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Students apply their knowledge of virtues to analyze the choices made by characters in literature.
Why do we cheer for the hero and groan at the villain? It isn't just because of their cool outfits—it's because of the 'Inner Compass' they use to make tough decisions!
Every character in a story has an 'Inner Compass.' This compass is made of virtues and vices. A virtue is a good habit or a positive quality, like bravery, honesty, or kindness. A vice is the opposite—a negative trait like greed, selfishness, or dishonesty.
Quick Check
If a character always tells the truth even when they might get in trouble, which virtue are they showing?
Answer
Honesty
The plot is the sequence of events in a story. But did you know that the plot is actually driven by character choices? If a character is curious, they might open a forbidden door, which starts a new adventure. If they were cautious, they would walk past it, and the adventure would never happen!
We can map this out using a logic flow: 1. Trait: The character is greedy. 2. Choice: They take a golden apple that doesn't belong to them. 3. Consequence: A dragon wakes up to protect the treasure.
Without the vice of greed, the dragon would still be asleep!
1. The Trait: The Tailor is very confident (a virtue). 2. The Choice: He decides to outsmart a giant instead of hiding from him. 3. The Result: Because of his confidence, he wins a kingdom. If he were timid, he would have stayed in his shop and there would be no story!
Quick Check
True or False: A character's personality traits have no effect on the ending of a story.
Answer
False
In most stories, we have a protagonist (the main hero) and an antagonist (the person working against the hero). The biggest difference between them is often their moral choices.
Imagine both characters find a bag of gold. - The Protagonist uses the virtue of integrity to try and find the owner. - The Antagonist uses the vice of selfishness to keep it and buy a laser-cannon.
Scenario: A bridge is about to collapse. 1. The Protagonist: Has the virtue of self-sacrifice. They stay behind to hold the lever so others can cross safely. 2. The Antagonist: Has the vice of cruelty. They push others out of the way to be the first one across. 3. Analysis: Both characters want to survive, but their internal values change how they try to survive. The protagonist values others, while the antagonist values only themselves.
Which of these is considered a 'vice'?
If a character's virtue is 'Loyalty,' what are they most likely to do?
The 'Antagonist' is always the character who shows the most virtues.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow, try to remember the difference between a 'virtue' and a 'vice.' Can you name three of each?
Practice Activity
Pick your favorite movie character. Write down their top 2 virtues and 1 vice. How did those traits change the ending of the movie?