short fiction 1 august 31
(1) Today is the first day of our first unit of the year: ELEMENTS OF FICTION. Our first element of fiction is PLOT. We’ll define PLOT in a few different ways, but particularly by using two similar stories about family picnics. One has a plot; the other doesn’t.
(2) We’ll read in class and begin a plot diagram for Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour.”
TO DO:
(1) Finish the plot diagram for “The Story of an Hour.” Bring it completed to our next class.
(2) Also by the next class, you will read Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," a short story with a very different type of plot structure when compared to “The Story of an Hour.” Make sure you have your hard copy of the story in our next class.
You will have a reading quiz on the story during our next class. The quiz will also assess your knowledge of these vocabulary words from the story.
short fiction 2 SEPTEMBER 6
(1) We’ll begin today’s class with a quick review of PLOT and a quick discussion of Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” just to make sure you entirely understand what happened at the end. I’ll take a few questions if you have any.
(2) Then we’ll have a free point giveaway (quiz).
(3) Lastly, we’ll have a more detailed discussion of “A Rose for Emily,” focusing not only on its plot but also its ideas. How is the plot of “A Rose for Emily” distinct from “The Story of an Hour”?
TO DO:
During our next class, we’re going to begin our second ELEMENT OF FICTION—CHARACTER. We’ll use “A Rose for Emily” to discuss how writers can build character through description, detail, and dialogue. But I’d also like for you to come to class with a short passage—a paragraph or two—from a book that you’ve read in the past that you think does a great job characterizing your favorite character. Use your iPad to take an image of the passage. Be prepared to share with the class why you chose that passage and what you think it shows you about the character—his motivation, his personality, his quirks, etc.
short fiction 3 SEPTEMBER 8
ELEMENT OF FICTION 2: CHARACTER
(1) We’ll begin today with your passages of characterization from a text you’ve read in the past.
(2) Now I want to show you three of my favorites. How do writers build their characters into fascinating, complicated, often hypocritical portraits of what it is to be human?
(3) Let’s look closely at a couple passages from “A Rose for Emily” with rich characterization.
(4) What is the link between PLOT and CHARACTER?
TO DO:
Read and annotate Kate Chopin’s short story “A Pair of Silk Stockings.” Will there be a quiz? Maybe. There’s always a chance. Semper paratus.
short fiction 4 SEPTEMBER 12
(1) Today we’ll begin with a comparison of our two Kate Chopin short stories. What are the similarities and differences between our two protagonists?
(2) We’ll spend the second half of class learning about the difference between independent and dependent clauses.
TO DO:
Read and annotate John Updike’s short story “A&P.” Notice as you read the physical descriptions of setting. Why does Sammy not like working where he works?
short fiction 5 SEPTEMBER 13
ELEMENTS OF FICTION 3 and 4: DETAIL AND SETTING
(1) Let’s review the link between PLOT and CHARACTER.
(2) We’ll begin lessons on our third and fourth elements of fiction—DETAIL and SETTING. “A&P” is a case study in literary detail. How does Updike use detail and setting to convey the story’s ideas?
short fiction 6 SEPTEMBER 15
ELEMENT OF FICTION 5: POINT OF VIEW
(1) On to Point of View. Why is choosing the POV the single most important decision a writer makes before writing the story?
(2) After we will read together Jamaica Kincaid’s short story “Girl” to continue thing about why writers choose certain points of view.
(3) We’ll take the point of view challenge by looking at various passages from famous novels.
(4) Why do you think each of the stories we’ve read so far uses the point of view it has? How would those stories have been different if they had a different one?
short fiction 7 SEPTEMBER 16
ELEMENT OF FICTION 6: SYMBOL
(1) Today we will have a discussion of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s extraordinary story “The Yellow Wallpaper”. We’ll pay attention to CHARACTER and SETTING in addition to POV. We’ll also introduce our next element of fiction—SYMBOL.
(2) We’re going to review the differences between and how to punctuate simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences.
(3) I will also set your short story assignment.
TO DO:
(1) Read and annotate Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper.” THINK: How do the elements of SETTING and CHARACTER blend together in this story? What the is POV of this story? Why do you think the author chose that POV?
(2) Make a copy of your MLA template to create a new doc. Write a paragraph of at least ten sentences that teaches me how to do your favorite thing or the thing in the world you do best. Are you a chessmaster? Teach me the Budapest Gambit. Are you an inside linebacker? Teach me how to do your job well. Are you a cuber? Teach me how to solve a 5x5. Are you a cellist? Explain why Yo-Yo Ma is so amazing. Are you a gamer? Convince me that video games matter. You get the idea. Just write about what makes you tick.
But here’s the catch (You know there has to be a catch): Your paragraph must include at least 2 simple sentences, 2 compound sentences, 2 complex sentences, and 2 compound-complex sentences. At least one of your compound sentences must use a semicolon-connector-comma. You have some freedom with the remaining sentences. Each sentence MUST be properly punctuated.
Please make clear to me in whatever way you like which sentence type you intended for each sentence—make a key, highlight, label, color-code; it’s your choice.
Print the MLA-formatted assignment in addition to submitting to turnitin.com.
short fiction 8 SEPTEMBER 20
ELEMENT OF FICTION 6: SYMBOL
(1) Today we will have a discussion of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s extraordinary story “The Yellow Wallpaper”. We’ll pay attention to CHARACTER and SETTING in addition to POV. We’ll also introduce our next element of fiction—SYMBOL.
TO DO:
(1) Read and annotate Flannery O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”
short fiction 9 SEPTEMBER 22
Today, after a short quiz, we’ll have a discussion about Flannery O’Connor’s extraordinary short story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”.
I will also give you the outline of next week’s short fiction test.
TO DO:
(1) For our class tomorrow, please read Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”.
short fiction 10 SEPTEMBER 27
We’ll start today with some sentence combining exercises:
Then, after a short quiz, we’ll have a discussion about Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”.
TO DO:
Study for Friday’s short fiction test.
short fiction 11 SEPTEMBER 28
We’ll start today with more sentence combining exercises:
Then we’ll review for the short fiction test.
TO DO:
Study for Friday’s short fiction test. Please remember to purchase your copy of All the Pretty Horses.
what's due?
September 6 - “A Rose for Emily” Reading and Vocabulary Quiz
September 20 - Paragraph with Multi-clausal Sentences
September 30 - Short Fiction Test
October 11 - Short Story Creative Writing Assignment
DOCS TO HAVE HANDY
TEXT TO BUY NOW
SHORT STORIES STUDY LINKS
General questions for most short stories
"A Rose for Emily" Study Guide
What is a story of initiation? See Updike, "A&P"
Questions for Pushkin's "The Queen of Spades"
FALL FINAL ESSAY QUESTIONS
“The Appointment in Samarra”: To what extent do the characters in the stories we read have personal determination, that is, control their fate?
“The Scorpion and the Frog”: If characters have personal determination, to what extent are their choices a result of their nature?
FALL READING LIST
Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Chopin, “The Story of an Hour”
Chopin, “A Pair of Silk Stockings”
Updike, “A&P”
Bierce, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily”
O’Connor, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”
Jackson, “The Lottery”
Vonnegut, “Harrison Bergeron”
Jacobs, “The Monkey’s Paw”
Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues”
McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses
Achebe, Things Fall Apart
enjoying literature
“In the realm of narrative psychology, a person’s life story is not a Wikipedia biography of the facts and events of a life, but rather the way a person integrates those facts and events internally—picks them apart and weaves them back together to make meaning. This narrative becomes a form of identity, in which the things someone chooses to include in the story, and the way she tells it, can both reflect and shape who she is. A life story doesn’t just say what happened, it says why it was important, what it means for who the person is, for who they’ll become, and for what happens next.”
