Below you will find the following:
1. out of class essay assignment #3
2. suggested vocabulary when discussing character traits
3. sample intro paragraphs from essay #3 (to be considered excellent introductions)
4. sample student essay (to be considered a strong, high quality response, as discussed in class)
ALSO, JUST A REMINDER-- when you miss a class, you are responsible for the information you missed. Handouts do not always "cover" everything discussed.
English 20, Fall 2014, Instructor: C.
Fraga
Out of Class Essay Assignment #3 (200 points)
Assigned: Wednesday, November 19
Due: Wednesday, December 3
Requirements:
• MLA format
• If you utilize any outside sources (not
required) you must follow MLA format for in- text citations, Works Cited page,
etc.)
At the very least, you must have a
Works Cited page that lists Season 1 of Breaking
Bad. (If you have viewed other seasons, you may use material from them, but
be sure to be clear that your evidence IS from another season)
• Attach your Viewer’s Journal (all 7
entries) to the back of the final draft when submitting. Reminder: if a
Viewer’s Journal is not submitted, 20 points will be deducted from your earned
score. You will not be able to revise
this essay because it is too close to the end of the semester and there will
not be sufficient time to do so.
Before we began viewing the first
season of Breaking Bad, I assigned a Viewer’s Journal. You were to record
your observations and any other notes you wished in order to eventually select
a character to focus on more carefully than others. However, as we have
discussed, your first few journal entries, or perhaps more than a few, might
just be summary plots and notes regarding several different characters.
This Viewer’s Journal will now be a
valuable source as you write your last out of class essay for this course.
Assignment:
Write an in-depth character analysis
of one of the six main characters in the first season of Breaking Bad.
Your essay must include the following:
• Assertion(s) about your character
• Evidence from the episodes that
support your assertions (how did you come to the conclusion(s) you did
regarding this character?)
Your supportive evidence might include but is not limited to:
• what others observe/say (or don’t
observe/say) about the character—either directly or in private
• the actions of the character in
particular situations
• the reactions/responses of the
character in particular situations
• what drives this character
• what terrifies this character
• what pleases this character
• what does this character long for
• what does this character need
Your thesis must be assertive…it is
YOUR opinion as a viewer of these episodes.
· Whether or not you LIKE or DISLIKE this character is not an
issue in this essay.
· Whether you LIKE or DISLIKE the series is also not an issue in
this essay.
Proving to the
reader that this character has the attributes (good, bad, layered, shallow)
that you assert he or she has is your goal.
Keep in mind that your reading audience HAS viewed each of the
seven episodes so avoid writing extensive summaries of each episode.
Your thesis might read something like
this:
Once Walter learns of his terminal
cancer and begins cooking meth, he appears very unstable and irresponsible;
however, his behavior ultimately represents a very determined, loving, highly
intelligent and moral father and husband.
or…
Marie is a very insecure and lonely
woman who is unhappy and uncomfortable living in the shadows of her
power-driven DEA husband and her happily married and very bright sister,
Skylar.
English -----Suggested Vocabulary for Discussing
Character
adaptable daring industrious sensitive
aggressive deceitful insensitive serious
aimless dependent intelligent shallow
alert determined intolerant shrewd
ambitious dishonest jealous sincere
antagonistic disloyal kind sly
boastful disobedient lazy spiritual
bragging energetic loyal sportsmanlike
brave enthusiastic mean stubborn
capable envious mercenary studious
careful extravagant modest sympathetic
careless faultfinding observant sullen
cheerful fearless original tactful
clever frank patient temperate
commanding generous persistent thorough
conceited greedy petty thoughtless
confident helpful practical thrifty
conscientious honest presumptuous tolerant
considerate hopeful proud truthful
cooperative imaginative punctual unfriendly
courageous impatient purposeful ungracious
courteous impulsive reckless unjust
cowardly independent reliable unselfish
credulous indifferent rude vain
cruel indomitable sensible wicked
****************
Sample
intro paragraphs from out of class essay #3
A chameleon uses
camouflage to blend in with its surroundings and to avoid its enemies.
Chameleons are not considered dangerous, and they survive by merely “flying
under the radar.” In the
first season of the television series, Breaking Bad, Jesse
Pinkman is portrayed very similarly to a chameleon. He adapts to situations
that might normally trigger anxiety and convinces himself that everything is
copasetic. He adopts the role of “gangster drug dealer,” in order to blend in with his peers.
Jesse relies on this facade to hide his genuine personality; deep down he is an
insecure, lonely boy who desires the attention and acceptance he did not
receive as a child.
**************************************************************
As soon as
the pants go flying in the first scene of Breaking Bad, the symbolism
begins. The flying pants of the main character Walt -- how he “doesn't wear the
pants” and conversely, how “the pants come off,”-- we are introduced
immediately to strong themes of dichotomy and transition. Outside of the
intelligent writing, the depth and complexity of the characters is also a huge
part of what keeps the audience engaged. Walter White is a perfect example of
why viewers become so addicted to the series: his character is richly developed
and contradictory, and this multifaceted character cleverly travels between two
very dichotomous worlds. In one reality, he is a seemingly submissive “cancer
man” and in another he is a “bad ass” maker of meth.
**********************************************************************
Often when a beautiful piece of art is viewed, the viewer is
transfixed and desires to know even more about the piece. An artist possesses a
certain skill level in order to produce something extraordinary, something that
keeps the audience begging for more. The trouble with being an artist is that
one cannot go back and fix a brush stroke once the work is completed and
framed. In the television series Breaking
Bad, this is the problem Jesse Pinkman faces. As much as he would like to
go back and change his past, he never can, and this shapes the person that he
has become as a young adult. On the exterior, Jesse appears to be a worthless,
uneducated criminal, but beneath the surface he is still a boy who feels
inadequate, searching for the affection he never received from his parents.
AKA Heisenberg
A pushover, a coward, a shell of a man,
extremely passive. These characteristics all describe Walter White, the main
character in Breaking Bad, before his
cancer diagnosis. Walt is
not oblivious to these failings, and they become even more distinct when he
learns he is dying. In episode 1, Jesse asks Walt if he is crazy, and Walt’s
response is, “I’m awake.” The cancer diagnosis wakes him up. Walt goes through
a transformation. This diagnosis becomes a monkey off Walt’s back. No longer is
he confined to the psychological comfort zone he has set for himself; he is now
free to do what he wants, take risks, and pursue his passions, without the fear
of consequences. No longer must he do things the way others want them done, for
he is no longer the ‘yes man’ he once was; he is Hiesenberg, the man he wants
to be, and perhaps always has been inside his soul. Yet with this new found
inner power, there comes a time limit. Walt knows he must accomplish his goals
in a timely manner, and that the clock is ticking, so his options for success
are cut drastically. This ticking clock represents Walt’s motivation, it pushes
him to make quick, life changing decisions, and through these decisions we see
just how deeply layered, and undeniably human, Walter White, AKA Hiesenberg,
really is.
When Walt receives the cancer diagnosis it
devastates him. Walt recollects his life, what he has accomplished, and gets
lost in a swirl of emotions. He feels anger, bitterness, and regret. Walt is a
simple man, a straight shooter who goes with the flow; he has never smoked a
cigarette in his life, yet he has caught lung cancer. Something in him begins
to change; he feels a sense of blandness and lack of excitement in his life,
questioning, is this really it? Walt sees Ken, asshole lawyer, and something
snaps. He realizes it is time to take control, to extinguish himself of the
passive spirit that allows atrocities to manifest in his life, to take action.
He then proceeds to blow up the lawyer’s car, and it feels good. This sense of
control, with a hint of chaos, is something his life has been lacking. He has
been walked over by his boss, his students, his brother in law, and his wife; now
it is his turn to do the walking.
Walt’s first substantial decision post
diagnosis is, how will my family make it once I am gone? Walt is a man who cares deeply for his
family. The thought of leaving them is devastating enough, but the thought of
leaving them helpless and financially unstable is gut-wrenching. Walt has a lot
of pride, when he thinks about his family needing to rely on others for support
because he is not able to carry on his fatherly duties (since he will soon be
dead) it sickens him. Taking hand-outs is not an option; being a charity case
does not sit well with Walter; it must be him and only him who provides a
financially stable future for his family. As he sits by the pool, contemplating
his situation, a chemical reaction occurs in his brain spontaneously with the
spark of the match, chemistry.
Chemistry is Walt’s first love; it is
absolute, it is numbers and certainty, it is everything. There is no guessing with
chemistry. For years Walt did not utilize his knowledge of chemistry to his
full potential, and the match sparking wakes him up to this. Now, instead of teaching,
he will utilize. Walt’s cancer diagnosis causes him to lose his sense of fear,
as well as some morals; therefore, something as dangerous and ethically
questionable as cooking meth becomes a legitimate option. Desperate times call
for desperate measures; how else might he earn large amounts of money in a
short amount of time? It is the ethics and not the danger that causes Walt to
think twice, for he is a man of virtue, and wishes no harm on anyone. Because
of the time constraint, he must act quickly, and so the decision is made to
move forward.
Before Walt progresses to full blown
cook, there are a series of smaller decisions he must make, that give insight
into the depths of his character. Walt is the type of person who pays extreme
attention to detail. Rather than using the internet, or some other means of
research, Walt chooses to go on a ride-along with Hank. This gives him an
opportunity to see the meth business, first hand, from the opposing forces’
point of view. Know thy enemy. Walt also chooses to enlist Jesse, as a
sidekick, to handle the distribution aspects of the business. By having Jesse
between him and the customers, he provides a cushion, not only from the dangers
of distributing, but so that he may not witness the devastation his product
creates. This is an example of how his morals play a part in Walt’s decision
making. He knows what he is doing is morally wrong, so in order to feel
comfortable continuing, he must avoid circumstances which remind him of his
wrong doing. By only being the cook, he feels less responsible for the plight
of his product.
Because of the time limitations posed
by the cancer, Walt does not always think through his decisions, leading to
many unintended consequences. When Walt steals the chemistry equipment from his
school, an innocent man is blamed. This situation hurts Walt, especially since
he was fond of the janitor. Other, harsher circumstances occur as well. When
Walt sends Jesse to talk to Krazy 8, he is not expecting Jesse to return with
the clientele. When he is holding the door to the RV shut, while Krazy 8 and
his cousin are dying, Walt is almost crying. Walt does not want to kill
anybody, yet through quick decision making, it seems to be a recurring event. It
is either them or him; he makes sure it is most definitely them. Walt knows
that if he dies before accomplishing his goals, he fails his family, and to
fail his family is to fail himself. Failure is not an option.
Walt’s dedication to his family is clear
throughout his decisions, but to say he does not make decisions for himself, as
well, would be inaccurate. Walt chooses to mislead his wife, but he does so
with good intentions. Walt knows that his wife does not understand his pride.
When his former colleague, Elliott, offers to pay for his treatments, Walt
declines. To accept their offer is to give up on himself. As much as Walt needs to have his
family financially stable after his death, he needs to be the one who provides
the stability. The reason Walt stashes the money in his daughter’s room is to
convince himself that he is breaking bad strictly for his family; he does not
want to believe he is doing it for himself.
Walt’s use of chemistry, as a means to
progress, is not limited to cooking meth. Similar to the hammer of Thor,
chemistry becomes Walt’s secret weapon (Thor).
The use of chemistry gives Walt a sense of power, something he has lacked thus
far in his life. Walt begins to utilize chemistry to overcome obstacles, and
for each time the use of chemistry is a success, his confidence in chemistry is
elevated. This is where Walt truly begins to manifest his Hiesenberg character.
As Walt’s choices lead him down a path
full of destruction and chaos, he must create a distinct separation between himself
and his actions. Hiesenberg is that separation. By putting on the hat and
glasses, Walt is able to let go of any inhibitions and calmly execute his
mission. Hiesenberg is the polar opposite of Walter White; where Walter is soft
and timid, Hiesenberg is firm and direct. There are repercussions to using Hiesenberg
though, as Hiesenberg follows a different moral code than Walt. Where Walt is
in it for his family and pride, Hiesenberg wallows in money, power, and
respect. Using Hiesenberg gives Walt a rush, so much so that it becomes like an
addiction, similar to the rush Spider Man gets when he dons his black suit (Spider Man 3). As Hiesenberg, Walt
begins to make choices he normally would not make. Money and power begin to be
Walt’s objective, almost on the same level as providing a financial future for
his family.
In episode 5, when it is Walt’s turn
with the pillow, he says, “All I have left is how I choose to approach this.” Walter’s
story seems original, yet it fits the basic structure of the classic hero’s journey
(Campbell). Walt is a simple man, who is served a cancer diagnosis, which sends
him on his journey. He is given a weapon, chemistry, to protect himself. He has
Jesse, a partner with hindsight, to help him on his way. He travels into the
belly of the beast, Tuco’s hideout, and emerges stronger -- a changed man. Walt,
having to make decisions and live with the consequences, is what makes him such
a relatable character; he makes mistakes; he has emotional highs and lows; he
has psychological issues, and he is trying to be successful against all odds.
Walt is neither good nor evil. He is both; he is human.
Works Cited
Breaking Bad: The Complete First Season. Writ. Vince Gilligan. Sony
Pictures Home Entertainment, 2009. DVD.
Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with
a Thousand Faces. Novato: New
World Library, 2008. Print.
Spider Man 3. Dir. Sam Raimi. Touchstone Pictures,
2007. DVD.
Thor. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. Paramount Pictures, 2011. DVD.
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