Transcript Start-Up - Discussion

Post-War, Pre-War, and
Modern Story
Project
(1865 – 1939)
• The Civil War - April 12, 1861 – April 9, 1865
• WWI – July 28, 1914 – November 11, 1918
• “Contemporary American Literature” – 1940 to Present
So Many Stories…So Little Time
In the time period from the end of the Civil War
to 1939, American Literature saw so many
brilliant examples of writing that we can’t
possibly cover them all…
OR CAN WE???
15…No…3 Stories
• I have selected 15 great short stories that will
represent American Literature from 18651939 to us.
• Your job will be to choose 3 of those 15
stories which you will read and complete
assignments on in the next two weeks.
• You will use those 3 stories to complete 3
assignments.
3 Assignments
1. A Google document in which you will
answer 6 questions about one of the three
stories you have chosen.
2. A book jacket which will contain specific
information about one of the three stories
you have chosen.
3. A Google slide presentation, at least 5 slides
long, which you MAY be presenting to the
class.
LET’S BREAK
THIS DOWN A
BIT…SHALL
WE???
Assignment 1 – The Google Document
• After reading your first story, you will use the
Google Document titled “Story Questions” (the
link is on my webpage) and answer the 6
questions found there.
• Those questions will ask you to discuss:
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Setting
Characters
Figurative Language
Author’s choices
Theme
A summary of the story
• You will make a copy of the Google document,
answer the questions, share and submit it
through my webpage.
Assignment 2 – The Book Jacket
• After reading your second story, you will
create a book jacket (on the paper provided).
• Your book jacket will include:
– A Front Cover: Title, Author, and Illustration
– Inside Pages: Character descriptions and
importance; a paragraph on theme; and a plot
map showing elements of the rising action,
climax, falling action and resolution of the story.
– A Back Cover: One paragraph summary of the
story and a short “review” of the story.
Assignment 3 – The Google Slide
Presentation
• For your third chosen story, you will create a
Google slide presentation.
• Your presentation will include:
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A title/author slide with an illustration
A story summary slide (one paragraph summary)
A Story theme slide (one paragraph on theme)
A character slide – Discussion of the main character
(or one of the main characters), their entrance into
the story, and their importance to the story
– A Figurative Language Slide – At least 2 examples of
figurative language from the story and your analysis
of it (meaning and purpose).
YOU MAY BE CHOSEN (BY RANDOM SELECTION)
TO PRESENT YOUR SLIDESHOW TO THE CLASS!
Timeline
• All 3 assignments are due no later than
Wednesday March 11th, so that they can be
graded in time for 3rd Quarter grades.
• Thursday (3/12) and Friday (3/13) will be
presentation days.
• You will have class time for the next week
and a half to read stories and work on your
assignments.
15 Stories
• All 15 of the stories will available to you on
my webpage. You may read them on the
computer or, if you prefer, print them at
home or in the Library and read them on
paper.
• You will choose your stories TODAY based
only on the brief synopsis provided.
• Only 7 people may choose any one story.
Once 7 have chosen, you will have to choose
something else.
Story Synopses
• The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark
Twain (1865)
– The story of Jim Smiley and his famous frog, who could
supposedly outjump any other frog in the county is told by
Simon Wheeler; a man who loves to talk...and talk...and talk.
• The Luck of Roaring Camp by Bret Harte (1868)
– The story of a gold mining camp in California. Once the
roughest, rowdiest camp around, everything changes when a
baby boy is born in camp and needs to be cared for.
• A Point At Issue by Kate Chopin (1889)
– The story of a young married couple, Charles and Eleanor, who
refuse to be bound by the traditional rules of marriage. They
withstand the pressure of traditional gender roles as they
navigate their new marriage.
Story Synopses
• An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose
Bierce (1890)
– The story of the hanging of Civil War era southern
gentleman, Peyton Farquhar. The tale reveals how he
came to be standing at Owl Creek Bridge with a noose
around his neck.
• The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry (1907)
– Two small-time criminals, Bill and Sam, kidnap Johnny,
the red-haired son of an important citizen named
Ebenezer Dorset, and hold him for ransom.
• To Build a Fire by Jack London (1908)
– An adventure story of a man’s attempt to travel across
ten miles of Yukon wilderness in temperatures dropping
to seventy-five degrees below zero.
Story Synopses
• The Lost Phoebe by Theodore Dreiser (1915)
– The touching and emotional story of Henry
Reifsneider who can’t seem to let go of his love for
his wife, Phoebe, when she passes away.
• A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner (1920)
– The mysterious story of Emily Grierson, a southern
lady whose behavior is a mystery to the people in
her town, which begins and ends at her funeral.
• Spunk by Zora Neale Hurston (1925)
– A story of love, betrayal, and revenge as Spunk Banks
steals Joe Kanty’s wife, and Joe gets his
revenge...after death.
Story Synopses
• The Battler by Ernest Hemingway (1925)
– Another chapter in the story of Nick Adams, a character
that has been in many of Hemingway’s stories, and his
encounter with a “not quite right” former boxing
champion.
• The Leader of the People by John Steinbeck (1933)
– The story of Jody Tiflin and his Grandfather, who once led
a wagon train across the plains. Jody learns from him
what it means to be a leader.
• Cora Unashamed by Langston Hughes (1934)
– The story of Cora Jenkins, a young black woman who
works as a servant for a white family and how she stands
strong against the hatred and indifference of her
environment.
Story Synopses
• Roman Fever by Edith Wharton (1934)
– The story of Grace Ansley and Alida Slade on a trip to Rome,
and a long kept secret deception that is revealed along the
way.
• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall by Katherine Anne Porter
(1939)
– A story of Granny Weatherall and the memories, thoughts, and
feelings that she experiences as her life is fading away.
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber (1939)
– The story of mild-mannered, hen-pecked husband, Walter
Mitty, and the adventures he goes on in his imagination as he
tries to escape his unhappy life.
Choosing Stories
• I will be calling groups, by random draw, to
come up and select their stories.
• If a story you want already has 7 names
under it when you get your turn, you will
have to choose another one.
• Make sure you make note of the 3 stories you
chose on your Story Synopses page, so you
don’t forget by Monday.
A STRONG SUGGESTION
You all know I don’t usually give weekend
homework, BUT…
You have your stories now. I STRONGLY
SUGGEST you take some time this weekend and
at least read the stories you have chosen, so
you can get right to work on the assignments
on Monday!
Paragraphs on Theme
• The theme of a story is what the author is trying
to convey — in other words, the central idea of
the story.
• Short stories often have just one theme,
whereas novels usually have multiple themes.
• The theme of a story is woven all the way
through the story, and the characters' actions,
interactions, and motivations all reflect the
story's theme.
• The events of the story illustrate the theme, and
the lesson that you learn relates directly to the
theme.
Theme Paragraph Example
“The Devil and Tom Walker”
This story focuses largely on a theme of
greed and its negative effects. Tom Walker is
known throughout the Charles Bay for his
greed, and it is this greed that leads him to sell
his soul to the devil in exchange for money. This
theme is also shown through Tom’s wife and
her uncertain ending. Tom's, and his wife’s,
plight is meant to warn readers not to let greed
blind them, for, as is the case in "The Devil and
Tom Walker," it can have disastrous
consequences.
Theme Paragraph Example
“A Mystery of Heroism”
The theme of "A Mystery of Heroism" is the
foolishness and pointlessness of war. Through his use of
symbolism, Crane shows how war costs a very high price to
accomplish its trivial goal. Collins’ motivation of pride is
parallel to the fact that many wars are initiated because of
foolish pride. The desires of thousands of men at war to be
heroes and their confusion about whether or not they
actually are heroes, is represented by Collins’ consideration
of heroism. Crane’s description of a beautiful meadow being
destroyed through severe shelling parallels how war
destroys innocent beauty. The hopelessness and
pointlessness of war is made clear by Crane’s use of the
symbol water. Collins’ journey involves risking his life for
water, which represents life. The spilling of the water at the
end symbolizes the blood of thousands of soldiers that has
been carelessly spilled on the battlefield.
Summary Paragraphs
• A summary is a shortened, condensed
version of a story.
• The purpose of a summary is to share the key
ideas from the item with your reader.
• Summaries keep the same tone as the
original piece and do not contain opinion.
• Summaries do not have a formal conclusion.
Summary Paragraph Example
“The Devil and Tom Walker”
“The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving
is about Tom Walker who lives a poor life, and is
also in a horrible marriage. One day Tom comes
across the devil and eventually strikes a bargain
with him in order to become rich. After getting
everything he hoped for, Tom Walker tries to cheat
the devil by becoming a church man but the devil
gets him in the end.
Plot Map
• A plot map should include important details
that drive the plot of a story; the conflict,
climax, and resolution.
– Rising Action – This is the conflict in the story
that drives it to its climax. Do not include things
that don’t push the story forward.
– Climax – This is the pivotal turning point in the
story. It is in this moment that everything
changes.
– Falling Action – What happens after the climax
that carries a story to its resolution.
– Resolution – The ending of the story. There are
usually no unanswered questions left after this.
Plot Map Example
“A Mystery of Heroism”
Climax – Collins runs out across the field
To get water from the well.
RA3 – The commanding officers give Collins
Permission to go after the water.
RA2 – Collins’ buddies tease him Into
actually going after the water
Rising Action 1 –
Collins says he is
Thirsty and notices
the well.
Falling Action 1 – Collins gets
To the well and gets the water.
FA2 – Collins stops and gives a
Drink to the dying officer.
Resolution - The two
idiots are playing around
and spill the bucket.
Discussion of Characters
• Description – Can include a BRIEF physical
description but should focus on personality and
character traits.
• Entrance into the story – When and how does the
character enter the story? Why you think the
author chose that method and time to introduce
him/her.
• Importance – Why was this character important to
the story? What is it about their personality or
traits that contributes to the story’s plot or theme?
• Character Arch - Does the character change over the
course of the story? If so, why and how? If not, how
was it important to the story that they not change?
Figurative Language
• Giving Examples – metaphors, similes,
symbolism, imagery, personification, slang or
vernacular, etc.
• Meaning – What does the author mean by
this example? What does the
metaphor/simile/symbol represent? Why
that particular image?
• Adding to the Story – How does it add to the
story? If it were not there, how would the
story be different? What is its effect on the
reader?