Starter how are these different? how are they similar?

Transcription

1 Starter how are these different? how are they similar?

2 Analysing Writer s Use of Structure L.O. To explore Openings that grab attention Sentence and paragraph structures used for effect Narrative structures

3 Openings How does a book or text immediately grab its reader? Look at the opening you and your learning partner have. Annotate it, considering what effect it has on you, the reader. What is it about that opening that make it successful?

4 Call me Ishmael. Herman Melville, Moby-Dick (1851) It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn t know what I was doing in New York. Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar (1963) It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. George Orwell, 1984 (1949) In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925) I write this sitting in the kitchen sink. Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle (1948) It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813) It was a pleasure to burn. Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 (1953) This is the saddest story I have ever heard. Ford Madox Ford, The Good Soldier (1915)

5 Why are they engaging opening lines? Label the opening lines with the letters they match up to. A. Something shocking or dramatic is referred to straightaway. B. There is an odd detail, something unusual. C. It disrupts the reader s expectations. D. It uses humour. E. Talks directly to the reader. F. Sparks your curiosity. What other factors make an interesting opening?

6 > Create an interesting opening line that you think will grab the class s attention Something shocking or dramatic is referred to straightaway. There is an odd detail, something unusual. It disrupts the reader s expectations. It uses humour. Talks directly to the reader. Sparks your curiosity.

7 Comparison Choose two of the texts we ve already studied and compare their opening lines. Marcus Loxias Megalos is bored. There is a pile of clothing on the side of the train tracks. A squat grey building of only thirty-four stories. Consider: How do they try to be engaging? What kind of language do they use? What genre story are they setting up? What length are they using? Text A attempts to open the story with a line that (think of the different ways to engage the reader on your sheet). They do this by This is effective because On the other hand Text B

8 Sentence Length At this point its helpful to remind ourselves that whenever discussing sentence lengths we are also discussing structure. What sentence length did you choose for your opening line? Why was that? Analyse the three opening lines below and their lengths: a) I write this sitting in the bathroom sink. b) It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. c) It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn t know what I was doing in New York.

9 Narrative Perspectives First person Third person omniscient / objective Third person subjective In your groups sort the statements into two categories. First person OR Third person Where has the second person gone?

10 First Person vs. Third Person Narration First Person The reader only sees the story from one perspective. Can be an unreliable narrator. Story is limited to what one character knows or perceives. Greater intimacy between the reader and the character. Third Person The reader gets to see what is happening to other characters. Omniscient narrator the narrator knows everything. The reader can hear the thoughts of multiple characters. You can have dramatic irony (where the reader knows something but the characters in the story do not). You can not guarantee that a character will survive the story.

11 Development Sentence length Paragraphing Changes Shifts Links