SHORT STORY UNIT
Reading Fiction Critically
English 10 Literature
Short Story Unit
Essential Question
How is fictional storytelling influenced by an
author’s decisions about point of view,
character development, literary devices, and
the textual structuring of time?
Dr. Ian Baker, English professor,
Kansas State University
“In any discipline (medicine, law, science, car repair), the
mark of competence is something more than being able
to answer questions posed by experts.
in MEDICINE:
How do I take a patient’s temperature?
Dr. Ian Baker, English professor,
Kansas State University
“In any discipline (medicine, law, science, car repair), the
mark of competence is something more than being able
to answer questions posed by experts.
in LAW:
What is the writ of habeus corpus?
Dr. Ian Baker, English professor,
Kansas State University
“In any discipline (medicine, law, science, car repair), the
mark of competence is something more than being able
to answer questions posed by experts.
in SCIENCE:
What is the human genome?
Dr. Ian Baker, English professor,
Kansas State University
“In any discipline (medicine, law, science, car repair), the
mark of competence is something more than being able
to answer questions posed by experts.
in CAR REPAIR:
How does a catalytic converter work?
Dr. Ian Baker, English professor,
Kansas State University
More fundamentally, the mark of competence involves
knowing what to be curious about in the first place, and
what to do with what you discover in the light of that
curiosity.
in MEDICINE, for example:
Why do bodies have a particular regulatory temperature?
(hypothermia; infection?)
“The same is true for skill in reading literature.”
Summary of Dr. Baker’s idea
“To master the skill of reading literature...”
We [readers] must be CURIOUS
We must look at the art of questioning and actively
exploring what we find in a situation (story) in a way that
makes the story TELL US what we need to find out about
it.
Dr. Ian Baker, English professor,
Kansas State University
“Expertise in law, business, medicine, car
repair, etc., is not just a knowledge of facts.
Expertise in any field is a matter of activity
- of practice.”
Dr. Ian Baker, English professor,
Kansas State University
Think of how we say someone “practices law” or is a
“medical practitioner.” Competence in any of these
professions is a matter of being able to DO.
Our SHARED task for the semester (what we are going
to DO) is to WORK to comprehend, analyze, interpret,
and speak and write insightfully about literature, in order
to show our competence.
What an expert most
fundamentally has to DO is...
to figure out what is going on beyond what is evident to
the inexperienced eye
in LAW, for example: A person is charged with a crime;
even the inexperienced person can conclude GUILT
based on what is available to know - but how can the guilt
be PROVEN? what was the criminal’s motive? why does
society believe this behavior is monstrous and
punishable? how can this or any criminal be punished to
learn from this mistake?
What an expert most
fundamentally has to DO is...
to decide whether and how to intervene so as to get an
outcome that she wants, and then to GO DO THAT (or
direct someone else to) AS THE EXPERT.
THINK of a “COACHING EXPERT”: outcome? run the
play correctly so the team scores or keeps an opponent
from scoring; TELLS and CAN SHOW the team (others)
how to make this outcome happen
Dr. Ian Baker, English professor,
Kansas State University
“Thus, the skill of reading fiction is a matter of making the
appropriate moves and decisions as the story demands.
(like a coach makes moves and decisions as the game
unfolds...)
We obtain these moves by “practice” - a matter of
rehearsal - of trying things out, refining and repeating
them, making the skills second nature as habits - by
taking the risk and, in fact, doing something wrong... but
learning from the error!
But what should we rehearse?
We rehearse the moves that practitioners have agreed
are effective for the job at hand.
(of law, of medicine, of car repair, of selecting a fantasy
football team...)
But what should we rehearse?
So it is for reading fictional
literature... and that is why we
have this course to prepare you
for the Keystone Literature
Examination...
Let’s pause to write...
The Skill of Reading Fiction:
“Practitioner STEPS”
One question to ask during the first glimpse / reading of a
WHAT IS
THE SETTING OF THE NARRATED
ACTION?
fictional literature selection is...
Three critical features of
SETTING
The reader needs to determine three critical features of
“setting”:
WHAT IS THE HISTORICAL TIME AND PLACE?
WHAT IS THE SOCIAL / CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT OR
SURROUNDING THAT THE CHARACTER LIVES IN AND
IS INFLUENCED BY?
WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE AUTHOR?
biography / influences / literary time period
The Skill of Reading Fiction:
“Practitioner STEPS”
An additional question to ask during the first glimpse /
reading of a fictional literature selection is...
WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
THE NARRATOR OF THE STORY?
*the narrator is the voice that relates the story’s events
What is the relation between
narrator / protagonist?
THEY’RE IDENTICAL ! (option #1)
OUR CURIOSITIES SHOULD INCLUDE...
1. is the narrator “speaking” to an identifiable audience?
2. does the narrator “speak” to us? Why?
3. is there some distance in age between the self who is
telling the story and the self whose story is being told?
4. is the protagonist narrator RELIABLE or BIASED?
Why does this matter?
What is the relation between
narrator / protagonist?
THE NARRATOR = ANOTHER CHARACTER! (option
#2)
OUR CURIOSITIES SHOULD INCLUDE...
*how involved is the narrator’s participation:
1. a subordinate character, who interacts with the
protagonist (reliable or not? influences the action?)
2. an observer of the action from a distance
*does the distance allow INSIGHT (reader’s curiosity is
satisfied)
*does the distance allow FRUSTRATION to grow
(reader’s curiosity is NOT satisfied)
SERIOUSLY!!!
Readers need to know EXACTLY what the relations are
between any PARTICIPANT NARRATOR and the various
characters involved in the narrative’s action!
Readers need to know the ATTITUDES the
PARTICIPANT narrator shows towards the protagonist!
(Outwardly- stated opinions? TONE - critical or
supportive, for example)
Readers need to know WHY THE NARRATOR IS
MOTIVATED TO FIND OUT THE STORY and/or TELL IT
TO US! (the logic of the events; the result)
What is the relation between
narrator / protagonist?
THE NARRATOR is NOT a character (non-participant;
impersonal) (option #3)
OUR CURIOSITIES SHOULD INCLUDE...
1.
does this narrator have access to inside knowledge of the
protagonist? (how?)
2. does this narrator have access to inside knowledge of
other participating characters‘ experience? (how?)
3. is the narrator’s tone OBJECTIVE (just presents the
facts for the reader to evaluate) or SUBJECTIVE
(evaluates the facts for the reader to perhaps influence
the reader’s response - with humor, seriousness, etc.)?
The Skill of Reading Fiction:
“Practitioner STEPS”
The next question to ask during the first glimpse / reading
WHO
IS THE PROTAGONIST IN THE MAIN
NARRATED ACTION?
of a fictional literature selection is...
*the protagonist is the main character with whom the
author wants the reader to identify
Who is the PROTAGONIST?
(what to be curious about)
How do the qualities (characteristics) and behaviors
(actions / responses) of subordinate characters
contribute to characterizing the protagonist? (How do
readers learn details of the protagonist by how the other
characters interact with him/her?)
Who is the PROTAGONIST?
(what to be curious about)
How do the subordinate characters AND THE SETTING
STIMULATE ACTION from the protagonist?
(Has the author had the protagonist respond so that,
through this response, readers notice the protagonist’s
evident qualities?)
NOTE: As a result, the character or setting that created
the stimulus could qualify as an antagonist.
Who is the PROTAGONIST?
(what to be curious about)
Similarly, how does the subordinate character’s
CURIOSITY IN THE FORM OF DIALOGUE clarify the
protagonist’s feelings / opinions / beliefs / assumptions?
(Has the author used the presence of a subordinate
character to “pull out” details of characterization for the
protagonist?)
MOST IMPORTANTLY:
SO WHAT?
Who is the PROTAGONIST?
(what to be curious about)
With a curiosity about how others’ actions stimulate a
response from the protagonist and how others’ dialogue
‘pulls out’ feelings, the becoming-an-expert reader sees
that characterization of the protagonist shall be
critical to the story’s theme.
Key Question for our
learning...
What are the identifiable movements and eras
of American literature?
Early America until 1750:
left-hand column
Native American myths and tales (oral tradition);
harmony with nature
diaries, journals, letters (nonfiction) of explorers and
settlers (first encounters & hardships in a new land)
religion and law are the same (Puritans); a focus on God
and community (PRAYER and WORK) and on avoiding
temptation; sermons / histories
Amer. Lit. from 1750 to 1800
left-hand column
the Founding Fathers and others interested in
separation / independence from Great Britain;
NATIONALISM; focus on liberty and freedom
“The Age of Reason”: logic / reason / science instead of
emotion and superstition
writing is worldly, witty, opinionated, persuasive; political
speeches, political cartoons, editorials
Amer. Lit. from 1800 to 1840
left-hand column
writers trying to make a name for themselves as
American authors (selling work to global audience)
the American wilderness; tales of heroism and individual
life as an American
success of the American Revolution
Amer. Lit. from 1840 to 1855
left-hand column
cooperative and reformed society; “Utopia”; the
mysterious uniqueness of American life
Enlightened workers; moral enthusiasm
slavery issues; child labor issues; feminist issues
Amer. Lit. from 1855 to 1880
left-hand column
the Civil War - slavery; pushing Indians off their land;
Reconstruction Era - profit and economic development
“All that mattered was the great frontier where dreams
were fulfilled and fortunes made...”
New inventions (typewriter, lightbulb, telephone,
railroad) and what these mean for humanity
Amer. Lit. from 1880 to 1910
left-hand column
the impact of tough economic times on the middle and
lower classes; blunt honesty and lack of sentimentality
the rise of Industrialism and its impact on the masses
(but especially the worker)
national growth and expansion (new states adopted into
the union; population explosion in Philadelphia,
Chicago, Detroit, etc)
Amer. Lit. from 1910 to 1960
left-hand column
WARS! Spanish-American; World Wars I and II
The Harlem Renaissance, giving new voice to AfricanAmerican experience and creativity
Prohibition - a rebel attitude
SIGNIFICANT cultural change - authors try to document
these descriptions and histories of American people and
places
The Lost Generation, experiencing the harshness of
war, concludes: love, sex, dying - what else matters?
Early America until 1750:
middle column
very intense self-examining; does what I do
God?
satisfy
first impressions: what am I encountering here and how
do I feel about that?
Topics: How things came into being (creation myths);
Discovery - journal entries of what I encountered; Living
a pure, simple life connected with nature
Amer. Lit. from 1750 to 1800
middle column
Jeffersonian ideal - confidence in the political ability of
the common man and his connection to the land
they frown upon ignorance, superstition, social injustice
TOPICS: becoming an independent nation; common
sense; progress; hope and optimism for a new nation;
liberty; freedom
Enlightenment - trust in human potential
Amer. Lit. from 1800 to 1840
middle column
NATIONALISM: love of America; pride in “American”
forms of literature; separating from European ways
ROMANTICISM: love of Nature; personal experiences
and emotions (the human spirit unleashed);
supernatural, exotic, mysterious, sensational, passions
excited, frighten and thrill
IDEALISM: heroic behavior; the American wilderness;
life in the towns and cities as America grows
Amer. Lit. from 1840 to 1855
middle column
Transcendentalism: Everyone can live as a true free
individual; Everyone can rise above the material world;
Inspiration can come from animals, plants
Belief that the most fundamental truths about life and
death are reached only by going beyond the world of the
senses
Wrote about love or real life, using characters and
events we might not encounter in the real world
Amer. Lit. from 1855 to 1880
middle column
Gothicism: focuses on potential evil; the settings are
night journeys, lonely areas, dark and dreary places;
the characters are evil, mad, crazy, flawed, or disturbed
on some level (the dark side of individualism)
SOUTHERN Gothicism: uses grotesque situations or
sinister and ironic events to examine the demise of the
Old South and its ways; new ways of doing things
emerge and are prioritized; settings are “backwards”
Southern towns, dusty and lonely; Racism and poverty
are addressed on some level; Innocence is evaluated
Amer. Lit. from 1880 to 1910
middle column
REALISM: literature portrays ordinary life as it is
actually lived (a reaction against Romanticism); usually
focuses on middle or lower class characters
REGIONALISM: portrays accurately the activities,
customs, speech patterns (dialect) of people in the
environment which they best know (certain parts of the
country begin to appear in literature for the 1st time)
NATURALISM: portrays people trapped within forces of
nature or society (forces beyond their control)
Amer. Lit. from 1880 to 1910
middle column
ALSO: no more “too good to be true” stories; characters
must use their brains to deal with harshness of nature /
society
“local color” - exactly the way people speak, act, and
customarily go about their lives (as America grows, the
literature shows how other people live)
Amer. Lit. from 1910 to 1960
middle column
MODERNISM: breaks from all previous artistic
customs; experimental - Cubism, Dadaism
sometimes stories would start in the middle of the action
and have no clear conclusion; seems “photographic” in
capturing just a moment or event
the influence of EDUCATION and TRAVEL have
characters showing sophistication or complex thinking
authors choose to be intentionally puzzling (conflicts
with no outcomes)
Looks even
FINER today, no?