...Robert Cormier’s novel, The Chocolate War, includes two unique characters Archie Costello and Brother Leon that play important roles, but also share many similarities. Archie is the antagonist of the novel, and possibly the most malicious character in The Chocolate War. Likewise, Brother Leon shows unbelievable cruelty towards the end of the story. In short, Archie and Brother Leon are both manipulative, have control over Trinity High, and they even use each other to get more power! Archie and Brother Leon manipulate everyone to become powerful. Archie knew Jerry's strength and ability to not be a conformist, and he knew that he could extend the fight. Archie said, “He’s a tough one. Didn't you see him get wiped out down there and still get to his feet? Tough. And stubborn.” (page 14) What makes it interesting is that Archie knew that selling the chocolates would be a difficult task. Why would he make it more difficult by telling Jerry to refuse the chocolates? In the end, Archie was more powerful in other students eyes, and he gained a stronger relationship with Brother Leon. On the other hand, Brother Leon is...
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...Robert Cormier's coming of age story “ The Moustache” is a story of growth. Mike a 16 year old boy has a grandma in a nursing home. She dreads a terrible day. Mike has a moustache like his dead grandfather and is mistaken for him. His grandma then asks for forgiveness, thinking he is her lost husband. One lesson learned is that growth can make you do or say things that may seem right at first but aren't right in the end. As Mike's grandmother sees Mike Cormier uses descriptive details to show how they are mistaken. Using time as a factor to show how she would think this. Cormier has Mike describe his grandfather, say “ I recalled my grandfather as tall and thin. Like me.” Also, saying that “He was thirty-five when he died, almost forty years ago. And he wore a moustache. I also wore a mustache. This shows the resemblance of the two, even after almost forty years. Even though Mike hasn’t aged all his grandma has been thinking about is her husband, and reacts when he looks just a little bit like him....
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...Michael Jiang February 10, 2014 A Darkly Tragic Novel: The Chocolate War Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War gives readers a dark tale that leaves them on the edge of their seats. Ever since its debut in 1974, it has angered and shocked parents, transfixed students, and has been banned in many schools throughout the nation. Robert Cormier was born on January 17, 1925 in Leominster, Maryland and died on November 2, 2000 due to complications from a blood clot in Boston, Maryland. Cormier was the son of Lucien Joseph, a factory worker, and Irma Margaret Cormier; and attended Fitchburg State College, he graduated in 1944. He married Constance B. Senay on November 6, 1948 and had 4 children. Young Adult Banned Books tells us that Cormier was acclaimed for “his powerful and disturbing novels for young adult readers” (Young, 8). He has written many novels for young adults including the sequel to The Chocolate War (Beyond the Chocolate War, 1985). Cormier wrote The Chocolate War based on a true life experience “in which his son was the only person in his class to refuse to sell chocolates for a high school fund raiser” (Young, 9). The Chocolate War was published by Pantheon in New York, New York in 1974. The Chocolate War tells the story of “a young boy's struggle against the conformity imposed on him by the restrictive atmosphere of an all-male Catholic prep school as well as by the demands of the Vigils, a secret group that the school does not officially condone but...
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...In Robert Cormier’s The Moustache, seventeen-year-old Mike made the statement, “for the first time in my life, I saw love at work,” because he was reflecting on his afternoon he spent at the nursing home with his lucid grandmother, as she confused MIke with her deceased husband. In his grandmother’s confusion, she believed that Mike was actually Mike’s grandfather who came to see her after over thirty years after he tragically passed away. Furthermore, she commented that she had been waiting for the grandfather to ask for her husband’s forgiveness in her doubting his faithfulness in their relationship prior to his death and further noted that her doubts changed their relationship. Through these events, Mike learned that love is not a passive...
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...A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE SIGNET CLASSIC EDITION OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S MACBETH LINDA NEAL UNDERWOOD S E R I E S E D I T O R S : W. GEIGER ELLIS, ED.D., ARTHEA J. S. REED, PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, EMERITUS and UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, RETIRED A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth 2 INTRODUCTION William Shakespeare developed many stories into excellent dramatizations for the Elizabethan stage. Shakespeare knew how to entertain and involve an audience with fast-paced plots, creative imagery, and multi-faceted characters. Macbeth is an action-packed, psychological thriller that has not lost its impact in nearly four hundred years. The politically ambitious character of Macbeth is as timely today as he was to Shakespeare's audience. Mary McCarthy says in her essay about Macbeth, "It is a troubling thought that Macbeth, of all Shakespeare's characters, should seem the most 'modern,' the only one you could transpose into contemporary battle dress or a sport shirt and slacks." (Signet Classic Macbeth) Audiences today quickly become interested in the plot of a blindly ambitious general with a strong-willed wife who must try to cope with the guilt engendered by their murder of an innocent king in order to further their power. The elements of superstition, ghosts, and witchcraft, though more readily a part of everyday life for the Renaissance audience, remain intriguing to modern teenagers. The action-packed...
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...SECOND DRAFT Contents Preamble Chapter 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Background Rationale Aims Interface with the Junior Secondary Curriculum Principles of Curriculum Design Chapter 2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 1 Introduction Literature in English Curriculum Framework Strands and Learning Targets Learning Objectives Generic Skills Values and Attitudes Broad Learning Outcomes Chapter 3 5 7 9 10 11 11 13 Curriculum Planning 3.1 Planning a Balanced and Flexible Curriculum 3.2 Central Curriculum and School-based Curriculum Development 3.2.1 Integrating Classroom Learning and Independent Learning 3.2.2 Maximizing Learning Opportunities 3.2.3 Cross-curricular Planning 3.2.4 Building a Learning Community through Flexible Class Organization 3.3 Collaboration within the English Language Education KLA and Cross KLA Links 3.4 Time Allocation 3.5 Progression of Studies 3.6 Managing the Curriculum – Role of Curriculum Leaders Chapter 4 1 2 2 3 3 13 14 14 15 15 16 16 17 17 18 21 Learning and Teaching 4.1 Approaches to Learning and Teaching 4.1.1 Introductory Comments 4.1.2 Prose Fiction 4.1.3 Poetry i 21 21 23 32 SECOND DRAFT 4.1.4 Drama 4.1.5 Films 4.1.6 Literary Appreciation 4.1.7 Schools of Literary Criticism 4.2 Catering for Learner Diversity 4.3 Meaningful Homework 4.4 Role of Learners Chapter 5 41 45 52 69 71 72 73 74 Assessment 5.1 Guiding Principles 5.2 Internal Assessment 5.2.1 Formative Assessment 5.2.2 Summative Assessment 5.3 Public Assessment 5.3.1 Standards-referenced...
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