<
>
Download

Arbeitsblätter
Literaturwissenschaft

Gustav Heinemann Gesamtschule Mülheim

2.5 Miss Dleeper 2015

Wolfgang S. ©
3.20

0.10 Mb
sternsternsternstern_0.2stern_0.3
ID# 60858







The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Possible questions, extras and topics:

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Possible questions, extras and topics:

Peer groups and outsiders

      • Charlie is described as "special" (p.154, l.17), a "wallflower" (p.37, l.49) "You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand"; "God, that kid is such a fucking freak." (p.123, ll.68ff; p.166, ll.24-28); "I don't know how much longer I

can keep going without a friend. I used to be able to do it very easily, but that was before I knew what having a friend was like."(p.123, ll.63-66; p.92, ll.7-22).

oDiscuss the quotes and statements to find out why Charlie is not accepted by the pupils of his age.

Norms and values

    • The narrator (as letter-writer) is a 15-to-16-year-old who hangs around with senior students (who are about 18years old), and who is also influenced by the adults in his family as well as at school (in particular, Bill).

    • The "norms and values" of a society, especially when they concern the process of growing up, are usually reflected in family and school environments; find out about them with the help of the references (cf. p.28, ll.26-31; p.20, ll.20-26; p.24, ll.35ff; p.97, ll.59ff; p.168, ll.35ff; p. 98, I.13; pp. 100 & 104; pp. 40ff & 125f; pp. 150ff; p.

118; p. 45, I. 60; pp. 134-136; p. 133, II.51-54; p.34; ll.32ff; p.133, ll.46-47; p.134, I.17; p.87,l.67; p. 88, ll.8ff; p. 132, ll.10-11; p.10, ll.31-32, p.10, ll.22-23, 30; p.88, ll.

21-22; p.24, l.30; p.53, ll.46ff.)oDescribe and explain these values!

oDiscuss their impact and function on the development of the story and the life of the characters!

Literature (EXTRA for ADVANCED STUDENTS)

    • The Perks of Being a Wallflower mentions several well-known works of literature.

Many of the titles cited form part of the high-school English literature curriculum.

    • Charlie is asked to read these books by his Advanced English teacher. Some are apparently more important than others, as they are mentioned more than once.

Charlie's reaction to these books serves to characterize him.

        • You might want to find out more about them and write a short “dictionary entry” referring to their central topics/ story and the effect they might have on Charlie,

        • Or, you might want to choose one or two of the books and take a closer look at them and their meaning for the protagonist! (in case, refer to the excerpts given).

        • EXTRA for ADVANCED STUDENTS

          • When Bill says "Be sceptical about this one. lt's a great book. But try to be a filter, not a sponge" p. 141, II. 38-39), the reader becomes aware that he does hope Charlie is reading critically. Discuss why this might be a very important aspect when dealing with literature! WRITE AN ESSAY!

      Music (EXTRA)

        • Charlie's story is set at the beginning of the 1990s, yet much of the music he and his friends prefer is not the music of the day, but rather songs that could be called "classics" even then. Almost all of these songs can be found easily on the Internet. oFind recordings of the songs listen to them, take a look at the lyrics, discuss their meaning and possible importance to Charlie and choose one or two for closer analysis!

      oDiscuss why music might play such an important role in a teenager’.....

Writing dialogues

    • Choose a situation or incident in the novel. Imagine Charlie's friends or family members talk with each other about the situation or incident, or about Charlie's behavior. Write a dialogue in keeping with the character traits you have found out concerning the characters of your choice. Use an appropriate register drawn from the material "Charlie" supplies to them in the letters, i.e. when talking about drugs and their effects Charlie's peers will use slang expressions, whereas Bill probably would not (not the same, anyway, because he is older and slang dates quickly) and Charlie's parents definitely would not.

Suggestions for presenting the dialogues

  • Writing a dialogue as part of a narrative oImagine that the particular dialogue can appear either in one of Charlie's letters or independently (i.e. as short fiction). An introductory paragraph could set the scene so the reader knows which particular event from Charlie's letters is being dealt with. Write the dialogue, including normal narrative elements when appropriate (e.g. how a person says something, an interruption by someone/thing not related to the dialogue).

    Depending on the course of the conversation, a concluding sentence may or may not be necessary, as in "real fiction". After the usual writing-revising-editing stages have been completed add the text as a group work to your file.

  • Acting out a dialogue as a role-play oSketch your dialogues rather than writing them out as complete scripts; this allows you to react more flexibly during role-play. Practise speaking the conversation and rehearse it until you no longer need more than a few keyword prompts. In the evaluation stage, pay attention and say whether you feel that the characters fit your own interpretation; this could start a discussion about character interpretation (going back, of course, to what Charlie actually tells us about these characters).


Writing letters

Write a letter from the perspective of one of the other characters.

Suggestions for letters

• Letters to the fictional addressee:

Here are a few examples of characters and the letters you could react to: oCharlie’s sister (in reaction to the letters of October 14 and 15, pp. 24ff and 28f, February 15 and 23, pp. 98ff and 101ff).

oSam/Patrick (in reaction to the letters of December 21, pp. 58ff,

January 4, pp. 86f) oMary Elizabeth (in reaction to the letter of February 15, pp. 98ff.) An e-mail to a friend: oAlternatively, you could write an e-mail from the point of view of one of the characters in the novel to a close friend who, for example, left the school and moved to California, recounting some of the events mentioned in Charlie's letters from their perspective.

This would also give you the chance to talk about other characters in the novel.

    • Write the dialogue.

  • The school psychologist wants to talk to Bill about Charlie, as Charlie often mentions him. First of all, he asks Bill for the basic information about Charlie (e.g. the year he is in, his interests, his friends, his family situation, etc.), then he asks for a personal impression of Charlie.

    • Write the dialogue and use as much school vocabulary as possible; of course, you will also need vocabulary from other thematic fields, which you can e.....

  • In other cases, Charlie describes exactly what he sees -naively - because he is not really aware of the significance of the issue at the time, for instance when he witnesses the rape in his own bedroom during one of his brother's parties (cf. p.31, ll.39-70) He describes the actions step by step and obviously feels awkward using the word "penis" - "I wish I could describe this a little more nicely without using words like penis" (ll. 62-63).

    Using taboo language: oTry to select the appropriate register with the help of short dialogues.

     John's mother has had a fatal car accident. Write dialogues in which various people talk about this in different situations:

            • The school principal informs John's teacher why John won't be in that day.

            • John's friends talk about it in the break.

            • Two neighbors meet in the street and talk about it.

     Helen and Bob had sex together for the first time last night. The next day, they talk about the experience with various people in quite different situations.

          • Helen talks to a girlfriend at school. oJohn is teased by some teammates after the football game.

          • Helen's mother wants to have a serious word with her daughter about sex.

  • John's father is worried and wants to give his son some sound advice.

  • Teachers (or other adults) talk about teenage sexual behavior.

    EXTRA: Write dialogues between characters in the novel about taboo topics.

    Discuss or write about the novel as a whole.

    • Choose your favorite letter and answer it.

    • Write a letter or an e-mail to the author Stephen Chbosky. Ask him questions you might still have after reading and talking about the novel. Give him some idea of your personal reading experiences.

    • Would you recommend this novel to another 11th grade? You can either:

    oDiscuss the pros and cons of the novel in class, or oWrite an essay in which you .....

    • Blurbs - the function of blurbs (i.e. arousing curiosity by stating the most important facts very briefly)

      • Write a blurb for The Perks of Being a Wallflower. You may include a quote from the text that underlines your intention.

      • Book on a postcard - briefly stating your own opinion, in approximately 50 words (so that it would fit onto a postcard), review the novel you have just read. Note: This is not a summary but your opinion.

    • Write and respond - putting yourself in somebody’s shoes; creative writing oChoose a character from The Perks of Being a Wallflower that you

    liked, disliked or found difficult to understand. Write a letter to him or her, asking questions about their behaviour or particular incidents. Give your letter to a classmate and ask him or her to answer your letter from the character’s point of view.

    • Acrostic - describing a character; activating vocabulary oWrite the names of the major characters (…………………………) vertically on apiece of paper. For each character, write a characterization by using the individual letters of each name as the first letter of a descriptive adjective.

    • Poems - Diamond poem - expressing ideas creatively.

    oStart with the two nouns at either end: they must be clear opposites (e.g. ‘before’ and ‘after’, or opposite ideas, characters, places in the novel). Then fill in adjectives and participles which are related to the nouns on their side of the diamond. With the third participle, students start expressing the opposite before moving towards the other end of the diamond.

    The resulting poem expresses development between two opposing conce.....

    An old barn at night

    Intimate rage glowing in faces

    Best and worst are told

    • Book cover - visually expressing contents oYou are a graphic designer and are to design a new cover for The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It should express the spirit of the book and appeal to potential readers.

    • Rewrite it - recognizing the essence of a novel oRewrite (the essence of) The Perks of Being a Wallflower in another genre, e.g. as a fairy tale, a fable, a poem or a news report.

    • Why read “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”?

    • o Individually : On three separate cards (or slips of paper) write down three arguments about why you personally think the novel is worth reading. (Alternatively, if you did not enjoy reading it, write down three arguments against reading the novel.)

    • o In your group: Place your six argument cards in front of you, and compare them. If you have similar or even identical arguments put the cards together, or discard one of them. You might also wish to add some arguments in favour of or against reading it! Collect as many arguments as seem reasonable to you!

    • Discuss the order of importance and prepare a personal statement.

    AP-LITERARY CIRCLE- LEK2016 AP-.....


    | | | | |
    Tausche dein Hausarbeiten