The Goonies Essay Example

The Goonies Essay Example The Goonies Essay The Goonies Essay Director: Richard Donner Writers: Steven Spielberg (story) and Chris Columbus (screenplay) Script Links: geocities. com/goonies_e/script. html dailyscript. com/scripts/goonies. pdf Release Date: 1985 Run Time: 114 minutes Genre: Adventure / Family / Comedy Rated: PG Cast: Sean Astin . Michael Mikey Walsh Josh Brolin . Brandon Brand Walsh Jeff Cohen . Lawrence Chunk Cohen Corey Feldman . Clark Mouth Devereaux Kerri Green . Andrea Andy Carmichael Martha Plimpton . Stefanie Stef Steinbrenner Jonathan Ke Quan . Richard Data Wang (as Ke Huy Quan) John Matuszak . Lotney Sloth Fratelli Robert Davi . Jake Fratelli Joe Pantoliano . Francis Fratelli Anne Ramsey . Mama Fratelli [pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic] [pic][pic] [pic] [pic] Directions for The Goonies Essay Project Step 1- Choose a character from the film: Michael Mikey Walsh Brandon Brand Walsh Lawrence Chunk Cohen Clark Mouth Devereaux Andrea Andy Carmichael Stefanie Stef Steinbrenner Richard Data Wang (as Ke Huy Quan) Lotney Sloth Fratelli Jake Fratelli Francis Fratelli Mama Fratelli Step 2- Using your chosen Goonie, follow him/ her on the adventure by taking notes on his/ her character trait. Use the attached Character Traits Handout and the Character Traits Worksheet to aid in your note-taking (this is a grade). Step 3- Write a character analysis essay on your Goonie. Essentially, you will use the essay format I went over in class (see Write Right packet), your notes from the film, and the Character Trait Worksheets to discuss your Goonie’s character traits. This is a formal essay. That means no never evers! No First Person, Contractions, Slang! See pages 9-12 Remembrall and the OEH pages 78-88 for a refresher! Remember the following for your Body Paragraphs: In the first topic paragraph, describe the first character trait you have chosen. Remember these can be defined by: 1. What he/ she says – words 2. What he/ she does – actions 3. What others say (or think) about him/ her – dialogue 4. What others do to him/ her – action In the second topic paragraph, describe the second character trait you have chosen. Remember these can be defined by: 1. What he/ she says – words 2. What he/ she does – actions 3. What others say (or think) about him/ her – dialogue 4. What others do to him/ her – action In the final topic paragraph, describe the third character trait you have chosen. Remember these can be defined by: 1. What he/ she says – words . What he/ she does – actions 3. What others say (or think) about him/ her – dialogue 4. What others do to him/ her – action Standards: Writing 7. 8 The student will develop expository writings. * Apply knowledge of prewriting strategies. * Elaborate the central idea in an organized manner. * Choose vocabulary and information that will cause a reader to perceive images and to ne. * Revise writing for clarity. * Edit final copies to ensure correct use of homonyms, pronoun-antecedent agreement, subject-verb agreement, and verb tense consistency. Edit final copies to ensure correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and format. Benchmark: Key factors learned from The Goonies Essay: 1. Time management- we had to focus on managing our time wisely so as to complete the essay (four fully written paragraphs) in the allotted time of the class. 2. Recalling Facts/ Citing- we learned to recall scenes from the film, The Goonies, and then apply it to our paragraphs as proof to support our topics. 3. Formatting- we learned how to use the Gospel to our advantage and develop our own essay formats based on the guidelines within the Gospel. . Application/ Synthesis- we learned how to take gained knowledge coupled with new information and synthesize it into an expression of our own learning. Character Traits Handout Introduction F. Scott Fitzgerald once noted, â€Å"A ction is character. † In other words, characters do things. They feel things. They hear things. They say things. They think things. They go places and so on. It is in these actions that the character’s traits are established. It is in this that we, the readers, get to â€Å"see† what kind of character thee people are: friendly, sad, nosey, love-struck, adventurous, etc. When we discuss characters in literature, poetry, and even film, we often describe them in terms of their character traits, descriptive adjectives that define the specific qualities of the character. The author/ poet/ director may present this directly, but often times, they show us this in action. Our job as readers/ viewers is to draw conclusions about the character’s traits (infer them). Below is a list of ways we can determine the traits of the character we are studying: [pic] 1. APPEARANCE AND NAME. A possible place to look for analysis is in the names of the characters: For example, Willy Loman from Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman. â€Å"Loman† says a lot about Willy be a â€Å"low man. †Ã‚   It provides the reader an opportunity to analyze the name and character. Would a man with the last name of Loman be more likely to be a powerful business man or one whose career is over? List the direct characterization of a characters appearance. Before writing a character analysis paper, list the qualities of appearance that the author has given you. Then try to analyze how the appearance develops the character. [pic] 2. ACTIONS We know a lot about a person by the way he/ she behaves. If the person cries a lot, we assume something about his or her character. If a man is always breaking up with his girlfriends, there is something we can assume about him. To begin, list actions of each characters. Then analyze how these actions define the characteristics of each characters. (See the attached Character Traits Chart Handout) [pic] 3. SPEECH As with action, we know a lot about a person by what he or she says. Also, we know a lot about a person by how the person says something. Is the character extremely ironic? To begin, list some dialogue that shows some characteristics of the character. [pic] 4. THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS Look for thoughts and feelings of a character that demonstrates to you some characteristics of the character. o   Ã‚   If a character always feels guilty, what does this say about the person? Does he have a low self-esteem? Is he extremely religious? List thoughts and feelings of each characters. Then analyze how these thoughts and feelings define the characteristics of each characters. pic] 5. CHOICES As choices are made, they reveal the characters value and self-concept. o If a character decides to help volunteer at the shelter, what does this say about her? If she decides to cheat on her husband, what does this say about? List the choices of each characters. Then analyze what these choices say about the character. How do they add to the indirect characterization? [pic] 6. COMMENTS ABOUT OTHER CHARACTERS We can learn a lot about a character when another character or the narrator says something about him or her. [pic] Some Common Character Traits Honest 2. What he/ she does – actions 3. What others say (or think) about him/ her – dialogue 4. What others do to him/ her – action In the second topic paragraph, describe the second character trait you have chosen. Remember these can be defined by: 1. What he/ she says – words 2. What he/ she does – actions 3. What others say (or think) about him/ her – dialogue 4. What others do to him/ her – action In the final topic paragraph, describe the third character trait you have chosen. Remember these can be defined by: 1. What he/ she says – words 2. What he/ she does – actions 3. What others say (or think) about him/ her – dialogue 4. What others do to him/ her – action Consider this your â€Å"example† (see the following attached page). Then, using these notes and the guideline handouts, write (fill in) with â€Å"proof† (quotes, examples from scenes, etc) a formal essay (that means NO NEVER EVERS) about the character traits of your chosen Goonie. For now, you are focusing on proof and finding evidence to support your thesis and topic sentences (see traits handouts). You may wish to consult the â€Å"Understanding† section of your Remembrall. There you may wish to review the elements of character, conflict, and theme to help you write this essay. Waldo Farguson Mr. Reese English 7, Period 1 9 February 2009 A Chunk of Character Sometimes doing the â€Å"right† thing is about making the â€Å"right† choices. In Steven Spielberg and Richard Donner’s film, The Goonies (1985), Chunk learns this difficult lesson when he and his friends, facing their last days together before a development paves over their homes, stumble onto evidence of pirates treasure. It is this new discovery and the possibilities it holds that allows Chunk’s character to truly develop throughout the whole of the story. Further, his loyalty, compassion, and courage are the specific traits that lead to the saving of their homes from pending development. Chunk’s loyalty defines his character. Notes: For the rest of the formatting of this essay, check your Write Right packet for samples and/or the OEH for development of MLA form. Keep it simple. We are working on form here. It’s like a math formula. Plug and chug to get the pattern down. Once we have this, we are free to develop our style and voice (hopefully in 4th quarter this will begin to take shape). Also, make sure you â€Å"flesh out† your defense: you need to make sure you explain your quotes and defense. Don’t simply list examples. The following page is an example of your . The Goonies. Dir. Richard Donner. Perf. Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, and Corey Feldman. 1985. DVD. Warner Brothers, 2001.