Q1. The elements of the narrative arc are the building blocks of your story. (150words)
1) First, plan out your narrative arc breakdown (the conflict, crisis/turning point, and resolution).
– The immediate problem, conflict, or obstacle that the protagonist faces should come near the beginning of the story.
– The tension should build to a dramatic highpoint, a crisis moment or turning point. After this moment (often presented in a scene with dialogue), things will not be the same for the protagonist (a realization, a change, a decision, etc.).
– The resolution (often presented symbolically or via action, but not by “telling” us what the character has learned or how he/she has changed) will give us some sense of where the protagonist is headed.
– A list of bullet points is fine; you don’t need to rewrite your story (that will happen in a later module), but just plan out the major plot points. Here’s a student example of a narrative arc breakdown:
1. Conflict: Bonnie and Daniel meet at their class reunion after breaking up eight years ago (which was Bonnie’s choice).
2. Crisis: Feeling the old attraction, Bonnie asks Daniel out on a date and before Daniel can respond, his wife Jenny, walks into the reunion (shocking Bonnie, as it did not occur to her that he might be married).
3. Resolution: Bonnie leaves the reunion and realizes that she has lost something that can never be regained.
2) Now, use your narrative arc breakdown to write the one-sentence summary of your story.
3) Next, list 2-3 themes that your story explores.
Q1-1. Response to peer’s work.(20words)
1. Is the tension rising? How do you know? Do the scenes include the conflict, setting details, and both characters?
2. Are their clear, identifiable obstacles that give structure or illustrate the narrator’s conflict? For example, in the O’Connor story there are some clear obstacles that deepen Julian’s conflict. His conflict? Julian doesn’t want to go with his mom to her weight loss class and is angry he has to. To further show this anger and to hurt his mother, he sat next to different black people on the bus; he grins when the black woman is wearing the same hat; he berates his mom in various ways at the end of the story.
3. Importantly: is the narrator active in their own story? If the narrator doesn’t speak, move around, or is lying down then they’re not active. If they don’t change, they’re not active. Note how Julian walks, moves around, speaks, etc, in the O’Connor story. Your narrator can be active or inactive in a first or third person story; the POV doesn’t matter. Making a character active means having them move around, do things, and say stuff.
Q2. Write your summary of the story using the summary evaluation. (100words)
SUMMARY EVALUATION
1. Authors name + Title of the text
2. Main topic of text is paraphrased (Topic is the literal, concrete sequence of events)
3. Main purpose of text is paraphrased (Purpose is what the story’s themes are)
4. Summary is 2-4 sentences long
5. Summary is in your own words (no quotations)
6. Vivid and precise verbs & transitions are used
7. Proofread
8. An author is always referred to by their last name (Gilman) not first (Charlotte)
Q2-1. let’s characterize these characters. Describe them through their behaviors, dialogue, or actions. (100words)
What’s important to J’s mother? How do you know?
What’s important to Julian? What is he risking with his behaviors? What is at-stake for Julian? What is he willing to risk? You might analyze his fantasies to understand what’s important to Julian.
Be sure to do some citing from the text.
