The+Essay

You have read through the material on 5 paragraph Essay Structure, now we need to apply it to the essay you will be writing next week. The following Essay plan is a sample of the way you can structure this essay, there are many ways in which this could be done, make sure that you address the key terms and that you are constantly refering to the way Zusak has influenced the reader through his use of structure, words, character, plot in his creation of the character Ed Kennedy.


 * __THE TOPIC:__**

Do you agree?
Introduction:
 * 'The Messenger'; Marcus Zusak (Title and author must be mentioned)
 * Show your understanding of the key terms - Shows; loser; marginally connected;
 * Your contention - states the degree to which you agree with the statement. You can agree with it and/or parts of it.
 * The statement focuses on the main protaganist - Ed Kennedy. (You can mention other characters in the body of the essay but not in the introduction)
 * The antagonist (the character the main character fights against) is the author this is a key point, as it allows you to discuss the character of Ed as a construction and involves the author and the way he has developed the novel in your explanation of who Ed is.
 * Mention the narrative structure and the use of language.
 * You must clearly show where your essay is going.

Body paragraph 1: Quotes that maybe useful:
 * Topic of this paragraph - Loser?
 * Focus on the perception that Ed has of himself.
 * Use quotes that show this self perception
 * Show how this perception changes through the novel due to the tasks he is set.
 * Discuss Zusak's use of language: repetition of key words and thoughts; the first person narration of the novel; the negative images and environment in which Ed is placed; the use of dialogue; etc. Explain how the use of these features helps the reader to see Ed in a specific way.
 * Remember that Zusak '//made// [Ed] a less-than-competent taxi driver' - How did he do this?

Body paragraph 2: Quotes that maybe useful:
 * Topic of this paragraph - marginally connected to the world?
 * Focus on the conncetion of Ed to those around him and how this changes or remains the same through the course of the challenges.
 * Compare the relationship Ed has with his friends at the beginning of the novel - How much do they know about one another? How much of themselves do they share? - To the way they are able to support and speak with one another at the conclusion of the novel. How do you as a reader see and feel this shift?
 * Through the challenges Ed has helped to bring families together (Father O'Reilly, the Rose brothers, ...) yet is is a paradox that he is no closer to his own family in the end than he was at first, yet he has a deeper understanding of why this is the case. do you agree? What is the evidence? Why has Zusak allowed this?

Body paragraph 3: Quotes that maybe useful:
 * Topic of this paragraph - Ed at the end of the novel (be careful not to repeat yourself from Paragraph 1)
 * Who is Ed and how would you categorise him at the end of the novel?
 * How does Zusak __show__ him?
 * 'I did it because you are the epitome of ordinariness ... if a guy like you can stand up and do what you did for all those people, well maybe everyone can. Maybe everyone can live beyond what they're capable of'. (p382). What does it mean to be 'the epitome of ordinariness'? At the close of the novel Ed is more than this; he does live beyond what he is capable of and we see this in the scene with Audrey and that this is not included in the folder - Ed lives beyond the pages of the story, he now has a life of his own; he is free of the binds that held him back.
 * Once again discuss the structure; the cards; the challenges and how this shows him to be more than the 'epitome of ordinariness'. The impact of these challenges on Ed as a person.

Conclusion:
 * Summarise the main points - one way to ensure that you do this is to take those hook words you have been using at the beginning and end of each of the paragraphs and ensure that they appear here.
 * Re-emphasise your contention, using a similar but not exactly the same phrasing as you did in your introduction.
 * Use Zusak's name and what he has achieved in the construction of the character Ed Kennedy.