Transcript Subplots/ parallel episodes - Mrs. Jacks-Reading 7&8

SUBPLOTS/
PARALLEL EPISODES/
CHARACTERIZATION
“FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON
SUBPLOTS
• Less important plots that are part of the larger story
• Example: Romeo and Juliet (love story, family feud
PARALLEL EPISODES
• Definition: Deliberately repeated plot events
• Example: The Three Little Pigs (I’ll huff and I’ll puff
and I’ll blow your house down! X3)
CHARACTERIZATION
• The way a writer reveals the personality of a character.
• Direct: what the author tells reader about character
• Indirect:
• 1. through words of the character
• 2. through description of character’s looks
• 3. Through description of character’s thoughts/feelings
• 4. through comments made about character by other characters
• 5. through character’s behavior
BACKGROUND
• Genre: Science Fiction
• a broad genre of fiction that often takes place in the future and usually involves
speculations based on current science.
• Plot
• Charlie Gordon is a mentally handicapped man with an IQ of about 70. He is chosen to
partake in a science experiment that will “make him smart.” There is a lot of growth that
Charlie must go through (intellectually and emotionally) before discovering many truths
about himself, the people around him, and his purpose in life.
STRUCTURE
• Flowers for Algernon is unique in its structure. Rather than having chapters to
separate its sections, it uses “progress reports” that Charlie is required to
write as data for the experiment. Therefore, the short story is written entirely
from Charlie’s point of view and contains memories and flashbacks as well as
daily accounts of his learning and growth. Being the central figure in the
experiment, his perspective of the world changes, and certainly challenges
the reader’s imagination and moral position.
INTELLIGENCE TESTING
• French Psychologist Alfred Binet designed the I.Q. Test around 1900.
• The test was intended to measure children’s intelligence for educators to
identify weaknesses and tutor them accordingly.
• Now, many educators believe we have multiple intelligences/learning styles.
THINK ABOUT IT…
• It is better to be smart and lonely than
unintelligent and happy.
• Our relationships with other people are what fulfill
us.