Responding to Literature: Fan Fiction
We have studied several texts closely and become “FANS” of them!:
*“The Story of the Bushmen”
(Ernest Cadle brochure)
*“Telephone Conversation”
(Wole Soyinka poem)
*“The Danger of a Single Story”
(Chimamanda Adiche speech)
*“The Guest”
(Albert Camus short story)
*“Jesus Out to Sea”
(James Lee Burke short story)
*“Death in Slow Motion”
(Andree Chedid short story)
Now it’s time for you to respond to one or more of these by creating a text of your own!
Your challenge is:
* to show an appreciation of the authors’ ideas and techniques and
*to engage in the question which is the focus of this unit:
How do place and culture influence identity?
Here are some options:
Create a representation of the contrast between the stereotype of “the African” and the reality of “the African” as revealed in
the works of Cadle, Soyinka, and Adiche. (oral, visual, print, digital options)
Two versions of the narrator in “Jesus Out to Sea,” one representing the authorities’ perception of him and the other
representing the reader’s view of him (oral, visual, print, digital options)
A visual representation contrasting how the sniper and the elderly couple view / understand M.
An interview with the author of one of the texts or a dialogue between the authors of two of the texts. The interview can
consider what motivated the writer to write the story, the effect the writer hopes the story will have on the reader, the
techniques the writer used to achieve these effects, other writers who have strongly influenced the writer . . .
A dialogue between two characters from different texts, either about the action of the story itself, or on a seemingly unrelated
subject through which they reveal what they are like and what matters to them.
A short story exploring a minor character’s view of the main action of one of the stories.
A character’s diary in which a character from a work of fiction reveals his or her true feelings about the story’s subjects
An episode from a literary text rewritten to place the action in another setting while maintaining theme
Two newspaper articles of an event, each privileging a different point of view.
A representation of how a literary feature functions in a text or texts (such as setting, allusion, imagery)
A series of short monologues in which different characters from a text reveal their point of view on the story’s main action
Add a scene to one of the stories to further explore an idea or possibility that the writer doesn’t develop clearly or fully. Try to imitate
the writer’s style so that your addition is hard to distinguish from the original and could fit in seamlessly.
NEED MORE OPTIONS? CHECK OUT A FAN FICTION SITE TO SEE THE KINDS OF TEXTS OTHERS HAVE
WRITTEN!
Your Piece of Fan Fiction is a Chance For You to Show and Apply
Your Knowledge of the Following Concepts and Techniques:
Plot Structure:
Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Denouement
Narrative Points of View:
First Person, Third Person Limited Omniscient, Omniscient, and Objective
Literary Devices:
imagery, allusion, flashback, irony, symbol
Tone:
as revealed by Diction, Details, Language, Imagery, Sentence Structure
Pillars of Fiction:
Setting, Characterization, Plot, Style, Theme
Methods of Characterization: speech, thoughts, actions, appearance, other characters’ responses
A Darn Good Example of a Statement of Intent and Piece of Fan Fiction, IB Style:
“The Masquerade, the Fox and the Quilt”: a new soliloquy for Iago and an explanation of its significance
Background
After studying Othello by William Shakespeare, the students composed a piece of creative writing as a follow-up
writing activity.
Assignment Instructions Teacher Provided to Students:
• Create a pastiche, sonnets, creative prequel or sequel, love letters, or missing scene from Othello, and provide
notes explaining your choices and developments.
• Remember that even though this is a creative piece, you are showing your knowledge of the play and analytical
skills in interpreting characters and plot in a new way (content). Of course, structure must be purposeful and
persuasive. Language must also be used effectively and suited to the task chosen; choose either Shakespearean or
modern. Create your own ideas, and discuss them with your teacher for approval.
• This will be a multi-draft piece (planning, rough draft, revision and a final draft).
• Choose one of the following topics for your assignment.
1. Write a new monologue by one of the characters that provides insight into the character and plot.
2. Choose a place in the play that you feel is missing some vital information, and write a new scene that reveals
insight into the plot and characters.
3. Write Othello: The Post Years revealing the characters’ lives after the end of the play.
4. Write a series of four sonnets that tie into the play Othello and reveal information about characters and/or plot.
The students were given one week to write their topic proposal. They then had 10 days in which to complete a rough
draft and peer edit. The students took another 10 days to prepare the final draft. Only the conference with the
teacher (topic approval) and peer editing occurred during class time; all other work was done outside of class.
.
One student decided to write: A New soliloquy for Iago (to show insight into character and plot)
Statement of intent
In the play Othello by William Shakespeare, a Moor and military commander named Othello appoints a man named
Cassio to the position of lieutenant. The villainous Iago, jealous of Cassio, devises a scheme that removes Cassio and
avenges Othello. For my creative piece, I decided to write a new soliloquy—to be delivered by Iago—that offers a
general overview of Iago’s personality, how others perceive him, and how he uses their misperceptions to aid his
elaborate scheme. Through the use of metaphors, I describe how a villain earns the trust of those around him, uses
them to his advantage, and in the process destroys them.
To help the soliloquy fit in with the rest of the play, I tried to emulate the style of Shakespeare as much as possible.
The entire speech follows the form of iambic pentameter, which gives it a gentle, consistent rhythm, and each
compound sentence consists of complete phrases that stretch out the sentence for as many as seven or eight lines. I
use commas, semicolons, dashes, and periods in order to allow the reader/actor to vary the lengths of the pauses
that one places within a sentence. If the actor employs such variation in tone and flow, the audience better absorbs
and understands the speech’s meaning and significance.
The speech is divided into three sections, each section containing its own metaphor. The first section, consisting of
the first sentence, features Iago talking with candor about his traits. He acknowledges his villainy, saying that he not
only hides his true feelings and identity, but that he also takes on multiple personalities, depending on whom he is
dealing with at the time. He compares himself to the multiple faces at a masquerade ball: each mask is designed
differently, yet every one hides the real face underneath. The second section talks about the trust that the characters
put in his guises. He specifically mentions Roderigo, who puts his faith in Iago from the first act to the last. Iago
compares Roderigo to a fox that forgets to think before he jumps and lands in a trap. This metaphor fits in with Iago’s
early use of comparisons to animals in the play. The third and final section starts with the opening of the metaphor
comparing each character to a patch in a quilt. The quilt symbolizes the grand scheme that Iago sets up, and the
flames of the fire that engulf the quilt are like the flames of hell, slowly spreading to new patches and destroying
everything in its way. Iago is so evil that each character who seeks Iago’s help or advice ends up dead.
Iago is one of the most famous villains ever created, and I expected to open Othello to find a secretive, disliked
wretch—someone who stands out to all the other characters in the play as one to be avoided. Instead, in Act I, scene i,
I discovered that he is not secretive at all; rather, he rambles about his jealousy and his intentions for revenge to
Roderigo. This puzzled me at first: if Iago is such a crafty villain, why would he be so unwise as to reveal his motives to
another? I soon realized, however, that Iago never reveals everything about himself; rather, he gains the trust of
those around him and then employs them in his grand scheme. The soliloquy addresses Iago’s motivation for
disguising his behavior in the following excerpt:
Roderigo thinks that I am much like him—
So full of pure jealousy and unrest
That I will hold no qualm but to announce
Every single motive that I hold
To any man who offer me his ear.
By understanding why Iago behaves in such a manner in the presence of Roderigo, one can understand how he will
manipulate the others throughout the course of the play. After writing the third metaphor, I realized that the blanket,
perhaps, has a deeper significance. Throughout the play, Iago constantly shifts his own character traits around so as
to manipulate each person differently, and he hides his true identity underneath the “blanket” of plot that he creates.
If the quilt as a whole represents Iago’s ploy, its burning represents Iago’s final exposure. He chooses to let the fire
burn, and his refusal to develop ethically over time leads to his downfall.
MYP English A Teacher Support Material © IBO, January 2004 C3 : 6
Notice what the student does in each paragraph of the Statement of Intent. Be sure to do the same in yours!
Iago’s soliloquy: “The Masquerade, the Fox and the Quilt”
For one that knows me but for one meeting
And sees me in but one of my guises,
Know this: that I, one Iago, do hold claim
To countless schemes and personalities;
I am in form most like a masquerade
That has its parts of false countenances,
Together in a sea of deceptions.
For he that judges me after one glance,
Thou art too much like that dim-witted fox
That better knows himself as Roderigo,
For thou wilt without any second thought
Jump straight for the jagged teeth of the snare
That I have set upon the ground for you.
Roderigo thinks that I am much like him—
So full of pure jealousy and unrest
That I will hold no qualm but to announce
Every single motive that I hold
To any man who offer me his ear.
He sees me ramble on and on about
The hatred that I do hold for the Moor
And thinks that I have revealed all to him,
But he, like all the patches in my quilt,
Sees only his aspect in my design
And supposes not to take but a step back
To see that all the blanket is ablaze
With but manipulated jealousy.
No one but I have access to the well,
And I, of late, seem to have a lead foot
That ‘lows me not to fetch the water pail.
Rather, I slowly watch the flames creep up
Until the fire engulfs all my stitches
And leaves nothing but the black soot of hell.
What mark did this student get using the MYP Rubric? 100%!!!!!
Criterion A: content
Maximum level 10
Level of achievement Descriptor
9–10 The student demonstrates a perceptive understanding of the relevant aspects of the topic or theme. The work
consistently displays illustrative detail, development and support. Creative pieces reflect a high degree of imagination
and sensitivity. The student’s response to literature demonstrates a sophisticated analysis of the author’s intention
and techniques.
This work achieved level 10 because the student:
• demonstrates a sophisticated analysis in both the soliloquy and explanatory notes. The perceptive comments on the
character of Iago as well as the structure of the soliloquy show keen understanding, and these points are articulated
convincingly • explains ideas clearly, thoroughly and convincingly • captures the essence of the character’s
manipulative traits, showing strong understanding of the theme • demonstrates a high degree of imagination in
creating apt metaphors.
Criterion B: organization
Maximum level 10
Level of achievement Descriptor
9–10 The student’s work is consistently well organized, clear and coherent, and arguments are presented in a
perceptive and persuasive manner. Paragraph structure and transitions effectively develop and substantiate the ideas
being expressed. When such devices are required, critical conventions and apparatus are used in a sophisticated
manner.
This work achieved level 10 because the student:
• presents ideas in a perceptive and persuasive manner. The explanatory notes as well as the soliloquy itself are
organized purposefully and effectively • explains complicated ideas clearly and coherently, effectively articulating the
multiple meanings implied in the extended metaphor created in the soliloquy • utilizes transitions effectively.
Criterion C: style and language usage
Maximum level 10
Level of achievement Descriptor
9–10 The student’s use of vocabulary is always appropriate and greatly varied with very infrequent errors in spelling,
pronunciation, punctuation and syntax. The student has mastered the use of a register suitable to intention and
audience.
This work achieved level 10 because the student:
• uses sophisticated language accurately and artistically • uses precise and creative diction to create a clear mood and
tone that complement the content • employs sophisticated poetic devices naturally and effectively • establishes and
maintains a register suitable to a Shakespearean soliloquy.