T h e A r t i o s H o m e C o m p a n i o n S e r i e s L i t e r a t u r e a n d C o m p o s i t i o n Units 23-28: Historical Fiction: Theme Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz Literature for Units 23-27 We hope you will use these extreme contrasts as a great opportunity to discuss with your student(s) the consequences of this sinful lifestyle of greed and narcissism. Petronius and Marcus clearly demonstrate the contrasts found in Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Author Spotlight To the Parent/Teacher: Please note the mature nature of Quo Vadis. Many scenes in this novel vividly describe the opulent lifestyle of the Roman nobles. These scenes are designed to show the sharp contrast between the life of sin and debauchery and the life of the Christian, as well as the challenges that the Christian faced in the Roman world. Henryk Sienkiewicz is one of the more prolific Polish writers of the late 20th century. The strong political elements of his writing could be attributed to his paternal family s involvement in the struggles for Polish independence. Sienkiewicz was not known as an exceptional student, though he did study in Warsaw for a time. He did eventually emerge as a talented writer whose social conscience was revealed in satirical sketches. In 1876, he made a trip to America and travelled across to California. The result of that trip was a collection of articles in Polish newspapers about his trip. Back in Poland, Sienkiwicz would write about his own country s history in a trilogy about seventeenth-century Poland. He then spent some time writing about contemporary subjects before he published his greatest success, Quo Vadis, in 1895. By 1900 he had written a few more histories Page 483
and had become immensely popular. That year, a national subscription raised enough money for him to buy the castle his ancestors had owned. Sienkiewicz received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905 because of his outstanding merits as an epic writer. In his acceptance speech, Sienkiewicz said, The Prize by the Academy glorifies not only the author, but the people whose son he is. For more information about Henryk Sienkiewicz, visit: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_pr izes/literature/laureates/1905/sienki ewicz-bio.html Unit 23 Assignments Literature Read Unit 23 Assignment Background. Read Chapters I - XV of Quo Vadis. Activity While Reading: In your reading journal, create pages for varying themes, such as those discussed in the assignment background. Unit 23 Assignment Background Themes Translator Jeremiah Curtin says Quo Vadis is widely regarded as one of the greatest novels of all time. The story looks at each character s answer to the question, Where are you going? Not only does this story look at the sin and evil that Rome as an empire was a part of, but it also looks at where the individual characters in the story are going. Some are moving toward a stronger faith in this Christ that Peter and Paul talk so much about. Others are moving deeper into the life of sin that is so much a part of the Roman culture under Nero. In Quo Vadis you have characters that are transforming Rome one soul at a time. Sienkiewicz is a master at creating characters that show an ever-strengthening faith in Christ in the midst of some of the most horrifying circumstances the Christian world had ever known at the time. It took years of research for the Catholic Church to fully express the themes that Christians and their enemies were living out in the time of Nero. Over the next few units, we will discuss themes a great deal. In your journal, you will want to make notes about themes found throughout this novel. Be sure to write down page numbers and anything else that would help you find items that support various themes. Some themes you might want to provide a section or category for would include: Sin and evil and the effects of their presence on a society Faith and forgiveness and how the two are connected Love vs. lust Love and devotion and their saving qualities Faith and leadership These are not the only themes found in this story. What are some of the themes that you see developing? Write about those themes in your journal. Page 484
Unit 24 Assignments Literature Read Unit 24 Assignment Background. Read Chapters XVI - XXX of Quo Vadis. Activity While Reading: In your reading journal, build character descriptions that associate each main character with the various themes that you are discovering as you read. Unit 24 Assignment Background Themes Revealed Through Character As any writer works to develop themes that haunt the reader, he or she relies heavily on well-crafted, believable characters to do the work. Sienkiewicz created such characters. There are clear contrasts between the genuine love of Christianity and the violence and debauchery of the Roman Empire. In your reading, pay close attention to characters. Be as thorough in your descriptions of those characters as possible. In your descriptions, look for clues to ways they build the author s themes. Most importantly, decide what these characters help you, the reader, understand. Remember that the best characters help us understand the human condition the stuff that makes us understand a little bit better who we are and why we do the things we do. In your reading pay close attention to how well-developed characters are. Are those characters true to what they were created to be? For a quick review of character types, check out: http://www.ohio.edu/people/hartley g/ref/fiction/character1.html Unit 25 Assignments Read Unit 25 Assignment Background. Read Chapters XXXI - XLV of Quo Vadis. Activity While Reading: In your reading journal continue to make notes about characters and themes throughout the story Unit 25 Assignment Background Planning Your Essay The story of Quo Vadis is quite an emotional journey. As you read, pay attention to characters and/or events that move you. Everything in your final essay should tie back to theme. Think about what theme Page 485
seems to be a priority in this book. How does the author use characters, setting, and events to emphasize that particular theme? As you read, develop an outline that helps you organize these thoughts. Develop your thesis into a full sentence. After you ve got a thesis you are happy with, build your introductory paragraph. In your introductory paragraph, you will want to introduce this particular theme and discuss why you think it is important. One truth about this novel that draws people to it generation after generation is its connection to the modern reader. Some of the themes in this story are timeless and are relative to our world today. As you work through these ideas, try to write an opening paragraph that touches on the importance of the theme you re interested in. The body of your paper should provide examples from the novel that support your thesis. You might use relevant Scripture or recorded facts to support your theme as well. The key in the body of the paper is to look at literary elements such as characters, setting, plot, etc., that support your ideas. Examples that prove your point make a very good paper. Your conclusion should wrap everything up. You might reveal what you ve learned through this experience and show your connection to the theme you ve chosen to discuss. Your goal is to make sure all your reader s questions about your points have been answered. Remember that your rough draft should not be completed until you have finished reading the novel. Your goal at this point is to organize your thoughts in a way that you can continue adding examples or begin replacing some examples with stronger ones that you discover in the last chapters of the novel. Unit 26 Assignments Read Unit 26 Assignment Background. Read Chapters XLVI - LX of Quo Vadis. Activity While Reading: In your reading journal, continue to make notes about characters and themes throughout the story. Unit 26 Assignment Background Writing Your Rough Draft One of the most popular translators of Quo Vadis, Jeremiah Curtin, says this: The author gives us pictures of opening scenes in the conflict of moral ideas with the Roman Empire a conflict from which Christianity issued as the leading force in History. Continue working on your rough draft about themes in Quo Vadis. Does Curtin s comment give you more information? Do you agree with him? Disagree? Why do you think he made this comment? If you can, discuss this in a group. Also discuss the theme about which you are writing. Pay attention to how different your opinions might be from other students or what examples you each use on points where you agree. As we pointed out at the beginning of this reading, there are many different themes in this novel. Do not think because someone is writing about a different them they are wrong? Think of discussion as an opportunity to understand what others find important and to help you recognize what you value as well. Page 486
Artios Academies Research Report Rubric - High School (Scale: 4=Excellent; 3=Acceptable; 2=Below Average; 1=Unacceptable_ Traits Clear, Well-Organized, Well Developed Ideas Main idea (thesis) is clear. Each paragraph has a clear topic and concluding sentence. Topic sentences and concluding sentences are used in body paragraphs. Supporting details clearly support topic sentences. Transitions are used to connect paragraphs. Sentence Variation in Paragraphs Introduction, body, conclusion provide logical sequencing of ideas. Lead sentence captures the reader s attention. Sentence patterns used in the paper include: o Introductory participial phrase, o Two independent clauses separated by semicolon, o Compound sentence, o Appositive phrase, o Introductory prepositional phrase, o Introductory adverb clause Word Choice and Figurative Language Strong verbs are used; passive voice and to be verbs are not overused. No vague, overused, repetitive language is used. Writer uses or identifies such figurative language as o Metaphor, o Simile, o Personification. Research Paper Requirements 3 or more sources used (At least one should be a printed or hard copy source). Information was compiled through formal research process, including use of various library resources. Notes were taken to organize information from sources. Prewriting (outlining, webbing, etc.) was done to organize information. Works cited page was included. Quotations and other information borrowed from research sources were cited as dictated by MLA style. Grammar, Usage, Mechanics Score No run-on sentences No sentence fragments Subject/verb agreement Correct and consistent verb tense usage No use of contractions Punctuation is correct Capitalization is correct Spelling is correct Page 487
Unit 27 Assignments Read Chapters LXI - Epilogue of Quo Vadis. Complete your draft of your essay and show it to someone. After they have looked it over, make corrections. Arrange sentences for clarity. Make sure your final draft uses MLA formatting. Be sure to include a Works Cited page and include any sources that you have referenced or quoted directly. (If you need a refresher on MLA formatting, visit this website: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/13/.) Unit 28 Assignments Finalize your essay and be sure it meets all the requirements discussed in Units 23-27. As you look over your final draft, use the rubric on Page 487 as a checklist for the finer points of a quality paper. Scene of the historical novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz ("Quo Vadis"), entitled "Ligia leaves Aulus' house". Illustration by Domenico Mastroianni. Page 488