NAME: ENGLISH 4U ISU ESSAY OUTLINE PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THIS OUTLINE IS DIVIDED BY ARGUMENTS. YOU MUST DIVIDE BY PARAGRAPHS AND YOU MAY/NEED MORE THAN 2 QUOTATIONS FOR EACH ARGUMENT. YOU SHOULD ALSO CONSIDER INCLUDING TRANSITIONS AND LINKS BACK TO TOPIC SENTENCE WITH YOUR PARAGRAPHS. NOVEL: Tom Lake By Ann Patchett THESIS Reality v.s Vision / Expectations vs reality 1. Ann Patchet conveys the protagonist in Tom Lake, Lara Nelson, with a story that shows the division between reality and expectations. 2. The protagonist, Lara Nelson, navigates through life's unpredictability, demonstrating that reality, though often divergent from initial expectations leads to fulfillment and self-discovery. 3. ARGUMENT 1 - DIVIDE INTO APPROPRIATE PARAGRAPHS! TOPIC SENTENCE: Lara's acting career serves a vivid illustration of the tension between expectations and reality, as her initial success and subsequent challenges highlight the unpredictability of life. QUOTATION #1 (cite) "Didn't everybody have to sleep with somebody eventually in this business? Would I sleep with him if it meant I'd get to play Emily on Broadway opposite Spalding Gray?" (63). POINT FORM ANALYSIS - Lara enters the acting industry with the expectation of achieving success based off of her talent and hard work - She's confronted with the harsh reality of the industry's exploitation practices and the moral compromises to advance her career - sacrifices or changes against your personal values and ethics for a career advancement - "Didn't everybody have to sleep with somebody eventually in this business?" - Takes away the illusion or big picture of the real reality of the industry - Compromising her personal values for professional gain shows a moral dilemma - Would I sleep with him if it meant I'd get to play Emily on Broadway opposite Spalding Gray?" - Difficult choices of internal conflict - the exploration of sacrifices someone might have to consider to pursue of success and the personal cost of such decisions Transition/Transitional Phrase and Connection back to topic sentence: - Compromising the picture perfect of a smooth career with no harsh challenges - Coming into terms to work around reality and the challenges it makes her face in the industry - The step by step of what WILL happen is different from the IMAGE of what will happen QUOTATION #2 (cite) "I learned so many things that summer at Tom Lake and most of those lessons I would have gladly done without. The hardest one has nothing to do with Duke, or plans or love. It was realizing that I wasn't Emily anymore." (233-234) POINT FORM ANALYSIS - Falling into romantic love and platonic love with expecting it, though it would be just a focus on her career advancing - "I learned so many things that summer at Tom Lake and most of those lessons" signifying that somethings are learnt the hard way even when not asked for (hence a subsequent challenge) - "It was realizing that I wasn't Emily anymore." Lara comes to terms that her acting career is coming to an end even though it isn't something she wants following she had just discovered or pictured her life in this sense - being forced to find a new beginning to self-discovery, which she still keeps close connections with people to help ARGUMENT 2 TOPIC SENTENCE: The shift in Lara's life, from Hollywood to Michigian farm contrasts different expectations to reality, showing that true contentment emerges from unexpected places. QUOTATION #1 (cite) "Ask that girl who left Tom Lake what she wanted out of life and she would never in a million years have said the Nelson Farm in Traverse City, Michigan but as it turned out, it was all she wanted." (253) POINT FORM ANALYSIS - Every event or experience Lara had during and before her time together with Joe Nelson, her husband. Along with her acting career would have changed her perspective of her current life at the farm. - All the experiences and interactions led her to realize that what she really wanted would not have been figured out if she did not go through those events - Lara's desires in life changed with a different kind of fulfilment and content on the farm Transition/Transitional Phrase and Connection back to topic sentence: - Reality can diverge significantly from our expectations - In this case showing unexpected joy and fulfillment Or - Reality can be better than expectations - A complete direction change from original plans of life and career choice - Lara expected to be content with her career / life but on the farm it was something she never thought was possible to be reality of everyday QUOTATION #2 (cite) "It would have been a different life, one that I will never be able to imagine. A life without Joe and the farm, without Emily, Maisie and Nell." (274) POINT FORM ANALYSIS - The course change in direction of Lara's expectations of how her life would have been - Her initial focus was her career and the glam of acting which switched when she met someone important, her husband, Joe Nelson - Meeting Joe lead to her building a life around a farm he owns - Lara acknowledges that she can't picture a life different from her current reality - Building a home and a Family with him The unpredictability of reality being more fulfilling than expectations - ARGUMENT 3 TOPIC SENTENCE: Lara's relationship with her daughters explores the ins and outs of expectations and reality, as she navigates how complex motherhood is with the imparts her life lessons drawn from her own experiences to understand herself and her daughters. QUOTATION #1 (cite) "I look at my girls, my brilliant young women. I want them to think I was better than I was, and I want to tell them the truth in case the truth will be useful. Those two desires do not coexist [ .. ]." (240) POINT FORM ANALYSIS - Lara desires to input or use the knowledge of her life experiences to guide her daughters while sticking to motherhood and the ideal image - Sticking to an image that her daughters will still respect her - Lara unpacks her past experiences into her own realizations as she unmasks them with her daughters given a discussion going into her reality - She is committed to her current reality and doesn't dwell on her past or what she expected back then - " I want them to think I was better than I was - Wanting better things for her daughters rather than them repeating what Lara experienced - Being a role model or shielding them from their own mistakes - "and I want to tell them the truth in case the truth will be useful" - Understanding that truth and honesty is important to be able to connect and open up Transition/Transitional Phrase and Connection back to topic sentence: - Analyzing her experiences gives her a better understanding her role as a mother and what her daughters maybe be going through similarly - Coming across through stages of motherhood - Expecting it to be easy or something that goes smooth - Not expecting so many situations that could be related to past experiences QUOTATION #2 (cite) "There is no explaining this simple truth about life: you will forget much of it. The painful things you were certain you'd never be able to let go? Now you're not entirely sure when they happened, while the thrilling parts, the heart-stopping joys, splintered and scattered and became something else." (116) POINT FORM ANALYSIS - Remembering memories and that humans can heal from those experiences even when in the moment Lara though should couldn't - The reality is in the moment there are things that can be fixed right away and things that don't - Expecting to get over it instantly or never getting over them - Having those intense emotions fade over time as the day to life gets filled with other memories and experiences ARGUMENT 4 TOPIC SENTENCE: Despite Lara facing challenges and uncertainties, she exhibits inner strength and resilience to tackle her reality of expectations. QUOTATION #1 (cite) "It's not that I'm unaware of the suffering and the soon-to-be-more suffering in the world, it's that I know the suffering exists beside wet grass and a bright blue sky recently scrubbed by rain." (253) POINT FORM ANALYSIS - Lara acknowledges the pain and hardships that exist, she doesn't dismiss them or is ignorant about the suffering that is present or in the future - Contrasting suffering with images of natural beauty that there can be moments that are peaceful - Lara being able to recognize there are hardships is the first step to recovering from them Transition/Transitional Phrase and Connection back to topic sentence: - Being aware of life's challenges and uncertainties - It reinforces that there is still hope and beauty that coexists with hardships at the same time - Beyond the challenges Lara can get through to see the positive within her inner strengths and the resilience to not have her hardships weight in on her QUOTATION #2 (cite) "We clump together in our sorrow. In joy we may wander off in our separate directions, but in sorrow we prefer to hold hands." (147) POINT FORM ANALYSIS - In difficult times Lara doesn't face them on her own but seeks to provide support when needed - " In joy we may wander off in our separate directions" - Lara allows herself to feel joy when she is able to find it and it isn't shared between others all the time - "In sorrows we prefer to hold hands" - Finding the strength from unity and companionship - Getting support when is important to build on yourself and the qualities of resilience