Overview 1

• Watch this week’s film Children of Men (Cuaron, 2006), paying careful attention to the different characters and the roles they play in the film.
• Review the course notes and the terminology used to describe characters.
• Select one character from the film and describe that character in your discussion post, without using that character’s name.
• Be sure your description uses the terminology from this week’s readings.

Terminology: story, Plot, Narration, Characters, central character, minor character, Archetypes, acting, shallow, stereotypes, external character, internal character,

Overview 2

Select a character from the film Children of Men (Cuaron, 2006). This may be a Central Character, a Secondary Character, or, if chosen carefully, a Group of Characters.

Create an outline for an essay about this character and their role in the film. Your outline should include an Introduction (where you present your thesis statement), at least 4 sections of argument that uses textual evidence (you can think of each section as a single paragraph of an essay) and a conclusion (where you sum up or extend your argument).

Remember that you are not writing the actual essay!

For each section below, you should have between 1 and 3 sentences explaining what the central idea of each section will be.

Use the following as a guideline:

• I. Introduction. Your thesis: what do you want to teach your reader about this character, and why is it important.
• II. Section 1: Character Description. Describe the character, using terminology from this week’s readings and Course Notes. What is the character’s overall place in the narrative? How does the character’s physical and mental attributes help to define them within the story?
• III. Section 2: Function. Discuss (in broad terms) how the character is connected to other characters in the film. What is their overall role in relation to the narrative as a whole?
• IV. Section 3: Scene 1. Describe an important scene in which the character’s actions can help you prove your argument from the Introduction. Use terminology from Modules 1 and 2.
• V. Section 4: Scene 2. Describe a second important scene in which the character’s actions can help you prove your argument from the Introduction. Use terminology from Modules 1 and 2.
• VI. Conlcusion. Sum up why this character is important to the film.

Please refer to the Sample Outline in the Module 3 folder for an example of an outline that you can use as a reference.

Feel free to read what others have written about the film to get some ideas.

Keep the following in mind:

1. You do not need to write the essay, only to create an outline that includes a thesis statement (what is the main thing you want to teach the reader about the film), at least 4 sections (or paragraphs) and a conclusion.

2. Each section (including the thesis and conclusion) should express the central idea of that paragraph in complete sentences.

3. When writing your sentences, keep in mind that we will be particularly looking for how well you utilize the lesson on concrete characters in the Writing Spotlight