAYING ABOUT THE NEED TO REBUILD AND TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS?
Step Two: ANSWER THIS QUESTIONSlide21
Using the selected text provided, what is Benet’s goal in writing “By the Waters of Babylon”? Analyze the narrator
and how the narrator’s journey helps to prove a point.
Hints to success: You should reference the provided quote at least once in your
microtheme
. It says so in the prompt.
Hints to success: You should focus on the narrator mostly. How does the narrator establish the need to rebuild?
Your PromptSlide22
Set up your paper JUST LIKE THIS. Always, always, always!
MLA PracticeSlide23
Format:I: Thesis StatementII: Body Paragraph
III: Concluding Statement
Voice:
You cannot use first person. Or second person.
A Few GuidelinesSlide24
In Stephen Vincent Benet’s short story, “By the Waters of Babylon,” the narrator _________________________ ______________________________________________.
Fill in the blanks by answering:
What does the narrator help to show with
Benet’s goal
?
Look at what you said Benet’s goal was. INTEGRATE your response here to include how the narrator helps to develop this.
I. Thesis Statement: Slide25
Fill in the blanks by answering: What does the narrator help to show with Benet’s goal
?
Possible ideas include focusing on:
How journey’s sometime reveal the truth that was unknown
How easy it is to forget “what once was” when we are busy trying to survive
How one man can change the future
I: In Stephen Vincent Benet’s short story, “By the Waters of Babylon,” the narrator __________________
______________________________________________.
Need help?Slide26
I. Thesis Statement: In Stephen Vincent Benet’s short story “By the Waters of Babylon”, the narrator helps to establish that knowledge and truth are what impacts the future the most.
Check out my example…Slide27
This is NINE sentences. In essay’s, it is ELEVEN sentences… you’ll have a topic sentence and concluding sentence!
Concrete Detail (CD): You’ll have THREE sentences… all three with a parenthetical documentation.
Commentary (CM): You’ll have SIX sentences.
II. Body ParagraphSlide28
Start with a concrete detail about the narrator.
A concrete detail should:
Link to your thesis statement
Have less than 10 words from the author
Have a lead-in, and a parenthetical citation
II. Body ParagraphSlide29
Benet’s narrator goes into the Place of the Gods where he shows his fear of the city by keeping his “voice still” (266).
This shows the role of the narrator to be a protagonist who struggles from an internal conflict.
By doing this, Benet is able to show how important knowledge is; ultimately, this is significant because the protagonist is able to overcome his fear when he knows the truth.
Look at this example…Slide30
After going to the Place of the Dead: “I looked at the bones in the shadow and kept my voice still” (Benet 266).
What type of character is he?
What WORDS would you use to describe the INTERNAL CONFLICT that he is experiencing?
On his way to New York: “There was no strength in my knowledge anymore and I felt small and naked as a new-hatched bird – alone upon the great river, the servant of the Gods” (Benet 268).
He’s changed. How? Explain how this shows he is a DYNAMIC CHARACTER.
What words/phrases would work to discuss a METAPHOR. How does the metaphor make a good point?
Concrete Detail Possibilities:
NarratorSlide31
Sentence 1 will always answer the question: What does this
prove
in relation to your thesis statement? Essentially, without saying “I chose this quote because,” explain why this quote relates to your thesis statement.
Sentence 2 will always answer the question:
Why is this significant to the story as a whole?
Does it help support another element? Identify
another element
that is in play.
Does it make a greater point? Can you link this to Benet’s goal?
CommentarySlide32
Start with a concrete detail about the setting.
A concrete detail should:
Link to your thesis statement
Have less than 10 words from the author
Have a lead-in, and a parenthetical citation
II. Body ParagraphSlide33
Observing New York: “The towers were high enough, but not so high, and while many of the dead houses were wrecked, there were some that stood (Benet 269).”
What is the purpose to the IMAGERY here?
What is being established with the “high towers?”
During the time where ‘spirits’ showed them what happened to them: “The sky itself was alight – you could barely see the stars for the glow in the sky (Benet 271).
The narrator describes the way “it once was”… he’s using context clues to pinpoint you to a city. Why?
Think about how this could establish a point to the reader?
Concrete Detail Possibilities:
SettingSlide34
Sentence 1 will always answer the question: What does this
prove
in relation to your thesis statement? Essentially, without saying “I chose this quote because,” explain why this quote relates to your thesis statement.
Sentence 2 will always answer the question:
Why is this significant to the story as a whole?
Does it help support another element? Identify
another element
that is in play.
Does it make a greater point? Can you link this to Benet’s goal?
CommentarySlide35
Start with a concrete detail about the conflict.
A concrete detail should:
Link to your thesis statement
Have less than 10 words from the author
Have a lead-in, and a parenthetical citation
II. Body ParagraphSlide36
After learning the truth: “This I all of my story, for then I knew he was a man – I knew then that they had been men, neither gods nor demons. It is a great knowledge, hard to tell and believe” (Benet 272).
He finishes his tale. What is the internal conflict being hinted at? What does he WANT to accomplish on his return home?
His last statements: “
We shall go to the Place of the Gods – the place
newyork
– not one man but a company. We shall look for the images of the gods and find the god ASHING and the others – the gods Lincoln and Biltmore and Moses. But they were men who built this city, not gods or demons. They were men who were here before us. We must build again” (Benet 272).
What is the EXTERNAL conflict? How does it link to Benet’s goal? Think “big idea”
Concrete Detail Possibilities:
ConflictSlide37
Sentence 1 will always answer the question: What does this
prove
in relation to your thesis statement? Essentially, without saying “I chose this quote because,” explain why this quote relates to your thesis statement.
Sentence 2 will always answer the question:
Why is this significant to the story as a whole?
Does it help support another element? Identify
another element
that is in play.
Does it make a greater point? Can you link this to Benet’s goal?
CommentarySlide38
Make an analogy to show how the lesson of this story applies to today! If his goal is to think about how we are to rebuild WHILE we survive, what can we think of in time in which people were forced to do this?
Holocaust survivors: Even after liberation, many still died. They had no money, no place to go.
Pearl Harbor: we had to rebuild an army and war materials.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi: 93-year-old man who survived
both
atomic bombings (died from stomach cancer)
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/01/06/japan.bomb.victim.dies/index.html
III. Concluding SentenceSlide39
Is it done?Is it creative?
Double Check Your TitleSlide40Slide41
Now, understand… THIS is what you’ll be doing on your ESSAY to conclude this unit.Notable differences:
Four paragraphs (intro, 2 body paragraphs, conclusion)
Body paragraphs will have 11 sentences
Different story
This is a difficult skill. It takes time. You CANNOT rush
this assignment.
Submit Your Work!Slide42
On the bottom of your microtheme, write the name of your group members.
On a scale of 1-10, what would you give your group members?
1 = They were not helpful.
5 = They were somewhat helpful.
10 = They were awesome!
Next to your ranking, tell me what each group member accomplished.
Group Evaluation: KEEP YOUR EYES ON YOUR PAPER…