9.20.12+and+9.21.12

Discuss: Sedaris theme/class discussion

WU: Obituary

Craft your own obituary. Approach this less as morbid, and more as a celebration of yourself and what you’ve done in life thus far. What details would you include about yourself? How would you describe your experiences? What aspects of your character are most important and relevant?

Ex: Ms. Wendel was an avid ice cream eater and extremely slow runner, a fact she never blamed on the ice cream. She had 432 books to her name, and loved them each as if they were her own children. At the time of her death, Ms. Wendel had traveled to 42 states, climbed a few small mountains, and seen exactly one alligator. She enjoyed taking too many photographs, quoting useless trivia, and always wished she could play the bass guitar. She donated her car, lovingly nicknamed Phineas, to Lincoln High School’s driver’s education program.

Discuss: Character types in literature/film--what makes a character seem "real" to us vs. a character who is a stereotype or static?

Notes: Character Detail

Physical: details about a character’s physical appearance:


 * hair
 * eyes color
 * height
 * weight
 * smell
 * touch
 * voice quality

Material: details about the material items that belong to, or represent them:


 * clothing
 * possessions
 * appearance in the world based on material items

Emotional: details about the character’s emotion/emotional state(s):


 * their typical reactions to situations
 * their outward emotional states
 * their private vs. public personas
 * quirks
 * Speech patterns/sayings

HW: Print off the following sheet with excerpts from various books. Each excerpt has examples of physical, material, and emotional detail. Your job is to color mark for these three types of detail. Find at least one example of each type of detail in each example with the exception of the final one which is physical detail only.