IB English HL I

2023-24
Dr. Malashewski

Dialectical Journals: There There

Dialectic is defined as “the art or practice of arriving at the truth by using conversation involving
question and answer.” This is a Socratic method for the obtainment of meaning from an unfamiliar
and challenging work. For our purposes, a dialectical journal is a dialogue you will have with the text
that centers on reflective, insightful questioning.

You have complete freedom with quotation/passage selection. It may be a resonant image, a significant
motif, notable character development, or something else that galvanizes your attention. Observe,
question, evaluate, synthesize, hypothesize. Your dialectical journal is a crucial tool to further develop
your analytical confidence and literary prowess, a living document that evolves along with your
understanding of the work.

Reminders:
➢ Each entry has a maximum of 200 words, and a minimum of 150 words. Concise writing is
strong writing.
➢ Utilize literary devices. You cannot effectively discuss literature without them.
➢ Note that your diction should be elevated and academic: IB-worthy, in essence.
➢ Avoid using “I” and “me” since you’re practicing the art of formal analysis.
➢ Avoid saying “quote” or “quotation.”
➢ Avoid contractions.
➢ Avoid love words.

Ideas to approach your entries:

❏ Analyze powerful quotations
❏ Draw connections from How to Read Literature Like a Professor
❏ Examine the historical context of the text
❏ Make connections with other pieces of literature
❏ Admire the craft of writing by analyzing a particular passage
❏ Dive into literary devices (how they work and what they accomplish)
❏ Examine the motivations of characters (dive into their psyche)
❏ Explore relationships between characters
❏ Formulate thought-provoking questions and respond
❏ Make insightful comments about the reading
For There There, you will complete 2 entries for each group of pages listed below.
For your entries, go beyond the obvious, consider the questions we have discussed, and keep
authorial purpose in mind.
1. Pp. 3-78
2. Pp. 81-155
3. Pp. 159-225
4. Pp. 229-290
Selected passage
(inc. page #)
”You were two halves of a
thousand different kinds of
possibilities, a million heads or
tails, flip-shine on a spun
coin.” (Orange 167)
”But Opal knows this is the
time, if there ever was one, to
believe, to pray, to ask for help,
even though she’d abandoned
all hope for outside help on a
SAMPLE FORMAT:
Analysis
Orange’s use of repetition and metaphors emphasize the core
concept of identity through the character Thomas. This passage
focuses not on who he is currently, but his roots and what he could
have been. Orange’s choice to start off with an abstract story that
repeatedly uses the phrases “You were” this, “You were” that, is
similar to The Truth About Stories, where author Thomas King
chose to start off each passage with the same story before
transitioning into his deeper lesson. The beautifully-written
comparison between the character, Thomas, and everything he
could have become addresses the identities of society and hope that
has been stripped from many Native perspectives. Orange alludes to
the concept of how Native Americans feel they are bound for
certain destinies, for instance how Tony states. “They look at me like
I already did some shit, so I might as well do the shit they’re looking
at me like that for” (Orange 19). In Thomas’ passage however, it
focuses less on the current identities of the characters and more on
the many life paths they choose, and sometimes don’t choose, to
create.
In chapter 14 of How to Read Literature like a Professor, Foster
states that in order to understand literature, readers must first
understand Christianity. While this passage does not portray Opal as
a religious person herself, it is not only important to understand the
significance of Christianity within literature, but also the times it is
prison island back when she
was eleven” (Orange 229).
relied on most. Orange utilizes Christianity to symbolize how many
characters turn to it in times of need or fear rather than devoting
themselves to the religion at all times. His use of highlighting how
Opal had stopped believing in higher beings years ago shows the
extent of the POW-wow and emphasizes the fear she felt— that she
was willing to do anything to remain alive. The author’s serious and
compelling tone draws readers in and builds suspense as they
question Opal’s fate and provides time to ponder if they would turn
to God or other beings in times of despair.