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Old School
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Plot Summary of Old School
"The narrator, whose name is never given, is a scholarship student at an unnamed New England all male prep school in 1960-61. The school's primary emphasis is literature. Each year, three famous writers come to the school. The students, including the narrator, compete for a chance to have a private conversation with each visiting writer. The competition consists of writing a story or poem. The best one wins. Robert Frost, Ayn Rand and Ernest Hemingway are the three writers for the year 1960-61. The narrator comes to realize that he will not be a good writer until he can be honest about himself, both in his life and in his writing."
Susanna Marlowe, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Old School
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - 1960's-1970's
Kids growing up/acting up? Yes
Life of a profession: - writer
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Job/Profession/Status story Yes
Age group of kid(s) in story: - high school

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - student
Age: - a teen
Ethnicity/Nationality - Jewish
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - writer
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a little/some
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 7 ()
United States Yes

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
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Durable Goods by Elizabeth Berg
Seventeen and In Between: A Novel by Barthe Declements


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Tobias Wolff Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Susanna Marlowe  

SCHOLARS:


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