A Life Powered with Integrity

your name

Ms. Surinsky

English I

31 August 2012

A Life Powered with Integrity

The short story “The Osage Orange Tree” by William Stafford reveals that those with power don’t always have integrity but that those with integrity always have power because integrity is its own kind of power. Jane Wright, a peer of both Evangeline and the narrator, uses her social power to further isolate those who are at the fringe of the school community. When Evangeline comes to school in spring wearing a new belt with her fall dress, Jane makes fun of her. Stafford writes, “‘It’s cute, Dear,’ Jane said; and as Evangeline went on Jane nudged her friend in the ribs and the friend smothered a giggle” (8). Jane’s words sound complimentary but their purpose is ridicule, and she invites her friend to laugh at Evangeline as well. Because Jane, unlike Evangeline, has friends at school, Jane has social power. How does Jane’s use of her power—her words and actions—show lack of integrity? Integrity means acting with the principles that lie at the core of one’s being and humanity. Jane, however, uses her power to advance her own social standing at someone else’s expense. She increases her own power by putting someone else down. Were Jane acting with integrity, she would base her actions in self-knowledge and an understanding of her purpose and values as a human being. Evangeline, on the other hand, has little social or economic power. Her family lives in poverty outside the town. Though she attended the same school the previous year, she stands alone on the first day of school. She is an outsider. Despite her lack of social or economic power, Evangeline acts with integrity. For instance, she wants to be friends with the narrator and so uses the money in her bank to buy a newspaper subscription from the narrator. She makes this decision on her own, apparently without consulting her family. As a result, she does not participate in her graduation ceremony and upsets her family. When the narrator asks Evangeline’s brother why Evangeline is not at the graduation, her brother replies, “'She stole the money from her bank—the money she was to use for her graduation dress’” (10). Evangeline’s brother regards her use of the money as theft. How does the brother calling Evangeline’s actions theft show that she acts with integrity? Evangeline makes a decision that responds to her needs and wants as a human being. She does not deny who she is or what she wants or needs, even though she will incur her family’s disapproval as a result. Acting from the center of her self is her integrity. How does acting in this way make her powerful? Though Evangeline is not allowed to attend her graduation, her decision to use her money to pay for the newspaper allows her to survive in a harsh environment as a human being with her soul intact. When Evangeline has to choose between a new graduation dress and her friendship with the narrator, she doesn’t give up or give in. She both accepts the circumstances of her life and chooses for herself based on her own desires and needs. She knows that she has a place in the world—that she is part of the world’s wholeness—and that she determines the course of her life’s journey. Evangeline is both the Osage orange tree leafing out and the meadowlark the narrator hears singing for the first time as he walks away from her house after an uncomfortable conversation with Evangeline’s mother. Though Evangeline begins the story as a person who lacks social and economic power, by the end she reveals that she is able to harness her integrity to power her life. Her integrity allows her to grow and sing. That is her power.

The Parts of a Literary Analysis:

Claim: the writer states his/her opinion about a theme in the story
presentation of subject: the writer identifies the title of the text and its author

subclaim—states the writer’s opinion about a specific example

Evidence to support claim/opinion:

Summarizes a specific supporting example

Contextualizes supporting passage

Quotes a relevant supporting passage

Observes conventions:

· quotation marks present and correctly placed

· attribution present and correctly placed

· comma separating quoted passage from attribution present and correctly placed

· parenthetical citation present and correctly placed

Warrant/Interpretation

Paraphrases meaning of quoted passage

Asks interpretation questions

Interprets meaning of passage by connecting it to his/her controlling idea

Conclusion

1. What theme most interests you?

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2. What does the story say about this theme? (This will be your controlling idea. Don’t worry about writing your controlling idea perfectly before you move into your supporting examples. After you’ve written your supporting examples, look to see what you’ve said after you’ve thought through your ideas by writing.)

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3. Identify and summarize your first supporting example:

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4. Contextualize your first supporting example by saying when in the story it occurs:

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5. Quote your first supporting example. Be sure to provide an attribution (who says or writes the words).

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6. Paraphrase the passage you quoted.

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7. Interpret the quoted passage. The most effective way to interpret a quoted passage is to ask questions that connect the quoted passage and your controlling idea.

How do the specific words and phrases in the quoted passage prove your claim?

Which specific words and phrases in my quoted passage prove that

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write your claim here

8. Answer your interpretation question.

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9. Identify and summarize your second supporting example:

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10. Contextualize your second supporting example by saying when in the story it occurs:

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11. Quote your second supporting example. Be sure to provide an attribution (who says or writes the words).

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12. Paraphrase the passage you quoted.

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13. Interpret the quoted passage. The most effective way to interpret a quoted passage is to ask questions that connect the quoted passage and your controlling idea.

How do the specific words and phrases in the quoted passage prove your claim?

Which specific words and phrases in my quoted passage prove that

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write your claim here

14. Answer your interpretation question:

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15. Write your conclusion:

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