Transcript Slide 1

Unit 6
UNIT 6
Genre Fiction
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Unit 6
UNIT MENU
Unit Menu
Introducing the Unit
Genre Focus: Genre Fiction
Literary Analysis Model:
The Happy Man’s Shirt
retold by Italo Calvino
translated by George Martin
Wrap-Up
Unit 6
INTRODUCTION
Genre fiction is a flexible term used to group works of
fiction that have similar characters, plots, or settings.
Bookstores and libraries often shelve some of their
fiction by genre categories—for example, romance,
mystery, science fiction, and fantasy. Different from
myths and folktales, genre fiction does not emerge
from the oral traditions of cultures, nor is it usually
rooted in history. Mysteries are often set in the
present, fantasies in an indeterminate past or a
distorted present, and science fiction in a distant
future. This unit includes genres that reveal the
unlimited potential of the human imagination.
Unit 6
INTRODUCTION
The Extraordinary and Fantastic
Imagine a world where extraordinary things
happen. Imagine traveling to distant galaxies
or living in a world where dreams become
real. The fantasy and science fiction stories
in Part 1 will expand your imagination. As
you read these tales, ask yourself: What
makes these stories so appealing?
Unit 6
INTRODUCTION
The Uncanny and Mysterious
Trying to figure out the ending is part of the
fun of reading mysteries. The mysteries in
Part 2 offer devious schemes, clever
criminals, and much that is uncanny and
mysterious. As you read these mysteries,
ask yourself: What clues do I have now?
What do they suggest about how the story
will end?
Unit 6
Unit 6
GENRE FOCUS: GENRE FICTION
What are science fiction, modern
fables, and mystery?
This unit includes four kinds of genre fiction:
science fiction, fantasy, modern fable, and
mystery. Writers of these kinds of fiction use all
of the techniques of good storytelling. The
writers create unusual settings and characters,
intriguing plot patterns, and use vivid
descriptions to draw readers into imagined
worlds or investigations. Often, writers of
science fiction, fantasy, and mystery create
characters who appear in subsequent works,
where the story develops further. In this way,
genre fiction writers create series.
Unit 6
GENRE FOCUS: GENRE FICTION
Types of Genre Fiction
Science Fiction
Science fiction is fiction that deals with
the impact of science and technology—
real or imagined—on society and
individuals. Sometimes occurring in the
future, science fiction commonly portrays
space travel, exploration of the planets,
and future societies or scientific and
technological advances.
Unit 6
GENRE FOCUS: GENRE FICTION
Types of Genre Fiction
Fantasy
Fantasy is a highly imaginative type of
fiction, usually set in an unfamiliar world
or a distant, heroic past. Fantasy stories
may include people, but they often
include gnomes, elves, or other
fantastical beings or supernatural forces.
The use of magic is common in fantasy
stories.
Unit 6
GENRE FOCUS: GENRE FICTION
Types of Genre Fiction
Fable
A fable is a brief, usually simple story
intended to teach a lesson about human
behavior or to give advice about how to
behave. Themes in fables are often
stated directly. Modern fables also focus
on themes relating to human behavior,
with little development of individual
characters.
Unit 6
GENRE FOCUS: GENRE FICTION
Types of Genre Fiction
Mystery
The genre of mystery includes a variety of
types, all of which follow a standard plot
pattern. Spy stories are often mysteries, as
are tales of danger or adventure. A detective
story usually follows a standard plot
pattern—a crime is committed and a
detective searches for clues that lead him or
her to the criminal. Any story that relies on
the unknown or the terrifying can be
considered a mystery.
Unit 6
GENRE FOCUS: GENRE FICTION
Style and Tone
Style, Voice, and Diction
The expressive qualities that distinguish an
author’s work, including word choice,
sentence structure, and figures of speech,
contribute to style. Voice, an author’s
distinctive use of language to convey the
author’s or narrator’s personality to the
reader, is determined by elements of style.
Diction, the writer’s choice of words, is an
important element in the writer’s voice or
style.
Unit 6
GENRE FOCUS: GENRE FICTION
Style and Tone
Attitude
Tone is the writer’s attitude toward his or
her subject. Tone is conveyed through
elements such as word choice,
punctuation, sentence structure, and
figures of speech. A writer’s tone may be
sympathetic, objective, serious, ironic,
sad, bitter, or humorous.
Unit 6
GENRE FOCUS: GENRE FICTION
Style and Tone
Imagery and Description
Imagery refers to descriptive language that
appeals to the senses. Authors carefully
select details, creating “word pictures” that
evoke an emotional response. Imagery can
create new worlds for the reader or present
a fresh perspective on this world.
Description is a detailed portrayal of a
person, place, thing, or event. Good
description is especially important in genre
fiction to help the reader imagine unfamiliar
times and places.
Unit 6
GENRE FOCUS: GENRE FICTION
Style and Tone
Sensory Details
Authors use evocative words or phrases
that appeal to one or more of the five
senses—sight, hearing, touch, taste, and
smell—in order to create effective
images.
Unit 6
Unit 6
LITERARY ANALYSIS MODEL
The Happy Man’s Shirt
retold by Italo Calvino
translated by George Martin
Literary Element
Analyzing Genre
What makes “The Happy Man’s Shirt” a
modern fable?
Answer: It is one author’s modern retelling
of an old folktale that has the main purpose
of expressing a moral judgment related to
current attitudes toward happiness.
Unit 6
LITERARY ANALYSIS MODEL
The Happy Man’s Shirt
retold by Italo Calvino
translated by George Martin
Literary Element
Analyzing Genre
What elements of fantasy does the story
have?
Answer: Its setting is an imaginary land.
Unit 6
LITERARY ANALYSIS MODEL
The Happy Man’s Shirt
retold by Italo Calvino
translated by George Martin
Reading Strategy
Evaluating Author’s Purpose
What is the moral of the fable?
Answer: Happiness does not depend on
external possessions but on a state of mind.
Unit 6
LITERARY ANALYSIS MODEL
The Happy Man’s Shirt
retold by Italo Calvino
translated by George Martin
Reading Strategy
Analyzing Style and Tone
What patterns in Calvino’s style do you
notice, and what effects do they have?
Answer: Calvino uses repetition as the king
continues to ask if people are happy; this
technique builds suspense. The use of dialogue
throughout adds drama and immediacy.
Unit 6
LITERARY ANALYSIS MODEL
The Happy Man’s Shirt
retold by Italo Calvino
translated by George Martin
Reading Strategy
Analyzing Style and Tone
What is Calvino’s tone toward his
characters?
Answer: He uses an objective tone,
which allows readers to identify with the
characters.
Unit 6
LITERARY ANALYSIS MODEL
The Happy Man’s Shirt
retold by Italo Calvino
translated by George Martin
Reading Strategy
Analyzing Style and Tone
What is the effect of ending of the story
with “The happy man wore no shirt”?
Answer: The simple, direct statement is
surprising and makes the reader think.
Unit 6
LITERARY ANALYSIS MODEL
The Happy Man’s Shirt
retold by Italo Calvino
translated by George Martin
Reading Check
Evaluating
Would you say that Calvino’s stylistic choices
were successful in “The Happy Man’s Shirt”?
Explain your answer.
Answer: You will probably agree that Calvino’s
style is successful, that his choices create a unified
and memorable work of fiction. You may cite the
appeal of the story’s structure, dialogue, word
choice, and imagery.
Unit 6
Unit 6
WRAP–UP
Elements of Genre Fiction
• Imagery
– Imagery paints “word pictures” in the
reader’s imagination.
• Sensory
– Sensory details appeal to the reader’s
five senses.
• Voice
– Voice tells the reader about the author’s
or narrator’s personality.
Unit 6
WRAP–UP
Elements of Genre Fiction
• Tone
– Tone communicates the author’s or
narrator’s attitude toward the audience or
the subject matter.
• Diction
– Diction refers to the words the author
chooses.
• Style
– Style refers to all the choices the author
makes and includes voice, diction, and
tone.
Unit 6
WRAP–UP
Guide to Reading Genre Fiction
• Identify the genre category.
• Evaluate your enjoyment as you read.
• Pay attention to characters, settings, plot
development, and themes, as you do with
other genres of fiction.
• Evaluate the consistency with which the
author creates the imaginary world.
• Notice elements of the author’s style.
Unit 6
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
Literary Focus
Description
How does a fantasy or science fiction writer
help you experience events and scenes that
are imaginary? The writer might use imagery
to create “word pictures” that evoke an
emotional response. Or the writer might use
sensory details, or evocative words or phrases
that appeal to your senses of sight, sound,
touch, taste, or smell.
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
Literary Focus
Description
Read the excerpt from Ray Bradbury’s “A
Sound of Thunder” on page 1118 of your
textbook. Notice how specific the details are in
Bradbury’s description of an advertisement for
a service that transports people back in time.
When writers vividly describe places, things,
people, and events, readers can imagine them
as if they were real.
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
Literary Focus
Description
Figurative Language
Figurative Language is language that uses
figures of speech, or expressions that are not
literally true but express some truth beyond the
literal level. Figurative language includes
simile, metaphor, and personification.
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
Literary Focus
Description
Figurative Language
Simile A figure of speech that uses like or as
to compare two seemingly unlike things is a
simile. Similes can make descriptions
understandable to readers. In the passage on
the next slide, notice how the writer uses a
simile to describe a fictitious place, known as
the Dead Place.
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
How shall I tell what I saw? The towers are not
all broken—here and there one still stands, like
a great tree in a forest, and the birds nest high.
—Stephen Vincent Benét, from “By the Waters of
Babylon”
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
Literary Focus
Description
Figurative Language
Metaphor A figure of speech that makes a
comparison between two seemingly unlike
things is a metaphor. A metaphor suggests an
underlying similarity between the two things
compared. Unlike a simile, it does not use like
or as. Notice how this metaphor gives a sense
of the direction of time travel in the story:
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
Time was a film run backward.
—Ray Bradbury, from “A Sound of Thunder”
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
Literary Focus
Description
Figurative Language
Personification A figure of speech that gives
human qualities to an animal, an object, a
force of nature, or an idea is personification.
Writers use personification to explain, expand,
and create vivid images.
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
The fluorescent light flickers sullenly, a /
pause. But you command. It grabs / each face
and holds it up / by the hair for you, mask after
mask.
—Denise Levertov, from “People at Night”
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
Literary Focus
Description
Figurative Language
Imagery Good descriptive writing uses
imagery—language that appeals to one or
more of the five senses: sight, hearing, touch,
taste, and smell. Imagery helps to create an
emotional response in the reader. An example
is on the next slide.
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
But the giant squid is real, growing up to
lengths of at least 60 feet, with eyes the size
of dinner plates and a tangle of tentacles
lined with long rows of sucker pads.
—William J. Broad, from “One Legend Found, Many
Still to Go”
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
Literary Focus
Style and Tone
Tone and the author’s style contribute
strongly to the appeal of many mysteries.
Writers may adopt a detached, nononsense tone or create a sense of
danger or foreboding.
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
Literary Focus
Style and Tone
Style
Style is the distinctive way that an author uses
language and the expressive qualities to
distinguish his or her work. Word choice, the
length and arrangement of sentences, the use
of figurative language and imagery, and
dialogue all contribute to an author’s style. In
the passage from “The Witness for the
Prosecution” below, Christie uses relatively
short sentences and few modifiers.
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
Indeed, as a solicitor, Mr. Mayherne’s reputation
stood very high. His voice, when he spoke to his
client, was dry but not unsympathetic.
“I must impress upon you again that you are
in very grave danger, and that the utmost
frankness is necessary.”
Leonard Vole, who had been staring in a
dazed fashion at the blank wall in front of him,
transferred his glance to the solicitor.
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
“I know,” he said hopelessly. “You keep
telling me so. But I can’t seem to realize yet
that I’m charged with murder—murder. And
such a dastardly crime too.”
—Agatha Christie, from “The Witness for the
Prosecution”
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
Notice the longer, more complex sentences
in the example below.
“The family was at one time among the richest in
England, and the estates extended over the borders
into Berkshire in the north and Hampshire in the
west. In the last century, however, four successive
heirs were of a dissolute and wasteful disposition,
and the family ruin was eventually completed by a
gambler in the days of the Regency.”
—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, from “The Adventure of the
Speckled Band”
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
Literary Focus
Style and Tone
Diction
An important element of an author’s style or
voice is diction, a writer’s choice of words.
Good writers choose their words carefully to
convey a particular meaning or feeling. Look
for unusual word choices in the passage on
the next slide, in which Jimmy Valentine is
being released from prison.
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
“[Jimmy] had on a suit of the villainously
fitting, readymade clothes and a pair of the
stiff, squeaky shoes that the state furnishes
to its discharged compulsory guests.”
—O. Henry, from “A Retrieved Reformation”
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
Literary Focus
Style and Tone
Figurative Language
Language or expressions that are not literally
true but express some truth beyond the literal
level are called figurative language.
Figurative language includes figures of speech
such as metaphor and simile. Here, a
detective employs metaphor and simile to
comment on a crime scene where a safe has
been robbed.
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
“That’s Dandy Jim Valentine’s autograph.
He’s resumed business. Look at that
combination knob—jerked out as easy as
pulling up a radish in wet weather.”
—O. Henry, from “A Retrieved Reformation”
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
Literary Focus
Style and Tone
Suspense
Suspense is a feeling of curiosity, uncertainty,
or dread about what is going to happen next.
In this example from “The Witness for the
Prosecution,” a lawyer introduces an
incriminating fact, contributing to the
suspense:
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
“Are you not aware, Mr. Vole, that Miss
French left a will under which you are the
principal beneficiary?”
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
Literary Focus
Style and Tone
Tone
Tone is a writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward
the subject matter. In this passage, Sherlock
Holmes uses a cheery, friendly tone as he
meets a new client. Notice how the tone
changes when the client speaks.
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
“‘I am glad to see that Mrs. Hudson has had the good
sense to light the fire. Pray draw up to it, and I shall
order you a cup of hot coffee, for I observe that you are
shivering.’
‘It is not cold which makes me shiver,’ said the
woman, in a low voice, changing her seat as requested.
‘What, then?’
‘It is fear, Mr. Holmes. It is terror.’”
—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, from “The Adventure of the
Speckled Band”
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
Literary Focus
Style and Tone
Mood
Mood is the emotional quality of a story. This
description of a country house creates a
dreary, ominous mood:
Unit 6
LITERARY FOCUS
“The building was of gray, lichen-blotched
stone, with a high central portion, and two
curving wings, like the claws of a crab,
thrown out on each side.“
—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, from “The Adventure of
the Speckled Band”
Unit 6
Keep Track of Your Ideas
As you read, record examples that you feel exemplify the author’s
style, voice, tone, or diction within each work. This diagram shows
how a Three-Pocket Book should look.
1. Write these labels on the
pockets:
• Form and Structure
• Language
• Sound Devices
2. Write your notes on index cards and
keep them organized using the pockets.
Unit 6
REFERENCE
► Literary Terms
Handbook
► Reading Handbook
► Foldables
► Writing Handbook
► Business Writing
► Language Handbook
► Test-Taking Skills
Handbook
► Daily Language
Practice
Transparencies
► Grammar and Writing
Workshop
Transparencies
Unit 6
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