Character Analysis Essay for Treasure Island

Name: ____________________

Period: ____________________Date: ____________________

Character StudyBefore you can begin to write your essay, you need to choose your character. Select a character that intrigues you and that you want to learn more about. Your character should be a major character – a round character (with many traits or characteristics) and dynamic (undergoing change through the events in the story).

My character is: _________________________________

Appearance: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Three significant character traits:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Do these character traits cause problems or conflicts? How?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Clues to your character’s background:____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Significant relationships and interactions with other characters: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Does your character change or grow in the course of the narrative? How?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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OTHERS’ REACTIONSWhat do other characters say

about your character?

WORDSWhat does your character say to others? Do

we hear his thoughts?

ACTIONSWhat does your character do?

APPEARANCEWhat does your

character look like? What does he or she

wear? Does your character have any

special possessions?

MOTIVATION

What does your

character want?

Character’s Name:

______________

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Your Character’s Traits – Addressing the Prompt

Now that you have gotten to know more about how your character acts, speaks, thinks, moves, and dresses, it is time to consider this essay’s prompt. Remember that a prompt is the specific question to be addressed in an essay.

The prompt for this essay is:How do your character’s traits drive the plot?

To answer this question, begin by selecting three important traits, qualities, or characteristics for your character. 1. _______________________________________________________2. _______________________________________________________3. _______________________________________________________

Would Treasure Island be different if your character didn’t have these traits? (If your answer is no, then you need to choose different traits for your character.) In what way would the novel be different? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Now, try to answer the prompt: How do your character’s traits drive the plot?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Take the answer to this last question and condense it to one compound sentence that uses a semicolon and a conjunctive adverb such as therefore, meanwhile, consequently, otherwise, or similarly. This will be your working thesis statement. You will probably modify this as you write your essay. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3Character Analysis Essay Components

IntroductionYour opening sentences must include:

an attention-grabbing opener that relates to the thesis the title underlined (italicized when typed) the author

Next, include: a brief summary of the story (no more than two sentences) an introduction of character you are planning to analyze,

along with a few important factsNow, introduce your thesis:

Remember that your thesis is your main point. This is what you are going to prove in your essay.

Your thesis must be stated in one sentence. Use a compound sentence when stating your thesis. This

will be a statement that uses a semicolon and a conjunctive adverb to join two independent clauses. Some popular conjunctive adverbs are: therefore, meanwhile, consequently, otherwise, also, and similarly.

Body ParagraphsEach of your three supporting body paragraphs must include:

a topic sentence that helps to prove your thesis a discussion of the idea introduced in your topic sentence concrete details in the form of short scene summaries,

quotes or paraphrasing of quotes from the scenes

commentary on each concrete detail (Discuss the quote or paraphrased idea.)

a closing sentence that connects back to the topic sentence and/or the thesis

ConclusionYour conclusion should:

restate the thesis, but with different words briefly review the supporting points from the body

paragraphs say something meaningful and thought-provoking, showing

that you learned something new in writing this essay4

Some things to keep in mind when writing your essay:

Write your essay in the present tense and keep your verbs consistent!

Use active verbs wherever possible. Write your essay in the third person point of view. Check your spelling and punctuation. Make sure that you have no sentence fragments or

run-on sentences. Combine your ideas to make more complex

sentences. Try using prepositional, verbal, and appositive phrases to vary your sentences.

You may have to rewrite your introduction after you finish your essay. This is because you may find that what you had to say about your character changes as you write.

Find a character and a thesis that you are excited about exploring; if you care about your subject, your reader will care too!

5Introductory Paragraph

1. Attention-grabber: _____________________________________

______________________________________________________

2. Title and Author: ______________________________________

_____________________________________________________

3. Describe the novel’s plot in a sentence or two: ______________

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

4. Introduce your character and state a few important facts about him or her: __________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Write a sentence that introduces your thesis statement: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. State your thesis in a compound sentence using a conjunctive adverb sentence structure: _____________________________________________________________________________________

* Make sure that your thesis statement addresses the prompt (the question being asked of you).

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Your Character in Action!Constructing Topic Sentences for

Body Paragraphs

Your thesis statement: _________________________________________________________________________________________________

Consider which scenes from the novel will support your thesis by revealing

your character’s important traits and how they drive the plot. This will

help you to construct your supporting paragraphs.

Your Character’s

Traits

Scenes(Choose scenes that reveal this trait in action.)

Topic Sentences

(Begin with the general idea and move toward the specifics of your

character.)Example:

Long John Silver’s charm

Long John Silver and Jim’s

first meeting at the Spyglass Inn

Charm is as powerful a weapon as any cutlass, and this is evident in

Long John Silver’s ability to overcome Jim’s skepticism at their first meeting.

7Body Paragraphs

Each of your body paragraphs will help to prove your thesis. Be able to state your paragraph’s topic in a sentence.

Body Paragraph #1Choose one of your character’s traits for the topic of this paragraph.

The topic of this paragraph is: ________________________________

1. Write your first topic sentence from page 7. The topic sentence tells the main idea of the paragraph. In this essay, it should explain the character trait you are examining. (Remember to move from the general idea to the specifics of your character.)

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Write a sentence that explains the scene you chose and the role your character played in it. This scene should help to illustrate your character’s trait.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Select a quotation from this scene that supports the topic sentence. This is your concrete detail. Include the page number in parentheses.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Explain the significance of the quote as it relates to the topic of your paragraph in two or three sentences.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Write a concluding sentence (or two) that brings the ideas of the paragraph together in an interesting and thought-provoking way. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Body Paragraph #2Choose one of your character’s traits for the topic of this paragraph.

The topic of this paragraph is: ________________________________

1. Write your second topic sentence from page 7. The topic sentence tells the main idea of the paragraph. In this essay, it should explain the character trait you are examining. (Remember to move from the general idea to the specifics of your character.)

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Write a sentence that explains the scene you chose and the role your character played in it. This scene should help to illustrate your character’s trait.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Select a quotation from this scene that supports the topic sentence. This is your concrete detail. Include the page number in parentheses.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Explain the significance of the quote as it relates to the topic of your paragraph in two or three sentences:

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Write a concluding sentence (or two) that brings the ideas of the paragraph together in an interesting and thought-provoking way: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Body Paragraph #3Choose one of your character’s traits for the topic of this paragraph.

The topic of this paragraph is: ________________________________

1. Write your third topic sentence from page 7. The topic sentence tells the main idea of the paragraph. In this essay, it should explain the character trait you

are examining. (Remember to move from the general idea to the specifics of your character.)

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Write a sentence that explains the scene you chose and the role your character played in it. This scene should help to illustrate your character’s trait.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Select a quotation from this scene that supports the topic sentence. This is your concrete detail. Include the page number in parentheses.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Explain the significance of the quote as it relates to the topic of your paragraph in two or three sentences:

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Write a concluding sentence (or two) that brings the ideas of the paragraph together in an interesting and thought-provoking way: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Concluding Paragraph

1. Write a sentence that restates the thesis of the essay, but in a new way:

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Write a sentence or two that reviews the three main points you made in your body paragraphs:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Write a closing sentence or two that expresses your final thoughts on your character. Here is where you can show what you learned in the course of working on this essay. While you don’t use the words “I” or “me,” you do show your original thoughts and insights. Leave the reader with something meaningful to think about.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Incorporating Quotations

A quotation is any word, sentence, or passage taken from the written text.

Make sure to choose your quotations wisely; they must support the main idea in your paragraph.

Quotations are one way of adding concrete details to your essay; another way is to paraphrase a part of the text.

Remember that you must discuss your quotation. This is called commentary. Be sure to analyze the quote and insightfully discuss its importance.

A quotation works best when it is anchored. This means that you incorporate it into your sentence. Try not to say things like, “this quote shows…”

Place quotations marks around the exact wording as it appears in the text. Then put the author’s name and page number in parentheses. This is called a parenthetical citation. Always place a period after the citation. Take a look at the examples below.

Quoting a SentenceJim is aware of Long John Silver’s every move when he notes, “I was surprised at the coolness with which John avowed his knowledge of the island, and I own I was half-frightened when I saw him drawing nearer to myself” (Stevenson 65).

Showing Omissions

Dr. Livesey clearly has no fear of Billy Bones when he states, “I have only one thing to say to you, sir … if you keep on drinking rum, the world will soon be quit of a very dirty scoundrel!” (Stevenson 6).

Quoting a FragmentLong John Silver explained to his mates that he has aspirations to live as a “gentlemen in earnest” (Stevenson 59).

* If the quotation ends in a question mark or exclamation point, include it but add a period after the parenthetical citation.

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Revising your EssayCongratulations! You have written the first draft of your essay. The best way to evaluate the effectiveness of your work is to share it with a peer. Find a classmate and take turns reading your papers to one another. This is not the time to be correcting misspelled words or adding commas; instead, listen to each other’s essays and determine if you have the following components:

Introductiono an attention-grabbing openero a concise summary of the ploto an introduction to the character under investigationo a clear thesis statement introducing the character’s traits

and how they affect the plotStrengths: __________________________________________________________Weaknesses: ________________________________________________________Suggestions: ________________________________________________________

Three Body Paragraphso topic sentences that introduce the character’s traitso scenes that reveal the character’s traits in actiono concrete details (quotations that support the paragraph’s

topic sentence and reveal the trait)o commentary (two or three sentences that discuss the

concrete details)Strengths: __________________________________________________________Weaknesses: ________________________________________________________Suggestions: ________________________________________________________

Conclusiono a sentence that restates the thesis of the essay, but in a new

wayo a sentence or two that reviews the three main points from

the body paragraphso a closing sentence or two that expresses the writer’s final

thoughts on the character and his importance to the plotStrengths: __________________________________________________________Weaknesses: ________________________________________________________Suggestions: ________________________________________________________

Now, go back and revise your essay. Make changes where your classmate was confused or you felt you weren’t making your point as well as you could have.

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Editing Your Essay

You have revised your essay and are satisfied with the results. Now is the time to double-check the following mechanical features of your essay: Enlist a classmate to help you, but first see if you can catch your own errors.

Editor’s ChecklistDo all sentences begin with a capital

letter and end with appropriate punctuation?

YES/NO

Are all words spelled correctly? YES/NO

Are all proper nouns capitalized? YES/NO

Are there commas where they are needed?

YES/NO

Do possessive words have apostrophes?

YES/NO

Is this essay written in the third person? YES/

NO

Are all quotations properly cited? YES/NO

* If the answer is "no" to any of the above questions, go back and correct your paper.

This essay was edited by: Date:

________________________________ _________________________

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