Unit 4: Short Fiction I (notes)

Unit 4:
Short Fiction II

Unit 4 Essential Skills

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

• CHR 1.C: Explain the function of contrasting characters.  

• CHR 1.D: Describe how textual details reveal nuances and complexities in characters' relationships with one another.  

• SET 2.B: Explain the function of setting in a narrative 

• SET 2.C: Describe the relationship between a character and a setting 

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

• STR 3.D: Explain the function of contrasts within a text. 

Unit 4 Essential Skills

• 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.  

• NAR 4.C: Identify and describe details, diction, or syntax in a text that reveal a narrator's or speaker's perspective. 

• LAN 7.B: Develop a thesis statement that conveys a defensible claim about an interpretation of literature and that may establish a line of reasoning. 

• LAN 7.C: Develop commentary that establishes and explains relationships among textual evidence, the line of reasoning, and the thesis.

Character 1.A,C,&D

• The significance of characters is often reveal through their agency and through nuanced descriptions

  • Characters’ choices - in speech, action, and inaction - reveal what they value. 

• The main character is a narrative is the protagonist; the antagonist in the narrative opposes the protagonist and may be another character, the internal conflicts of the protagonist, a collective (such as society) or nature.

  • Protagonists and antagonists may represent contrasting values. 

• Conflict among characters often arises from tensions generated by their different value systems. 

Multiple Select

In the story, "The Flowers" which of the following is true of the main character?

• Her name is Myop.

• She is young.

• She is black.

• She changes her perspective.

Multiple Select

In the story, "The Flowers" which serves as the antagonist of the story?

• A person

• Technology

• Nature

• Society

Setting 2.B&C

• A setting may help establish the mood and atmosphere of a narrative. 

  • The mood and atmosphere will influence the characters and help to develop the conflict. The setting itself may be the cause of the tension/conflict.

  • It will also create a desired effect on the reader to promote the theme of the story.

• The environment a character inhabits provides information about that character. 

  • It can help the reader understand the character's motivations and/or perspective. Consider the societal, historical and cultural implications of the setting.

  • The weather may also provide information about the character and it can influence or reflection the character's emotions or conflict.

Multiple Select

In the story, "The Flowers," which of the following is true of the setting of the story?

• It is set in the South

• It is set in a rural area.

• It is set in the 21st century.

• It is set in the late 1800s - early 1900s.

Open Ended

In the story, "The Flowers," what information is reveal about Myop based on her interaction with the setting?

Structure 3.A&D

• Some patterns in a dramatic situation are so common that they are considered archetypes, and these archetypes create certain expectations for how the dramatic situations will progress and be resolved. 

• The differences highlighted by a contrast emphasize the particular traits, aspects or characteristics important for comparison of the things being contrasted. 

• Contrasts often represent conflicts in values related to character, narrator, or speaker perspectives on ideas represented by a text. 

Multiple Select

How is the contrast revealed in the story, "The Flowers"?

• Through the change in the surroundings

• Through the change in season

• Through the character's perspective

• Through a comparison of characters

Narrator 4.A-C

• Narrators may function as characters in the narrative who directly address readers and either recall events or described them as they occur. 

• Narrative distance refers to the physical distance, chronological distance, relationships, or emotional investment of the narrator to the events or characters of the narrative. 

• Stream of consciousness is a type of narration in which a character’s thoughts are related through a continuous dialogue or description

Multiple Choice

From which point of view is the story, "The Flowers" told?

• 1st person

• 3rd person limited

• 3rd person omniscient

Multiple Select

The narrative distance in "The Flowers" takes which form(s)?

• physical

• chronological

• relational

• emotional

Read the story on the next page. Then answer the questions that follow.

girl-jamaica-kincaid.pdf - Google Drive

You can open this webpage in a new tab.

Copy link

Open in new tab

Poll

How many characters do you think are in this story?

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

Poll

From what point of view is the story told?

• 1st person

• 3rd person limited

• 3rd person omniscient

Open Ended

What do you believe is the motivation of the narrator? What does the narrator value?

Open Ended

What is the contrast that exists within this story?

Poll

What aspects of the setting is the most influential on the conflict in the story?

• historical

• social

• cultural

• geographical

Open Ended

How do you think the author has structured this story?