MYP English and Civics Essay Organizer

Name(s): Griffin Schutte Essential Question: How does an author (S.E. Hinton) create meaning in a narrative text (The Outsiders), and how do heroic figures emerge from conflict? Content: Respond to the EQ by connecting to literary vocabulary, MYP Philosophy, and Citizenship. Remember to integrate quotes and internal citations. Examples include: When Ponyboy says, quote, this shows (Hinton 17). Quote, says Cherry, which illustrates (25). Organization: Use transitions within and between paragraphs. Style and Language Usage: Avoid using personal pronouns, contractions, past tense, slang, run-ons, and fragments. Directions: Individually or with a partner, fill in the required information; the boxes will expand as you type. You may use your book and notes. Save as TO Analysis Essay, and continue to save as you update. Print after final revisions. Show me your critical thinking and understanding of the novel as a whole.

Intro Paragraph
Hook (attention-getter) and Bridge (links hook to thesis):

What happens when two teenagers on the run, stay in an old, abandoned church and have nothing to eat but baloney? What happens when some children go into that church, the two juvenile delinquents leave and stand beside it, and the church bursts into flames? What happens when one of the teenagers dies? All these events take place in The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton. The sequence of events described significantly affects the characters in the novel. The characters grow and develop and some are faced with new unfamiliar labels. As a reader it becomes hard to distinguish between personal emotions and the feeling of the characters while reading the novel. The author is effective at forming connections between the reader and the story to better convey the thoughts and feelings of the characters. Thesis Statement (road map for your essay and should include Author, Title of Work, literary element, MYP connection, citizenship connection, effects, and hero(es): In The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, the author makes the story meaningful while showing how heroic figures can emerge from conflict. These concepts can be connected to the literary vocabulary of tone, the IB Learner Profile Trait of Caring, and the citizenship trait of kindness. Body Paragraphs
Topic Sentence/Point: In The Outsiders, it is shown that when faced with dire situations, heroes can emerge no matter what their background might be. Topic Sentence/Point: Johnnys heroism can be connected to the citizenship quality of kindness. Topic Sentence/Point: S.E. Hinton creates meaning in her novel, The Outsiders, by getting the reader to develop a sense of empathy with the characters and to connect with them.

Evidence/Proof (integrated quote and citation): When Ponyboy reflects, That was the only time I can think of when I saw him without that defeated, suspicious look in his eyes, he shows that despite his appalling home life, when Johnny is given the chance, he relishes in putting others before him (92).

Evidence/Proof (integrated quote and citation): When Dally tells Johnny, Theyre still writing editorials about you in the paper. For being a hero and all, he references the remarkable display of kindness shown by Johnny when he helps rescue the children from the burning church (148).

Evidence/Proof (integrated quote and citation): When Ponyboy says, You know how it is, when you wake up in a strange place and wonder where in the world you are, until memory comes rushing over you like a wave, he is casually speaking with the reader, connecting with the reader by making a statement about an experience the reader might have had (68).

MYP English and Civics Essay Organizer

Analysis/Link to EQ/Significance: Throughout the novel it is established that Johnny has a miserable home life with abusive parents. In addition, he is jumped by a gang of Socs and severely beaten. This leaves him with a scared outlook on life, it leaves him scared to live, and it makes his home; all the worse. But, when Johnny realizes that there are children trapped in the burning church he does not hesitate to sprint inside to save them. Despite the horrible way the world has treated him, he is still a good person. From the intense conflict of his life, he changes his path and decides to place the well-being of others over his own. This connects to the IB Learner Profile Trait of Caring because Johnny puts the lives of the little children above his personal when he goes to save them. This ultimately costs him his life but he does not regret his decision. He believes that those children have more to live for than he did and he dies with them on his mind. Johnny actions are those of a model citizen, not a no-count, low-life hood as others might call him.

Analysis/Link to EQ/Significance: Collins English Dictionary defines a hero as someone distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility, fortitude, or kindness. By rushing into a burning build to save unknown children Johnny shows courage. By choosing to help other in need instead cowering in a corner, Johnny shows nobility. By standing up to his abusive mother and refusing to see her, Johnny shows fortitude. By comforting Ponyboy when he runs away from home, Johnny shows kindness. It is without a doubt that Johnny is a hero because he fits the dictionary definition of one. By being the most abused of his gang of friends Johnny would seem to be the most likely candidate for meanest, roughest, tuffest member. But that is not the case. Johnny is the kindest of all of them, he shows no hesitation in going to help the kids trapped in the church and he listens to Ponyboy about his home life even though Johnnys home life is nowhere near a walk in the park. Through his actions Johnny defines himself a hero, as someone who shows exceptional courage, nobility, fortitude, and kindness. Johnny and his friends become more than just words on paper as the author tells their story.

Analysis/Link to EQ/Significance: In order for one to find something meaningful, they must be connected to it. The author is able to connect the characters with the reader by creating one-sided conversations between a character and the reader. An example of this is when Ponyboy talks with the reader about waking up in unfamiliar places and how that can disorient you and make you forget what has happened. By referencing a common experience, a connection is established between the reader and the story. The reader finds it simpler to put themselves in the characters shoes, to feel empathy for them, to truly step inside the story. In addition, the reader is now personally invested in the characters. They cry when Johnny, a mistreated boy who died doing the right thing, tragically passes. They mourn with Dally as they watch a friend die. They gasp in shock as Dally is shot to pieces. They smile as Ponyboy, Soda, and Darry resolve their differences and hug-it-out. The reader can find this meaning and this feeling through the connection to the characters that is created by the author. This relates to the literary vocabulary of tone because in order to from a direct relationship with the characters, the reader must be familiar them. When Ponyboy addresses the reader talking about waking up in the barn, the authors tone is quite casual. Ponyboy is being friendly with the reader and the reader is connecting to him with the assistance of a casual, familiar tone. Meaning is also created because the problems that the characters face in the novel are also relevant to many people today.

MYP English and Civics Essay Organizer Conclusion Restate your thesis, summarize important points, and finish with clincher(strong ending): S.E. Hintons The Outsiders, shows how heroes can come from undesirable backgrounds and how simple text can become something deeper. These ideas are best identified through the literary vocabulary of tone, the IB Learner Profile Trait of Caring, and the citizenship trait of kindness. Despite his dreadful home life, Johnny is kind and caring towards others, especially the children who he rescues from a burning building. Johnny and all the characters are known by the reader due to the authors methods of connecting the reader to the story through tone. The people that S.E. Hinton writes about are more than just inkblots banged out on a typewriter. These people are real and their story is one that can be related to millions of Americans today. There is nothing more meaningful than a story that hits the reader close to home.