What Ponyboy Learns in Ch.6
Writing Practice – Structuring a Body-Paragraph & Incorporating Quotations
Complete this activity either on your own or with a partner, writing a paragraph that meets the requirements listed below, and then posting your paragraph to the discussion forum. First compose your paragraph in Google Docs, and then post it to the forum after you have proofread it.
Instructions
In Ch.6, Ponyboy experiences a pair of realizations: one about Dallas Winston (pg.88-90) and another about his brother Darry (pg.97-99). In both these scenes, Ponyboy learns something surprising and important about a person he already knows well.
Carefully reread both pg.88-90 (focusing on Dally) and pg.97-99 (focusing on Darry), and then answer the writing prompt in a well-developed paragraph that incorporates two significant quotations--one quotation from each scene--to explain and illustrate your ideas. (Model your paragraph after the example paragraph about The Call of the Wild found below.)
Writing Prompt
What does Ponyboy learn in each of these two scenes, and why is this information surprising or important to him? Overall, why is Ponyboy’s understanding of other people changing?
Note: DO NOT USE the word "quote" as a noun in your paragraph. Instead, use a more precise word, such as "scene," "passage," "event," "action," "statement," "detail," "description," etc.
Ex. This STATEMENT reveals that Dallas Winston cares about Johnny's well-being.
This DESCRIPTION shows how Mr. Robel feels about being at home.
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Guide for Organizing Your Paragraph:
In your paragraph, make sure that you do these things well:
- Begin with a clear claim or topic sentence that directly answers your chosen writing prompt.
- Transition to your first supporting quotation by introducing the passage's context (the speaker and situation).
- Give the quotation (and parenthetical page citation), and punctuate it all properly.
- Explain the significance of the quotation (or passage, description, statement, evidence, conversation, etc.) or what it shows us. (However, do NOT say, "This quote...")
- Transition to your next quotation, and repeat steps 2-4 again for it.
Use the example paragraph below as a model.
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What to write in your paragraph |
An example from The Call of the Wild, by Jack London |
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1. Claim / Topic Sentence
2. Transition #1
3. Quotation #1 (with page number)
4. Explanation #1
5. Transition #2
6. Quotation #2 (with page number)
7. Explanation #2
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In The Call of the Wild by Jack London, the protagonist is Buck, a dog who must mature and learn to take care of himself after he is kidnapped from California and taken to the harsh and primitive environment of Alaska.
“A dozen times he charged, and as often the club broke the charge and smashed him down.... He saw, once for all, that he stood no chance against a man with a club. He had learned the lesson, and in all his after life he never forgot it. That club was a revelation. It was his introduction to the reign of primitive law” (34).
Later in the story, Buck continues to learn and change when he defeats and kills his chief rival, a dog named Spitz, and takes Spitz’s place as leader of the pack.
The narrator explains: "Buck had lessoned from Spitz… and knew there was no middle course. He must master or be mastered; while to show mercy was a weakness. Mercy did not exist in the primordial life. It was misunderstood for fear, and such misunderstandings made for death. Kill or be killed, eat or be eaten, was the law; and this mandate, down out of the depths of Time, he obeyed" (68).
The narrator's words reveal that Buck is not only strong enough, but also wise enough, to take care of himself in one of the most primitive and hostile environments on Earth. In the wild, Buck cannot afford to show mercy or compassion to his main rival, because doing so could lead to Buck’s death. In this sense, Buck’s coming-of-age encompasses everything he learns in order to take care of himself and survive in one of the harshest environments on Earth.
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