Final Writing Exam

Animal Farm

During the 1940’s, as we all know, there was a war raging in Europe. Democracy was seriously questioned and the new types of regime were observed with massive interest. Hitler’s Nazism, Mussolini’s fascism and sovietic communism were all at first considered strong alternatives to the decadence of democracy. For obvious reasons, fascist regimes were discarded as soon as people learned the truth. However, an aura surrounded communism, and everyone had an opinion on it. Some thought it was the way to go, while others felt that there was more to it than what they wanted them to see. George Orwell wrote this novel to explain the Russian Revolution as it was in 1945.

First of all, the events in the story all correspond to the Russian Revolution. In 1917, the Bolsheviks overthrew the tsar to take over Russia and run it on their own. Likewise, in the story, the animals defeated the farm owner and managed the farm by themselves. The surrounding countries that showed suspicion, the mistrusting leaders, the broken agreement with Hitler’s Germany -- all were explicitly depicted in the novel as the neighbouring farmers. The attempts at industrializing the country correspond to the building of a windmill by the animals: their efforts are destroyed twice, but it ultimately works well. There are many more examples of the resemblances between the historical events and the ones in Animal Farm, but with these few the parallels are already obvious.

Second, not only the events, but also the characters have alter egos in History. The boar that informs the animals of the concept of animalism, can easily be compared to Marx, the father of communism. Napoleon, the cruel leader of the Revolution, resembles Stalin. The illiterate sheep, the hard-working horses and the intelligent pigs: they all represent the social classes of human society. Mollie, the white mare who fled Animal Farm to be pampered by another farmer, is the figure of the ‘White Russians’, the upper class who left Russia soon after the Revolution to avoid losing their titles. Even religion is embodied in Moses, the tame raven who comes and goes to calm the animals by promising them that they will go to Sugarcandy Mountain –heaven. In the characters too, the parallels are all too obvious.

Third, USSR used propaganda in those years to control the people and keep them docile. Important political figures were erased from pictures and from collective memory. In Animal Farm, it is one of the most troubling aspects. One of the pigs, a certain Squealer (his name says it all!) does all the work. On the barn, the Seven Commandments of animalism are painted in white letters. Thorough the story, Squealer adds to them to fit the pig's desires. For example, ‘No animal shall sleep in a bed’, ‘No animal shall drink alcohol’ and ‘No animal shall kill another animal’ were changed to ‘No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets’, ‘No animal shall drink alcohol to excess’ and ‘No animal shall kill another animal without cause’. It goes to show that animalism was indeed corrupted by the pigs.

Animal Farm is a story of good and evil, equality and domination, honesty and lies, goodwill and treachery. This novel allegorizes the Russian Revolution to the smallest details. The events, the characters and the use of propaganda all point to the USSR. Even if, in Orwell’s own words, Animal Farm was ‘primarily a satire on the Russian Revolution’, it is intended for a wider purpose and can be applied to many dictatorships that claim their nation is one of equality, of freedom, of hope.

6oo words, you can count them!

Cat post-viewing

1. Cat Quiz: How’s your memory?

1. What is Gooper's occupation?
(C) He is a corporate lawyer

2. What is the name of Skipper and Brick's pro football team?
(B) The Dixie Stars

3. What happened to Big Daddy in Morocco?
(D) He was propositioned by a child prostitute

4. What body part do Mae's children apparently lack?
(C) Necks

5. What did Maggie buy Big Daddy for his birthday?
(D) A robe

6. Who is described as a cat at some point in the play?
(A) Maggie

7. Daddy believes that he suffers from which of the following?
(B) A spastic colon

8. What is the ostensible object of Brick's disgust?
(A) Mendacity

9. Where did Maggie and Brick go to school?
(B) Old Miss

10. How old is Big Daddy?
(D) Sixty-five

11. Who was a cotton carnival queen?
(D) Mae

12. What do the children sing to Big Daddy?
(A) Skinamarinka-dinka-dink

13. What is Big Daddy's trademark word
(D) Crap

14. What is Big Mama's name?
(D) Ida

15. What were the names of the plantation's previous owners?
(B) Straw and Ochello

16. How many official versions of Cat are in circulation?
(B) Three

17. Who directed the premiere of Cat?
(C) Elia Kazan

18. When did Brick start drinking?
(A) When Skipper died

19. Who confronted Skipper on his love for Brick?
(D) Maggie

20. Who revealed this love to Brick?
(C) Skipper

21. How does Maggie get Brick to sleep with her?
(C) She locks up his liquor (breaks it)

22. Who tells Big Daddy that he is dying?
(C) Brick

23.Who does Big Mama jostle in her lap?
(D) Reverend Tooker

24. Who keeps calling from Memphis?
(B) Sally

25. Who sleeps next to Maggie and Brick's room?
(B) Mae and Gooper



2. Class / Group Discussion 20 minutes
Objective:
Explore a major theme of the play
• Class discussion on lies vs. truths.
Why do we tell lies?
Who do we lie to?
How do we tell the difference between a truth and a lie in our daily interactions with others?
Are lies good or bad?
What is the relationship between lies and mendacity?

• Small group discussion on Big Daddy’s line at the end of the play: “Don’t you notice it, Brick? Don’t you notice a powerful and obnoxious odor of mendacity in this room? There is nothing more powerful.” What is Big Daddy referring to?
Each group should create their own definition of the word mendacity based on Tennessee Williams’ use of the word in his play.
Us the following table to create your definition.
Cite instances from the play when a character tells a lie or the truth.
For example: what would be the Doctor’s first diagnosis of Big Daddy?
Truth
Lie

Writing Journal in pairs (With Stéphanie Trottier)

« The Lottery », by Shirley Jackson   

This short story, written by Shirley Jackson, takes place in a small American town. On a warm summer day of June, villagers are called to gather for their annual activity: the lottery. Children gather stones while the men chat together, soon to be greeted by their wives. Every year, the lottery takes place as an important tradition. To the villagers, the idea of not having an annual lottery is barely conceivable since it has been going on for many, many years. Once all assembled and ready, Mr. Summers – the conductor of the lottery – calls upon the head of each family, listed alphabetically from the small village. Each of the men walk up towards Mr. Summers and draw out a piece of paper from the wooden black box, the same one used each and every year. After the men return to their respective families, they all open up their folded piece of paper. It is the Hutchinson family, to everybody else’s relief, who are the ones to discover a black dot on their piece of paper. Panicked, Tessie Hutchinson then shouts out to Mr. Summers, saying the draw is unfair. But one ticket for each Hutchinson family member (Bill, Tessie, Dave, Nancy and Bill, Jr.) is put back in the black box, ready for the next draw. Each Hutchinson then draws out their own piece of paper from the box. One by one, they all unfold their ticket; each one is blank except for Tessie’s, displaying a big black dot. The other villagers then get ready and gather pebbles and rocks. Tessie, exposed in the center of the crowd, then gets stoned to death, sacrificed to ensure next year’s harvest.  

In 2008, this practice sure sounds barbaric. This is why projecting ourselves in the skin of a character or trying to figure out what we would do if it was us that would have been picked is hard. I found this story particularly shocking. I was not expecting the end at all, and had to read it twice to fully understand it. The fact that Tessie gets stoned to death by her neighbors and family --even by her kids!-- is disturbing. One would think: "For sure someone will oppose to this ritual, surely her husband will protect her!" Sadly, this is not what happens at all. The fact that this village does a lottery every year, because it is said to bring good harvests, is the example the author gave to show her disdain of pointless traditions. When the story was first published, a lot of people had strong reactions to it: horror, disbelief, hate and uneasiness were expressed to the author. Those feelings are shared by new readers like us today.

(In answer to "Tell about what happened in the story" and "Describe your feelings about the events")

Mid-Term Writing Test

The Nightingale and the Rose

PART A

Close reading questions 1-10
1- The student is unhappy because he is in love with a girl
a) to whom he promised red roses, which he cannot find.

2- Which two of the following statements are true?
b) The nightingale believes in true love.
d) The nightingale thinks the student knows what true love is.

3- The nightingale identifies herself with the student because
c) The student feels the same passion as her nightly song.

4- Why does the nightingale decide to sacrifice herself? Give two reasons.
- She thinks that her life is important, but that Love is more important than life. Therefore, her life is a very little price to pay in exchange for the love the student wishes for.
- She also thinks that humans are more important than birds, therefore the student is more important than herself.
Quotation: "Yet Love is more important than Life, and what is the heart of a bird compared to the heart of a man?"

5- The nightingale describes love as being wiser than Philosophy, and stronger than Power, with wings and a body that are coloured like flame, and lips as sweet as honey, and his breath is like frankincense.

6- Why doesn't the student understand what the nightingale is saying?
"The Student looked up from the grass, and listened, but he could not understand what the Nightingale was saying to him, for he only knew the things that are written down in books."

7- What tdoes the student think about the nightingale's song for the oak tree? He thinks that it
b) is only a meaningless song with some beautiful notes.

8- Why does the student think the beautiful rose has a long Latin name?
He only finds beauty (or understands) the things that are written down in books; therefore, the amazing rose he found has to be scientifically beautiful, thus the long Latin name.

9- What three reasons does the professor's daughter give for refusing the red rose?
- She tells him that the red rose will not go with her dress.
- She says that the Chamberlain's nephew gave her jewels, and since jewels cost more than roses, she values it more.
- She says that he is only a Student, and that he probably doesn't have silver buckles to his shoes, as the Chamberlain's nephew has.

She is very superficial and materialistic.

10- What happens to the rose?
Angry and the Professor's daughter, the Student "threw the rose into the street, where it fell into the gutter, and a cart-wheel went over it."

PART B

450 words text on the irony in The Nightingale and the Rose

The short story "The Nightingale and the Rose", by Oscar Wilde, is a widely known poetic love story. At first glance, it may look like any other little love story, but if read carefully, the reader will notice the deeper meaning of the text. Love is a theme exploited thorough the ages by various authors, scenarists or poets. It is a subject almost everyone can relate to; therefore, most people are interested in the material created about it. In this short story, the theme of love is stained by irony, which adds depth to the text and creates a surprising ending.

In the beginning of the story, both the Nightingale and the Student share the same wish: for the Student and the Professor's daughter to fall madly in love. The Student is weeping because he cannot find a red rose to give her and fears that she will reject him for it. The Nightingale, seeing the boy's despair, helps him the best she can: she sacrifices her life to make him the most beautiful of all the roses to give to his maiden, to earn her love. It may seem like a wonderfully touching love story with a happy ending, but this is where irony kicks in. First of all, when the Nightingale sings for the oak tree before her sacrifice, the Student does not understand her song: "In fact, she's like most artists; she is all style, without any sincerity. She would not sacrifice herself for others." It is undeniably ironic, because in fact it is her last song before her sacrifice for him! After her death, he did not recognize the Nightingale's work at all. On the contrary, after finding it he said: "Why, what a wonderful piece of luck!”. The bird's noble gesture is not valued or even noticed: that is the very opposite of what was expected, and is thus ironic.

The story ends with the Student’s attempt to give the rose to the woman of his dreams. To the reader's surprise, the girl refuses it because a rose is not worth enough money. The idealized romantic 'princess' is in fact a superficial and materialistic brat! She refuses the rose and dismisses the Student, who throws the rose in the street in frustration. The rose is then rolled over by a car and totally destructed. In anger, the Student then returns to his books, saying that love is in fact useless compared to Philosophy and Metaphysics. This ending is not what the Nightingale nor the Student intended in the beginning at all. It is very dramatic, in an ironic way, because the bird’s death did not serve any purpose and goes unnoticed by both the lovers.

450 words

The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson

This short story takes place in a small village of 300 people, where everyone is assembled in the central square for the lottery. Every head of family gets to draw a paper from the box, and the family with the black-dotted paper is chosen. Every member of that family has to draw another time, and the person with the black-dotted paper "wins": they get stoned to death by their fellow villagers.

A large controversy surrounded "The Lottery". The magazine in which it was published lost hundreds of subscriptions, and the author received a lot of letters from angry or disgusted readers. It was listed in the 30 most often banned books in America in 1984.

The names in the story all have a specific signification and are very ironic. For example, Mr Summers is the one bringing the bad news, Delacroix is the one throwing the biggest stone and Martin refers to apes!

Poetic devices

• Connotation


• Denotation


• Figures of speech ( simile, metaphore, personification, apostrophe, hyperbole, oxymoron)


• imagery


• Symbolism


• Antithesis

• Euphony


• Cacophony


• Alliteration


• Onomatopoeia


• Rhyme


• Assonance


• Consonance

Hills like White Elephants

*white elephant = expensive & useless

1. Introduction

• The story was published in 1927 by Ernest Hemingway.
• ingenious symbolism
• powerful dialogue
• Iceberg theory*

2. Plot summary

• Jig is pregnant
• Takes place in Spain
• read between the lines, they are talking about Jig's upcoming abortion
• Mostly dialogues
• Takes place in about 40 minutes

3. Themes and recurring elements

• Alcohol is present thorought the entire story, whether it is 'to try new things' or just to survive to the oppressive heat (beer)
• could be because of the uneasiness due to the choice she has to make
• Abortion
• Romantic relationship : mature/lasting (woman) or fleeting/sex (man)
• Responsibility / hedonism

4. Symbolism and setting

• landscape: on one side of the tracks it is green and fertile, and on the other it is brown and dry.
• the hills could represent the hills of the pregnant woman, with the huge belly
• white elephant means something expensive and useless, or also a sign of something good to happen. two sides of the same story
• train station: the characters could go their separate ways, or continue on the same train together.
• Jig: jig is a dance / slang word for sex... she is a sex object for him
• for the man, the baby is a white elephant
• 2 bags, 2 pads, 2 drinks, 2 tracks, 2 people... three's a crowd

5. Dialogue

• Very simple dialogues... have to read between the lines
• never explicit

"If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of the iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. The writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing."

Amazingly well-said

Cat on a hot tin roof: Nov 11-12-13

1- Where and when does the story take place?
2- Who are the characters?
3- What is their relationship?
4- What is the mood of the scene?
5- What and whom are they talking about?

• Setting: Place (geographical) & Time (Historical)
• Characterization
• Dramatic Tension
• Plot dialogue

Questions on Study Guide

Context: Write short answers.
What kind of family did Tennessee Williams (TW) have?
Where does his first name come from?
What is the Pulitzer Prize?
How was the original play changed for both Broadway and the cinema?
How did TW die?
What was the new American drama that TW represented?

Plot Overview: Put the events in the correct order.
Maggie confesses to making love with Skipper. _____
The family gets together with Mama and talks of Big Daddy’s cancer._____
Big Daddy asks Brick about his drinking problem. _____
Maggie says the Brick’s brother and wife are plotting to take all the inheritance. _____
Maggie announces that she’s pregnant. _____
Maggie talks about Brick and Skipper’s love for each other. _____
We learn that Brick injured his ankle. _____
Big Daddy enters the room. _____
Brick says that the relationship with Skipper was pure. _____

Character List: Write down all the adjectives used to describe each character. Find the definition of the words you don’t know.

Margaret: (Maggy) hard, nervous, bitchy, lonely and gorgeous (CAT)
Brick: alcoholis, masculine, suppressed homosexual, broken
Big Daddy: (B's father and M's father-in-law) large, brash (agressive), vulgar, fat, redneck, rich
Big Mama: fat, crude, earnest (sincere), dedicated to BD
Mae: (B's sister-in-law, Gooper's husband) mean, agitated, scheming (conspiring)
Gooper:(B's older brother) successful lawyer, eldest son, less loved than B, resentful, only educated one, ruthless (mean)
Reverend Tucker:
Doctor Baugh:
The children:

Analysis of Major Characters:
Why is Maggie the most interesting character?
What does Brick’s injury represent?
Why does Maggie call Big Daddy a “redneck’?
What does Mama desperately want?

Themes, Motifs, and Symbols:
What was American society’s view of homosexuality at the time?
What are the two “lies” in the play?
What does the image of the “cat” represent?
What is Big Daddy’s narcissistic love for Brick?
What do the children represent?

Symbols:What do these three things symbolize?
- Bed
- Console
- Crutch

Writing Journal 1

The Nightingale and the Rose

In this beautiful story by Oscar Wilde, it is question of the deepest emotion of all: love. The story mostly takes place in the Student’s garden, where the said Student is crying in despair because he was not able to collect a red rose to conquer his love’s heart and take her to the Prince’s ball. A nightingale hears him, and feels deep sorrow at the thought of this lover’s heart breaking. She then decides to do all that she can to help him, for his love surely is pure and must be worth more than everything else.

The Nightingale then flies from rose tree to rose tree in search of the reddest of roses, to finally reach the red-rose tree; however, the Tree tells her that the only way for him to produce the flower she seeks is to build it out of her own blood, to the sound of music, by moonlight. The little Nightingale agreed, and her chant produced the most beautiful red rose of all. After her death, the Student picked up the rose and offered it to his love. To the reader’s amazement, the maiden refused the rose, saying that jewels were worth more than a simple flower and that she would go to the ball with the Chamberlain’s nephew. Thrown on the floor by the Student, ran over by a cart-wheel, left in disgrace by the ungrateful maiden, the rose the Nightingale had sacrificed her life for was useless. The Student then returned to his books: they were more practical than love could ever be.

Practice for sentence patterns 1, 1a & 1b

Sentence Pattern 1, 1a, and 1b:
Complete the sentences:
(Sentence Pattern 1)
1. There was an explosion in Montreal; the city was deserted and burning.
2. The old man slowly got into bed ; he had the biggest headache ever.
3. The cat's tail began to switch back and forth ; the hunter had seen its prey.

Complete each sentence using an appropriate conjunctive adverb:
(Sentence Pattern 1a)
4. The crisis had passed ; therefore, we decided to keep it a secret.
5. Robert would never admit where he was at the time of the murder; thus, he was definitely guilty.
6. Jean was older than Grace ; however, his knowledge of mathematics was not better!
Complete each sentence using an appropriate subordinating conjunction:
(Sentence Pattern 1b)
7. Edgar Allan Poe was primarily an author of horror stories; he also wrote plays, but his short stories were considered the best.
8. The Silence of the Lambs is one of the most macabre movies ever produced; it talks about a cannibalistic serial killer, and the weak of heart should avoid seeing it.
9. The "Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe; it uses a lot of symbolism, then again it is also very realistic.

The Sentence

A sentence (=complete idea) can be simple or compound.

Subject
Verb
Connector
Preposition
Modifier
Direct Object
Indirect Object
Subject Complement

Independant Clause: Complete idea + S/V
Dependant Clause: Not a complete idea + Verb
Phrase: Not a complete idea + No verb

1[Cegepsl has 3150 talented students 2[in different programs, 3[which are interesting.

1- IC
2- Phrase
3- DC


Pattern 1 :
Cegepsl has 3150 students; many are smart and talented; some are lazy.

Compound (2ICs)
The semi-colon is used as the connector here. (no conjunction (ex.: not AND many of them..))
We couldn't use a comma here because it would be a run-on. It shouldn't be used because they are 2 independent ideas.

Pattern 1A:
Cegepsl has 3150 students; however, some will drop out.

Compound, semi-colon with conjunctive adverb.
(Therefore, however, thus, then, hence...etc)

Pattern 1B:
Cegepsl has 3150 students; many are taking music, but some are studying dance.

Compound, semi-colon, coordinating conjunction.
(And, but, yet, so....etc)

Pattern 2:
Darwin's "The origin of species" stated a harsh truth: only the fittest survive.
Obama made an important announcement: Hillary will not be my VP.
Shaw told a writer there are three things i dislike about your story: they are the beginning, the middle and the end.
There is one key rule in my life: never ask anyone something you wouldn't ask yourself.

Compound : colon /gives an explanation/ general to specific


Pattern 3:
With passion, determination, purpose, Lincoln condemned slavery.
Mr B. enjoys three sports: swimming, biking and running.

A series (adjectives, nouns, modifier) without a conjunction.


Pattern 4:
God is day and night, winter and summer, war and peace, surfeit and hunger.
'Micheal Clayton' is a story of money and power, passion and obsession, love and hate, good and evil.

A series of balanced pairs.


Pattern 5:
The Mona Lisa, Michelangelo's David, the ceiling of the Sistine chapel - such are the wonders of Renaissance Italy.
or:
- each is a masterpiece.
- all were made during the Renaissance.
- what great art!

Introductory series of appositives with dash-- and summarizing subject.

Exercise: Blending patterns 4 and 5 together with: ham, fruit, coffee, jam, toast, eggs
- Ham and eggs, jam and toast, fruit and coffee -- such are the delicious elements of the perfect breakfast.
- France and England, Italy and Spain, China and India -- all are great countries to visit.

Pattern 6:
My favourite french wines --Merlot, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon-- are wonderful to savour.
Many books students enjoy reading (Emma, Little women, Jane Eyre) show women in traditionnal roles in society.

An internal series of appositives or modifiers using dashes -- or parentheses (...).

Exercise: Write two examples of your own.
- The bird supplies that I need to buy (basic food, treats, corn) are expensive.
- My two brothers --Sebastien and Jean-François-- are working in the music industry.

Pattern 7:
Because it may seem difficult at first, because it may sound awkward, because it creates long sentences, this pattern seems forbidding to writers, but it's easy; try it!
Since he has little imagination and since he had even less talent, he wasn't hired for the job.


Dependant clauses in a pair or series (beginning or end). Subordinating conjunction (like because). time/since, when, after, before, while. place/where, wherever. purpose/because, and.
contrast/although, though, even if.

Pattern 8:
We all inhabit a mysterious world -- the inner world, the world of the mind.
In ­"The Lottery", Jackson mocks community worship of outdated customs,
customs that have no meaning, customs that are uncivilized and barbaric.
- The cuban hurricane was devastating-- devastating for the people, devastating for the land, devastating for the animals and devastating for the vegetation.

Repetition of a key term using a dash (--) or comma for emphasis

Pattern 9:
Metro thieves have a common target: the wallets or purses of old people.
The country elected the 2nd most unpopular man on Earth as PM: Stephen Harper.
- I want to marry a fantastic guy: Jason Mraz.

Emphatic appositive at end after a colon (:)

Pattern 10:
American fast-food is very popular and steakhouses (not to mention Mc D's ans KFC) are in most countries.

Interrupting modifier between subject and verb using two commas, dashes, parentheses
It's for a dramatic effect or a comment

Pattern 10A:
Narcissus ignored Echo so completely (how could he? she was such a lovely nymph
!) that she faded away.

Using a full sentence: statement, question, exclamation (--) or ()

Pattern 11:
Mistakes:
Walking on stage, the spotlight focused on Maggie.
The spotlight focused on Maggie walking on stage.

The three boys tried to steal my bike going on an errand.
Going on an errand, I almost got my bike stolen by three boys.


Introductory or concluding participles (past -ed or irregular , present -ing)

Pattern 12:

Ex: Well, I wonder.
Minutes passed.
It was magical.
That's not my style.
Everything changed.
But then it happened.

Just consider this.




Short simple sentence for dramatic effect or relief used
1- after several long sentences
2- to summarize what you just said
3- to provide transition between 2 or more ideas



Pattern 12A:



What caused the change?

Why did she?

And, why not?

Well, who cares?

What comes next?

When will it end?

How will it end?



Short question for dramatic effect used

1- to arouse interest

2- as a topic sentence in a paragraph

3- in a paragraph for variety





Pattern 13:



How he could fail, is a mystery to me.

Who assassinated JFK is still debated.

Who assassinated JFK got assassinated himself.



A dependant clause as a subject, object or complement using:

who, whom, which, that, what, why, where, when, how











FRED FACTOR

Writing a Thesis Statement

Definition:

• A thesis statement (TS) is the sentence used to declare what you believe and intend to prove.
• It should be contestable : readers should reasonably be able to discuss it and have an opinion on it.
• IT SHOULD NOT CONTAIN THE WORD 'I' !
• Don't use a question form.
• Background research on the subject has to be done in order to create a thesis based on the fundamental questions related to this subject.
• The thesis is usually located at the end of the introduction.
• It should pass the test of the 'so what?' and 'who cares?' test... meaning that it has to be interesting and related to an important/significant subject.
• Specific topic + Attitude/Angle/Argument = Thesis
  What you plan to argue + How you plan to argue it = Thesis

TS relates to Poe's 'Tell-Tale Heart'

Using literary elements:
- Plot (storyline/action)
- Setting
- Language (simple/metaphor)
- Theme
- Symbolism

DEFEND IT:
- Through the text
- Outside the text

Examples:
Poe recognized himself in the narrator.
- Paint a portrait of the narrator. (use the text)
- Paint a portrait of the author. (research, use biography)

Poe uses the 'vulture eye' as the main symbol in the story.
- Show that eye = paranoia

GAINS profile of Stéphanie Trottier!

The first subject of my first blog ever is sitting next to me right now in the person of Stéphanie Trottier. We met this morning in English class, when we had to learn about other students in order to write about one of them, following the GAINS pattern.

When asked about her goals in life , the ones she mentioned were all relative to school. In the short term, she wishes to be able to pass her english class. In the mid-term, Stéphanie wants to graduate from cegep. Her main objective would be to become a successful art therapist in the 5 years to come. 

Still academically speaking, one of the things she is most proud of is to actually have reached cegep last year. On a more personal level, the achievements she would be the happiest about would be her participation to various talent shows. She sang twice in front of a large crowd, and is very proud of that.

Stéphanie is a very artistic person. Her main interests almost all concern arts, at different levels. She loves to sing, but quit her singing lessons because they were too expensive. She also likes to draw, paint and read. Out of the artistic world, she has a passion for traveling and would like to be able to do it more often. 

Due to her mother's nationality, Stéphanie has family in Malaysia, though her close family lives in Montreal. Since she lives here, most of her friends are also in Montreal. 

If she had to describe herself in three words, they would probably be : creative, artistic and curious. They represent well her strengths and skills. After getting to know her a little bit  better in this small interview, I would agree with her choice of words. 

I hope this profile succeeded in explaining what kind of person Stéphanie Trottier is. The GAINS way of proceeding is very interesting and really helps in bonding with a person in a short time.