Flaws Exercise – Pre- MBV STEP ONE
Directions:
1. Look at the character flaws below and try to identify a
minimum of three that your loved one may use to describe you at times.
2. Clearly record the three traits on the piece of tape on your desk.
3. Place the tape across your forehead.
4. Remain quiet and look around to observe what your peers have recorded on their tape. DO NOT TALK!
Character Flaws
1. Absent-minded – Preoccupied to the extent of being unaware of one’s immediate surroundings. Abstracted, daydreaming, inattentive, oblivious, forgetful.
2. Aimless – Devoid of direction or purpose.
3. Anxious – Full of mental distress or uneasiness because of fear of danger or misfortune; greatly worried; solicitous.
4. Arrogant – Having or displaying a sense of overbearing self-worth or self-importance. Inclined to social exclusiveness and who rebuff the advances of people considered inferior. Snobbish.
5. Audacious – Recklessly bold in defiance of convention, propriety, law, or the like; insolent; braze, disobedient.
6. Bigmouth – A loud-mouthed or gossipy person.
7. Blunt – Characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion. Frank, callous, insensitive, brusque.
8. Callous – They are hardened to emotions, rarely showing any form of it in expression. Unfeeling. Cold.
9. Childish – Marked by or indicating a lack of maturity; puerile.
10. Complex – An exaggerated or obsessive concern or fear. (List specific complex.)
11. Cursed – A person who has befallen a prayer for evil or misfortune, placed under a spell, or borne into an evil circumstance, and suffers for it.
Damned.
12. Dependent – Unable to exist, sustain oneself, or act appropriately or normally without the assistance or direction of another.
13. Dishonest – Given to or using fraud, cheating; deceitful, deceptive, crooked, underhanded.
14. Disloyal – Lacking loyalty. Unfaithful, perfidious, traitorous, treasonable 15. Dubious – Fraught with uncertainty or doubt. Undecided, doubtful,
unsure.
16. Egotistical – Characteristic of those having an inflated idea of their own importance. Boastful, pompous.
17. Envious – Showing extreme cupidity; painfully desirous of another’s advantages; covetous, jealous.
18. Erratic – Deviating from the customary course in conduct or opinion;
eccentric: erratic behavior. Eccentric, bizarre, outlandish, strange.
19. Fickle – Erratic, changeable, unstable – especially with regard to affections or attachments; capricious.
20. Fierce – Marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions;
inclined to react violently; fervid.
21. Finicky – Excessively particular or fastidious; difficult to please; fussy.
Too much concerned with detail. Meticulous, fastidious, choosy, critical, picky, prissy, pernickety.
22. Flirt -To make playfully romantic or sexual overtures; behavior intended to arouse sexual interest. Minx. Tease.
23. Gluttonous – Given to excess in consumption of especially food or drink. Voracious, ravenous, wolfish, piggish, insatiable.
24. Gruff – Brusque or stern in manner or appearance. Crusty, rough, surly.
25. Gullible – Will believe any information given, regardless of how valid or truthful it is, easily deceived or duped.
26. Hoity-toity- Given to flights of fancy; capricious; frivolous. Prone to giddy behavior, flighty.
27. Humorless – The inability to find humor in things, and most certainly in themselves.
28. Idealist – One whose conduct is influenced by ideals that often conflict with practical considerations. One who is unrealistic and impractical, guided more by ideals than by practical considerations.
29. Idiotic – Marked by a lack of intelligence or care; foolish or careless.
30. Ignorant – Lacking knowledge or information as to a particular subject or fact. Showing or arising from a lack of education or knowledge.
31. Illiterate – Unable to read and write.
32. Immature – Emotionally undeveloped; juvenile; childish.
33. Impatient – Unable to wait patiently or tolerate delay; restless. Unable to endure irritation or opposition; intolerant.
34. Impious – Lacking piety and reverence for a god/gods and their followers.
35. Impish – Naughtily or annoyingly playful.
36. Incompetent – Unable to execute tasks, no matter how the size or difficulty.
37. Indecisive – Characterized by lack of decision and firmness, especially under pressure.
38. Indifferent – The trait of lacking enthusiasm for or interest in things generally, remaining calm and seeming not to care; a casual lack of concern. Having or showing little or no interest in anything; languid;
spiritless.
39. Infamy – Having an extremely bad reputation, public reproach, or strong condemnation as the result of a shameful, criminal, or outrageous act that affects how others view them.
40. Intolerant – Unwilling to tolerate difference of opinion and narrow- minded about cherished opinions.
41. Judgmental – Inclined to make and form judgements, especially moral or personal ones, based on one’s own opinions or impressions towards others/practices/groups/religions based on appearance, reputation, occupation, etc.
42. Klutz – Clumsy. Blunderer.
43. Lazy – Resistant to work or exertion; disposed to idleness.
44. Liar – Compulsively and purposefully tells false truths more often than not. A person who has lied or who lies repeatedly.
45. Meddlesome – Intrusive in a meddling or offensive manner, given to meddling; interfering.
46. Meek – Evidencing little spirit or courage; overly submissive or compliant; humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness.
47. Nervous – Easily agitated or distressed; high-strung or jumpy.
48. Nosey – Given to prying into the affairs of others; snoopy. Offensively curious or inquisitive.
49. Obsessive – An unhealthy and compulsive preoccupation with something or someone.
50. Overambitious – Having a strong excessive desire for success or achievement.
51. Overconfident – Excessively confident; presumptuous.
52. Overemotional – Excessively or abnormally emotional. Sensitive about themselves and others, more so than the average person.
53. Overprotective – To protect too much; coddle.
54. Overzealous – Marked by excessive enthusiasm for and intense devotion to a cause or idea.
55. Pacifist – Opposition to war or violence as a means of resolving disputes. (Can double as a merit in certain cases)
56. Paranoid – Exhibiting or characterized by extreme and irrational fear or distrust of others.
57. Peevish – Expressing fretfulness and discontent, or unjustifiable dissatisfaction. Cantankerous, cross, ill-tempered, testy, captious, discontented, crotchety, cranky, ornery.
58. Perfectionist – A propensity for being displeased with anything that is not perfect or does not meet extremely high standards.
59. Pessimist – A tendency to stress the negative or unfavorable or to take the gloomiest possible view.
60. Pest – One that pesters or annoys, with or without realizing it.
Nuisance. Annoying. Nag.
61. Phobic – They have a severe form of fear when it comes to this one thing. Examples: Dark, Spiders, Cats
62. Practical – Level-headed, efficient, and unspeculative. No-nonsense.
63. Predictable – Easily seen through and assessable, where almost anyone can predict reactions and actions of said person by having met or known them even for a short time.
64. Proud – Filled with or showing excessive self-esteem and will often shirk help from others for the sake of pride.
65. Rebellious – Defying or resisting some established authority, government, or tradition; insubordinate; inclined to rebel.
66. Reckless – Heedless. Headstrong. Foolhardy. Unthinking boldness, wild carelessness and disregard for consequences.
67. Rigorous – Rigidly accurate; allowing no deviation from a standard;
demanding strict attention to rules and procedures.
68. Sarcastic – A subtle form of mockery in which an intended meaning is conveyed obliquely.
69. Selfish – Concerned chiefly or only with oneself.
70. Self-Martyr – One who purposely makes a great show of suffering in order to arouse sympathy from others, as a form of manipulation, and always for a selfish cause or reason.
71. Self-righteous – Piously sure of one’s own righteousness; moralistic.
Exhibiting pious self-assurance. Holier-than-thou, sanctimonious.
72. Senile – Showing a decline or deterioration of physical strength or mental functioning, esp. short-term memory and alertness, as a result of old age or disease.
73. Shallow – Lacking depth of intellect or knowledge; concerned only with what is obvious.
74. Soft-hearted – Having softness or tenderness of heart that can lead them into trouble; susceptible of pity or other kindly affection. They cannot resist helping someone they see in trouble, suffering or in need, and often don’t think of the repercussions or situation before doing so.
75. Solemn – Deeply earnest, serious, and sober.
76. Spineless – Lacking courage. Cowardly, wimp, lily-livered, gutless.
77. Spoiled – Treated with excessive indulgence and pampering from earliest childhood, and has no notion of hard work, self-care or money management; coddled, pampered. Having the character or disposition harmed by pampering or over-solicitous attention.
78. Squeamish – Excessively fastidious and easily disgusted.
79. Stubborn – Unreasonably, often perversely unyielding; bull-headed.
Firmly resolved or determined; resolute.
80. Superstitious – An irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear from an irrational belief that an object, action, or circumstance not logically related to a course of events influences its outcome.
81. Tactless – Lacking or showing a lack of what is fitting and considerate in dealing with others.
82. Temperamental – Moody, irritable, or sensitive. Excitable, volatile, emotional.
83. Theatrical – Having a flair for over dramatizing situations, doing things in a ‘big way’ and love to be ‘centre stage’.
84. Timid -Tends to be shy and/or quiet, shrinking away from offering opinions or from strangers and newcomers, fearing confrontations and violence.
85. Unlucky – Marked by or causing misfortune; ill-fated. Destined for misfortune; doomed.
86. Unpredictable – Difficult to foretell or foresee, their actions are so chaotic it’s impossible to know what they are going to do next.
87. Untrustworthy – Not worthy of trust or belief. Backstabber.
88. Vain – Holding or characterized by an unduly high opinion of their physical appearance. Lovers of themselves. Conceited, egotistic, narcissistic.
89. Weak-willed – Lacking willpower, strength of will to carry out one’s decisions, wishes, or plans. Easily swayed.
90. Withdrawn – Not friendly or Sociable. Aloof.
91. Zealous – A fanatic.
Flaws Exercise Post Tape:
1. Nathaniel Hawthorne lived during a time that Transcendentalist preached that in order to find one’s sense of self, one must combine God + Nature + Intuition. These three elements were thought to lead to self- awareness and fulfillment. Nathaniel Hawthorne suggests these are important but we MUST also have the courage to face our flaws and show them to the world around us. Ignoring or hiding them prohibits the truest sense of ever finding fulfillment.
2. In your notebooks, write responses to the following questions.
- If you had to walk around campus with these sticky notes on your forehead, how would you feel?
- How do you think your friends would receive you?
- How would strangers receive you?
- How would your loved ones at home receive you?
- Are you willing to do it today?
- Do you agree with Hawthorne’s theory that we must reveal our flaws to the world in order to find fulfillment? Why or why not?
3. Listen to class discussion and note how to approach MBV. Make sure to refer to Annotated Bibliography Example in Resources/MBV/Annotated Bibliography of N.H. and MBV to see format of annotations for the story.
4. Begin reading the story and making annotations. Follow the format directions and show up with a minimum of 15-120 quotes from the story.
Source Information for MBV + Model annotation.
Day two
– Adding the story to the Annotated Bib1. The story’s source information is below. Add it to your existing Annotated Bibliography that you completed on Nathaniel Hawthorne.
2. As you read the story, you are looking for quotes that believe are valuable to teaching the theme. Present each one in this order: Quote + Citation + IN ALL CAPS THE LITERARY DEVICE + ALL YOUR THOUGHTS AND RATIONALE AS TO WHY THIS QUOTE MAY HAVE VALUE.
This is the bibliography information for Story #1 “The Minister’s Black Veil”
Source 4: Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Minister’s Black Veil.” Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Tales, edited by James McIntosh, Norton, 1987, pp 97-107.
Quotes:
1. “‘Our parson has gone mad!’ cried Goodman Gray” (Hawthorne 2). EXTERNAL CONFLICT/ SETTING/TOWN REACTING TO THE MINISTER’S VEIL/THEME -
EVERYONE COMMITS SIN/HYPOCRISY OF RELIGIOUS TOWN AS THEY CLAIM TO BE FAITHFUL BUT ARE UNWILLING TO ACCEPT THEIR BELOVED MINISTER WITH THIS VEIL THAT LEAVES THEM PUZZLED AND AFRAID.
