The Stranger Formative Assessment

The Stranger
1.       Silent Discussion
2.       Socratic Seminar: created four different questions (attach); made a comment voluntarily; gave feedback to your partner
3.       Read Sophie’s World and text-marked
4.       Actively watched the videos on contemporary interpretations of existentialism: Henry, Monty Python
5.       Completed the profile on Meursault
Round Robin Readings
1.       Read all articles thoroughly
2.       Contributed comments when asked (written on the quadrant and when discussing)
3.       Actively listened to other groups while reporting out
Student Led Discussions
1.  Prepared by reading the article
2. Contributed during the discussion
3. Reflected on what you learned

They Say/ I Say "The Art of Quoting"

The Art of Quoting

Here, you'll find templates for introducing quotes and explaining quotes.

All Templates
Here, you'll find all the templates found in They Say/ I Say.

The Stranger Short Answer Test December 16th

The Stranger

Short Answer Questions

You’ll be asked to answer 5 of these 7 questions.  You won’t know which 5 until the day of the test, so prepare for all 7.  All of the questions will be worth 5 points each even though some may be easier to answer than others.

1. What are three traits that define absurdism according to the Philosophy Index?

2. What are three traits that define existentialism according to the Philosophy Index?

3. What makes absurdism philosophically different from existentialism?

4. What does the Myth of Sisyphus have to do with Camus’s philosophy?

5. What part of the Myth of Sisyphus is Camus most concerned about and why?

6. In Sophie’s World Alberto tells Sophie that “We are partly instrumental in deciding what we perceive by selecting what is significant for us” (352).  He then proceeds to give examples of what he means by this.  Describe one of his examples or come up with one on your own that explains what he means.

7. Describe three of Camus’ events in his life history that may have influenced his philosophy and say how.

Analytical Character Essay

The Stranger—Analytical Character Essay

You have read The Stranger, discussed The Stranger, loved and hated The Stranger.  Now it is time to write about The Stranger.

Specifically, write about Meursault.  As we have seen, he is a fascinating character, sometimes quite upsetting, sometimes admirable, and sometimes just confusing.  But you all have feelings about Meursault.  How did you come to have those feelings?  How is the character of Meursault revealed to us?

As you noticed, Meursault rarely allows us more than the quickest peek into his heart or mind. Or, more accurately, throughout most of the book he reveals little about himself, his thoughts and feelings, in a direct and descriptive way.  Rather, Meursault’s character is largely revealed indirectly.

Assignment: Write an in-class essay (2-3 pages) about how Camus has Meursault reveal himself indirectly to the reader through his descriptions of an exterior object or image.  Keep the following in mind:

 Be specific and limited in the object or image you select to analyze.  For example, writing about Meursault’s character as revealed through his description of the sea would likely be far more successful than writing about Meursault’s character as revealed through his description of nature.

 Have a clearly stated thesis.  What is revealed about Meursault’s character?

 Support your thesis with specific facts from the text, including quotes and page citations.

 Use the model, claim, support, explain significance, for your body paragraphs

 Discuss how the object or image you have chosen to analyze is effective at revealing Meursault’s character.

 Consider change.  Meursault seems to change in some ways by the end of the book (while remaining the same in some other ways).  Does the way he views or relates to the object or image also change?  Why or why not?  To what purpose?

Remember, you have done a lot of work with this novel over the past several weeks.  That work can help you develop your thesis and your paper.  Use your notes from discussions and your memory of your reaction to the Silent Discussion questions to help you decide what is important to you. Use your sticky notes and your journal to find specific quotes and passages that struck you.  Use your Character Profile to find those traits about Meursault that were most noticeable. Come prepared with all of the above plus your book and an outline, graphic organizer, or brainstorming sheet.

One more thing: don’t summarize!  Yes, sometimes you need to summarize a bit for clarity, but spend most of your time doing analysis (explaining what is revealed about Meursault and how).  Only use enough summary to place a quote in context.

Your essay will be scored on the State Writing Rubric.  

Important December Dates

December 11: In-class essay on Meursault's Character

December 16: Short answer test on The Stranger unit

December 18: First draft of your out-of-class essay due

OSLIS and Multnomah County Library Resources

Places for research for your Stranger essay :

1.      multcolib.org  (you must have a library card for this to work)

   Ø  click on research

            Ø  scroll down to select research tools

            Ø  click on one of the following databases and begin your search:  Academic One File,

                      Academic Search Premier, Biography Resource Center, JSTOR, Literature Criticism 

                      Online, Literature Resource Center, Historical Abstracts (you may find other databases on                   this site that are helpful)

  2.      oslis.org

•  login from home
• login user name: port
•   password: oslis

The Stranger Essay Options

The Stranger

Essay Topics

Assignment:  Write an essay (3-5 pages) that covers one of the topics below.  Keep the following in mind:

Ø Be specific

Ø Have a clearly stated thesis.  Answer your prompt’s question.

Ø Support your thesis with specific facts from the text and from secondary sources, including quotes and page citations.

Ø Use MLA style

Remember!  You have done a lot of work with this novel over the past several weeks.   That work can help you develop your thesis and your paper.  Use your sticky notes and your journal to find specific quotes and passages that struck you.  Use the individual class assignments as guides for your thoughts.

One more thing:  Don’t summarize.  Yes, sometimes you need to summarize a bit for clarity, but spend most of your time doing analysis. 

1.   Research the philosophy of Absurdism (coined by Camus) and analyze its relevance to The Stranger: Secondary sources must come from books, multcoed.org databases or OSLIS.  Cite all sources.

2.   Research Camus’s life and beliefs and write an essay in which you demonstrate how The Stranger reveals and explores what was of importance to the author. Secondary sources must come from books, multcoed.org databases or OSLIS. Cite all sources.

3.   Research the historical relationship between France and Algeria and analyze The Stranger as a postcolonial critique of that relationship. Pay particular attention to the role of Arabs in the novel in your essay. Secondary sources must come from books, multcoed.org databases or OSLIS. Cite all sources.

4.   Read Nausea by Jean Paul Sartre, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, or Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, and compare the author’s perspective of Existentialism to that of Camus using your own opinion and secondary sources for support. You must not have read the novel before this assignment.  Secondary sources must come from books, multcoed.org databases or OSLIS.  Cite all sources.

5.     Compare and contrast contemporary Existentialist excerpts from film to Camus’s piece.  How do people today reflect and interpret Camus’s work?  What do they see right and what don’t they get in your opinion?  Possible pieces to consider: Pulp Fiction, Into the Wild, No Country for Old Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.  There are more that I found at IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/list/8Iapaxq39RQ/. Check with me before you start this essay. Cite all sources.

6.   Analyze the difference between the concepts of “Justice” and of “Law,” and write an essay in which you explore whether justice is served by the end of The Stranger. You may choose to write this as a persuasive essay in which you attempt to convince your audience one way or the other. (Feel free to pretend to be a lawyer who represents Meursault more capably than the one the court appoints!)

7.   Consider the importance of personal, moral, ethical, and civic responsibility in your own life and analyze how well Meursault handles his responsibilities. The essay asks you to balance personal exposition and literary analysis.

8.   Determined to remain true to himself, Meursault finds himself at odds with a society. Compare and contrast the The Stranger with (an)other literary text(s) you have read. Be sure to keep in mind the historical and geographical origin of the texts as you explore their similarities and differences.

Only Essay Topics Having Further Research or Reading Can Achieve an Exceeds Score (choices 1-4)