H5 week 49_Short Story Genesis & Catastrophe and Shredni Vashtar

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vmbo lwoo, havo
• Leerjaar 5

Today's objectives

1. Genesis and Catastrophe - review & finish 
2. Sredni Vashtar - read/short movie/questions
3. Prepare quizzes in groups (=HW) OR Listening wk 50

Genesis & Catastrophe
What/Who

Genesis & Catastrophe
When/Where

Genesis and Catastrophe - HW

Questions: 

1. Describe the setting. When and where does this story take place
2. What is the effect of the weather on the mood of the story? 
3. Who are the main characters? 

Genesis & Catastrophe - key

1) April afternoon, end of 19th century (20 April 1889), Braunau (Braunau am Inn, Austria), room at an inn. 

2) Rain displays sadness. The narrator mentioned the “wet April afternoon” right after Klara told him her other three children had died. It is also a precursor to the horrible deeds that Adolf Hitler is going to do. 

3) Klara Hitler, Alois Hitler, the doctor 

Where exactly is the climax in the short story Genesis and Catastrophe?

Why is the climax not at the end of Genesis and Catastrophe?

Genesis & Catastrophe - key

5) “Just imagine, Frau Hitler, ….”  - this is the climax, when you find out that this baby is actually Hitler

7) Because it gives the narrator time to explain who the father is, what his traits of character are, and that Hitler probably inherited his cruel personality from his father, and the coldness in his upbringing. 

Genesis and Catastrophe

Questions: 

4) Is there a protagonist, and an antagonist, and if so, who? = historical story, no antagonist/protagonist

6) Who is the child? Adolf Hitler

 

  

Genesis and Catastrophe

Questions - divide up into 3 groups + 1 score keeper for the entire class - Which group can explain the most?

 8. Explain the irony (=meaning the opposite of what you say for humorous/emphatic effect) & the dramatic irony (the reader knows what is going to happen, but the characters in the story don't) in: 

1. “everything is normal” (section 1) 
2. “you have a fine son” (section 1) 
3. “this is a perfectly normal baby” (section 3) 
4. “there is something inherited” (section 5) 
5. “specimens” (section 6) 
6. “I think you will like him” (section 8) 
7. “he won’t bite you” (section 8) 
8. “you should have heard him screaming” (section 10) 
9. “there is nothing wrong with that child” (sectgion 10) 
10. “oh God, be merciful onto him now” (last line)

 

Genesis & Catastrophe - key

Irony (=the opposite of what is being said) /dramatic irony (=what the reader knows about Hitler)

1.  “everything is normal” (section 1) – this is far from normal because her other three children had died 
2. “you have a fine son” (section 1) – he turns out to be a cruel dictator 
3. “this is a perfectly normal baby” (section 3) – there is nothing normal about Hitler’s character and his deeds 
4. there is something inherited - Klara Hitler is a loving mother (but Alois is a coldhearted father! = dramatic irony -> you know how Hitler will turn out)
5. specimens” (section 6) – this is also what Hitler called the Jews, and his father call him this 
6. “I think you will like him” (section 8) – there is nothing likeable about Hitler 
7. “he won’t bite you” (section 8) – yes he will, in the sense that he is responsible for the death of 6 million Jews 
8. “you should have heard him screaming” (section 10) – looking at the way he behaves in public, he always screams. 
9. Here it is meant as a sign of health, later a sign of his bad character
10.  “there is nothing wrong with that child” (section 10) – you must be deranged to do what Hitler has done 
11. “oh God, be merciful onto him now” (last line) – he (Hitler) has never been merciful towards anyone 

Genesis and Catastrophe

Questions: 

9. Which of the following terms can be used to describe Klara’s and Alois’ characters - answer on next slide: 

• Docile 
• Worrying 
• Overbearing 
• Indifferent 
• Cold 
• Nervous 
• Narrow-minded 
• Arrogant 
• Religious 
• Cruel 

11.  Explain the title of the story - answer on the next slide     

Klara's character

Alois's character

Explain the title
Genesis & Catastrophe

Genesis & Catastrophe - key

9) Character traits:

Klara: docile, worrying, nervous, religious 

Alois: overbearing, indifferent, cold, narrow-minded, arrogant, cruel 

10) There isn’t a real theme actually.  This is one of his stories about historical figures 

11) Genesis refers to the first book of the Bible, in which the world was created, a beginning, so in this case the birth of a boy 

      Catastrophe refers to the horrors people, Jews mainly, experienced during the time that Hitler ruled Germany. 

Sredni Vashtar -short story

Saki's macabre short story. 

Following the death of his parents in Burma, Conradin is sent to live with his strict, religious Aunt in Scotland. 

Rebelling against his guardian, Conradin invents a religion centered on his own vengeful god Sredni Vashtar, a pole-cat ferret he keeps hidden in the garden shed.

Answer questions 1-16 of Sredni Vashtar

Pair work

Presentations/quizzes next week Wed. Dec. 9th

Divide up into groups of 4 people ( 8 groups in total) & prepare a quiz of 5 to 8 questions

• 3 groups present Sredni Vashtar questions & answers & use PADLET

(group A = questions 1-5; group B = questions 6-10;  group C = questions11-16)

• 2 groups prepare a quiz of Lamb to the Slaughter/Genesis and Catastrophe/general info short stories  & use 

(one short story + general info per group) (Quizizz.com or Kahoot)

•  2 groups prepare a quiz (Quizizz.com) on vocab units 11/12 OR 13/14 (pick 2 units per group) 

• 1 group will do a quiz (Socrative) on grammar plural forms/definite/indefinite articles/some/any

Key Sredni Vashtar

Q. 1 - His imagination 

Q. 2 - Because it was the only means of escape and the only way he could stay alive 

Q. 3 - A safe haven, a means of being on his own, not harassed by his guardian; and a cathedral, a church, a place to worship Shredni Vashtar 

Q. 4 - Large mansion with a small bare garden and old shed. England in the 1900s. 

Q. 5 - Because she had to put her head into the cage to see what was inside 

Q. 6 - She also does not know what a boy’s needs are, and she is caught up in the rules and restrictions of her time, and could not be flexible in any way 

He wants the ferret to kill his cousin 

He chants a hymn in which he mentions ‘red thoughts’ , thoughts about blood, e.g. killing 

Earlier, in section 6, he does the exact opposite of that Mrs De Ropp expects him to do. She treats him to buttered toast, and he declines. In the final section, he simply takes the toast and eats it without permission. Secondly, the maid thinks he might be really upset if she tells him of the woman’s death, but he isn’t in the least 

Survival 

When the ferret leaves the shed, blood around its jaw 

The woman probably put her head into the hutch as she could not clearly see what was inside, because of her short-sightedness. The ferret attacked her and bit her to death 

The maid screaming, probably at the sight of the dead woman, the calls from the kitchen what was the matter, the running towards the shed, the calling for help, the crying, and the carrying of the woman inside (heavy burden) 

Mrs De Ropp and Conradin 

Mrs De Ropp is the antagonist, because her only goal in life is to make the boy’s life miserable. The boy is the protagonist, he uses the ferret to solve his problems (discussed w. 45/2020 – changed: the ferret = protagonist -> the boy = protagonist) 

Key Sredni Vashtar

Q. 7 - He uses descriptions of what’s happening outside and he imagines what the outcome of her quest is going to be, to stress that the whole process takes a lot of time, and all this time you’re wondering what might be happening 

Q. 8 - He wants the ferret to kill his cousin 

Q. 9 - He chants a hymn in which he mentions ‘red thoughts’ , thoughts about blood, e.g. killing 

Q. 10 - Earlier, in section 6, he does the exact opposite of that Mrs De Ropp expects him to do. She treats him to buttered toast, and he declines. In the final section, he simply takes the toast and eats it without permission. Secondly, the maid thinks he might be really upset if she tells him of the woman’s death, but he isn’t in the least 

Q. 11 - Survival 

Key Sredni Vashtar

Q. 12 - When the ferret leaves the shed, blood around its jaw 

Q. 13 - The woman probably put her head into the hutch as she could not clearly see what was inside, because of her short-sightedness. The ferret attacked her and bit her to death 

Q. 14 - The maid screaming, probably at the sight of the dead woman, the calls from the kitchen what was the matter, the running towards the shed, the calling for help, the crying, and the carrying of the woman inside (heavy burden) 

Q. 15 - Mrs De Ropp and Conradin 

Q. 16 - Mrs De Ropp is the antagonist, because her only goal in life is to make the boy’s life miserable. The boy is the protagonist, he uses the ferret to solve his problems (discussed w. 45/2020 – changed: the ferret = protagonist -> the boy = protagonist)