Being There by Jerzy Kosinski

Bomeisl Grade 12 Being There Class Makeup Assignment

Being There by Jerzy Kosinski

Chapter 5 Make up project for students who were not reading the novel as assigned.

If you originally received a zero or an F (1.5 or lower) on the Ch. 5 synthesis essay, you will CREATE YOUR OWN CLIFFS NOTES and essay response!

In order to demonstrate your knowledge of the novel, you will create your own version of Cliffs Notes. You will turn in one Study Guide for each chapter. Each Study Guide will include the following information:

A.  Summary of events. What significant event(s) occur in the chapter? Sum up the action in 1 – 2 paragraphs.

B.  Character sketches for each character in the chapter. List the characters in the order they appear. After each character’s name, briefly describe the character, her/his function in the chapter, and any important personality characteristics or changes.

C.  Significant quotation. Write this section of the Study Guide listing your choice of the most important quotation for the chapter with an insightful response to this quotation.

D.  Synthesis Essay:

Read all five (5) of the excerpts below and then respond to the prompt on the third page:

Excerpt #1: TELEVISION

Perhaps the most far-reaching change in communications worldwide was the advancement in the area of television broadcasting. During the 1950s, television became the dominant mass media as people brought television into their homes in greater numbers of hours per week than ever before. In the early fifties, the number of hours young people watched TV steadily increased, a trend which has not changed greatly since that time. What was portrayed on television became accepted as normal. The ideal family, the ideal schools and neighborhoods, the world, were all seen in a way which had only partial basis in reality. People began to accept what was heard and seen on television because they were "eye witnesses" to events as never before. Programs such as You Are There brought historical events into the living rooms of many Americans. The affect on print news media and entertainment media was felt in lower attendance at movies and greater reliance on TV news sources for information. And then, in 1954, black and white broadcasts became color broadcasts. Shows called "sitcoms " like The Honeymooners , Lassie, Father Knows Best, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet , and I Love Lucy featured popular characters whose lives thousands of viewers watched and copied….News broadcasting changed from newsmen simply reading the news to shows which included videotaped pictures of events which had occurred anywhere in the world, and then to more and more live broadcasts of events happening at the time of viewing. This was made possible in 1951 with the development of coaxial cable and microwave relays coast to coast. When Edward R. Murrow began offering his weekly radio program (called "Hear It Now") on TV as "See It Now," the world of news broadcasting was irrevocably changed (eyewitness recounts the change).

Riesman, David. "American History - 1950-1959." Lone Star College-Kingwood Library Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2010. <http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade50.html>.

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Excerpt #2:

The media give us pictures of social interaction and social institutions that, by their sheer repetition on a daily basis, can play important roles in shaping broad social definitions. In essence, the accumulation of media images suggests what is “normal” and what is “deviant”. This articulation is accomplished, in large part, by the fact that popular media, particularly television and mass advertising, have a tendency to display a remarkably narrow range of behaviors and lifestyles, marginalizing or neglecting people who are “different” from the mass-mediated norm.

Crocteau, David, and William Hoynes. Media Society. Third. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press, 2003.

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Excerpt #3: "Television Of The 1960s - Nostalgic Family Values."

Television shows during the 1960s reflected good, old fashioned ideas of family values. Controversy was not up for discussion. People liked to gather in front of the set as a family while eating those horrible TV dinners. It was clean and safe to watch for all.

In spite of the price of the television set going down, people were not quite couch potatoes yet. To sit in front of the tube for more than a couple of hours was to show your sloth and lack of intelligence. There was very much a taboo to admit in being a television addict. Towards the end of the decade, this was starting to change.

Possibly the reason for the lack of extended viewer ship, apart from the societal norms, was lack of believable content. Sure it was clean and pure television where the whole family could watch without flinching, but within its innocent and naive content lacked a connection to the growing problems of the real world. This fake TV land was a means of escape in a confusing era, but there was too much going on that people did not want to miss by sitting in front of the box.

"Television Of The 1960s - Nostalgic Family Values." Information and Entertainment from Judi Clarke-Copeland. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2011. <http://www.information-entertainment.com/Television/tv60.html>.

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Excerpt #4: Industry Context: Homosexuality on Prime-Time Television

As has been well documented, the U.S. television industry has a long history of ignoring, stereotyping, and marginalizing homosexuality (e.g. Buxton 1997; Capsuto, 2000; Gross, 1989, 2001; Gross & Woods, 1999). Gay and lesbian issues or characters were virtually invisible on television in the 1950s and early 1960s, as mainstream audiences were constructed as "replications of the idealized, middleclass nuclear family, defined as monogamous heterosexual couples with children" (Buxton, 1997, p. 1477). Networks geared programming toward this image and assumed that viewers mirrored it.

Harrington, C. Lee. "Homosexuality on All My Children: transforming the daytime landscape.." Entrepreneur.com. June 2003. Broadcast Education Association . 31 Jan 2008 <http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/104971987.html>.

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Excerpt #5: Television Nudity - 1960s

Shy Little Gidget: Sally Field, the star of the 1960s teenage comedy GIDGET /ABC/ 1965-66, revealed in a 1973 interview with TV Guide magazine "The big issue was my bellybutton. I could never show it. Gidget's bathing suit always had to cover her bellybutton."

Jeannie the Genie: Barbara Eden, the star of the fantasy comedy I DREAM OF JEANNIE /NBC/ 1965-70 played the part of a magical genie who lived with an astronaut in Cocoa Beach, Florida. The censors thought that her harem costume exposed a little too much of her stomach. Feeling her belly button was inappropriate for television, they filled it in with a flesh-colored putty plug. However, Barbara Eden got the last word on the subject when she showed her navel in all its glory on the NBC TV-Movie update I DREAM OF JEANNIE: 15 YEARS LATER (10/20/85).

"Nudity - 1960s." TV Acres. 31 Jan 2008 <http://www.tvacres.com/sex_nudity60.htm>.

Question/Prompt: Think about the events in Chapter 5 of the novel and Chance’s behavior and reactions. Based on the excerpts above regarding television at the time the novel was published (1973), what comment is Jerzy Kosinski making about media in Chapter 5? Respond in a well-developed essay, using specific evidence from at least 3 of the excerpts in addition to the novel. Be certain to cite the source(s) with parenthetical citation or using attribution. You may refer to the sources by title or by “Excerpt #__.” You will be assessed by the following rubrics. Remember to write your answers based on the rubrics below!

Reading Standards for Literature
Writing Standards: 11-12.W.2 / Key Ideas and Details: 11-12.RL.1 / Craft and Structure: 11-12.RL.6
Level 4.0 / In addition to Level 3.0, in-depth inferences and applications that go beyond what was explicitly taught are demonstrated. The student:
·  create more complex pieces of expository/persuasive writing
·  clearly acknowledge ambiguity and multiple plausible interpretations in appropriate parts of the text
·  connect the texts to historical information
·  integrate other texts (for rhetorical analysis) by the same author, or others
·  integrate evidence into argument gracefully
·  offer multiple plausible interpretations of details or passages
§  address arguments that conflict with thesis / In addition to Level 3.0, in-depth inferences and applications that go beyond what was explicitly taught are demonstrated. The student:
·  explains how any excerpt (passage, argument or detail) relates to and contributes to the main ideas of the whole text
·  analyzes how details contradict or complicate an implicit main idea, increasing depth of understanding
·  infers how events/details author has chosen to omit affect the ideas of the text / In addition to Level 3.0, in-depth inferences and applications that go beyond what was explicitly taught are demonstrated. The student:
·  analyzes how ironies, contradictions, paradoxes, incongruities, and ambiguities develop theme(s) or main idea(s)
·  evaluate the effectiveness of the rhetorical approach for a particular intended purpose
Level 3.0 / 11-12.W.2 Write informative/ explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
a.  Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
b.  Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
c.  Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.
b.  Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic.
d.  Use precise language, domain-specific vocabulary, and techniques such as metaphor, simile, and analogy to manage the complexity of the topic.
e.  Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
f.  Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic).
I can:
·  Develop a complex thesis that fulfills the purpose and controls the entire piece
·  Support ideas with relevant, specific, varied, and accurate evidence from texts with internal citations and balances information from all sources
·  Use a variety of strategies to introduce examples, details and their sources and connects them to ideas without merely restating them; provides enough context for evidence to be understood
·  Acknowledge conflicting information and multiple points of view
·  Follow an overall organizational plan with an effective, unified sequence that takes the reader through a complete argument
·  Construct an introduction that establishes the topic and its significance for the audience, motivates reader to continue reading, and contains an effectively placed thesis
·  Create a conclusion that provides a clear ending, helps reassert and extend the thesis, and states the implications of the thesis for the audience
·  / 11-12.RL.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain
I can:
·  articulate specific implicit and explicit ideas
·  locate evidence
·  explain relevance of evidence
·  articulate multiple plausible meanings of ambiguous passage
The student exhibits no major errors or omissions. / 11-12.RL.6 Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).
I can:
·  identify the author’s tone
·  explain the author’s purpose in writing/speaking
·  describe the rhetorical strategies used to express a character’s motives or convey an author’s purpose
·  describe the effect of the strategies on the meaning of the text
Level 2.0 / There are no major errors or omissions regarding the simpler details and processes. I can:
·  perform basic processes:
o develop a thesis that fulfills the purpose
o support ideas with relevant, specific, varied, and accurate evidence from the text with internal citations
o identify conflicting information
o construct an introduction that establishes topic, motivates the reader to continue reading, and contains an effectively placed thesis
o use strategies to introduce examples, details, and their sources and connect them to ideas
o create a conclusion that provides a clear ending, helps reassert the thesis
However, the student exhibits major errors or omissions regarding the more complex ideas and processes / The student makes no major errors or omissions regarding the simpler details and processes and:
·  perform basic processes:
o articulate specific implicit and explicit ideas
o locate evidence
o explain relevance of evidence
o articulates multiple plausible meanings of ambiguous passage
·  recognize or recall specific terminology such as:
o explicit and implicit
o inference
o concrete and abstract subject
o ambiguity and ambiguous
However, the student exhibits major errors or omissions regarding the more complex ideas and processes. / There are no major errors or omissions regarding the simpler details and processes. I can:
·  perform basic processes:
o identifY irony, contradictions, paradoxes, incongruities, and ambiguities
o Identify the author’s purpose for the text
o Identify the effect of the text on the reader or theme
o Identify the rhetorical strategies used
·  recognize or recall specific terminology such as:
o irony
o contradiction
o paradox
o tone
o sarcasm
o incongruity
o ambiguity
However, the student exhibits major errors or omissions regarding the more complex ideas and processes.
Level 1.0 / With help, a partial understanding of some of the simpler details and processes and some of the more complex ideas and processes.
Level 0.0 / Even with help, no understanding or skill demonstrated.

You will be assessed according to the rubrics on the website. Note: This assignment is 3 separate grades on your grade report!