A PERSONA is a voice assumed by a writer that is not his or her own.
NAMES: ______
______
DATE: ______
CLASS WORK
Think about characters with different voices and perspectives. Talk to your partner and list four such characters. Then, think of two words to describe the ‘tone’ in which each might speak.
Examples:
A police officer – authoritarian/suspicious
A gangster – belligerent/threatening
An elementary school teacher – enthusiastic/loving
Etc.
- ______
Tone: ______and ______
- ______
Tone: ______and ______
- ______
Tone: ______and ______
- ______
Tone: ______and ______
Names: ______and ______
ACTIVITY: CONTRASTING VOICESClass Work #2
- Choose a context and a pair of personas from the list you have been given. Be creative! Write them on the lines below.
- Work with your partner to write EITHER a conversation OR two separate internal monologues from the particular perspectives of the two personas you have chosen.
- Before you write, discuss your thoughts about how each character might react in this situation (pre-writing).
- Remember to consider diction (word choices: connotations and levels of formality), figurative language (metaphors and similes should fit the character) and syntax(sentence structure/grammar) as you write from the perspectives of your assigned personas. Be sure to consider the tone such a character might use.
- Practice reading your writing aloud with your partner and then list differences between the two voices.
- Be ready to read your work aloud to the class, and to share your thoughts on the differing voices.
- You must FILL the back of this page.
CONTEXT: ______
PERSONAS: ______
______
PERSONA PAIRS:
A wealthy husband and a trophy wife
Bitter old man and an innocent young child
Optimistic person from the country and an urban pessimist
Someone newly engaged for the first time (young) and someone three times divorced (and older).
A naughty young child and a strict mother
An uptight lawyer and a free spirited artist
A teenager and his/her dad (trying to be cool).
A stereotypical (traditional) husband and wife
A rich educated and pompous/snobby person and a poor uneducated person
A fawning intern and a pompous senior staff member
A mountain man/hunter vs. a metrosexual
An Atheist and an Evangelical Christian
A hippie and a conservative Republican
A Royal/Very rich person and a common person/working or poor person
A cop and a criminal
A rebellious student and an authoritarian teacher
Groups of three
An older brother, a younger sister and parent
A teacher, a parent and a child
A mother-in-law, her son and his wife
CONTEXTS
In line to see Santa
At a wedding reception
Running errands/shopping
On a business trip or vacation
Out to dinner in a restaurant
Working on a school project/work assignment
Stuck in an elevator
Commuting to school/work
During a hurricane
In a building that has just lost power
Witnessing a car accident
At a parade
Caught in traffic
At Disneyworld
On an airplane