Support your thesis within paragraphs with these two methods

1. Making Connections 2 Methods and an Example

5. Balance evidence from the story with your own thinking My thinking: Kate Chopin crafts her story so that a reader can’t tell for sure how Mrs. Mallard feels. The story is full of conflicts that show Mrs. Mallard’s mixed feelings for her husband. Evidence: On the one hand, she is a sad widow who “went away to her room alone” and sinks into a chair feeling exhausted. On the other hand, as she sits there, she looks out the window and sees treetops “all aquiver with the new spring life” (320). Evidence: The “sparrows twittering in the eaves” and the blue sky my thinking: are both happy images. The busy, lively view seems out of place in this room where a new widow is supposed to be mourning (320). My thinking: Mrs. Mallard must be happy to some degree, or she wouldn’t be noticing the happy images. The contrasts help build suspense for the reader, who asks, does she or doesn’t she love this man?

8. (Bread) When children have problems gaining approval from their parents, they continue to search for “unconditional positive regard” throughout their lives. “Unconditional positive regard” is a concept developed by Carl Rogers to express the idea of being perceived in a positive way under any conditions. (Filling) Most perfectionists force themselves to perform in order to be seen in a positive way because they are unable to accept the idea that they can be loved and accepted as a flawed person (Basco xii). (Bread) This behavior can become internalized until the perfectionist is unable to accept him or her own self without high performance and perfect results. Claire’s inability to accept herself even though she received a B+ in physics reflects this mindset.