The Literary Dinner Party
Our Final Project of the Year: The Literary Dinner Party
Your last project of the year is one that will allow you to interpret freely and be creative in regard to the literature that we have studied this year. This project will be our final for ELA this year. We will hold a class dinner party complete with food, your own table decorations, and lofty, intellectual conversation on the day of your ELA final exam. Your written work will be due on the day of your ELA review for grading – all other work (including food) must be brought on your exam day. There are several steps to this project.
____1. Pick either an author whose work we have studied this year OR a character who appeared in one of the works we studied. You may also be able to – with teacher approval on a limited basis – select a well-known character or author of a novel from this grade level or above, but bear in mind that your character or author would have to be known by the majority of your classmates, or easy to introduce. This author or character should be one who has influenced you in some way – big or small. Your choice does not need to be someone who could be seen as a role model; he or she can be anyone who has led you to think more deeply about an idea or to feel more strongly about a subject. Villains are as welcome as protagonists! You will, however, need to be able to explain your choice clearly for your project write-up (see #5.) Once you have signed up, you cannot change your mind!
____2. Now comes the part where you get to create. Working as the artist Judy Chicago did in her multi-media piece The Dinner Party, you will create a place setting to represent the person you chose in #1. You should create a place mat and a plate that symbolically gives insight into your choice. Paper plates and place mats cut from paper may be used, but you can also get fancy and use real plates and place mats that you decorate in your own unique way. You may also create a cup and napkin if you so choose to add quality to your work (and potentially net more points.) These place settings should be your very best work and will be graded on effort and originality.
____3. Next, you should determine what food you will bring to the dinner party. Your food should also be representative of your chosen person. For example, if you are working with a character from the Hadley family, you might bring astronaut or dehydrated food – something futuristic. Make sure you bring enough for a table of 8 to sample. Please avoid big food allergens, i.e. peanuts, gluten, etc… or clearly label your food.
____4. Then, write complete, specific answers with evidence from your text P.E.E.C. style to each of the following belief questions FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF YOUR CHOSEN PERSON. Make sure you give reasons for why your person believes the way he does. If a certain question doesn’t apply to your person, then you may omit it, but you’re limited to only 1 omission. You may type your questions and answers if you like; otherwise, write them very neatly and proofread your work.
- Why am I on this earth?
- Do I have free will or am I controlled by fate?
- What is love?
- Is a person inherently good? Bad? Both?
- How important is freedom to happiness?
- How important is money?
- What does it mean to be a man or a woman?
- What is friendship?
- What is family?
- Is there such a thing as evil?
- Is truth black and white? Can it change?
- What role should technology have in our lives?
- What’s our greatest power?
- How important are appearances?
____5. Now, do a write-up for the project. Include a section on why you chose your person, another section that details and explains the artistic choices you made on your place setting, and a last section on what significance your food has to your person. You may type your project write-up, or write it neatly in blue or black ink. Be sure to proofread/revise.
____6. Come to class on your ELA review day with your completed place setting, discussion questions, and write-up.
____7. Come to class on your ELA final exam day IN CHARACTER and BRING YOUR FOOD ITEMS! You need to dress as you feel your character would be dressed. Be prepared for dinner party discussion centered on “your” beliefs about the above questions (and other surprise questions) in the persona of your chosen person. You will be at a table with 5-7 other students for your dinner party.
You will get two grades for this project. The belief questions and project write-up will count together as a major grade for the 6th six weeks. Your place setting, participation during the table discussion during the dinner party (including the food you bring), dressing as your character, staying in character despite whatever ‘curve balls’ are thrown your way, etc…will be added into your written grade for a complete final exam grade for ELA.
