Lesson 1 short stories: introduction short story and dystopia

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 4

Hello, everyone! 

Today...

1. Check who is here
2. questions about test (reading or speaking)
3. introduction short stories/dystopian future
4. time left: reading

Questions??

What makes a short story?

Types of short stories

•    The ‘Story’ type (begin - middle - end)
•    The ‘Atmosphere’ or ‘Impression’ type
•    The ‘Idea’ or ‘Political’ type
•    The ‘Mystery’, ‘Mild horror’ or ‘Suspension’ type

No story will only fit into one category. It may contain elements of one or more of the types mentioned.

9 detailed characteristics in most short stories

1.    Subject matter - about daily doings, dramas and dreams of common people.
2.    Element of surprise – no predictable ending.
3.    Creating a ‘single effect’ - leaves the reader with a one main feeling
4.    Compactness, briefness – no irrelevant details or words.
5.    One or two main events – often beginning in the middle of things and ending abruptly.
6.    Concentration on one or two main character(s).
7.    Concentration on action rather than on description.
8.    Classical unities of time, place and action (24 hours max., single place, single action).
9.    Criticism on characters by the writer.

Now what do you remember?

Which of the following is NOT a type of character?

1. protagonist
2. antagonist
3. dynamic
4. pastoral

What do we call a character that does not change throughout the course of the narrative?

1. dynamic
2. static
3. boring
4. round

What is the setting in a story?

1. Characters
2. Time
3. Time & location
4. When you set the table

Plot is...

1. Events that make up a story
2. The exploding part of story/ turning point of story
3. setting and characters
4. the solution to the problem

Which part of the plot is
the most intense?

1. falling action
2. exposition
3. exposition
4. climax

What is the definition for "Exposition"?

1. The introduction of setting, situation and main characters
2. The part where the antagonist is "exposed"
3. When the plot deals with paintings in an exposition
4. Exposition is the beginning of the story

Which of the following show the elements of plot in order?

1. climax, rising action, exposition, falling action, resolution
2. exposition, climax, rising action, falling action, resolution
3. exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution
4. resolution, rising action, climax, falling action, exposition

What is the definition of "Theme"?

1. A story's plot
2. A universal idea/central idea about life
3. A motto (for example: "better late than never")
4. The theory behind short story writing

"If you want to really hurt you parents, and you don't have the nerve to be gay, the least you can do is go into the arts. I'm not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possible can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.”

Kurt Vonnegut

1922-2007

American Writer 

Studied "The Shape of Stories"

Short stories we are discussing: Harrison Bergeron & Welcome to the Monkey House

Slaughter-house Five goes all over the place. Draw a line and make sure they understand that. 

Kurt Vonnegut's writing

Simplistic and dry

Themes: 

Pacifism

Social equality 

Need for common decency
Main villain: dehumanisation 

Vonnegut believed: simplicity is a lost art, one that when utilized correctly could convey every emotion in human language in only a few words.

He targets dehumanization through technology, sexuality and violence as his main villains.

Utopias and Dystopias

What do these books have in common?

What do these books have in common?

0

What did the early philosophers try to create?

Why does the creation of a perfect world seem to be impossible?

Aspects of dystopia?

Which of these events was NOT a major influence on dystopian fiction?

1. The Protestant Reformation
2. The demise of Michael Jackson
3. World wars
4. The industrial and digital revolutions

Dystopian Novels

Opposite of Utopia (ideal world) - Thomas More in 1516

The central themes of dystopian novels generally fall under these topics:

Government control (1984 - George Orwell)

Environmental destruction (Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood)

Technological control (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Philip K. Dick)

Survival (Lord of the Flies by William Golding)

Loss of individualism (The Giver - Lois Lowry)

The term “utopia” was coined by Sir Thomas More in his 1516 book Utopia, which was about an ideal society on a fictional island. 

Characteristics of Dystopian society:

• Propaganda is used to control the citizens of society.
• Information, independent thought, and freedom are restricted.
• A figurehead or concept is worshipped by the citizens of the society.
• Citizens are perceived to be under constant surveillance.
• Citizens have a fear of the outside world.
• Citizens live in a dehumanized state.
• The natural world is banished and distrusted.
• Citizens conform to uniform expectations. Individuality and dissent are bad. 
 • The society is an illusion of a perfect utopian world.

1984 - George Orwell

Totalitarian state 

No freedom (not even your thoughts are private)

Telescreen - "Big Brother is Watching You"

Another example: Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale

Dystopia

- Themes

- Government

- Characters

- Conflict

- Plot

- Imagery

- Compare to our society

Uniformity / Sameness

No free will / surveillance

Corrupt government / propaganda

Segregation / Unequal power

Perfect exterior hides evil secret

Unexpected hero