A MODEL THREE-PARAGRAPH ESSAY ON TWO CHARACTERS IN A NOVEL
(Notice that I have put the three chunks in different colors, just to show that each one deals with a separate idea -- though each chunk is related to the overall TS of the paragraph. Also, I have underlined the transitions -- and notice the fairly interesting CS. The last sentence should probably be the best sentence of the paragraph.)


Jimmy Johnson
English 8
Mr. Salsich
9 January 2009

An Odd Couple:

An Examination of the Friendship between David and Steerforth in David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Friendships are often mysterious inexplicable things, keeping two people together who sometimes seem to be exact opposites. Even the best of friends can seem like oil and water, never quite able to blend and mix with each other. In David Copperfield, David, the protagonist, is the water, and his good friend Steerforth is the oil. They never quite mix, and in the end, their relationship drains away entirely.

TS Early in the novel, David falls completely under the spell of Steerforth, but by the end, the only spell is the one cast by the sorrow of a vanished friendship. SD At the beginning, when they meet at Salem House, their boarding school, the light of Steerforth’s wit and intelligence shines over David and thoroughly charms him. CM Steerforth is the teacher and David is his willing pupil. CM David calls him “the leader of our group of learners”, and Steerforth leads him with a soft but steady grip. SD As the story progresses, the reader begins to clearly see the odd differences between these two friends. CM David is a quiet, diffident, and hesitant boy, while Steerforth is loud, self-assured, and aggressive. CM David, we might say, is the sheep, while Steerforth is the shepherd. SD In the end, the relationship shatters when a startling revelation is made about Steerforth and a girl who is a good friend of Davids. CM It as if their differences finally blew up in their faces. David says, “Whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do well”, but even his devotion and good-heartedness can’t save the friendship. CS Even friendship can’t survive certain shocking revelations.

Oil and water don’t mix, but, like good friends, they can live side by side. David Copperfield and James Steerforth walked through their young years together, despite between two very different people. Only an explosion of disappointment eventually demolished this strangest of fictional friendships.

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NOTES:
1) Be sure to use the proper form for the heading, title, and subtitle. Give the book’s title and author in your title or in the opening paragraph.
2) Titles of novels should be either in italics or underlined.
3) Use only very short quotes, and blend them into your own sentences. NEVER use a quote as a separate sentence.
4) In the final paragraph, again mention the book, the author, and/or the characters.
5) BE SURE THAT EACH CHUNK DEALS ONLY WITH THE TOPIC OF THE SUPPORTING DETAIL (SD). THE CMs SHOULD EXPLAIN THE SD.