Plainswomen

(SEAO)
Title:

Forrest, Williams. "Plainswomen". The Language of Literature. Ed.

Applebee,Arthur, et al. Evanston, Ll: McDougal Littell, 2002. 8-19. Print.
The title shows that she is just a plain women who isnt anything special, but
cant change to the way of the plains.
Purpose: To learn to identify the elements of a short story.
Point of View (POV):
Who is narrating: The book is in 3rd person limited, because we only know what
Nora knows.
How reliable is the narrator : I think the narrator is reliable because it is not a
person from the story narrating and we have no reason to doubt the narrator.
Setting:
Where: A ranch on the American plains.
When : In the fall in the early or 1900s or late 1800s.
Duration: The main story probably only lasted 30 to 40 minutes
Characters: (do not restate elements of plot in this section)
Protagonist: Nora
Antagonist: The plains and the environment are the antagonists because they are
too harsh for her and make her feel uncomfortable.
Major & Supporting Characters: Pleny, and Rolph
Minor Characters: The women on the train, to show here how little people really
cared about people on the plains. The 17 year old boy, to show here how harsh people
are. Women with the gun, she shows Nora how harsh even girls are on the plains.
Conflict: (A v B: Protag vs Antag OR Protag vs inner struggle)
External: She doesn't want to cut of Pleny's finger, but if she doesn't Pleny will
die.
Internal: She wants to go back to the east but she doesn't want to leave her
husband and doesnt have enough time.
Main source of conflict: The main conflict is Nora trying to be strong enough to
combat the environment, but it is hard for her in such an uncivilized place.
Plot: (events of story in chronological order) Identify events for each of the following:
Exposition: Nora, a lady from New England, is alone on a ranch in the american
plains with Pleny, a ranch hand, while her husband is away at a roundup. She is pregnant
and is scared of all the dangers of the plains and wants to go back home.
Rising action: Pleny walks in with a diseased finger and Nora doesnt want to get
it off. She tries to offer other solutions but then eventually runs off to her room, she then
realizes what she has to do after a quick flashback from here adventures that brought her
here. She goes out with an axe with Pleny.
Climax : The point at which the axe falls on Plens finger is the climax of the
story.

 Dnouement : Probably a couple days later the baby awakes inside of her and
starts kicking and her husband is coming home.
Theme: (point, moral, lesson learned from story which is universal and timeless)
What is the subject/topic of the story? (Do NOT restate plot!)
What is the theme (lesson learned about the topic that can be applied to our
lives)?
How do you know? What evidence from the story supports your claim about the
theme?
What symbols (note the word is plural) appear in the story? State what each
symbol represents. (List as manyt as there are for the A. Minimum of 5)
o Symbol/object = meaning/symbolism
o (eg) Pending Storm = dark times, trouble is coming

The Subject/Topic : Is facing her fears of the plains.

The Theme is to change to fit the environment or fail. The environment is harsh so you
have to change to be able to combat it.
Evidence: After she changed she seemed happy and finally started laughing, accepting,
and enjoying her life.
Symbol:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Cattle: cattle is life and money for them.

The Plains: Harshness and isolation.
Baby kicking: New life, success.
New England: Safety, comfort.
Plenys finger: fear, knowing change must happen.

My Adapt or Die Story

Self assess. Fill out the chart prior to submitting your work for feedback:
Comments: Student
(Evidence
criteria/standards met)

Concerns
(Improve
or
Remediate
) 1-2

Criteria
(Proficient)
CCSS standard &
Description of mastery

Met or
Exceede
d
Standard
3-4

My sceao has good

techniques and
everything else, except
good detail. So I deserve
a 3.

CCSS ELA W.3

Write narratives to
develop real or imagined
experiences or events
using effective
technique, well-chosen
details and wellstructured event
sequences.

My organization was
good because I answered
all the questions with
answers that make sense
so I think I should get a 4.

CCSS ELA W.4

Produce clear and
coherent writing in which
the development,
organization, and style
are appropriate to task,
purpose, and audience.

My grammer is the only

one of these things that is
not good so I deserve a
3.

CCSS L.1-2
Demonstrate command
of the conventions of
standard English
grammar and usage
when writing &
command of the
conventions of standard
English capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling
when writing.

My capitalization, spelling
and punctuation was on
point so I think i get a 4.

CCSS L.2
Demonstrate command
of the conventions of
standard English
capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling
when writing.

I did understand the

figurative language in the
story but not overly well.
So thats a 3.

CCSS L.5
Demonstrate
understanding of
figurative language,
word relationships, and
nuances in word
meanings.

Comments: Teacher

A student who earns a 4 goes beyond what was taught. A student who earns a 3 demonstrates a strong
knowledge of what is explicitly taught. A student who earns a 2 shows a grasp of the simpler concepts and
may have errors or omissions when it comes to the more complex concepts taught. A student who earns a 1
only demonstrates a partial understanding of simpler concepts taught (Marzano 2006).