Thematic Focus:

The search for identity

Short Story Unit

Today we are learning about American short stories thematic connections

There are seven major components or elements in most short stories: plot Character settingThememood Tonenarrative viewpoint

Short Story Packet

the distinguishing character or personality of an individual

the relation established by psychological identification

Is “identity” a state of mind?

What is Identity?

GenderSocietalNationalityCulturalFamilial???

What types of identity exist?

By our actions—”Actions speak louder than words.”

By our speech—colloquialism & dialectsBy how we affect others—optimism vs.

pessimism By our reactions—fear, revenge, forgivenessBy what people say—gossip is as gossip doesBy examining motives—why did I do that? By descriptions—tall, dark and handsomeBy our psychology—past experiences and

attitude

8 Ways we Characterize ourselves & others

ClubsPastimesidentifiers

How do people try to find their identity?

By our actionsBy our speechBy how we affect othersBy our reactionsBy what we sayBy motivesBy descriptionsBy our psychology

8 ways to characterize Abigail?

Abigail can be characterized as….

Characterize yourselfDescribe yourself

using at least one example from each of the 8 descriptors.

By our actionsSomething you do—a

habit By our speechBy how we affect

othersBy our reactionsBy what we say

Something you say that others smile about or know it’s you! How you say it too

By motivesBy descriptionsBy our psychology

I constantly leave cabinet doors openI have a refined southern accentI inspire others toward greatnessI frequently have panic attacks when

I’m too stressed about somethingI say “absolutely” a lot.I am inspired by my faithI am tall, average weight, have blonde

hair, green eyes, and glassesMy parents are still together, but my

extended family tends to be a little crazy—thus affecting my behaviors/emotions.

How would you characterize yourself?

Flat characters are the stereotypes; people aren’t stereotypes!!!

Round characters are much more developed and realistic—people are round; they may appear to be in a stereotype, but people are rarely what the appear to be and never fit into just one characterization

Flat Vs. Round

The problem with unsuccessful stories is usually simple: they are boring, a consequence of the failure of imagination. To vividly imagine and to vividly render extraordinary human events, or sequences of events, is the hard-lifting, heavy-duty, day-by-day, unending labor of a fiction writer.

Telling Tails by Tim O’Brien

The authors…Tim O’BrienWilliam Faulkner (extra credit)Kate ChopinJulia AlvarezMaxine Hong Kingston

Different time periodsSimilar message

Tim O’BrienContemporary/Postmodern WriterExplores the psychological and moral effects

of war on soldiers (similar to Hemmingway) Did a tour of duty in Vietnam from 1969-1970Survived and returned to attend Harvard

UniversityBecame a journalist before turning to fiction

writingThe Things They Carried

William FaulknerBased Yoknapatawpha County (setting of nearly all of

his stories) on this town. Recall Louise Erdrich—“Little Spirit Sun”—greatly

admired and imitated Faulkner’s style Yoknapatawpha novels featured themes including the

decay of traditional values as small communities became swept up in the changes of the modern age.

Uses stream-of-consciousness narration (creates the impression that the reader is eavesdropping on the flow of conscious experience in the character’s mind, gaining intimate access to their private “thoughts”).

Uses jumbled time sequences—doesn’t follow traditional pattern

Famous for page-long sentences, and other difficult techniques to show what he called “the human heart in conflict with itself.”

Uses southern dialect “A Rose for Emily”—Necrophilia

*Extra Credit Opportunity!!!*-Read “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner page 862 questions 1-5, 11-14 on the poop sheet. Turn in by next Wednesday for up to 40 points extra credit! This is your final chance for extra credit!!!!

Kate ChopinExpresses the local color of Louisiana

(setting) during realistism time periodExplores women’s roles in a time when ‘all

MEN were created equal’the nature of marriageracial prejudicewomen’s desire for social, economic, and

political equality. “The artist must possess the courageous soul

that dares and defies.”The Awakening realistic portrayal caused

heated debate

Julia AlvarezBorn in NYCRaised in Dominican Republic until the age of

10—fled as political refugeesUsed writing as a way to find her cultural

identity being uprooted so young

Maxine Hong KingstonBorn in AmericaChinese was her first languageBegan English writing at age 10Chinese name of “Ting Ting” Native to California

What makes up one’s identity?

Explain your response; turn your response in as you leave.