Expository Essay Injustice PROMPT How is theme of

Expository Essay: Injustice PROMPT: How is theme of injustice emphasized through the author’s use of characterization and descriptive details?

Characterization and Details *Consider that it is those two aspects that the author utilizes to demonstrate the particular TYPE of injustice, and that the reader is connected to the character before something unjust occurs. Example: Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games…we learn about her family, the fact that she takes responsibility for her mother and sister, hunting for them despite the risk involved, and the povertystricken environment in District 12. When she enters the games, we want her to do well. See? Hooked. Now you think about the character/figures in the story of your choice and what details the author gives you to connect to them.

Word Choice of Injustice Depending on your historical event and selected literary piece, you will have to address a specific aspect of injustice. Oppression Consider that each story has a specific focus: Prejudice Discrimination Racial Profiling • “The Lottery” connected with the injustice of discrimination and the cruelty of the barbaric ritual. Racial Stereotyping • “The Power of Words in Wartime” & “Just Walk on By” conveyed the injustice of racial profiling or prejudice. * “In Response to Executive Order 9066” denoted the injustice of segregation based on race. Segregation Inequality Unfairness Alienation/Isolation

Thesis Statement…The Map To Your Essay You will build your Thesis Statements like a simple math equation. Type of Injustice (use specific word choice) in Historical Event + characterization/details demonstrating injustice in essay/story/poem with Author name/title=the theme of injustice. Verb choice suggestions: Demonstrate Depict Portray Ilustrate Illuminate Etc.

Sample Thesis Statements Samples: The oppression suffered by the Jews during the Holocaust, as well as Shirley Jackson’s depiction of Tessie Hutchinson’s selfishness in “The Lottery” both emphasize theme of injustice. The segregation of Native Americans in the Trail of Tears, as well as the depiction of the girls’ friendship, and later discrimination, in Dwight Okita’s poem, “Executive Order 9066” both depict theme of injustice. The racial profiling of Trayvon Martin, as well as the prejudice and alienation experienced by Brent Staples in his essay, “Just Walk on By” illustrate theme of injustice. The dehumanization of Muslims as mindless terrorists after September 11 th, 2011, as well as the stereotyping and demeaning terminology used against of the opposition during wartimes in Lakoff’s “The Power of Words in Wartime” both illuminate theme of injustice.

Three Quotes from Your Literary Source Consider that your source has many small details, but your goal is to locate textual support that connects to your chosen segment of injustice. Go through your source now and locate three quotes that would support your argument. For Example: In “The Lottery, ” look for quotes that demonstrate the townspeople’s acceptance of the ritual or the cruelty of how they kill Tessie. In “The Power of Words in Wartime, ” consider what those words do for those who fight against “the enemy, ” that it dehumanizes the opposition. In “Just Walk on By, ” evaluate the impact that Brent Staples has on strangers, and what that means about the stereotyping those people do when they see him. How does that make him feel? What does he do to adjust his behavior? In “Executive Order 9066, ” consider that this is a poem about Japanese internment. Why does the reader connect with the narrator through the small details that make her American, and then see the friend discriminate?

Description of The Historical Event Avoid saying “The Holocaust is bad; many people died. Hitler hated the Jews, so that’s why they were in the camps. ” Wow. This is nothing new to us. We need to feel the fear, the hopelessness, the discrimination. For Example: “The vacant, hollow eyes of the Jews, who stood caged like malnourished animals behind the barbed wire of Auschwitz and Dachau, emphasized their hopelessness; for many prisoners in the internment camps, these months of uncertainty would end in death. The loss of clothes and hair, the bar-coding tattoos on their forearms, and the inability to distinguish male from female were all part of the humiliation enacted by the Nazis” (Cobbleton 14). “From the spitting, harassing behavior, and dehumanizing comments, to the constant fear for their own safety, the nine students in Little Rock, Arkansas, braved the mobs that stood against the idea of integration because they believed that education should not discriminate against children of a different color. They deserved the same advantages as the hostile white students that stood against them at Central High School” (Harrison 332).

Essay Structure Your essay structure will be: Introductory paragraph (Begin with a hook that captures the reader’s interest and end with a clear thesis that connects a real-world example of injustice with your chosen text. ) Body Paragraph #1 - Portray the injustice in its historical or present-day context. Summarize details from your research on the topic. This should be at least eight well-constructed sentences in length. Body Paragraph #2 – Connect the injustice to the chosen text, analyzing at least 3 quotes to demonstrate how characterization and descriptive details personalize the injustice and make the reader empathize with those who suffer unjustly. Each quote must be blended and followed with two to three sentences of commentary. Concluding Paragraph—if this is your last time to impact the reader, consider that you need to address the particular type of injustice your historical event and story focus on. Give good word choice here, and do not introduce new information at the end. Your last line should be impactful. Works Cited – Using the correct MLA format, document (1) the sources for your summary of the historical or present-day context and (2) the text analyzed. This will be the last page in your essay and does not count toward the 2 – 2 ½ page requirement. **Consider that you must also include internal documentation. Ex: (Lakoff 237).

The Outline and Rough Draft Your Outline is the first step in writing, which will include: *Thesis *Historical Event Issues *Literary Source Issues *Concrete details (quotations) Your ROUGH DRAFT is where you flesh out the Outline. You must also include a Works Cited Page. Make sure you write down your source’s citation information before you leave today. BOTH of these are DUE on MONDAY, NOV 5 th. They will be separate grades. Peer Editing will also occur on MONDAY, NOV 5 th. This is a QUIZ grade.