Literature short story_presentation_FD IIStella, Craig
OUTLINE OF LESSONS FOR
Tales of Revenge: Poe vs King
Previously introduced: criteria for short stories (using Hemingway’s “Cat in the Rain,“Old Man at the Bridge” or something comparable in length)
Short stories used in lessons: Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” and Stephen King’s “Dolan’s Cadillac”
First lesson: Main theme - Revenge
-Intro: SS listen to a musical version of Poe’s tale(Alan Parsons Project „The Cask of Amontillado“). They describe what feelings are conveyed by the music and try to guess the content of the story. (song: )
T shows the lyrics of the first verse only and asks the SS to point out the keyword(s) -> revenge.
T asks SS for other examples from literature, movies or real life (Kill Bill, Hamlet etc.).
-Poe’s story: SS read first paragraph, underline unknown words, try to guess their meaning and find out what the first person narrator’s idea of revenge is. T provides unknown words and points out the terms relating to revenge (‘avenger’ etc.). Discussion of the narrator’s idea of revenge and the first impressions in class.
-Homework: read the entire Poestory
Second lesson: Characters
-Groupwork: In pairs, SS draw a mind-map either about Montresor or Fortunato. Then they get together with another pair (preferably one Montresor and one Fortunato) to compare and discuss their results.
-Discussion of overall results in class (if necessary T elicits or points out crucial elements like telling names, Fortunato causing his own downfall, Montresor -> unreliable narrator)
Third lesson: Literary Theory
-Groupwork: SS look for ‘signs’/hints that the story will not end well for Fortunato.
-Discussion in class (-> T elicits or introduces the concepts of symbolism, irony and premonition)
-Brief input about masons and secret societies, resulting in the question: Does it play a role for the story?
-Return to song: SS listen to the song from the first lesson again and look at the lyrics -> Does the song represent the story well? (What elements were chosen by the songwriter, and why?)
-Homework - short story criteria: why is Poe’s tale a short story?
Fourth lesson: Activity I - Roleplay
-Brief discussion of homework, SS put their results together. If SS don’t do so, T points out the missing beginning (“in medias res”) and end (important for the later comparison to King)
-Roleplay: SS discuss in groups of four what Fortunato might have done to deserve this revenge and prepare a short scene showing it
-Homework: read first third (~20 pages) of “Dolan’s Cadillac”.
Fifth lesson: Characters II
-Groupwork: similar to second lesson – SS draw mind maps in pairs about either Robinson or Dolan, they form groups with another pair and discuss the differences between the (parallel) characters of the two short stories.
-Discussion in class: What background information do we get? (-> major difference between the two short stories)
-Homework: read second third (~20 pages) of “Dolan’s Cadillac”.
Sixth lesson: More Themes -Madness/Reliability
-Discussion in class: T presents the following questions/thesis (first 1, then 2), SS discuss in groups and compare their results in class.
1) Montresor (Poe’s narrator) isn’t reliable. Can we really say that Robinson (King’s narrator) is more reliable? Do you trust him more? If so, why?
2) Robinson’s mental and bodily condition both deteriorate simultaneously. PRO and CONTRA?
-Homework: read third third (~20 pages) of “Dolan’s Cadillac”.
Seventh lesson: Literary Theory II - Gothic
-Film/picture input – anything dark, uncanny (Adam’s Family, haunted house, graveyard, etc.). SS describe their feelings.
-T introduces the notion of Gothic as a literary genre
-Pairwork: SS try to answer the questions why both short stories could be labelled Gothic (or why not) and which one seems‘more’ gothic to them. Discussion in class (Follow-up question, pointing to the beginning of the lesson: Does Gothic equal scary?Are Gothic stories ‘horror stories’?)
Eighth lesson:Activity II - Text Production/Writing
-Task: Choose either Fortunato or Dolan and write a short text from their perspective.
-(Some) SS read their texts in class (or T collects them, possibly for grading)
Ninth lesson: Film Session
-SS watch the trailer for „Dolan’s Cadillac“ (2009) and compare it to the story. (Trailer: )
-SS watch the short film „The Cask of Amontillado“and compare it to the story (briefly, because it’s almost exactly the same). (film: Part 1 of 2)
-Class discussion: Did those ‘visualizations’ create new impressions? Where the choices made by directors good or bad?
-Final discussion (round-up): Comparison of both stories – resulting in Which one did you like better? Which do you think showed the ‘better’ revenge?