Transcript Categories of Conflict - Ms. Spurr

Categories of Conflict
Conflict can be categorized as:
Internal:
Person vs. Herself/Himself
OR
External:
Person vs. Person
Person vs. Nature
Person vs. Society
Person vs. the Unknown
Person vs. the Supernatural
Person vs. Time
Comparison Essay: “A Sound of Thunder”
and A Sound of Thunder
Watch the film A Sound of Thunder.
Take notes on the plot, especially how it varies from the short
story “A Sound of Thunder”.
You might want to set your page up in two columns to make
comparison notes:
Movie
Short Story
Clearly, the film was inspired by the movie. But, the film is
very different from the short story.
What messages does the film version carry? How does it
handle the issues raised by Bradbury?
In a formal essay, compare Bradbury’s “A Sound of Thunder”
to the film A Sound of Thunder.
You will want to mention the following:
– Consider the purposes of short stories: To entertain, to teach, and to
raise questions.
– Explain how the story and the film work to accomplish the three
purposes of short stories.
– Look at how the film treats the SAME topics/issues. Compare
(consider things that are the SAME) and contrast (consider things that
are DIFFERENT) the two versions and their messages.
Character
Characterization
Characterization
• Characters are the “people” of the story.
• Characterization is of two main types:
– Direct characterization occurs when the author
(through narration) explicitly tells the reader what
a particular character is like.
– Indirect characterization is more subtle. The
author gives certain information and lets the
reader draw his/her own conclusions regarding
the character.
Indirect characterization is achieved using the
following methods:
– The character’s name. (E.g. Old Man Warner in
“The Lottery” warns people.)
– The character’s appearance.
– What the character says (or thinks).
– What the character does.
– What others say or think about the character,
including other characters or the narrator.
• To analyze a character, look at the character’s
dialogue, appearance, actions, environment,
character type, and motivation.
• Also note if there are ironies or discrepancies,
i.e. does the character say he believes one
thing, but act the opposite way? Do other
characters say things about him that you do
not see as true?
Character
Types of Characters
Types of Characters
Characters can be described in several ways.
Two main ones are:
“Flat” or “Round”
“Major” or “Minor”
Flat v. Round Characters
• Round (or dynamic) characters change and
grow throughout the course of a story. The
change might be emotional, spiritual, or
intellectual. Through encountering the
conflicts and crises in the story, they
illuminate the message(s) the author is
sending.
• Flat (or static) characters do not change
and grow throughout the story.
Major v. Minor Characters
Major characters are important to the story.
They tend also to be round.
Protagonist – The central character of a literary
work.
Antagonist – The rival or opponent against
whom the main character (protagonist) is
contending.
Major v. Minor Characters
Minor characters tend to be flat, but are also important
to a story in that they serve particular purposes,
which may include:
• Giving the author a way to provide background
information
• Act as a foil (a contrast character) or alter ego (a
comparison character) to a major character
• Foreshadow events
• Advance the plot
• Illuminate theme
• Enhance the setting
• Establish mood
Stereotypes
Sometimes, characters are stereotypes –
characters that reflect expectations of
behaviour from particular groups, rather than
a fleshed-out personality.
Stereotypes can serve a purpose in a story as a
minor character, but as major characters they
are usually simply a sign of weak writing.
Setting
Setting – the physical “backdrop” of the story;
where (place) and when (time) the story takes
place.
– When looking at setting, you must try to be as specific as
possible, but describe where the entire story takes place. For
example, “A modern-day city,” “Jerusalem in the Middle
Ages,” and “Anchorage, Alaska c. 1950s” are settings; “nighttime on a street, then in a car, then a store” is not.
Generally, the author will leave it to the reader to infer the setting
of the story, to some extent. Use clues from the beginning of the
story to figure out the setting.
Atmosphere
Atmosphere – the overall mood or tone of the story. Atmosphere
is usually established at the beginning of a story.
Any number of things can contribute to the atmosphere, including (but
not limited to):
– Characters
– Clothing
– Furniture
– Natural surroundings
– Light/darkness
– Weather
Atmosphere has a close connection with setting, because the setting
often determines the atmosphere of the story.
Style
Style –
the ways an author expresses himself/
herself and conveys his/her ideas and
central purpose.
Style is very personal, like a signature – no two writing
styles are identical.
In order to examine a writer’s style, we must consider the
following six areas: diction, sentence structure, point of
view, irony, symbolism, imagery.
Style - DICTION
Diction – word choice.
Diction is what makes the short story an art
form; words are chosen specifically to
achieve a particular purpose.
Style - DICTION
There are FOUR main types of diction:
Formal diction
Informal diction
Colloquial diction
Slang
Style – DICTION
Formal diction is usually found in
academic texts, academic papers, and
formal discourse.
Informal diction is “relaxed
conversation”, and is found in writing
that has a lighter tone and is sometimes
humorous.
Style – DICTION
Colloquial diction is the everyday language use of a
particular group of people.
For example, we go to the store to buy “a loaf of
bread”, but in Cape Breton they buy “a bun of
bread”.
Colloquial diction varies by geographic area and
cultural region. For example, think about how
different English is here than in Newfoundland
(where colloquialisms abound).
Style – Colloquial Diction
Can you think of anything that HHS students say that
might not be understood by people from other
places?
What is “jonesin’”? (“Mr. Stoddart is jonesin’!”)
Can you think of other colloquialisms? (This might
be difficult – sometimes it takes someone from
another place to point them out!)
Style - DICTION
Slang is defined as a newly-coined word
not accepted for formal usage yet, and is
usually not found in the dictionary.
“Ain’t” and “D’oh” are slang, but have
made their way into the Oxford English
Dictionary.
Style – Sentence Structure
Sentence structure is indicated by whether or not
the sentences are long, short, simple, compound,
complex, etc.
Some authors’ styles are recognizable by their
sentence structure alone.
“The Michelle I Know” – Sentence Variety
Re-read the first few pages of “The Michelle I Know” (Crossroads 10 pp. 1623), noticing how the author uses sentences of varying lengths and
types. Why would an author do this? What effect is created?
Check one or two of the pieces that you’ve written this year. Do you think
you’ve used a variety of sentences?
In one of your own works, find an example of each of the following:
– A statement
– A question
– An exclamation
– A very short sentence
– A very long sentence
If you do not have all of these types of sentences, edit some of the
sentences until you do, then write down those examples.
Style – Point of View
Point of view – the vantage point from which the
author presents the action of the story. The
point of view is presented by the narrator.
Every work of fiction has a narrator; the person telling the
story is the narrator, NOT the author!
In some stories, there is little separation between the
narrator and the author, but in others the narrator brings
his/her own biases to the telling of the story.
Style – Point of View
There are two ways to describe point of view:
Third person perspective
vs.
First person perspective
AND
Limited narration
vs.
Omniscient narration
Style – Point of View
Third person narration
– The person telling
the story is NOT part
of the action.
The reader/viewer sees
the action as if from an
external camera.
They saw the enemy ahead.
Creeping up quietly, John
raised his rifle…
Style – Point of View
First person narration –
This is a major, minor, or
“silent” character who
tells the story.
(“Silent” means they play
no role in the action of
the story, but are present
in it.)
I saw them there, crouched behind
the boxes, and shouted to my team
to fire at will!
Point of View – Language
You can identify a first- or third-person
perspective based upon the pronouns used by
the narrator.
First person narration – I or we are used.
Third person narration – He, she, or they are
used.
Style – Point of View
Limited narration – The narrator’s knowledge is limited
to the direct knowledge of the narrator/character.
This is the point of view that is most like “real life”, and
provides an immediacy to the action.
For example, you do not know exactly what is happening
behind each of the walls of the classroom you are in.
Likewise, a limited narrator would only know what
he/she could perceive.
Style – Point of View
Omniscient narration – The narrator knows everything
about the characters and events, and can “enter the mind”
of any character at will.
Omniscient narration is useful for stories with several
characters of equal importance, or for letting the viewer see
the antagonist’s point of view as well as the protagonist’s.
Omniscient narration sacrifices immediacy of action.
The omniscient narrator is often confused with the author.
Style – Point of View
When you describe the narration in a story, you must
describe the various aspects of the point of view.
There are FOUR basic points of view:
»First person omniscient
»First person limited
»Third person omniscient
»Third person limited
Style – Point of View
First Person
Limited
Omniscient
Third Person
Point of View – Some Examples
• “The Three Little Pigs” is written from the third person omniscient
perspective. We can see what each of the pigs is doing inside the
houses, and what the wolf does outside as well.
• The Outsiders is written from the first person limited perspective. We
only see what Ponyboy sees, and events are interpreted for us by
Ponyboy. (Cue for Treason is the same, with Peter being the narrator.)
• The “Harry Potter” series is written mostly in the third person limited
perspective. The only action that we see happen is when Harry is
present; the rest is reported to the reader by other characters. (Most
suspense novels are written from this point of view, to maintain
suspense by keeping the reader guessing.) Occasionally, the author
allows us to see the teachers talking, and on one or two occasions lets
us see the villains scheming (switching narrative perspectives).
Point of View – Exercise
Complete the following exercise in your
notebook:
– Choose two novels you have read in the recent
past, or are reading now. Include your
independent reading selection for class!
– For each, identify the narrative point of view and
the verb tense employed. Why do you think the
author deliberately chose these elements?
Style - Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing – a literary device in which an
author drops subtle hints about plot
developments to come later in the
story.
– An example of foreshadowing might be when a
character displays a gun or knife early in the story.
Merely the appearance of a deadly weapon, even
though it is used for an innocuous purpose — such as
being cleaned or whittling wood — suggests terrible
consequences later on.
(taken from Wikipedia.org)
Style – Symbolism
Symbolism – A literary symbol means
something itself in the story, but
also suggests a wealth of
meaning beyond what it actually
is.
Objects, situations, and actions
can all be symbols.
Style – Imagery
Imagery – There are two types of imagery:
i) Sensuous imagery – Images
that appeal to the five senses:
visual (sight), auditory
(hearing), tactile (touch),
gustatory (taste), and olfactory
(smell).
ii) Figurative imagery – metaphor,
simile, personification,
apostrophe, etc.
Theme
“When I write a novel, I feel rather like a juggler trying to
keep a dozen themes spinning up there in the air. In my
[short] stories, on the other hand, there tends to be one
central theme.”
Margaret Laurence
Theme
Theme – The theme of a story represents what the
protagonist (main character) and/or reader learns about
life. It is the “message” that the author is sending
through the story – the story is the medium for the
message.
Author
Short Story
Reader
Also recall the three purposes of a short story: To
entertain, to teach, and to raise questions.
“The Crystal Stars Have Just Begun to Shine” –
Analyze Theme
The subject of this story is how a daughter tries to
make her father happy by finding him a partner.
The theme is what the main character and/or the
reader discovers about life or people by the end of
the story.
In your notebook, write what you think is the theme of
the short story. We will be sharing these as a class.
Irony
Irony
Irony – 1) a literary device in which there is a
gap between what a speaker or writer
says and what is understood.
2) incongruity between what is
expected
and what actually occurs
Dramatic irony – the audience knows more
about a character's situation than the
character does, foreseeing an outcome
contrary to the character's
expectations, and thus ascribing a
sharply different sense to some of the
character's own statements