Week 8, Lesson 1

Narrative structure

By the end of the lesson:

ALL will be able to explain

what makes an effective

narrative structure;

MOST will analyse narrative

structure, exploring the

impact of a twist;

SOME will evaluate the

effectiveness of different

narrative structures.

Starter: What books, films or TV

series you think of that include a

twist?

E.g. In ‘Holes’ by Louis Sachar,

Zero turns out to be a

descendant of Madame Zeroni.

Read ‘The Story of an Hour’ by Kate Chopin.

ALL will be able to explain what makes an effective narrative structure;

MOST will analyse narrative structure, exploring the impact of a twist;

SOME will evaluate the effectiveness of different narrative structures.

What happens in this

story?

Where does Chopin surprise the

reader? Identify two different

moments in the story which defy

the reader’s expectations.

What is surprising about each of

these moments?

Ext: How does each ‘twist’ increase the reader’s sympathy

towards Mrs Mallard?

‘The Story of an Hour’ by Kate Chopin

Knowing that Mrs Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as

possible the news of her husband's death.

It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing. Her

husband's friend Richards was there, too, near her. It was he who had been in the newspaper office when

intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard's name leading the list of "killed". He had

only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less

careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message.

She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralysed inability to accept its

significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms. When the storm of grief had

spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her.

There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a

physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.

She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life.

The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a

distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the

eaves. There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one

above the other in the west facing her window.

She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up

into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.

She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength. But now there

was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not

a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.

There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too

subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the

scents, the colour that filled the air.

Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. She was beginning to recognise this thing that was approaching to

possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will — as powerless as her two white slender hands

would have been. When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said

it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!" The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it

went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and

relaxed every inch of her body. She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear

and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial.

She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had

never looked save with love upon her, fixed and grey and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long

procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to

them in welcome. There would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself.

There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they

have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem

no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination.

And yet she had loved him — sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved

mystery, count for in face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest

impulse of her being!

"Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering.

Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhole, imploring for admission. "Louise, open

the door! I beg, open the door — you will make yourself ill. What are you doing, Louise? For heaven's sake open

the door."

"Go away. I am not making myself ill." No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window. Her

fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that

would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with

a shudder that life might be long.

She arose at length and opened the door to her sister's importunities. There was a feverish triumph in her eyes,

and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory. She clasped her sister's waist, and together they

descended the stairs. Richards stood waiting for them at the bottom.

Someone was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained,

composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even

know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine's piercing cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen him

from the view of his wife.

But Richards was too late.

When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease — of the joy that kills.

ALL will be able to explain what makes an effective narrative structure;

MOST will analyse narrative structure, exploring the impact of a twist;

SOME will evaluate the effectiveness of different narrative structures.

Task: Chart Mrs Mallard’s emotions in the story on a line graph.

Ext: On the same graph, create a new line to chart the reader’s

emotions throughout the story.

Add brief quotations to

your graph at relevant

points.

Make a note of each of these tips for plot twists.

• Approach your story as a reader – can

you see the twist coming?

• Use subtle misdirection.

• Use subtle foreshadowing. Your twist

should be unexpected but not

implausible.

• Decide: will your story end with your

twist, or will you continue your narrative?

For each tip,

evaluate whether

or not it applies to

Chopin’s ‘The

Story of an Hour’.

Task: Plan your own story with the title ‘The Story of an Hour’. It

can have any character, setting or narrative, but it must include

a twist. Use your knowledge organiser to remind you what to

consider when planning.

Note: the twist must not be “it was all a dream”.

Ext: Chart your protagonist’s emotions on the second graph.

ALL will be able to explain what makes an effective narrative structure;

MOST will analyse narrative structure, exploring the impact of a twist;

SOME will evaluate the effectiveness of different narrative structures.

Plenary:

Sum up the narrative of your story

(The Story of an Hour V2) in exactly

15 words.

Your aim is to score 15 points.

For every word you go over or

under 15 words in your summary,

deduct 2 points.

What’s your score?

Week 8, Lesson 2

The Story of a …

By the end of the lesson:

ALL will be able to reduce

ideas to create a well-

paced narrative;

MOST will construct an

interesting, well-structured

narrative with a short time-

frame;

SOME will develop a

tightly-structured narrative

with a range of effective

features.

Starter: Which of these narrative

features could you include in

your planned story, ‘The Story of

an Hour’ (Version 2)?

• Unanswered question

• Cliffhanger

• Zooming in on details

• Zooming out to the bigger

picture

• Unusual perspective

Ext: How would you include

them? Consider specific

moments in your narrative.

New challenge: Your ‘Story of an Hour’ is

going to become ‘The Story of a Minute’.

You have two basic options to reduce the time-frame of your

narrative:

1. Condense all of the events and ideas into one minute

2. Focus on just one minute of the hour and cut out

everything else.

Which of these options will suit your narrative better? Why?

Sentence stems:

Condensing my narrative into one minute would suit my ideas

because…

Focusing on just one minute of my narrative would suit my

ideas because…

Task: Edit your plan, then break your new

narrative down into five stages.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Ext: Sum up each stage in just one word.

Task: Visualise your narrative. If it were a short

film, what would the viewer see at each stage?

Fill in the five boxes to illustrate your ideas.

This isn’t an art lesson, so don’t spend too long

on detail; just give an impression of your idea.

Ext: What sounds would the viewer hear at

different stages? Make notes beside each box.

How could you link your final paragraph

back to the opening of your story?

The Story of a Minute

Possible ideas:

• Ending your final sentence with the first

word of the story (possibly a single word

sentence)

• Repetition of sentence structure or

vocabulary choice

• Motif

• Semantic field.

Which of these ideas

(or the ideas from

paired / class

discussion) would suit

your narrative?

Task: Write your first paragraph of ‘The Story of a Minute’.

Remember to make sure your writing is interesting and

accurate. Include:

• Convincing description of character / setting

• Techniques to make your writing compelling

• Precise, ambitious vocabulary

• A range of sentence structures

• A range of punctuation.

Refer to your

knowledge

organiser and

your vocabulary

list.

Think: How will

you end your first

paragraph so

that it leads into

your second?

Task: Write your final paragraph of ‘The Story of a Minute’.

Refer to your

knowledge

organiser and

your vocabulary

list.

As with your first paragraph, remember to make sure your writing is

interesting and accurate. Include:

• Convincing description of character / setting

• Techniques to make your writing compelling

• Precise, ambitious vocabulary

• A range of sentence structures

• A range of punctuation.

Remember to create a clear link between

your first and final paragraphs.

Think: What atmosphere do you

want to create? How will you

achieve this effect?

Ext: Annotate your work, explaining your

creative decisions.

ALL will be able to reduce ideas to create a well-paced narrative;

MOST will construct an interesting, well-structured narrative with a short time-frame;

SOME will develop a tightly-structured narrative with a range of effective features.

Plenary:

How successful is your narrative structure?

Try and explain why you think this.

Homework reminder: You should do your second task now!