We looked at setting in Face by Alice Munro and the techniques she uses to establish the setting of the piece. She doesn't directly tell us it's a mostly white, upper-class town with traditional values, but we can gain that from her descriptions of the people there and their customs. She shows us the difference between the cottage and the main house not only through physical description but also by describing the various activities that occur in each place and the feelings that are present in the characters when they are in each dwelling. I also wanted us to see how a place that may seem ordinary to others (the old shed that used to be a cottage in a backyard) but can have great significance for others and the story of how that place became significant to you could be a great jumping off point for your narrative.
The main lesson of this week is SHOW not tell. How can you show what's it like for you (or your character) to grow up in your neighborhood? How can you show how great or how awful of a person a character is? What moments can you provide us that illustrate your point so you can keep your readers engaged in your story?
Homework
- One Page Description of a Person or Place that has been very Influential to You (Due Tuesday 9/20) via ELI Review (if you missed today please email me for the class code so you can get setup in ELI)
- Read Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway underneath Class Documents (Due Tuesday 9/20)
- Read The Unauthorized Autobiography of Me by Sherman Alexie underneath Class Documents (Due Tuesday 9/20)
- If you missed today, you want to read over the Narrative Assignment Sheet. There you will see the requirements for your first major papers.
Here is a helpful link for those of you who may need help getting setup on ELI or who are having trouble submitting your one page description on ELI. Also remember I am always available via email. http://elireview.com/learn/tutorials/students/
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