To access the SOFAD media resource page for
English and Written Narratives (ENG-5102-2) go to:
<http://cours.sofad.qc.ca/ressources>
Look for Diversified Basic Education
Then click on: <English Language Arts>
Look for ENG-5102-2 – English and Written Narratives
Then click on: <Media Resource Page>
If you prefer, you may download these audio and video resources to a
device or to an intranet.
Acknowledgements
Project Manager: Michael Rutka (SOFAD)
Instructional Designers: Pierre Doyon, PHD in Education - McGill
University, Teacher with LBPSB, work
shop leader with International
Baccalaureate Organization (IBO)
Paul Fournier (SOFAD)
Gail Gagnon - Pedagogical Consultant,
Place Cartier Adult Centre, LBPSB.
Lou Ann Paul, special needs teacher, RSB.
Michael Rutka (SOFAD)
Wendy Sturton, M.A. and M. Ed. Psych,
Teacher - Sir Wilfrid Laurier School
Board
Writers: Wendy Sturton
Heather Davis
Content Editor: Pat Machin
Copy Editor: Michèle Ortiz
Proofreader: Michèle Ortiz
Graphic Design: Josée Bégin
Graphic Layout: Robin Patterson
Cover Design: Hélène Meunier
Rights Agent: Nicole Cypihot (SOFAD)
Comic Strip:
Illustrator: Julia Haney
Dialogue: Pat Machin
Video Interview with Heather O’Neill: Les Films David Chaumel
Interviewed by: Heather Davis
First Printing: December 2016
© SOFAD (Société de formation à distance des commissions scolaires
du Québec)
All rights for translation and adaptation, in whole or in part, reserved
for all countries. Any reproduction by mechanical or electronic means
is forbidden without the express written consent of a duly authorized
representative of SOFAD.
This work is funded in part by the Ministère de l’Éducation et de
l’Enseignement supérieur and by the Canada-Quebec Agreement on
Minority Language Education and Second Language Instruction.
Legal Deposit—2016
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
Library and Archives Canada
ISBN: 978-2-89493-530-9 (Print)
ISBN: 978-2-89493-533-0 (PDF)
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
This pr
eview c
ontains
- The
:
Introd
u
ct
- Pa r t
of L ear ion
ning
Situati
Introduction �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
VI
on 1
English and Written Narratives (ENG-5102-2) in Your Program ����������������������������������������������������� VI
About This Learning Guide��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� VI
Structure of the Learning Guide������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ VII
Getting Support for Your Learning ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� VIII
LEARNING SITUATION 1 • LS 1
A Likely Story����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������1
EXPLORE AND DISCOVER
Activity 1
The Fine Print ����������������������������������������������������������������������2
APPLY AND PRODUCE
Activity 2
Flashes of Brilliance��������������������������������������������������������������9
EXPLORE AND DISCOVER
Activity 3
Familiar Vibes��������������������������������������������������������������������12
Activity 4
Narrative Patterns: Archetypes and Story Shapes ���������������� 16
Activity 5
Puzzles of the Post-Modern ������������������������������������������������26
Activity 6
Outlines of the Post-Modern������������������������������������������������ 31
Activity 7
Your Spin on Written Narrative ��������������������������������������������32
Activity 8
Look Back and Reflect��������������������������������������������������������35
APPLY AND PRODUCE
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
REFLECT AND EVALUATE
LEARNING SITUATION 2 • LS 2
The Inside Story ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������39
EXPLORE AND DISCOVER
Activity 1
The Plot Thickens����������������������������������������������������������������40
Activity 2
Meaning and Message�������������������������������������������������������� 77
Activity 3
Who Are They? Do We Care? ���������������������������������������������� 81
APPLY AND PRODUCE
Activity 4
Lead the Group������������������������������������������������������������������84
REFLECT AND EVALUATE
Activity 5
Look Back and Reflect��������������������������������������������������������89
EVALUATION
Evaluation Situation 1 ��������������������������������������������������������������������������89
III
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
LEARNING SITUATION 3 • LS 3
Tell It Like It Is������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 91
EXPLORE AND DISCOVER
APPLY AND PRODUCE
REFLECT AND EVALUATE
Activity 1
Something New Under the Sun ������������������������������������������92
Activity 2
Beginning, Middle, End������������������������������������������������������100
Activity 3
Under Construction ���������������������������������������������������������� 110
Activity 4
Living to Tell the Tale�������������������������������������������������������� 115
Activity 5
Look Back and Reflect������������������������������������������������������ 119
LEARNING SITUATION 4 • LS 4
Stepping into a Novel ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������121
EXPLORE AND DISCOVER
Activity 1
The Fine Print ������������������������������������������������������������������122
Activity 2
Novels That Speak to You�������������������������������������������������� 131
Activity 3
Characters and Point of View ��������������������������������������������143
Activity 4
A Fine Web of Narrative Elements�������������������������������������� 149
Activity 5
The Novel As a Mirror��������������������������������������������������������155
REFLECT AND EVALUATE
Activity 6
Look Back and Reflect������������������������������������������������������ 161
EVALUATION
Evaluation Situation 2 ������������������������������������������������������������������������ 162
APPLY AND PRODUCE
From Cover to Cover ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 163
EXPLORE AND DISCOVER
IV
Activity 1
Where Are We Now?���������������������������������������������������������� 164
Activity 2
Focus on Character���������������������������������������������������������� 168
Activity 3
Telling It Like It Is: Narrative Methods�������������������������������� 174
APPLY AND PRODUCE
Activity 4
What’s It All About?����������������������������������������������������������180
REFLECT AND EVALUATE
Activity 5
Selecting Topics ��������������������������������������������������������������190
English and Written Narratives
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
LEARNING SITUATION 5 • LS 5
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
LEARNING SITUATION 6 • LS 6
Novel Ideas����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������193
EXPLORE AND DISCOVER
Activity 1
Know by Name�����������������������������������������������������������������194
Activity 2
One Step at a Time ����������������������������������������������������������198
Activity 3
The Heart of the Matter����������������������������������������������������200
Activity 4
An Orderly Arrangement���������������������������������������������������� 207
Activity 5
Fill in the Details�������������������������������������������������������������� 210
Activity 6
Casting a Critical Eye�������������������������������������������������������� 215
REFLECT AND EVALUATE
Activity 7
Look Back and Reflect������������������������������������������������������220
EVALUATION
Evaluation Situation 3 ������������������������������������������������������������������������ 221
APPLY AND PRODUCE
GRAMMAR REVIEW
EXPLORE AND DISCOVER
Review of Grammar for Secondary V ����������������������������������������������������223
ANSWER KEY������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������233
LS 1 ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������234
LS 2 ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������236
LS 3 ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������238
LS 4 ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������239
LS 5 ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 241
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
LS 6 ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������243
Grammar Review ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 245
AUTHORIZATIONS������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 246
AUTHORIZATIONS FOR IMAGES���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 247
STUDENT FEEDBACK SHEET�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 249
V
ANSWER
KEY
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
English and Written Narratives (ENG-5102-2) in Your Program
English and Written Narratives is a 50-hour course. It is the second of three
Secondary V courses in the English Language Arts program in Diversified Basic
Education.
Two of the three main competencies required by the Ministry will be developed in this course.
Competency 2: Reads and listens to written, spoken and media texts.
Main Features of Competency 2:
yy Develops resources to make sense of various written, spoken, and media texts
yy Extends understanding of various written, spoken, and media texts
yy Interprets his/her relationship to the text and the context
Competency 3: Produces texts for personal and social purposes.
Main Features of Competency 3:
yy Develops resources to produce written and media texts
yy Follows a process to produce written and media texts
yy Creates a relationship with his/her audience suitable to the text and context
You will receive two (2) Secondary V credits for passing the final exam for this
course in an adult education centre.
Below is a table that lists the Secondary V English Language Arts courses.
English and Plays (ENG-5101-1)
English and Written Narratives (ENG-5102-2)
English, Research and Persuasion (ENG-5103-3)
Credits
1
2
3
Hours to Complete the Course
25 hours
50 hours
75 hours
About This Learning Guide
This learning guide was developed for adult learners who are registered in individual and classroom learning programs or in distance education.
Icons Used in the Learning Guide
You will encounter several icons in the learning guide.
0
Video clip: This means you have to watch a video.
0 Audio clip: This means you have to listen to an audio clip.
This means Internet sources are available or that you must go online to
find resources or to answer questions.
VI
English and Written Narratives
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
Course Name
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
Internet Access
SOFAD hosts media resources for students enrolled in its courses on the SOFAD
server.
Students with access to the Internet can view video clips and listen to audio
clips as follows:
yy If you are using the PDF version, click on the icon in the learning guide.
yy If you are using the paper learning guide, go to http://cours.sofad.qc.ca/
ressources/ and follow the Diversified Basic Education links.
If you do not have access to the Internet, use the sources provided by your
teacher or tutor. Note that the media resources may be downloaded from a zip
file on the SOFAD media resource page for the course. This allows you to view
the media resources for times when you do not have access to the Internet.
Structure of the Learning Guide
The learning guide has an Introduction, six content chapters called Learning
Situations (LS), and a grammar section. Near the end of the learning guide
you will find the Answer Key. If you are using the paper version, these are the
coloured pages.
As well, there are three evaluation chapters called Evaluation Situations. The
Evaluation Situations do not appear in the learning guide. They are found
on the SOFAD website and are free to download for students enrolled in the
course. Here is the link for the Evaluation Situations: <http://cours.sofad.qc.ca/
ressources/>
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
Evaluation for Certification Purposes
In order to earn the credits for this course you must obtain a mark of a least
60% on the final examination that will be held in an adult education centre. To
be able to write this final examination you should have an average of at least
60% on the evaluations that accompany this learning guide.
Preparing for the Final Exam
Three things will help you prepare for the final exam, the course content, the
Evaluation Situations, and the reading log you will create guided by the comic
strips of the reading group that discusses the novel.
Evaluation Situations
Evaluation Situations are assignments that will be graded by your teacher or
tutor. The Evaluation Situations are designed to help you get ready for the final
exam. They are designed to encourage the development of the competencies
required to pass the course as well as give you some practice in the textual and
linguistic knowledge required to succeed.
VII
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
There are three Evaluation Situations (ES) for this course: after LS 2, after LS 4,
and after LS 6. Each Evaluation Situation is graded on 100 and is weighted 30%
for ES1, 40% for ES2, and 30% for ES3. For example, if you get a mark of 80/100
on Evaluation Situation 1 and you get a mark of 76/100 on Evaluation Situation
2 and a mark of 86/100 on Evaluation Situation 3, then you would calculate
your final mark like this:
(80/100 x .3) + (76/100 x .4) + (86/100 x .3)
(80/100 x .3) = 24.0, (76/100 x .4) = 30.4, (86/100 x .3) = 25.8
Add 24.0 + 30.4 + 25.8 = 80.2
80.2% is your final mark for the course.
Reading the Novel
The novel for this course is Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill.
You may begin your reading as soon as you wish. Remember that you are studying the novel; so plan on reading it twice or at the very least reading most of it
twice. While reading you must keep a reading log.
The page numbers noted in the learning guide for Lullabies for Little Criminals
are from the Harper Perennial, 2006, 1st edition, ISBN-10:0-06-087507-0.
The Page Turners Reading Group Comic Strips
The Page Turners reading group comic strips will guide you in creating a reading
log of your thoughts and reflections about the novel used in this course. These
comic strips begin in Learning Situation 4. You can bring your reading log and
a copy of the novel to the final exam. You may also add handwritten notes in the
margins of your own copy of the novel that you bring to the final exam.
The grammar section covers the grammar points that were not included
throughout the learning guide.
Getting Support for Your Learning
In order to help you succeed, your teacher or tutor will offer guidance and
support as you work through the course. The teacher or tutor can answer your
questions and will grade your Evaluation Situations. Make sure to obtain the
schedule, email address, and phone number of your teacher or tutor so that
you can communicate when necessary.
Managing Your Time
Managing your time is probably the most important thing you can do to be
successful with your studies. The English and Written Narratives course is
designed to take 50 hours to complete. It’s important to set aside time on a regular basis for your course work. If you need more hours to complete the course,
then take more time. Take the time you need. We recommend that you create
a routine for yourself and stick to it.
VIII
English and Written Narratives
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
Grammar Section
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
Extra Materials
The learning guide for this course is accompanied by:
yy video clips
yy audio clips
yy Evaluation Situations
The Evaluation Situations and the video and audio clips are available at <http://
cours.sofad.qc.ca/ressources/>
Then follow the links to English and Written Narratives media resource page.
Grammar
If you need extra help with grammar, your teacher or tutor may also recommend a grammar book or online exercises to help you.
SOFAD has an excellent booklet titled Essential Knowledge Reference Booklet
that can be used as a grammar review. While the booklet is intended for use
with learners of English as a Second Language (ESL), it still provides an excellent overview of the grammar essential for mother tongue learners.
To order a copy and for a description and preview of the booklet go to:
http://www.sofad.qc.ca/fr/outils-apprentissage/anglais-langue-seconde-fbd-33/?language=fr
Students with Children
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
Having to study while supervising children can be very challenging, and despite
your efforts it may be difficult to manage. Here are a few tips for those of you
who have children underfoot while you are studying:
yy Spend time with your children before you begin your studies.
yy Allow your children to watch an educational DVD or TV show while you
study. You can teach them to wear headphones while you study.
yy Ask for cooperation from your children. Reward them with time together
after you have finished studying.
yy Explain your study schedule to your children. They will be more likely
to cooperate if you have a regular schedule. Reward your children for
respecting your schedule.
yy Childproof a room so that your children will need less supervision while
you study.
yy Organize activities for your children that they can do while you study.
Such as colouring books, building blocks, and other toys that engage your
children’s attention.
yy Find a playmate for your children while you study.
yy Ask other adults to help you out.
IX
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
Ha
bi
ts
Study Habits
St
ud
y
Make a schedule that you can
respect. This is one of the most important things you can do.
Follow instructions carefully – pay close attention to
what you are asked to do. Write the instructions in your own
words.
Ask for help – everyone needs the help of others. We have to pull together
to be successful.
Reread texts – you are in a course of study, it makes sense to read everything twice
or more. You will retain more if you read everything twice.
Set goals and rewards for yourself – it feels great to meet your goals. Set small
and reachable goals. Remember to reward yourself when you meet your goals. For
example, you could set the goal of completing one of the learning situations, and
when you are finished you relax with your favourite TV show or go out with friends.
Take breaks – everybody needs a break. Do some work, take a break, and then get back
to work.
Stay positive – remind yourself of your skills and abilities whatever they are. Avoid
comparing yourself with others; this can, and usually does, lead to negative thoughts.
Choose a workspace that will help you focus. You may need a quiet room such
as a library, for instance, in order to be free from distractions. Give yourself
enough time and space.
Ask yourself how you can improve your
learning.
Your Feedback about the Learning Guide
The writers and other contributors to the learning guide are interested in
hearing your feedback on your impressions and experience with this learning
guide. There is a page near the end the learning guide that you can fill out and
send to us. We will use your insights to help us improve the learning guide for
the next printing.
X
English and Written Narratives
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
Take notes – writing down in your own words what you have
learned is a powerful practice that leads to better understanding (and grades!).
ANSWER
KEY
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
L S 1
LEARNING SITUATION
Duration: 11 hours
A Likely Story
Through storytelling, writers use language and form to capture our imaginations. A good
short story is a finely crafted, short narrative which moves our emotions and challenges
our intellects.
Goal of the Learning Situation:
To investigate written stories of various genres and
narrative patterns.
ACTIVITIES
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
1
The Fine Print
VV
Goal: To consider the question: What are the elements of a good written story?
2
Flashes of Brilliance
V
Goal: To create story ideas which incorporate elements of good short stories
3
Familiar Vibes
Narrative Patterns: Archetypes
and Story Shapes
Puzzles of the Post-Modern
V
Goal: To explore how post-modern stories break
traditional narrative patterns
6
Outlines of the Post-Modern
V
Goal: To write the outline of a post-modern story
V
Goal: To explore short stories within genres such as
mystery, romance, crime, horror, adventure, fantasy,
sci-fi, or non-fiction
4
5
V
V
Goal: To consider how character archetypes and story
shapes emerge in short stories
7
Your Spin on Written Narrative
V
Goal: To express your opinions and preferences in a
discussion about how written narratives work
8
Look Back and Reflect
Goal: To review and to reflect on what you have
learned
V
ANSWER
KEY
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
EXPLORE AND DISCOVER
ACTIVITY 1
GOAL
The Fine Print
1 hour
To consider the question: What are the elements of a good
written story?
In this activity, you will:
◗Recall your experiences of favorite childhood or personal stories.
◗Examine the difference between fairy tales and short story form.
Task A: Once Upon a Time
“After nourishment, shelter and
companionship, stories are the
thing we need most in the world.”
~Philip Pullman
Both children and adults like stories because they
entertain us and suggest ways to understand the
world.
When you were a child, what elements made you like a story? Check them off in the list below.
At the end, add a few items of your own.
Story Element
Yes
No
Story Element
Happy endings
Quests for a treasure, truth, etc.
Heroes, heroines, princes, princesses
Defeat of an evil character
Riddles and tests
Characters with similar problems to yours
Wishes being granted
Monsters
Magic spells and characters
A discovery
A voyage
Risks, adventures, action
Entry into another world
Animal characters
2
LS 1 • A Likely Story
Yes
No
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
1
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
2
ANSWER
KEY
Give details about a story that you particularly enjoyed, or that added something important to
your life, either as a child or as an adult. Summarize this story briefly and explain why it had an
impact on you.
L S
1
Fiction is created through the imagination of writers. In the classic short story,
writers tell short, intense, fictional stories, using between 1,000 and 20,000
words. Stories under 1,000 words (about 3 to 4 pages) are called “short-short
stories” or “flash fiction.”
In contrast to fiction, non-fiction is based on history and memoirs. In creative
non-fiction, writers use literary techniques to tell stories drawn from real life.
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
You know us both,
even though we are fictional
characters. We appeared in a popular fairy tale you probably heard as a
child. A fairy tale is a very special kind of
story, one that was often told orally to
begin with, but was then written
down.
Neil
Gaiman, short story
writer and novelist, said, “Short
stories are tiny windows into other worlds
and other minds and other dreams. They are
journeys you can make to the far side of the
universe and still be back in time for dinner.”
I like that idea. My story takes you far,
but it’s short. You wouldn’t have
to miss dinner.
ACTIVITY 1
3
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
My story started with
a journey. The great novelist
Leo Tolstoy wrote, “All great literature is one of two stories; a man
goes on a journey or a stranger
comes to town.”
In my fairy tale, dramatic
things happened. How many
people have to deal with a wolf before
visiting Grandma? And I revealed myself by
my actions. Think of how courageous I was. I
started out as a little girl, but with a little help,
defeated my enemy like a brave adult.
Or did you see me differently? Some people think I was a helpless victim, rescued by a brave woodsman.
~Heidi Pitlor, an editor of American short stories
A short story is written with more discipline than
the fairy tale in which I live. My fairy tale
can shift and change with each telling, and many
people have retold it. In some versions, I might
be a brave heroine. In others, I could be a helpless
victim. However, a short story is written by its author.
It stays the same once it has been written down
and published. In a short story, every word,
every sentence has meaning and
authority.
4
LS 1 • A Likely Story
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
“A good story tells you something interesting about someone.
Things happen in a good story. People reveal who they are.”
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
Some good short stories include magical characters like me and my wolf. If you
rewrote my tale as a short story,
would you know how to do the
following things?
3
L S
1
Some good short stories include magical characters like me and my wolf. If you rewrote my tale
as a short story, would you know how to do the following things?
Do you know how to:
Yes
No
tell the story from my point of view?
write a dialogue between me and the wolf, or between other characters?
describe the deep, dark woods in a unique way?
develop my character by hinting at my personal history?
create a mood?
deliver a message or theme?
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
make the readers continue to read, because they care about how it all ends?
Many of these techniques would help to make my tale into a good short story.
In your opinion, which of them would be most important in making any written story a good one?
Task B: The Magic of a Short Story
4
You are probably familiar with the features of a fairy tale. Make a list of what features we expect
by answering the questions below.
a) What kind of unusual characters often appear in a fairy tale?
ACTIVITY 1
5
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
b) What kinds of things are heroes expected to do?
c) What personality traits do you expect in fairy tale heroes?
d) What are some of the typical lessons of fairy tales?
AK
234
Authors may deliberately borrow fairy tale elements to use in their stories. In
a fantasy story, fairy tale qualities could be presented at face value. However,
because we all know what a fairy tale is supposed to be like, writers can easily
parody them for comic effect. In a parody, a writer imitates a style or genre
but exaggerates deliberately, or makes unexpected changes, in order to create
humour.
5
Read James Thurber’s short story “The Princess and the Tin Box.”
“The Princess smiled and walked up to the table and picked up the present she liked
the most.”
THE PRINCESS AND THE TIN BOX
Once upon a time, in a far country, there lived a king whose daughter was the prettiest princess in the world. Her eyes were like the cornflower, her hair was sweeter
than the hyacinth, and her throat made the swan look dusty.
From the time she was a year old, the princess had been showered with presents.
Her nursery looked like Cartier’s window. Her toys were all made of gold or platinum or diamonds or emeralds. She was not permitted to have wooden blocks or
china dolls or rubber dogs or linen books, because such materials were considered
cheap for the daughter of a king.
When she was seven, she was allowed to attend the wedding of her brother and
throw real pearls at the bride instead of rice. Only the nightingale, with his lyre of
gold, was permitted to sing for the princess. The common blackbird, with his boxwood flute, was kept out of the palace grounds. She walked in silver-and-samite
slippers to a sapphire-and-topaz bathroom and slept in an ivory bed inlaid with
rubies.
6
LS 1 • A Likely Story
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
James Thurber
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
On the day the princess was eighteen, the king sent a royal ambassador to the
courts of five neighboring kingdoms to announce that he would give his daughter’s
hand in marriage to the prince who brought her the gift she liked the most.
The first prince to arrive at the palace rode a swift white stallion and laid at the feet
of the princess an enormous apple made of solid gold which he had taken from
a dragon who had guarded it for a thousand years. It was placed on a long ebony
table set up to hold the gifts of the princess’s suitors. The second prince, who came
on a gray charger, brought her a nightingale made of a thousand diamonds, and it
was placed beside the golden apple. The third prince, riding on a black horse, carried a great jewel box made of platinum and sapphires, and it was placed next to
the diamond nightingale. The fourth prince, astride a fiery yellow horse, gave the
princess a gigantic heart made of rubies and pierced by an emerald arrow. It was
placed next to the platinum-and-sapphire jewel box.
L S
1
Now the fifth prince was the strongest and handsomest of all the five suitors, but
he was the son of a poor king whose realm had been overrun by mice and locusts
and wizards and mining engineers so that there was nothing much of value left in
it. He came plodding up the palace of the princess on a plow horse and he brought
her a small tin box filled with mica and feldspar and hornblende which he had
picked up on the way.
The other princes roared with disdainful laughter when they saw the tawdry gift
the fifth prince had brought to the princess. But she examined it with a great interest and squealed with delight, for all her life she had been glutted with precious
stones and priceless metals, but she had never seen tin before or mica or feldspar
or hornblende. The tin box was placed next to the ruby heart pierced with an emerald arrow.
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
“Now,” the king said to his daughter, “you must select the gift you like best and
marry the prince that brought it.”
The princess smiled and walked up to the table and picked up the present she liked
the most. It was the platinum-and-sapphire jewel box, the gift of the third prince.
“The way I figure it,” she said, “is this. It is a very large and expensive box, and when
I am married, I will meet many admirers who will give me precious gems with
which to fill it to the top. Therefore, it is the most valuable of all the gifts my suitors
have brought me and I like it the best.”
The princess married the third prince that very day in the midst of great merriment
and high revelry. More than a hundred thousand pearls were thrown at her and she
loved it.
Moral: All those who thought the princess was going to select the tin box with worthless stones instead of one of the other gifts will kindly stay after class and write one
hundred times on the blackboard “I would rather have a hunk of aluminum silicate
than a diamond necklace.”
•
ACTIVITY 1
7
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
6
ANSWER
KEY
Answer the following questions.
a) How did you react to the ending of this short story?
b) How is it like a fairy tale, and how is it different?
c) How does it fit the definition of a parody?
e) Pick out the qualities of this story which you could use to argue that it is either a good or
a bad one, according to your opinion.
AK
8
LS 1 • A Likely Story
234
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
d) James Thurber is using humour to target some of our illusions. Which illusions is he
aiming for?
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
APPLY AND PRODUCE
ACTIVITY 2
GOAL
Flashes of Brilliance
1 hour
To create story ideas which incorporate the elements of
good short stories.
In this activity, you will:
◗Exercise your imagination by developing stories from six-word ideas.
◗Write your own definition of a good short story.
Task A: Working with Flash Fiction
With the rise of Twitter and its short, limited messages, flash fiction
is receiving more attention. In an urban legend told about author
Ernest Hemingway, it is said that he invented the short-short story
form. Writer friends he was drinking with bet him he couldn’t write
a story of six words. He won his bet by writing this on a napkin:
The story goes that after he passed the napkin around the table, his
friends paid up the bet!
7
For sale ,
baby shoes,
never worn .
Following are four short-short stories—each only six words
long—to stimulate your imagination. If you were to base a
longer story on each of them, what story would you tell?
Develop the story more fully in four or five sentences.
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
a) It’s behind you! Hurry before it – by Rockne S. O’Bannon
b) Longed for him. Got him. Shit. – by Margaret Atwood
ACTIVITY 2
9
ANSWER
KEY
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
c) Internet “wakes up?” Ridicu - no carrier. – by Charles Stross
d) For sale, baby shoes, never worn. – by Ernest Hemingway
AK
234
Task B: Working with Narrative Techniques
Imagine you have been hired to write and to publish one of the story ideas you just developed.
What story elements would you incorporate in order to ensure that your masterpiece is a good
story? Reflect on the list of story elements which appeared at the end of Activity 1, Task A.
Story Element
Yes
No
Story Element
Happy endings
Quests for a treasure, truth, etc.
Heroes, heroines, princes, princesses
Defeat of an evil character
Riddles and tests
Characters with similar problems to yours
Wishes being granted
Monsters
Magic spells and characters
A discovery
Yes
No
A voyage
Risks, adventures, action
Entry into another world
Animal characters
a) Which character would be at the centre of your short story and how would you make your
readers care about him or her? Remember that caring doesn’t necessarily mean liking!
10
LS 1 • A Likely Story
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
8
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
b) What question (or questions) would you plant in the readers’ minds, so that they would
want to read all the way to the end?
L S
1
c) What dialogue would be important to develop the readers’ interest in the story?
d) Where would you locate a key scene, to create mood and interest? What would happen there?
e) What other techniques would you use?
Task C: Writing a Short-short Story
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
9
Now write a couple of short-short stories of your own. Remember to limit them to six words!
Task D: Make Your Statement
You are already familiar with editor Heidi Pitlor’s comment, “A good story tells
you something interesting about someone. Things happen in a good story.
People reveal who they are.”
10
How would you define what a good written story does for you as a reader?
ACTIVITY 2
11
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
EXPLORE AND DISCOVER
ACTIVITY 3
GOAL
Familiar Vibes
1.5 hours
To explore short stories within genres such as mystery,
romance, crime, horror, adventure, fantasy, sci-fi, or non-fiction.
In this activity, you will:
◗Revisit and expand your knowledge of story genres.
◗Write your own introductory sentences to two stories of different genres.
Task A: Reading the Clues
Genre stories present us with characters, plots and settings that follow a familiar pattern. When we read one,
we expect certain genre conventions to be followed.
Writers don’t have to announce the genres they have
chosen. Familiar signals quickly let us know a story’s
genre as we read.
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
Do you prefer rollicking adventure, steamy romance,
dark mystery, bone-chilling horror, fantasy or science
fiction? Do you prefer the real-life stories that unfold in
diaries, memoirs or travel writing? All of these genres
give us stories to feed our imaginations.
12
LS 1 • A Likely Story
ANSWER
KEY
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
11
Below is a list of character types, events, and objects which are more likely to be found in some
genres than in others. Match them with all of the story genres where you might find them:
Story Genres
Adventure
Fantasy
Fable
Horror
Romance
Fairy Tale
Memoirs
Science Fiction
L S
1
Mystery
Travel Writing
a) Talking animals b) Pretty dresses c) Near-death experiences d) Space aliens e) Objects that move on their own f) Personal memories of childhood g) Travel to strange lands h) Death by poison i) Feats of heroism j) An anonymous letter k) A mountain to climb l) A mysterious stranger m) A missing heir n) Icy drafts of air © SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
AK
234
Task B: Clues Help Make Predictions About What We Are Reading
Genre writing is filled with familiar clues that help us make predictions about
what we are reading. These are the opening lines of a personal memoir called
Gang Girl, written by Isis Sapp-Grant.
This was 1986, and I was 15 years old, living in Brooklyn with my mother, who was
a social worker, and my three sisters, who at the time were 18, 14, and 2. My father
wasn’t around much; he and my mother were divorced.
12
Because Sapp-Grant’s story of her youth is written as a personal memoir, the genre dictates some
elements from the very beginning. For example:
a) Who is the narrator of the story? How does this choice of narrator suit the genre?
ACTIVITY 3
13
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
b) What information does the narrator give about the setting—the time and place of her story?
c) What details does the narrator give about her family?
d) The title of this memoir is Gang Girls. Combine this fact with what the narrator tells you in
the first two sentences. What guesses can you make about the problems she might write
about in her story?
e) When you discuss style, you will be examining how the writer writes: choice of words,
sentence length and structure, descriptive qualities, informative or poetic approach, etc.
Based on the title and the opening of this story, what could you say about the style of the
memoir as a genre?
AK
13
234
These are the opening lines of a short story written by Neil Gaiman.
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
“Time is fluid here,” said the demon. He knew it was a demon the moment he saw it.
He knew it, just as he knew the place was Hell.
a) In what genre do you think he could be writing?
b) On which clues do you base your guess about the genre?
c) Do you expect pleasant or unpleasant events to unfold in this story? On which clues do
you base your prediction?
AK
14
LS 1 • A Likely Story
235
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
Task C: Writing the Clues
14
Here again are the opening lines of Isis Sapp-Grants’s personal memoir.
“This was 1986, and I was 15 years old, living in Brooklyn with my mother, who was
a social worker, and my three sisters, who at the time were 18, 14, and 2. My father
wasn’t around much; he and my mother were divorced.”
L S
1
Think of a story you could tell from your own experience of growing up. Think of a title for your
story which gives a major clue about its content. Then, in two or three sentences, write your story
opening, imitating the style of Isis Sapp-Grant. Just as she did, use these lines to present the
basic facts of setting and situation.
15
Look again at the opening lines of Neil Gaiman’s short story.
“Time is fluid here,” said the demon. He knew it was a demon the moment he saw it.
He knew it, just as he knew the place was Hell.
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
Use Neil Gaiman’s story opener as a model to introduce a story in a different genre. Do this by
introducing different clues. For example, the following opener is based on the model of his introduction, with the original pattern in bold print. However, new clues indicate the story could lead
to romance or adventure:
“We’ve waited five years for your arrival,” said the man on the Harley. She knew
he was her soulmate the moment she saw him. She knew it, just as she
knew she could never leave this place alive.
Now write your own opener, and identify the genre you have chosen:
ACTIVITY 3
15
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ACTIVITY 4
GOAL
ANSWER
KEY
Narrative Patterns: Archetypes
and Story Shapes
2.5 hours
To consider how character archetypes and story shapes
emerge in short stories.
In this activity, you will:
◗Identify some character archetypes from photos, based on clues you
identify.
◗Research the qualities of a few character archetypes that interest you.
◗Identify some TV or movie characters that play an archetypal role.
◗Become familiar with Kurt Vonnegut’s theory of story shapes, and use
them to outline a few of your own stories.
◗Read a classic short story and use Vonnegut’s theory to identify its shape.
◗Write your own short story outline and identify its story shape on a graph.
Task A: Characters: the Great Archetypes
If you have been involved in gaming, you are familiar with archetypal characters who move the game forward by fulfilling their typical roles. In fact, some
psychologists argue that archetypal characters lie deep in our psyches, affecting our dreams and our image of ourselves.
First, let’s look at archetypal male characters. Often young, the hero is a familiar
archetype of great power who may appear as a warrior or as a person of extraordinary quality. His role is to rescue people and to resolve problems. The archetype of the wise old man might appear as a wizard, an aged king or a sage advisor.
Female archetypes are equally powerful figures. The wise old woman might
appear as a medicine woman, an old grandmother, or as a healer. Some wise
women might appear as ancient, others as mature but not necessarily very old.
Because our culture has historically had a male bias, older women also appear
as dangerous witches or negative meddlers. The archetype of the maiden
appears as a young and beautiful girl, someone to be protected and revered.
Other archetypes project different aspects of human experience. An archetype of innocence is the child, representing purity and hope for the future. The
joker, fool or trickster is a figure who promotes chaos, the one who plays the
wild card in events. Of course, an archetypal character of great power is the
villain, the evil character who threatens the well-being of all other characters.
16
LS 1 • A Likely Story
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
Throughout storytelling history and across cultures, male and female archetypes play similar roles, even though details of plot vary.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
16
ANSWER
KEY
Answer the following questions.
a) How would you identify the archetype represented in this
picture?
L S
1
b) What clues helped you to identify this archetype?
c) Which two archetypes can you recognize in this picture?
d) What clues helped you to identify the archetypes?
e) What archetype do you recognize in the picture below?
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
f) What clues helped you to identify this archetype?
AK
235
Task B: The Role of Archetypes
17
In the lines below, explain the role played by some of the other archetypes named above. To do
this, you may research them on the Internet, or use your knowledge of gaming.
ACTIVITY 4
17
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
18
ANSWER
KEY
Identify three or four characters in TV and movies whose behaviour and appearance suggest they
are playing an archetypal role. Below, write down their names, the archetypes they represent and
what has led you to this conclusion.
Task C: Story Shapes We Recognize
Another way of understanding narrative structure is to recognize the patterns
repeated in story plots. These patterns have the power to affect how we see
stories, and even how we understand our own lives.
“Humans are pattern-seeking storytelling animals, and we are quite
adept at telling stories about patterns, whether they exist or not.”
~Michael Shermer
American novelist Kurt Vonnegut felt that story plots could be catalogued into
a number of types and presented on a graph. From beginning to end, a story
graph can show the movement back and forth between human happiness and
unhappiness. In his story graphs, Vonnegut placed happiness on the vertical
axis, and the progress of the plot on the horizontal axis. The plot of a typical
story would weave up and down from beginning to end, reflecting the happiness or misery of the protagonists in the story.
BEGINNING
ILL FORTUNE
18
LS 1 • A Likely Story
END
Each of the lines in the graph represents a different story type.
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
GOOD FORTUNE
Palm Sunday by Kurt Vonnegut
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Man in Hole
The main character gets into trouble
then gets out of it again and ends up
better off for the experience.
19
ANSWER
KEY
Boy Meets Girl
From Bad to Worse
Here, for example, is Maya Eilam’s
graphic of one of Vonnegut’s story
shapes. In this classic story, the main
character moves from contentment—
on the happy level of the scale, but not
at the top—to unhappy struggle,
plunging below into the sector of the
graph which represents suffering, trials and challenges; and then, at the
The main
comes
across higher
The main
end, character
to greater
happiness,
on character starts off poorly
something
wonderful,
gets
it,
loses
then
gets
the happiness scale than at the continually worse with no
it, then gets it back forever.
hope for improvement.
beginning.
Arsenic and Old Lace
Jane Eyre
The Metamorphosis
Harold & Kumar Go To
White Castle
Eternal Sunshine of the
Spotless Mind
The Twilight Zone
Creation
Old
Testament
Take a look atStory
the young man in this
photo.
In five or six
W
L S
1
The st
that ke
develo
New Testament
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
sentences, outline a “Man in Hole” story in which he is
the main character. Remember to go through the three
states: contentment, problems, and greater happiness at
the end.
In many cultures’ creation stories,
humankind receives incremental
gifts from a deity. First major
staples like the earth and sky, then
smaller things like sparrows and cell
phones. Not a common shape for
Western stories, however.
Humankind receives incremental
gifts from a deity, but is suddenly
ousted from good standing in a fall
of enormous proportions.
Great Expectations
with original ending
Humankind receives incremental
gifts from a deity, is suddenly
ousted from good standing, but
then receives off-the-charts bliss.
Great Expectations
with revised ending
AK
ACTIVITY 4
235
19
It was
shape
Testam
for the
over th
contin
lecture
by Kurt Vonnegut
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
e
The main character comes across
something wonderful, gets it, loses
it, then gets it back forever.
ce
o To
y
ories,
ental
, then
and cell
e for
From Bad to Worse
Which Way Is Up?
Here is Maya Eilam’s graphic of another
Kurt Vonnegut story shape. This shape
is presented as a romantic story.
However, it could represent any story
about a great treasure lost, then won
back.
The main character starts off poorly
then gets continually worse with no
hope for improvement.
The story has a lifelike ambiguity
that keeps us from knowing if new
developments are good or bad.
Jane Eyre
The Metamorphosis
Hamlet
Eternal Sunshine of the
Spotless Mind
The Twilight Zone
The Sopranos
New
Testament
20 Old
Take aTestament
look at the couple in this photo.
Use the
“Boy Meets
Cinderella
Girl” story shape to outline a story about the two of
them. Use Vonnegut’s three stages to construct your
story: finding something or someone of great value, losing the treasured thing or person, and eventually winning
the treasure or person at the end.
Humankind receives incremental
gifts from a deity, but is suddenly
ousted from good standing in a fall
of enormous proportions.
Great Expectations
with original ending
Humankind receives incremental
gifts from a deity, is suddenly
ousted from good standing, but
then receives off-the-charts bliss.
Great Expectations
with revised ending
It was the similarity between the
shapes of Cinderella and the New
Testament that thrilled Vonnegut
for the first time in 1947 and then
over the course of his life as he
continued to write essays and give
lectures on the shapes of stories.
AK
20
LS 1 • A Likely Story
235
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
trouble
ends up
Boy Meets Girl
ANSWER
KEY
Sunday by Kurt Vonnegut
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
Arsenic and Old Lace
Harold & Kumar Go To
White Castle
Here are other story shapes suggested by Kurt Vonnegut.
n Hole
ets Girl
Boy Meets Girl
From Bad to Worse
From Bad to Worse
Which Way Is Up?
Which Way Is Up?
Creation Story
O
L S
1
r gets into trouble
comes
gain
andacross
ends up
ful,
gets it, loses
perience.
forever.
nd Old Lace
Kumar Go To
unshine
of the
stle
Mind
The main character comes across
The
main character
starts
something
wonderful,
getsoff
it,poorly
loses
then
gets
continually
worse with no
it, then
gets
it back forever.
hope for improvement.
Jane Eyre
The Metamorphosis
Eternal Sunshine of the
Spotless Mind
The Twilight Zone
The main character starts off poorly
The
has a lifelikeworse
ambiguity
thenstory
gets continually
with no
that
us from knowing if new
hopekeeps
for improvement.
developments are good or bad.
The Metamorphosis
Hamlet
Old Testament
New Testament
New Testament
Cinderella
n Story
tament
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
reation stories,
es incremental
incremental
es
ut
suddenly
irstismajor
tanding
inthen
a fall
h and sky,
rtions.
sparrows and cell
mon shape for
ectations
wever.
nal ending
Humankind receives incremental
Humankind
receives
gifts from a deity,
butincremental
is suddenly
gifts
from
a
deity,
is
suddenly
ousted from good standing
in a fall
ousted
from good
standing, but
of enormous
proportions.
then receives off-the-charts bliss.
Great Expectations
Great
Expectations
with original
ending
with revised ending
21
The Twilight Zone
The Sopranos
Humankind receives incremental
It
wasfrom
the similarity
gifts
a deity, is between
suddenlythe
shapes
of
Cinderella
and the but
New
ousted from good standing,
Testament
that
thrilled
Vonnegut
then receives off-the-charts bliss.
for the first time in 1947 and then
over the course
of his life as he
Great Expectations
continuedwith
to write
essays
and give
revised
ending
lectures on the shapes of stories.
In
many
creation
stories,
The
storycultures’
has a lifelike
ambiguity
humankind
incremental
that keeps usreceives
from knowing
if new
gifts
from a deity.
developments
are First
goodmajor
or bad.
staples like the earth and sky, then
Hamlet
smaller things
like sparrows and cell
phones. Not a common shape for
The Sopranos
Western stories,
however.
Cinderella
It was the similarity between the
shapes of Cinderella and the New
Testament that thrilled Vonnegut
for the first time in 1947 and then
over the course of his life as he
continued to write essays and give
lectures on the shapes of stories.
Suggest movies or written stories which match these shapes:
a) From Bad to Worse
b) Which Way Is Up
ACTIVITY 4
21
Humank
gifts from
ousted f
of enorm
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
c) Cinderella
AK
235
Task D: Title
Kurt Vonnegut’s story shapes are fascinating. However, the list you have seen
does not include all possible stories. You are about to read a story which does
not fit any of the shapes you have considered. However, using the basic graph
he devised to chart the progress of a character’s happiness, you can explore the
story’s shape yourself.
22
Read Kate Chopin’s classic short story “The Story of an Hour.” As you read this story, keep in mind
that when it was written—in 1894—marriage was forever. Divorce did not exist.
“The Story of an Hour”
Kate Chopin (1894)
It was her sister Josephine who told her,
in broken sentences; veiled hints that
revealed in half concealing. Her husband’s friend Richards was there, too,
near her. It was he who had been in the
newspaper office when intelligence of
the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard’s name leading the list of
“killed.” He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing
the sad message.
She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed
inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away
to her room alone. She would have no one follow her.
There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she
sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to
reach into her soul.
She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all
aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the
street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which
some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering
in the eaves.
22
LS 1 • A Likely Story
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted
with a heart trouble, great care was taken
to break to her as gently as possible the
news of her husband’s death.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had
met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window.
She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless,
except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried
itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.
L S
1
She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a
certain strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed
away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.
There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was
it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping
out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that
filled the air.
Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. She was beginning to recognize this
thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with
her will—as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been. When she
abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said
it over and over under her breath: “free, free, free!” The vacant stare and the look
of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her
pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear
and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial. She knew
that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death;
the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead.
But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that
would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them
in welcome.
There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for
herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence
with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon
a fellow-creature. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a
crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination.
And yet she had loved him—sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter!
What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of
self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!
“Free! Body and soul free!” she kept whispering.
Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhole, imploring for admission. “Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door—you will make
yourself ill. What are you doing, Louise? For heaven’s sake open the door.”
“Go away. I am not making myself ill.” No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life
through that open window.
ACTIVITY 4
23
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer
that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that
life might be long.
She arose at length and opened the door to her sister’s importunities. There was
a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess
of Victory. She clasped her sister’s waist, and together they descended the stairs.
Richards stood waiting for them at the bottom.
Some one was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who
entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella.
He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had
been one. He stood amazed at Josephine’s piercing cry; at Richards’ quick motion
to screen him from the view of his wife.
When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease—of the joy that kills.
•
23
Answer the following questions.
a) What is unusual about Mrs. Mallard’s reaction to the news of her husband’s death?
b) How does the writer use nature to give us an early clue about Mrs. Mallard’s unusual
reaction?
d) Irony is a complex literary technique which is based on misunderstanding or reversals.
In this case, the irony of the story ending is based on misunderstanding. What do
characters in the story completely misunderstand at the end?
e) Irony often creates humour based on reversals or surprises, although the humour may be
very dark. The endings of “Story of an Hour” and “The Princess and the Tin Box” are both
ironic. Compare how they use irony and whether or not they create humour through irony.
AK
24
LS 1 • A Likely Story
235
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
c) Mrs. Mallard explains her feelings to no one. Why not?
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
Task E: Chart a Story Shape
24
On the graph below, chart the line which plots the happiness of the main character, Mrs. Mallard.
This will give you an idea of how Kurt Vonnegut would visualize the story shape of “Story of an Hour.”
GOOD FORTUNE
BEGINNING
L S
1
END
ILL FORTUNE
AK
25
235
Study this picture and develop your own
story idea based on it. Use your choice of
story shape for your story outline. Record
your choice of story shape in the empty
graph. If it corresponds to one of Kurt
Vonnegut’s story shapes, give it the appropriate name.
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
Story Shape:
GOOD FORTUNE
BEGINNING
END
ILL FORTUNE
ACTIVITY 4
25
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ANSWER
KEY
Story Outline:
ACTIVITY 5
GOAL
Puzzles of the Post-Modern
1.5 hours
To explore how post-modern stories break traditional
narrative patterns.
In this activity, you will:
◗ Discover the post-modern movement and consider how it relates to stories.
◗Read and respond to a post-modern short story related to the romance
genre.
◗Propose an outline for a post-modern short story in another genre of your
choice.
Post-modernism is a recent movement in the
arts which has affected the way stories are
written and understood. It is based on the
view that any kind of knowledge will vary
with perspective. Knowledge, in other words,
is not objectively true, but arises from relationships and is uncertain, complex, and even
contradictory. Certainty is impossible; complexity arises out of contradiction.
This philosophy has had a powerful effect on
the way stories are told. The traditional way
of writing a story does not work in a postmodern context. Just as the reflection of an ancient cathedral is fragmented in
the reflection of a modern building above, the story form is broken into fragmented and seemingly disconnected parts. The perspective of the reader holds
it together and makes sense out of it.
Margaret Atwood’s short story “Happy Endings”
begins with these words:
John and Mary meet.
What happens next?
If you want a happy ending, try A.
26
LS 1 • A Likely Story
© SOFAD / All Rights Reserved.
Task A: Uncertainty, Complexity, Contradiction