Question

You will complete a worksheet on literary elements in your novel or short story.

Out of My Mind
by Sharon M. Draper

Synopsis
Eleven-year-old Melody is not like most people. She can't walk. She can't talk. She can't write. All because she has cerebral palsy. But she also has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She's the smartest kid in her whole school, but NO ONE knows it. Most people—her teachers, her doctors, her classmates—dismiss her as mentally challenged because she can't tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by her disability. And she's determined to let everyone know it…somehow.
Review
"If there's one book teens and parents (and everyone else) should read this year, Out of My Mind should be it."
–Denver Post

Describe the protagonist of your novel or short story.
The protagonist of my novel is a tough, sixteen-year-old girl named Delaney who is struggling to raise her little sisters.

Provide a quotation from the text to support your answer.
"Although she was just sixteen years old, Delaney had spent much of them providing for her sisters. She displayed the toughness – and weariness – of someone twice her age." (page 16)

Title of short story or novel __________________________________________________

Author ___________________________________________________________________

Describe the setting of your novel or short story.
Provide a quotation from the text to support your answer.

Describe the protagonist of your novel or short story.
Provide a quotation from the text to support your answer.

Discuss the main conflict in your novel or short story. If the conflict is not perfectly clear yet, what do you suspect it will be? Which of the four major types of conflict best describes the situation you discussed?
Describe the antagonist from your novel or short story.
Provide a quotation from the text to support your answer.

Describe an important piece of the backstory from your novel or short story.
Provide a quotation from the text to support your answer.

Describe an early development in the plot and explain why it is important.
Provide a quotation from the text to support your answer.

Answer 1

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Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

DIRECTIONS

Use complete sentences to respond to each question about your novel or short story.

Title of short story or novel Out Of My Mind

Author: Sharon M. Draper

Rising Action

Think about the protagonist of your novel or short story. List two actions the protagonist takes that increase the conflict. Describe the results of each action.

Protagonist’s Action #1 Melody study harder

Result of Protagonist’s Action #1 Melody won the first round

Protagonist’s Action #2 She was bullied for her disability.

Result of Protagonist’s Action #2 She shows them all wrong when she was the best.

Think about the antagonist of your novel or short story. List two actions the antagonist takes that increase the conflict. Describe the results of each action.

Antagonist’s Action #1 Molly accuse Catherine of helping Melody.

Result of Antagonist’s Action #1 She was wrong about Melody.

Antagonist’s Action #2 Claire making Melody She accuse Melody by cheating in Whiz Kids.

Result of Antagonist’s Action #2 She was wrong about Melody again.

Climax

Think about the climax of your story. Describe the choice the protagonist makes to change the course of the conflict.

The story reaches its first climax when Melody’s flight to the Whiz Kid finals is cancelled; a second climax occurs shortly after, when Melody’s sister Penny is run over in the driveway.

Falling Action

Think about the falling action of your story. Describe one event of falling action that directly follows your protagonist’s choice.

When Melody is going to school, Penny runs out because she loves riding in the car. Her mother hits Penny. Melody tried to warn her mother, but could not communicate it. Melody fears Penny will also get brain damage and end up like her.