Common Core Standards
Literary Devices and Narrative
Structure in After
Book: After
Author: Marita Golden
Grade Level: 9-12
Lesson Type: Literary Devices
Concept: Literary Devices and Narrative Structure in After
Primary Subject Area: English
Secondary Subject Areas: None
Common Core Standards Addressed:
Grades 9-10
Key Ideas and Details
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and
analyze in detail its development over the course
of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped
and refined by specific details; provide an
objective summary of the text.
Grades 11-12
Analyze the impact of the author’s choices
regarding how to develop and relate elements of a
story or drama (e.g. where a story is set, how the
action is ordered, how the characters are
introduced and developed).
Analyze how complex characters (e.g. those with
multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over
the course of a text, interact with other characters,
and advance the plot or develop the theme.
Craft and Structure
Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how
to structure a text, order events within it (e.g.
parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g. pacing,
flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension,
or surprise.
Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how
to structure specific parts of a text (e.g. the choice
of where to begin or end a story, the choice to
provide a comedic or traffic resolution) contribute
to its overall structure and meaning as well as its
aesthetic impact.
Grades 9-10
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
Acquire and use accurately general academic and
domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for
reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the
college and career readiness level; demonstrate
independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge
when considering a word or phrase important to
comprehension or expression.
Grades 11-12
Acquire and use accurately general academic and
domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for
reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the
college and career readiness level; demonstrate
independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge
when considering a word or phrase important to
comprehension or expression.
Literary Devices and Narrative Structure in After: Common Core Standards
1
Lesson Plan
Literary Devices and Narrative
Structure in After
Book: After
Author: Marita Golden
Grade Level: 9-12
Lesson Type: Literary Devices
Overview:
Materials:
Students will analyze Marita Golden’s use of various literary
techniques to identify the ways in which she uses them to create
meaning and drive the plot of the novel. Students will build on
their knowledge of literary devices to determine how simile,
metaphor, personification and figurative language impact the
Golden’s After.
•
•
Objectives:
•
Copies of After
Whiteboard
Other Resources:
Supplementary Materials Chart Students will be able to:
•
•
•
•
•
Define metaphor, simile, personification, and figurative
language.
Examine how Marita Golden uses the aforementioned literary
devices in her novel After.
Identify how metaphor, simile, personification and figurative
language operate in the text, and posit possible explanations
for why Golden uses certain literary techniques.
Articulate how the author’s use of literary devices impacts the
reading experience.
Conduct a close reading of Marita Golden’s After.
Warm-Up Activity:
This lesson plan will discuss four literary devices in detail:
metaphor, simile, personification, and figurative language.
Begin the lesson with this brief explanation of literary devices and
the ways they can function within a text. You should feel free to
provide your own examples, if you’d like:
Metaphor:
A comparison or analogy stated in such a way as to imply that
one object is another one, figuratively speaking. When we speak
of "the ladder of success," we imply that being successful is much
like climbing a ladder to a higher and better position.
Simile:
An analogy or comparison implied by using an adverb such as
like or as, in contrast with a metaphor which figuratively makes
the comparison by stating outright that one thing is another thing.
Personification:
A trope in which abstractions, animals, ideas, and inanimate
Literary Devices and Narrative Structure in After: Lesson Plan
2
Lesson Plan
Literary Devices and Narrative
Structure in After
Book: After
Author: Marita Golden
Grade Level: 9-12
Lesson Type: Literary Devices
objects are given human character, traits, abilities, or reactions.
Figurative language:
A deviation from what speakers of a language understand as the
ordinary or standard use of words in order to achieve some
special meaning or effect. Perhaps the two most common
figurative devices are the simile--a comparison between two
distinctly different things using "like" or "as" ("My love's like a
red, red rose")--and the metaphor--a figure of speech in which two
unlike objects are implicitly compared without the use of "like" or
"as."
In general, literary devices are a collection of universal artistic
structures that are typical of most literature and frequently
employed by writers to provide meaning and a logical framework
to their work. Because of their universality, literary devices also
allow readers to compare works and authors (across time and
place), and to see the ways in which different writers employ
these devices in diverse ways. Literary devices—in all of their
forms—not only beautify literature but also give it deeper
meaning. Literary devices test the reader’s understanding of the
work but also provide the reader with an enjoyeable reading
experience that engages the imagination.
Short Lecture and Partner Activities:
Set up four copies of the following chart on the board, and fill in each one with the definitions for metaphor, simile, personification, and figurative language, respectively—but not the terms themselves. (Brief definitions for each of these terms can be located on the Key Vocabulary page of this packet, and more expansive definitions can be found on the website mentioned on the Supplementary Materials Chart.) Literary
Definition
Textual Examples
Device
Literary Devices and Narrative Structure in After: Lesson Plan
3
Lesson Plan
Literary Devices and Narrative
Structure in After
Book: After
Author: Marita Golden
Grade Level: 9-12
Lesson Type: Literary Devices
Once this exercise is complete, ask your students to provide the name of the corresponding
literary device for each definition. Once they have correctly done so for all four devices,
divide your students into four groups and assign one device to each group.
When the students have moved into their groups, hand out copies of the excerpt from After
that appears on the Textual References page of this packet. (One per student.) Have the
students read and annotate the excerpt silently—and individually—looking for examples of
their assigned literary device. Once the students finish reading and annotating, they will
discuss their findings with their group. (Allow 20 minutes for the completion of this activity.)
Once the students have finished working within their groups, bring the class back together
and discuss the examples that each group found. (Have each group present to the class
collaboratively, as their will be multiple examples to discuss for each device.
Discussion Wrap-Up:
At the end of the lesson, lead a discussion with the students that addresses the following
questions:
•
•
•
Of the four devices we investigated, which does Marita Golden employ most
successfully? Least successfully? Why? Support your answer with evidence
from the text.
As a reader, is there any particular literary device—one of the ones mentioned
in this lesson, or another, that you prefer over the others? If so, what is it, and
why? How does it positively contribute to your reading experience?
What is the most common literary device that Marita Golden uses in her novel
After? What does this say (if anything) about the text as a whole?
Literary Devices and Narrative Structure in After: Lesson Plan
4
Lesson Plan
Literary Devices and Narrative
Structure in After
Book: After
Author: Marita Golden
Grade Level: 9-12
Lesson Type: Literary Devices
Writing Activities/Evaluations:
Analytical
Please read the passage provided in the “Textual Reference” page. (The selected passage can also be found on
p. 181-183 in Marita Golden’s After). This selection comes at the beginning of Book 2, after some time has
passed and Carson experiences a new chapter in his life after the harrowing events of Book 1. How does the
author utilize metaphor, simile, personification, and figurative language in this passage to indicate not only
that time has passed but also that Carson has experienced changes within himself? Is this effective? Answer
these questions in a 500-800 word essay.
Note: You can split your answers into separate paragraphs; one for each literary device analyzed.
Creative
Select one literary device from the following list: metaphor, simile, personification, or figurative language.
Write a short excerpt utilizing at least one of these literary devices. Your passage can be fiction, or it can be
non-fictional. Genre does not matter in this case. The successful execution of your chose literary device,
however, does! Student response should fall between 500-600 words.
Literary Devices and Narrative Structure in After: Lesson Plan
5
Discussion & Comprehension Questions
Literary Devices and Narrative
Structure in After
Book: After
Author: Marita Golden
Grade Level: 9-12
Lesson Type: Literary Devices
Questions for Discussion Define metaphor. Give an example. Define simile. How does simile differ from metaphor? Find a metaphor in Marita Golden’s After. In your opinion, how is Golden using this metaphor in her novel? In what way does the presence of the literary devices we have discussed contribute to your experience as a reader? Do you prefer figurative language or straightforward language in a text? Explain your answer. Does your answer to the above question change depending on the kind of text you are reading? If so, why? What does Golden achieve in the selected passage, by using metaphors, similes, personification, and figurative language? What mood does she set? How does Golden use language to differentiate between Carson and his personality in Book 1 and in Book 2? Does she convey any obvious differences in his personality? If so, please name them. How does Carson’s description of his experience as a realtor function as a metaphor for the hardship he experienced after Paul Houston’s death? Literary Devices and Narrative Structure in After: Discussion & Comprehension Questions
6
Key Vocabulary
Literary Devices and Narrative
Structure in After
Book: After
Author: Marita Golden
Grade Level: 9-12
Lesson Type: Literary Devices
Word:
Definition:
Metaphor
A comparison or analogy stated in such a way as to imply that one object is another one, figuratively speaking. When we speak of "ʺthe ladder of success,"ʺ we imply that being successful is much like climbing a ladder to a higher and better position. Simile
An analogy or comparison implied by using an adverb such as like or as, in contrast with a metaphor which figuratively makes the comparison by stating outright that one thing is another thing. Personification
A trope in which abstractions, animals, ideas, and inanimate objects are given human character, traits, abilities, or reactions. Figurative language
A deviation from what speakers of a language understand as the ordinary or standard use of words in order to achieve some special meaning or effect. Perhaps the two most common figurative devices are the simile-­‐‑-­‐‑a comparison between two distinctly different things using "ʺlike"ʺ or "ʺas"ʺ ("ʺMy love'ʹs like a red, red rose"ʺ)-­‐‑-­‐‑and the metaphor-­‐‑-­‐‑a figure of speech in which two unlike objects are implicitly compared without the use of "ʺlike"ʺ or "ʺas."ʺ Literary Devices and Narrative Structure in After: Key Vocabulary
7
Text References
Literary Devices and Narrative
Structure in After
Textual References
Book: After
Author: Marita Golden
Grade Level: 9-12
Lesson Type: Literary Devices
Carson pulls into the circular blacktop driveway in front of the two-story brick Greek revival and parks in
front of the garage. The house rises preeminently against the even more commanding heights of the trees and
foliage beyond the border of the neatly carved two-acre backyard that holds the woods at bay. Two broad
white columns hold up the roof and stand as bold as if shouldering the world. This house is one of a dozen
completed homes in a development just off narrow, winding Church Road. The residential community, Belair
Mansions, has been carved out of four hundred acres of woodland sprawling on both sides of the two-lane
road. New homes have joined the farms, churches, cornfields, the modest split-levels, the occasional
weatherbeaten abandoned barn, the rolling hilly turf farms that give the area a secluded feel that pays
homage to its once solidly rural past.
Half the houses in this still unfinished community stand like women caught naked, forced to be on
display, their roofs consisting only of rafters, the drywall and plywood underbelly exposed. Hispanic
immigrant workers, small brown men in blue jeans and plaid workshirts, their raven black hair covered by
baseball caps, hammer shingles on the roof of a house fifty feet away and stand almost protectively over a
concrete mixer near the entrance to the development. Carson has lived all his life in Prince George’s County
and never imagined that one day he would be a real estate agent who had sold a house for eight hundred
thousand dollars. He pulled that one off last month. It’s only June, but so far it’s been a good year.
He has a good feeling about this house, but the Fullers haven’t liked much of what he’s shown them.
Not the Georgian in Bowie, the rambler in Springdale, or the colonial in Laurel. Carl Fuller strode through the
previous houses like General Patton inspecting the troops on D-Day. He’s one of the few Black partners in
any of the K Street power-broker D.C. law firms. Built like a linebacker, Fuller starts every sentence by
clearing his throat, thrusting his hands behind his back, and entwining his fingers, as if to give himself more
backbone. He told Carson during the initial meeting in the Century real estate office that he wanted a
showcase home, something to “impress the members of the Old Boys’ club at my firm when I invite them for
a Christmas party.” Carson figured that as a partner at McNeill, Covington, and Lowry, Carl Fuller had won
all the battles that mattered.
His wife, Rose, is tiny, with a short, frizzy mass of curls framing her high-cheekboned face; a distant,
harried look resides in her eyes. But it’s Rose, not Carl, who grills Carson about the test scores in the local
schools, the area’s crime rate, median income, the possibility of flooding the basement, the materials used in
construction. Rose wants a house, as she told Carson, “That will make me feel like I’m living a life nobody
else possibly could. And I want a big backyard where I can grow tomatoes, collards, and sweet potatoes.”
Belair Mansions. Paradise Acres. Heaven’s Gate. Now that he is selling homes, Carson understands
why developments are named to prick the skin of people’s fantasies, their yearnings and dreams. Buy the
right house and you will have a perfect life, save your marriage, erase a nightmarish childhood, fill your
friends with envy, feel once and for all like you are somebody. That’s what people think. Every time Carson
makes a sale he recalls the day he and Bunny chose their first house. And he relives all the reasons why.
That’s one thing he likes about what he does now. He makes people happy. For a while at least. (pp. 181-183)
Literary Devices and Narrative Structure in After: Text References
8
Class Handout
Name:
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
FILL AT YOUR DISCRETION WITH RELEVANT CLASSWORK
Literary Devices and Narrative Structure in After: Class Handout
Literary Devices and Narrative Structure in After: Supplementary Materials Chart
Category
of
Resource
Description of
Resource
Website
Literary Devices,
provides an
alphabetized list
of literary devices,
along with
definitions and
examples.
Website
Potential Educational
Uses of Resource
This is an excellent
resource for students to
sharpen their literary
vocabulary. Students
will not only learn
about a vast number of
literary devices, but
also see examples of
these literary devices in
practice.
This website is
This is an excellent
another great
resource for students to
glossary of literary sharpen their literary
devices.
vocabulary. This
website is curated by
the University of North
Carolina.
Link to Resource
http://literary-devices.com/
http://www2.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/general/glossary.htm
Literary Devices and Narrative Structure in After: Supplementary Materials Chart