Writing Assignments: Writing From Literature

from: Teaching the Novel

Brief Description
Presents several activities to be carried out in conjunction with the study of a single assigned book, or to take the place of the traditional book report. Each topic can be modified to "fit" different pieces of literature or to accommodate students of greater or lesser sophistication.

Objectives
To have students write from literature instead of only about literature.

Procedures
Assign or have students choose form the following writing activities:

1. A newspaper account of events from the book. (Examples: a sports report of Alfred's big fight in The Contender; a society column about a big party in The Great Gatsby; a feature story on the rodeo exploits of Thomas Black Bull in When the Legends Die)

2. A letter from one character to another. (Examples: from Holden to his brother to describe his adventure in new York City from Catcher int he Rye; from Slim to George two years after the ending of Of Mice and Men)

3. A script for the Evening News either radio or television about an incident from the book. (Examples: the discovery of the hiding place int he Secret Annex in Anne Frank; the death of Adam's father and mother in I am the Cheese; the assassination of Caesar in Julius Caesar)

4. An entry in Who's Who for a main character. (Examples: Shane from Shane; Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird; Zhivago from Doctor Zhivago)

5. A letter of recommendation for a character for a job, "Person of the Year," or some award. (Examples: recommending Brother Leon in The Chocolate War for a new teaching position; for one of the doctors in Hiroshima; for Beth in Ordinary People)

6. A eulogy for a character. (Examples: the father in Sounder; Kizzy in Roots; Paul Baumer in All Quiet on the Western Front)

7. A citation from the mayor or a civic group to praise a character's actions. (Examples: for Ben's heroism in Deathwatch; for Sidney Carlton's sacrifice in A Tale of Two Cities)

8. An obituary for a character. (Examples: for Haven Peck in A Day No Pigs Would Die; for Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman)

9. A plea to a television audience, explaining the character's motive for acting in a certain way. (Examples: Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment; Miro in After the First Death; Tess in Tess of the D'Urbervilles)

10. A newspaper editorial about an issue (or theme) in the book. (Examples; teenage violence in The Outsiders; the practice of weaseling dogs in A Day No Pigs Would Die; censorship in Farenheit 451)

11. A personal letter to a character in the story. (Examples: to Holden in Catcher in the Rye explaining how you feel about your parents in comparison to his feelings about his; to Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest about her treatment of the inmates)

12. A questionnaire administered to the public about an issue from the book. (Examples: the mistreatment of dogs in Call of the Wild; test-tube babies in Brave New World). Report on the findings.

13. A dialogue between two characters, either from the same novel or from different ones. (Examples: a discussion between John and his mother in The Pigman; an accidental meeting outside a bar between Jake Gatsby from The Great Gatsby and Willy Loman from Death of a Salesman)

14. An interview with a character, with you as interviewer or with someone else as interviewer. (Examples: you interview Charlie in Flowers for Algernon; Gloria Steinem interviews Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter)

15. A psychiatrist's report. (Examples: on Tony in Then Again, Maybe I won't; on Katsuk in Soul Catcher; on Kurtz in Heart of Darkness)

Source
ED 236 607
Gallo, Donald R.
"Writing From Literature." In Exercise Exchange, 27 (1), Fall 1982, pp. 32-34..

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