Satire, Dystopian Lit & Inference

• Satire is a literary technique employing humor, irony, or exaggeration to criticize or ridicule.
• Dystopian literature portrays imagined future societies as oppressive and totalitarian, characterized by a lack of freedom.
• Science fiction explores futuristic and imaginative concepts in literature.

Authors

• Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) was known for his satirical and unconventional works, such as Slaughterhouse V.
• Ray Bradbury (1920-2012), a prolific science fiction author, wrote short stories, novels, and screenplays, including Fahrenheit 451.

Inference

• Inference involves making educated guesses about a text using both textual evidence and prior knowledge.
• Strategies for making inferences include intentionality, thoroughness in connecting evidence, and clear articulation of the reasoning involved.
• A claim is a confident statement supporting an idea.
• Evidence proves a claim true.
• Relevant evidence is closely connected and appropriate to the claim being considered.

Subjects and Predicates

• Sentences require a subject and a predicate.
• The subject, a noun or pronoun, indicates who or what performs the action, exists in a condition, or is being described.
• The predicate, the verb, tells what the subject does, what happens to the subject, or links the subject to a state of being.
• Compound subjects have multiple subjects joined by coordinating conjunctions such as "and," "but," or "or".
• Compound predicates have multiple predicates.

Theme

• Theme is the central message or idea of a work.
• Theme should be a complete thought, a lesson or piece of advice, universal, and sustained throughout the work.
• Theme should not be a topic, a single word, story-specific, or original.
• To determine the theme, observe the main character's changes or growth, note the resolution, identify any valuable lessons, and examine conflict resolution.
• Question frame for identifying theme: "What is ____(author) trying to say about ____(topic) in _____(work)?"
• Infer: Take text and add to your knowledge.
• Analyze: Study and think about the text beyond the surface.
• Synthesize: Put ideas together from multiple places/sources.
• Articulate: express clearly in words.

Introductions

• A strong introduction contains a hook, transition/connection, background information, another transition/connection, and a thesis statement.
• The structure of an intro moves from general topic to specific background information, and finally to the most specific thesis statement.
• Hooks can include questions, relevant quotations, interesting facts/statistics, strong opinions, or anecdotes.
• Background information should condense what the reader needs to know about the topic in 1-2 sentences.
• Thesis statements answer the main prompt question, combining the prompt with the writer's position or opinion.
• Thesis statements must be the last sentence of the introduction.
• Avoid using 1st or 2nd person pronouns unless writing directly about yourself.

Clauses

• A clause is a group of words with a subject and a predicate.
• An independent clause expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence.
• A subordinate/dependent clause expresses an incomplete thought.
• Subordinate clauses begin with a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun.
• Subordinate clauses identify, describe, or explain how things happened.

Antigone Background

• Creon is the current King of Oedipus.
• Haemon is Creon’s son; Eurydice is Creon’s wife.
• The main characters in Antigone are Antigone, Ismene, and Creon. Polynices and Eteocles are dead.
• Oedipus, Antigone's father, was the King of Thebes.
• Oedipus killed his father (a random traveler) and married his mother (Jocasta), fulfilling a prophecy.
• Jocasta hangs herself, and Oedipus blinds himself.
• Creon is Jocasta's brother takes the throne after the tragedy of Oedipus.
• Teiresias is a powerful seer, almost god-like in his ability to see the truth.
• At the start of Antigone, Antigone, Ismene, Creon, and Tiresias are the only major characters alive.
• Antigone is a Greek tragedy, characterized by suffering and misery.
• Greek tragedy heroes are good but imperfect, flawed by a haramrtia (error of judgment).
• Themes of death are central to Greek tragedies. Sun= symbol/metaphor for death
• Antigone's events occur over a short timespan.
• Greek tragedies include elements of the prologue, chorus, and family drama.
• Catharsis, the purging of pity and fear, is a key emotional element.

Sentence Structure

• Simple sentence: 1 independent clause (IND).
• Complex sentence: 1 IND + 1 or more subordinate clause(s) (SUB).
• Compound sentence: 1 IND + 1 or more IND joined by a coordinating conjunction.
• Compound-complex sentence: 2 or more IND + 1 or more SUB.
• Compound sentences are joined with coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or).

Complex Characters

• Round characters are complex, deep, and exhibit a range of traits.
• Flat characters are one-sided and shallow.
• Dynamic characters change, grow, and learn over time.
• Static characters remain the same throughout the story.
• Round dynamic characters are often protagonists, realistic, flawed, and driven by conflicts and motivations that relate to the theme.

Complex Sentences

• Complex sentences have only one independent clause but may have multiple subordinate clauses.
• Compound-complex sentences have two or more independent clauses and one or more subordinate clauses.

Context Clues

• IDEAS: Inference, Definition, Example, Antonym, Synonym

Rhetoric

• Ethos: ethics/image
• Pathos: emotions
• Logos: logic

Active and Passive Voice

• Passive voice occurs when the subject receives the action expressed by the verb.
• Active voice occurs when the subject performs the action.
• Active voice should be the writing default, but both voices have their uses.

Research Process

• The research process involves reading, watching, and listening.
• Develop a specific and broad research question; revise as needed.
• Evaluate data sources for trust, authority, relevance.
• Look for .edu, .gov, verified authors/organizations, publication/update dates, source citations, relevance preview title, headings, first/last paragraphs, keywords.
• Be prepared to search and discard
• Read, take notes, and draw conclusions from sources.

Parallelism

• Parallelism involves making all parts of a sentence grammatically similar, especially in sentences with conjunctions, lists, or comparisons.
• In sentences with multiple verbs, they should take the same form.

Nirvana

• Nirvana is a state of ultimate peace.

Setting

• Setting is the time and place where a story takes place.
• Consider how characters are supported or hindered, and how the setting limits or influences the plot.
• Predictions can be made based on the setting.

Explore satire and dystopian literature through authors like Kurt Vonnegut and Ray Bradbury. Learn effective strategies for making inferences, including using textual evidence and prior knowledge. Create confident claims with relevant evidence.