Unit 1: Short Fiction I (notes)

Unit 1:
Short Fiction I

Unit 1 Essential Skills

• CHR 1.A: Identify and describe what specific details reveal about a character, that character's perspective, and that character's motives.  

• SET 2.A: Identify and describe specific textual details that convey or reveal a setting.  

• STR 3.A: Identify and describe how plot orders events in a narrative.  

• STR 3.B: Explain the function of a particular sequence of events in a plot. 

• NAR 4.A: Identify and describe the narrator or speaker of a text.  

• NAR 4.B: Identify and explain the function of point of view in a narrative.

• LAN 7.A: Develop a paragraph that includes 1) a claim that requires defense with evidence from the text and 2) the evidence itself.

Characterization

• Can refer to the creation of a character or the distinctive nature or features of a character.

• When describing or characterizing a person, you typically look at the following aspects to get a complete view of that person

  • Physical 

  • Emotional

  • Psychological

• Rely on adjectives to help paint a picture of the person (some adjectives can be used to describe more than one aspect).

Sources of Characterization

• Narrator’s description of the character

• Other characters’ interactions with and observations of the character

• The character’s actions/thoughts/dialogue

Character's Perspective

• The way the character views the world impacts not only characterization but can drive the action in the story.

• Consider the following when trying to determine the character’s perspective:

  • his/her background

  • his/her environment

  • his/her personality traits

  • his/her relationships

Multiple Choice

Which aspect is NOT considered when trying to get a complete view of a character?

• Physical

• Psychological

• Emotional

• Conditional

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is not a source of characterization?

• The narrator's description of the character

• The setting's description

• Other characters’ interactions

• The character's actions, thoughts, and dialogue

Multiple Choice

A character's perspective can also be described as

• the way the character views the world

• the way the character views themselves

• the character's motivations

• the character's background

Open Ended

How would you characterize Mrs. Mallard from Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour"? Include details about her physical, psychological and emotional being.

Setting

• So much more than time and place. Setting also includes the social/cultural environment and the mood/atmosphere. 

• Look carefully at clues in the text to gain deeper insight on when and where the story takes place and what effect it has on the story.

• The setting can be an active participant in the story and impact the characters and vice versa. 

Multiple Select

Setting includes which of the following aspects of the story (select all that apply).

• Time and place

• Social & Cultural Environment

• Mood & Atmosphere

• Tone & Motivation

Open Ended

Describe the setting of Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour". Include the social and cultural aspects that impact the characters.

Structure

• Initially when we think of the structure of a story, we think of the plot and how the plot points are arranged. 

• Typically, a plot will be linear and have five parts:

  • Exposition

  • Rising action

  • Climax

  • Falling action

  • Resolution

Linear Plot Strucute

Plot Structures

• Linear - chronological sequence

• Non-linear - not a chronological sequence

• In medias res - the story begins in the middle of the conflict

• Epistolary - story is told through letters

• Flashbacks - the story is told through various flashbacks or memories of a character

• Framed narrative - a story within a story

When analyzing the plot structure, we need to think about why the author chose this structure, what does it add, what does it take away, and what complexity does it imply.

Function of Structure

• Once you have determined the plot structure, then you have to ask the question… so what? Consider the following:

  • How does a particular sequence of events affect the development of the characters or conflict?

  • How does a particular sequence of events and the manner in which the text presents them to a reader affects the reader’s experience with the text?

Multiple Choice

What is the structure of Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour"?

• Non-linear

• Flashbacks

• Linear

• Framed Narrative

Match

Match the following parts of the plot of "The Story of an Hour" to its function in the linear plot structure.

• Exposition

• Rising Action

• Climax

• Falling Action

• Resolution

Mrs. Mallard learns her husband's dead

Mrs. Mallard secludes herself to reflect

Mrs. Mallard realizes she is free

Mrs. Mallard emerges triumphant

Mrs. Mallard dies from the shock of seeing her husband alive

• Mrs. Mallard learns her husband's dead

• Mrs. Mallard secludes herself to reflect

• Mrs. Mallard realizes she is free

• Mrs. Mallard emerges triumphant

• Mrs. Mallard dies from the shock of seeing her husband alive

Narrator/Point of View

• Analyzing the narrator is much more than determining if the story is told in 1st person or 3rd person POV. 

• One must also consider the narrator’s perspective and his/her position in the story. 

  • Is he/she a participant or an observer?

  • Is he/she believable or even a reliable source of this information?

  • What information is told? What is omitted?

• The narrator has power, but only as much power as the reader gives him/her.

  • Question the narrator, be critical.

First Person Point of View

• Definition: the narrator/speaker is a character in the story (sometimes the protagonist). Uses pronouns like I, me, my, we, us, our, etc.

• Importance: there is power because we get a narrow lens through which we see the events and characters. 

  • It develops intimacy (closeness), gives credibility, and expresses an opinion.

Limitations: there is bias because it only shows that character’s perspective. It leads the reader to question the narrator’s reliability.

Third Person Point of View

• Definition: the narrator/speaker is an observer of the events in the story. Uses pronouns like he, she, it, them, they, etc.

  • Objective - narrator does not convey the thoughts/feelings of the characters and they relate the events in a neutral way.

  • Limited: knows the thoughts of a single character or a handful of character

  • Omniscient: the narrator knows and is aware of every thought and feeling of the characters. 

Third Person Point of View

• Importance/Limitations for Objective 3rd POV: unlike a 1st person narrator, a 3rd person narrator is detached and distant, stating the facts, unemotional. It shows a process that is unfolding. It creates intrigue and suspense and forces the reader to asks questions and think critically.

• Importance/Limitations for Limited/Omniscient 3rd POV:  the narrator is distant yet close. It builds sympathy for characters and creates tension between characters.

Multiple Choice

In which point of view is "The Story of an Hour" written?

• 1st Person

• 3rd Person - Limited

• 3rd Person - Omniscient

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is true about the narrator of "The Story of an Hour"? (click all that apply)

• The narrator may be sympathetic to Mrs. Mallard

• The narrator shows bias towards the other characters in the story.

• The narrator seems detached from the events of the story.

• The narrator is overly emotional towards Mrs. Mallard.

Prepare for a whole-class discussion on "The Story of an Hour".