Themes and characters:Use you chart to answer the following questions.

  1. In Walker’s The Color Purple, a group of characters suffer confusion about their true identity and their designated roles in society. Their confusion precipitates the creation of not only personal but also social tragedy. Harpo and Sofia are a happy couple. Harpo is not as physically and emotionally strong as Sofia. Given a choice, he would be happy to be who he is, but Harpo’s father tells him to be the man of the house and take control. Harpo and Sofia’s resultant conflict eventually leads to the separation of the two. The reader learns that Harpo’s father, Albert, had a similar experience. Listening to his father turned Albert into a victim of moribund traditions.In Walker’s The Color Purple, a group of characters suffer confusion about their true identity and their designated roles in society. Their confusion precipitates the creation of not only personal but also social tragedy. Harpo and Sofia are a happy couple. Harpo is not as physically and emotionally strong as Sofia. Given a choice, he would be happy to be who he is, but Harpo’s father tells him to be the man of the house and take control. Harpo and Sofia’s resultant conflict eventually leads to the separation of the two. The reader learns that Harpo’s father, Albert, had a similar experience. Listening to his father turned Albert into a victim of moribund traditions.In Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, Harpo and Sofia are a happy couple. Harpo is not as physically and emotionally strong as Sofia. Given a choice, he would be happy to be who he is, but Harpo’s father tells him to be the man of the house and take control. Harpo and Sofia’s resultant conflict eventually leads to the separation of the two. The reader learns that Harpo’s father, Albert, had a similar experience.

This is an example of what theme? ______

  1. In Jack London’s “To Build a Fire”, a man takes a trip into the Northern Wilderness, the Yukon Trail, and faces a series of difficult challenges as he progresses on the trail.

In "To Build a Fire," Jack London uses a varied amount of details in the setting to illustrate the seriousness of the main character's situation. The story is a detailed description of the dangers of severe cold and the stages involved in the process of freezing to death.

This is an example of what theme? ______

The man in this example can be considered what type of character? ______

  1. Romeo and Juliet believed that they were destined to be together, everything that happened was for a reason, and it controlled their love to an extent. This was the ultimate control power in this play. Romeo, at one point, believes he will die young because of something he saw in the stars. He believes he does not have control over his own life.

This is an example of what theme? ______

  1. Janice was a young girl who wanted desperately to fit in. The crowd that caught her attention was a group of young girls who had the fashionable clothing. Janice thought that if she could use fashion, she could win them over, and she would no longer be an outcast. So, Janice began to make her own clothes, clothes that look identical to the originals. She was, after a short while, accepted. However, the plot changes when there is fight among the girls about who has the most and the best outfits. In the end, Janice becomes one of the most notorious designers in New York.

This is an example of what theme? ______

Janice would be considered what type of character? ______

  1. In The Great Gatsby, Nick's attends a dinner with Tom and Daisy at the beginning of the novel believing he was going to have a reunion with old friends, but instead is treated to a large display of egoism, marital infighting, and general dramatics that have nothing to do with him and nothing to do with friendship.The east coast life he encounters is flimsy and superficial. He had hoped it would be sophisticated and invigorating.This is an example of what theme? ______
  2. Miss Havisham in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, was a woman driven to solitude through heartbreak. Miss Havisham stays inside her mansion, all the clocks stopped at twenty to nine, the minute she received the letter telling her she was jilted, always wearing the wedding dress she was never married in, the wedding cake left uneaten on the table. Miss Haversham can be considered what type of character? ______
  3. The Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas! byDr Seuss, explains how he hates Christmas, loathes it. The town grump lives alone on top of Mount Crumpit, above the Christmas-loving Whos of Who-ville. He is a creature with a heart two sizes too small, and he vows to wreck Christmas by dressing up as Santa and sneaking into all the Who houses to steal their presents and decorations. This is an example of what theme? ______
  4. One of the most celebrated Generals of the American Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant was well respected, even adored by the American public in the years before his election as U.S President. However, his presidency was marred by corruption and scandal. Grant’s reputation was destroyed and history recorded him as one of America’s worst presidents as well as a drunkard.In recent years, however, historians have begun to clear Grant’s name. Although his presidency clearly was a disaster, the rest of his career, particularly his military career, was outstanding. Grant has been highlighted as a military genius. What’s more, personal accounts of his character suggest that he was not a drunkard but a very polite and clever man, if a little shy.Grant can be considered what type of character? ______
  5. Harry was excited about his first year of college. However, throughout the year, he was driving his roommate crazy. He was constantly striving for flawlessness and was setting high performance standards. He was overly critical of himself, and he worried about pleasing others and what they thought of him. By the end of his freshman year, Harry had to be hospitalized because of his behavior.Harry is an example of what type of character? ______
  6. Sleeping Beauty’s Maleficent, Cinderella’s evil step-mother, the joker in Batman, the Green Goblin in Spiderman, Lex Luther in Superman, and Darth Vader in Star Wars are all examples of what type of character? ______