The great debaters

1-Characters, setting, plot, climax

Characters:

Melvin Tolson- He is the teacher at Wiley College and he is in charge of

the debate team. He is put in jail for meeting with sharecroppers, and he

is released with the help of Mr. Farmer.

Henry Lowe- He has been in and out of college many times. He likes to

read a lot, and was asked, by Mr. Tolson, to try out for the debate team.
Samantha Booke- She wants to be a lawyer, and gets into the debate

team to get practice for her future job.

James Farmer Jr. He is 14 years old, and the son of the preacher, Mr.
Farmer. He learns a lot from his dad and thanks to that, he is able to use
some quotes in the debates. He is the youngest member of the debate

team.
Hamilton Burgess- He was a member of the debate team, but he didnt

like Mr. Tolsons ideas and left the debate team by his fathers advice.
Dr. James Farmer- He is Jamess father and a preacher. He helps Mr.
Tolson to get out of jail.

Setting: Most of the story takes place in Marshall, Texas. Some of the scenes
are on the road, and the last place is in Harvard.
Plot: This movie is about Melvin Tolson and his students, who make up the
debate team. They debate against many colleges and at the end, face off
against Harvard. Racism and segregation are the main problematic of the
movie.
Climax: The climax is when Wylies debate team debates against Harvards
debate team.
2. Write 5 public speaking or debating skills used by Mr. Tolson in order to train
the students.

The hot spot.

The river question: Who is the judge? in order to raise the students

volume.
To not make fun of yourself, and use humor against the opponent.
Listen to ones instinct.
To never give up.

3. Why could Ms. Booke have won her argument against Mr. Tolson?
Samantha was quoting the president of the USA, and she could have

argued that he is the person with the most ease to acquire the statistics and
the data she was talking about.
4. Mr. Farmer Junior uses quotes and cites of things or events he heard from his
father. Mention 4 and what did he used them for:

An unjust law is no law at all. He used it in the debate against Harvard

to make a point for social disobedience.

The definition of moral: Dyler's lesson or Gandhi's victory? You chose
He uses it in the Harvard debate in response to the opposing team
saying that social disobedience is not moral.

5. What type of debating format was used in this movie? What is this format
about?
The debate format used in the movie is the rebuttal debate. As the debate
starts, the first affirmative speaker opens the constructive speech, and after
him the negative speaker starts the rebuttal. Every speaker is allowed to
deliver a rebuttal speech. The debate ends with the affirmative side delivering
the last rebuttal.