"Come and look out of the window," she added

Name:_

Writing

Teacher:

It was a hot afternoon, and the railway carriage was correspondingly sultry, and the next stop was at Templecombe, nearly an hour ahead. The occupants of the carriage were a small girl, and a smaller girl, and a small boy. An aunt belonging to the children occupied one corner seat, and the further corner seat on the opposite side was occupied by a bachelor who was a stranger to their party, but the small girls and the small boy emphatically occupied the compartment.

Both the aunt and the children were conversational in a limited, persistent way, reminding one of the attentions of a housefly that refuses to be discouraged. Most of the aunt's remarks seemed to begin with "Don't," and nearly all of the children's remarks began with "Why?" The bachelor said nothing out loud. "Don't, Cyril, don't," exclaimed the aunt, as the small boy began smacking the cushions of the seat, producing a cloud of dust at each blow.

"Come and look out of the window," she added.

The child moved reluctantly to the window. "Why are those sheep being driven out of that field?" he asked.

"I expect they are being driven to another field where there is more grass," said the aunt weakly.

"But there is lots of grass in that field," protested the boy; "there's nothing else but grass there. Aunt, there's lots of grass in that field."

"Perhaps the grass in the other field is better," suggested the aunt fatuously.

"Why is it better?" came the swift, inevitable question.

"Oh, look at those cows!" exclaimed the aunt. Nearly every field along the line had contained cows or bullocks, but she spoke as though she were drawing attention to a rarity.

"Why is the grass in the other field better?" persisted Cyril.

The frown on the bachelor's face was deepening to a scowl. He was a hard, unsympathetic man, the aunt decided in her mind. She was utterly unable to come to any satisfactory decision about the grass in the other field.

The smaller girl created a diversion by beginning to recite "On the Road to Mandalay." She only knew the first line, but she put her limited knowledge to the fullest possible use. She repeated the line over and over again in a dreamy but resolute and very audible voice; it seemed to the bachelor as though some one had had a bet with her that she could not repeat the line aloud two thousand times without stopping. Whoever it was who had made the wager was likely to lose his bet.

"Come over here and listen to a story," said the aunt, when the bachelor had looked twice at her and once at the communication cord.

The children moved listlessly towards the aunt's end of the carriage. Evidently her reputation as a story-teller did not rank high in their estimation.

In a low, confidential voice, interrupted at frequent intervals by loud, petulant questionings from her listeners, she began an unenterprising and deplorably uninteresting story about a little girl who was good, and made friends with every one on account of her goodness, and was finally saved from a mad bull by a number of rescuers who admired her moral character.

"Wouldn't they have saved her if she hadn't been good?" demanded the bigger of the small girls. It was exactly the question that the bachelor had wanted to ask.

"Well, yes," admitted the aunt lamely, "but I don't think they would have run quite so fast to her help if they had not liked her so much."

"It's the stupidest story I've ever heard," said the bigger of the small girls, with immense conviction.

"I didn't listen after the first bit, it was so stupid," said Cyril.

The smaller girl made no actual comment on the story, but she had long ago recommenced a murmured repetition of her favourite line.

"You don't seem to be a success as a story-teller," said the bachelor suddenly from his corner.

The aunt bristled in instant defence at this unexpected attack.

"It's a very difficult thing to tell stories that children can both understand and appreciate," she said stiffly.

"I don't agree with you," said the bachelor.

"Perhaps you would like to tell them a story," was the aunt's retort.

"Tell us a story," demanded the bigger of the small girls.

"Once upon a time," began the bachelor, "there was a little girl called Bertha, who was extra-ordinarily good."

The children's momentarily-aroused interest began at once to flicker; all stories seemed dreadfully alike, no matter who told them.

"She did all that she was told, she was always truthful, she kept her clothes clean, ate milk puddings as though they were jam tarts, learned her lessons perfectly, and was polite in her manners."

"Was she pretty?" asked the bigger of the small girls.

"Not as pretty as any of you," said the bachelor, "but she was horribly good."

There was a wave of reaction in favour of the story; the word horrible in connection with goodness was a novelty that commended itself. It seemed to introduce a ring of truth that was absent from the aunt's tales of infant life.

"She was so good," continued the bachelor, "that she won several medals for goodness, which she always wore, pinned on to her dress. There was a medal for obedience, another medal for punctuality, and a third for good behaviour. They were large metal medals and they clicked against one another as she walked. No other child in the town where she lived had as many as three medals, so everybody knew that she must be an extra good child."
"Horribly good," quoted Cyril.

"Everybody talked about her goodness, and the Prince of the country got to hear about it, and he said that as she was so very good she might be allowed once a week to walk in his park, which was just outside the town. It was a beautiful park, and no children were ever allowed in it, so it was a great honour for Bertha to be allowed to go there."

"Were there any sheep in the park?" demanded Cyril.

"No;" said the bachelor, "there were no sheep."

"Why weren't there any sheep?" came the inevitable question arising out of that answer.

The aunt permitted herself a smile, which might almost have been described as a grin.

"There were no sheep in the park," said the bachelor, "because the Prince's mother had once had a dream that her son would either be killed by a sheep or else by a clock falling on him. For that reason the Prince never kept a sheep in his park or a clock in his palace."

The aunt suppressed a gasp of admiration.

"Was the Prince killed by a sheep or by a clock?" asked Cyril.

"He is still alive, so we can't tell whether the dream will come true," said the bachelor unconcernedly; "anyway, there were no sheep in the park, but there were lots of little pigs running all over the place."

"What colour were they?"

"Black with white faces, white with black spots, black all over, grey with white patches, and some were white all over."

The storyteller paused to let a full idea of the park's treasures sink into the children's imaginations; then he resumed: "Bertha was rather sorry to find that there were no flowers in the park. She had promised her aunts, with tears in her eyes, that she would not pick any of the kind Prince's flowers, and she had meant to keep her promise, so of course it made her feel silly to find that there were no flowers to pick."

"Why weren't there any flowers?"

"Because the pigs had eaten them all," said the bachelor promptly. "The gardeners had told the Prince that you couldn't have pigs and flowers, so he decided to have pigs and no flowers."

There was a murmur of approval at the excellence of the Prince's decision; so many people would have decided the other way.

"There were lots of other delightful things in the park. There were ponds with gold and blue and green fish in them, and trees with beautiful parrots that said clever things at a moment's notice, and humming birds that hummed all the popular tunes of the day. Bertha walked up and down and enjoyed herself immensely, and thought to herself: 'If I were not so extraordinarily good I should not have been allowed to come into this beautiful park and enjoy all that there is to be seen in it,' and her three medals clinked against one another as she walked and helped to remind her how very good she really was. Just then an enormous wolf came prowling into the park to see if it could catch a fat little pig for its supper."

"What colour was it?" asked the children, amid an immediate quickening of interest.

"Mud-colour all over, with a black tongue and pale grey eyes that gleamed with unspeakable ferocity. The first thing that it saw in the park was Bertha; her pinafore was so spotlessly white and clean that it could be seen from a great distance. Bertha saw the wolf and saw that it was stealing towards her, and she began to wish that she had never been allowed to come into the park. She ran as hard as she could, and the wolf came after her with huge leaps and bounds. She managed to reach a shrubbery of myrtle bushes and she hid herself in one of the thickest of the bushes. The wolf came sniffing among the branches, its black tongue lolling out of its mouth and its pale grey eyes glaring with rage.

Bertha was terribly frightened, and thought to herself: 'If I had not been so extraordinarily good I should have been safe in the town at this moment.' However, the scent of the myrtle was so strong that the wolf could not sniff out where Bertha was hiding, and the bushes were so thick that he might have hunted about in them for a long time without catching sight of her, so he thought he might as well go off and catch a little pig instead.

Bertha was trembling very much at having the wolf prowling and sniffing so near her, and as she trembled the medal for obedience clinked against the medals for good conduct and punctuality. The wolf was just moving away when he heard the sound of the medals clinking and stopped to listen; they clinked again in a bush quite near him. He dashed into the bush, his pale grey eyes gleaming with ferocity and triumph, and dragged Bertha out and devoured her to the last morsel. All that was left of her were her shoes, bits of clothing, and the
three medals for goodness."

"Were any of the little pigs killed?"

"No, they all escaped."

"The story began badly," said the smaller of the small girls, "but it had a beautiful ending."

"It is the most beautiful story that I ever heard," said the bigger of the small girls, with immense decision.

"It is the ONLY beautiful story I have ever heard," said Cyril.

A dissentient opinion came from the aunt.

"A most improper story to tell to young children! You have undermined the effect of years of careful teaching."

"At any rate," said the bachelor, collecting his belongings preparatory to leaving the carriage, "I kept them quiet for ten minutes, which was more than you were able to do."

"Unhappy woman!" he observed to himself as he walked down the platform of Templecombe station; "for the next six months or so those children will assail her in public with demands for an improper story!"

Compare the Aunt’s Story with the Bachelor’s Story.

Element
Plot
Characters
Conflicts
Settings
Point of View
Theme
Suspense
Mood
Irony

What does Saki teach us about the creation of an interesting short story? Support your answers with details from the text.

_

Reading Notes and Terms

Plot refers to the series of connected actions and events in a story, written or otherwise, often described as having a course of action and including rising action, conflict, climax, falling action, and a resolution.



Conflict refers to the struggle between opposing forces or characters that creates the dynamic tension in the work.

Types of conflict (Give an example of each type)

Person versus nature:

Person versus person:

Person versus society:

Person versus self:

Suspense refers to the increasing tension in a narrative caused by uncertainty and excitement about the conclusion, created mainly by the conflict.

Character: A character is a person in a narrative

Major Character: The main or central character in fiction or drama. He or she is also referred to as the protagonist, and is pitted against the antagonist.

Dynamic Character: A character who changes during the course of a story

Static Character: A character who remains unchanged throughout the course of a story.

Flat Character: A two-dimensional character only briefly described.

Stereotyped or Stock character: Refers to characters like the hen-pecked husband, gum-chewing waitresses, and absent-minded professors.

Characterization: the method or technique that writers use to describe a character.

The direct method of characterization

Direct characterization occurs when the author literally tells the reader about the character.

• 
  Writers do this when they describe the appearance of the characters, where the characters live, and other important information about the characters’ lives.
  
• 
  Example: The Quiet Man by Maurice Walsh The main character’s (Shawn Kelvin) description: “For he was a quiet man, not given to talking about himself and the things he had done.”
  

The indirect method of characterization

Authors might also use indirect methods that require readers to draw their own conclusions about the characters.

Author Techniques

• 
  A character’s name may reveal something about his/her character.
  
• 
  Characters are revealed through a description of their physical characteristics and how they dress.
  

• 
  Character can also reveal themselves through their own words (dialogue can be used to show what they are thinking and what they are feeling).
  

• 
  What other characters say about them (dialogue between two other characters can help reveal traits)
  
• 
  What other people think of a character.
  
• 
  How animals react to the character.
  
• 
  A character’s actions can show who they are. As characters act in certain ways, their actions reveal what kinds of people they are.
  

Setting: The time, place, and circumstances of a story.

• 
  Setting also includes any elements of a story that result from the place or time (weather, historical events that affect the characters in the story, or the character’s environment)
  
• 
  An author may use setting to give a sense of reality to the story or to make the plot more realistic.
  

• 
  The author may also use setting to emphasize the mood of a character ( rainy day may bring out a feeling of sadness in people).
  
• 
  The setting may also reflect or support the events of a story (a full moon for a story about a werewolf).
  
• 
  The setting may also have important effects upon the actions of characters.
  
• 
  The setting can reinforce at story’s theme (heavily wooded area may show that a character feels imprisoned or it may symbolize oppression).
  
• 
  The setting may also serve as a symbol representing an entirely different object or idea.
  

Flashback: An episode in which a writer or narrator describes an earlier time.

• 
  Writers use flashback to explain something that will help the reader understand the plot. Stories with flashback usually contain subplots (secondary plots).
  
• 
  A flashback can involve an event or a series of events, or it can explain something about a character.
  

Foreshadowing: a clue or hint about what will happen later in the story.

• 
  The information teases readers and keeps them guessing about what is going to happen.
  
• 
  The atmosphere or mood is an important element in foreshadowing. The lights going out suddenly in a house in the dark of night, for example, can foreshadow danger.
  
• 
  Foreshadowing is mainly used in mysteries to create suspense.
  

Point of View: The position from which a story is told.

• 
  Point of view refers to the teller (narrator) of a given story or piece of writing.
  
• 
  The narrator is the person through which the reader sees the action of a story or piece of writing.
  

1st Person Point of View

• 
  The author uses a character (major or minor) in the story to act as narrator.
  
• 
  The narrator may also be a detached observer or recorder of the action.
  
• 
  “I” is telling the story. “I” is the persona the author creates to give the reader information about “him” or “her”.
  
• 
  “I” is not necessarily the author.
  
• 
  What the 1st person narrator tells the reader is limited to what they would actually be able to see or know.
  
• 
  The 1st person narrator can’t get into the other character’s mind and discuss what’s going on there.
  

3rd Person Omniscient (all knowing)

• 
  The all knowing author’s point of view.
  
• 
  The author, acting as narrator, tells the reader whatever is necessary about the characters, their actions, backgrounds, thoughts, motives, and so forth.
  
• 
  The narrator can go inside the minds of any or all characters and tell the reader what the characters are thinking and feeling.
  
• 
  Omniscient: Omni—all ; science—to know.
  

Third person limited

• 
  The story is told in the 3rd person (he/she).
  
• 
  The voice that’s telling the story is limited to what one character in the story might know. It’s the voice that tells “she did this” or “he felt that”.
  
• 
  The author acts as narrator but limits what he tells to what one person in the story can know or see.
  

Third person objective point of view

• 
  The voice that is telling the story merely reports on the incidents, much like a newspaper reporter, and does not comment on events or characters
  

Mood/ ATMOSPHERE-the prevailing mood of a literary work, particularly when that mood is established in part by setting (i.e. the opening of “The Highwayman”).

Irony : A term from a Greek word meaning “someone who hides under a false appearance”. When irony is used, things appear to be different, even opposite, of what they really are: unexpected events happen, what people say is not what they mean. Authors use irony to create interest, surprise, or an understanding with their readers that the characters do not share.

• 
  Irony in the use of language.
  
• 
  When there is a difference between what is said and what is actually meant
  
• 
  Writers use rhetorical irony to reveal character
  
• 
  Irony is used to suggest meaning without stating it outright
  
• 
  A difference between tone of voice and the content of what is being said is a kind of verbal irony.
  
• 
  Examples: One person greets another as they meet in pouring rain: “Nice Day!”; A seven-foot basketball player nicknamed “Tiny”.
  

Situational irony When there is a difference between what a character or reader expects to happen and what actually happens.

Examples: A fireman’s house burning down; An uncoordinated dancing instructor.

Dramatic irony

• 
  When a reader knows more about a situation than the character—giving a second meaning for the reader
  
• 
  Dramatic irony occurs when a speaker in a play says something where the audience understands the hidden meaning of the statement but the speaker himself does not
  
• 
  Dramatic irony is caused by a knowledge-gap between two characters or a lack of awareness in a character
  
• 
  Author’s use dramatic irony to help the audience feel or understand the truth more keenly
  

Rory’s Story Cubes

Choose a partner with whom to complete the following writing activity. Be creative!

Roll Rory’s Story Cubes and draw/write the face up side of each of the 9 dice in the space provided:

Pick one of the images as your starting point, and then try to create a story that incorporates the rest of the images rolled.

One person should record the short story plot; the other should share their ideas with the class.

100% for participation in this activity!

Steps to Creating a Short Story

Button Activity for Character Development

Writing Activity #1



Orson Scott Card says, “People become, in our minds, what we see them do. This is the strongest, most irresistible form of characterization.”

Element # 1 Character and Characterization: Choose a button from the bag provided. Now, use that button in order to create a character for your short story.

Create a short sketch of your character. Tell me about him/her in 300 words or less. Consider the following:

Physical Description:

Lifestyle:

What motivates your character?

Personality traits:

Interesting facts:

Next, create an antagonist for your character. Choose from the following:

• 
  Is the antagonist another character in your protagonist’s life such as a relative, boss, spouse, child, animal etc.?
  
• 
  Is the antagonist the character? Is he/she experiencing fear, fighting an illness, trying to free herself from a bad relationship?
  
• 
  Is the antagonist something in nature such as a mountain, tsunami, toxic waste?
  
• 
  Is the antagonist of a supernatural nature such as an alien, an angel, a hobbit, a gnome?
  

Check one of the above and, much as you did with the button activity, add details about your antagonist in the space provided below. Use key words, phrases, visuals to create a realistic antagonist.

Element # 2: Setting-oh the places you’ll go…start with a place in your local area (it could be your bedroom, library, school etc., and then travel the world or the universe! Brainstorm 4 more settings on your own, and then share the ideas with the class as a whole to generate a list of possible settings for your story.

What setting do you choose for your story? Jot down a few details to include. What atmosphere are you trying to create?

Again, jot down a few details/words to create this atmosphere.

Element # 3 Conflict

Check on the following types of conflict:

• 
  Versus character
  
• 
  Versus self
  
• 
  Versus nature
  
• 
  Versus society
  
• 
  Versus fate
  
• 
  Versus the supernatural
  

In one sentence, identify the main conflict that occurs between the protagonist and the antagonist.

Element 4: Plot outline.

Element 5: Decide whether you are going to write from the protagonist’s point of view (either first person or third), or omniscient.

Element 6: Theme-what message do you want the reader to learn as a result of the protagonist’s struggle?

Mini Lesson-Quotation Marks

Writing activity # 2 Create a short story using the ideas you have already brainstormed. Please note the rubric included to ensure that you have followed all of the steps.
Points for Unit/60
_____ 5 The Storyteller

_____10 Story Cubes

_____10 Character sketch

_____5 Antagonist

_____5 Setting/Mood

_____5 Conflict

_____5 Point of view

_____5 Theme

_____10 Plot outline
Short Story/40
_____ 3 Title Page

_____ 3 Neatness {Presentation}

_____ 5 Hook

_____ 5 Interesting Plot

_____ 5 Satisfying Ending

_____ 3 Descriptive Writing

_____ 3 Vocabulary

_____ 3 Organization

_____ 3 Varied and interesting sentence structure

_____ 3 Conventions

_____ 2 Proofread

_____ 2 On Time

Overall Grade is _______

Reflection #

In this unit, you have done the following:

• 
  The Storyteller
  
• 
  Story Cubes
  
• 
  Character sketch
  
• 
  Antagonist
  
• 
  Setting/Mood
  
• 
  Conflict
  
• 
  Theme
  
• 
  Plot outline
  
• 
  Reflection
  

All of these pieces should be included in your portfolio for the short story unit

What piece of writing did you find to be the most challenging? Explain your point of view.

Do you think it’s important to have a short story plan before you begin writing? Explain your answer with specific details.

Write about two things that you did that you felt you did really well throughout this unit. Then, add a wish-something you’d like to work on in the future. This will allow you to set goals about your writing; to focus on where your writing strengths and needs are.

Choose between activity 1 or 2, and submit your chosen piece for in-depth evaluation. This will be graded with comments. These comments will help you to rewrite your piece, improve your writing by making decisions as to what you should change or not, and earn edit for credit points!

Need an idea? Here are some story sparkers:

1. "Get that thing away from me!" the girl yelled.

2. "That will show them," I thought as I hammered the last nail into place.

3. Everyone had a partner but me. What was I supposed to do now?

4. For the most part, Grandpa was a nice man who liked best of all to…

5. Goats, sheep and chickens belong on the farm, not in the middle of...

6. "Get out of there as fast as you can!", I yelled to my brother as...

7. Have you ever noticed that some days seem much longer than others?

8. He didn't look like a genius, he looked more like...

9. He was afraid, but he called upon all his courage as...

10. Her eyes were glazed with a fever, making her...

11. I had always wanted a puppy.

12. I looked around the room. Nothing seemed unusual, but then…

13. I never expected that one day I'd open my closet and find...

14. It was three times as large as me, but I was going to try anyway.

15. I never thought I could do it, but…

16. If this was the truth, then the truth was wrong because...

17. If time could stand still or even go backwards, I would…

18. It was a weird thing, hairy and smelly and limp, but I loved it because...

19. It was Christmas morning, but I was not anxious to...

20. My dog jumped up and started barking...
Celebrate! Share your stories with another class!