Short Story

Unit A

“How to Tell a True War Story” by Tim O’Brien

“Battle Royal” by Ralph Ellison

“How to Cheat at Basketball” by Bill Cosby

Name:

12th Grade English

Mrs. Hack

Short Story Unit

Author #1: Tim O’Brien

“How to Tell a True War Story”

Birth year/place

Topic of most writings:

Background of Vietnam War:

Background of Vietnam War in the United States:

My Lai Massacre

Definition of verisimilitude

Summary of “How To Tell A True War Story”

Author #2: Ralph Ellison

“Battle Royal”

Birth year/place

Best known for

Treatment of blacks during 1930’s in SOUTH

Treatment of blacks during 1930’s in NORTH

Cities of Great Migration:

Invisible Man:

“Battle Royal” Summary:

Author #3: Bill Cosby

“How to Cheat at Basketball”

Birth place/year

Known for:

2 facts from growing up:

Focus of writing

Summary of “How to Cheat at Basketball”

The Things They Carried

Tim O’Brien

“How to Tell a True War Story”

Summary: The Things They Carried is a story about a group of men (a company) who are soldiers during the Vietnam war. The story describes the physical things the men carry with them and the mental baggage the men pick up on the way. The items each man carries allows them believe in what they are doing and allows them to justify their survival.

“How to Tell a True War Story” is the combination of war experiences and the art of storytelling. Each story has a different aspect of storytelling that is shown through the actual story.

Bob Kiley’s Story

  1. What did Bob Kiley, Pat, tell the sister of his friend in a letter?
  1. Give an example of how Kiley’s friend was a great guy?
  1. Why do you think that Kiley called the sister a “cooze”?
  1. What does a true war story NOT do?
  1. How can you tell is a story is a true war story?

The Story of Curt Lemon

  1. What was the game?
  1. What were the other men doing?
  1. What is difficult about any war story?
  1. What parts of a war story are true? What parts are not true? State why:

Mitchell Sanders Story:

  1. Why does Sanders describe the waiting in silence for 7 days as spooky?
  1. What did they begin to hear?
  1. What makes the situation extra bad?
  1. What do they hear that Sanders doesn’t think the narrator would believe?
  1. Why can’t the men take it?
  1. Why can’t the men answer the questions the colonel asks? (What did they hear? Why all the ordinance?)
  1. How can you tell if a story is a true war story?
  1. What is the moral of Sander’s story?
  1. What parts of the story did Sander’s make up?
  1. What simile is used to explain a war story with a moral?
  1. What two things does a war story not do?
  1. What does a true war story make the stomach do?

The Narrator’s Story

  1. What happened to Curt Lemon?
  1. What did Rat Kiley do to the baby water buffalo?
  1. Why did Rat Kiley cry?
  1. How is war beauty?
  1. If there is a point to a war story, when does it hit you?
  1. What order was given to Dave Jensen and the narrator?
  1. What is a true war story that never happened?
  1. Why would the narrator call a women who commented on the stories a cooze?
  1. In the end, what is a true war story about?

Elements of literature:

  1. What part does atmosphere play in this story?
  1. What is the mood of this story?

Invisible Man

Ralph Ellison

“Battle Royale”

Originally published as a short story, "Battle Royal" would eventually become the first chapter of Ralph Ellison's critically acclaimed novel Invisible Man. "Battle Royal" is the story of a young black man who is invited to deliver his much lauded graduation speech to a gathering of prominent white citizens.

The unnamed narrator begins with a confession: For twenty years he has allowed himself to be defined by other people's expectations. While he has since come to realize the folly of this thinking, the process of change has been slow and painful. This change began, he reveals, with the discovery that he is an "invisible man."

  1. What realization did the narrator finally come to?
  1. What is the only thing the narrator is ashamed of?
  1. What did his grandfather say on his deathbed? (What did he want them to do in order to survive?)
  1. Why was the narrator praised by the lily white men of town?
  1. On his graduation day, what did his speech show?
  1. What was the battle royal?
  1. What were the town’s big shots doing?
  1. Why did the narrator have a distaste towards the battle royal?
  1. Why were the others mad at the narrator for being there?
  1. What shocked the narrator when he was led into the noisy room?
  1. What made the narrator almost pee his pants?
  1. Why did the narrator feel guilt and fear?
  1. How did the men treat the blond woman?
  1. What happened to the boys when they stepped into the ring?
  1. Why was the narrator trembling as he heard the men yelling?
  1. pg. 22: What simile does the narrator use to describe how he felt as he had no dignity.
  1. Why was the scene complete anarchy?
  1. Why were the other boys eventually leaving the ring?
  1. What announcement made the boys become friendly?
  1. What happened as the boys tried to collect their winnings?
  1. What entertainment did the men get from this?
  1. Why were the men clapping and laughing when the narrator was introduced with the following quote: I’m told that he is the smartest boy we’ve got out there in Greenwood. I’m told that he knows more big words than a pocket-sized dictionary.(?)
  1. Why were the men laughing when the narrator was made to repeat: social responsibility?
  1. Why wee there sounds of displeasure when the narrator said: social equality?
  1. Why was there thunderous applause after the narrator finished his speech?
  1. What prize was the narrator given?
  1. What is ironic about the passage: I was so moved that I could hardly express my thanks. A rope of bloody saliva forming a shape like an undiscovered continent drooled up the leather and I wiped it quickly away. I felt an importance that I never dreamed.
  1. Why did the narrator all of the sudden not care that the money they had been scrambling for was not real?
  1. What message did the dream have?

Elements of literature:

  1. How does atmosphere play a part in the telling of this story?

How to Cheat at Basketball

Bill Cosby

  1. What is the biggest argument on the basketball courts?
  1. Give an example of a “light foul”:
  1. What is always a 4 hour argument?
  1. What happened to the narrator’s uniforms when his mother washed them?
  1. Give 2 examples of why visiting teams could never beat the Wissahickon Boys’ Club on their own court:
  1. Why did they have referees at Wissahickon Boys’s Club?
  1. What did the uniforms for the team look like?
  1. What problem did the team face when they played in the gym of the Nicetown Club team?
  1. What was the narrator’s best shot?
  1. How did players try to beat Wilt Chamberlain?
  1. How is playing basketball as a celebrity different than when he played as a kid?
  1. In what way does the narrator use what he learned in his old neighborhood when he is playing in celebrity games?

Elements of literature:

  1. Tone: What tone does the author use when telling this story? How does the tone affect the subject matter?
  1. Hyperbole: When the narrator discusses the difference between celebrity games and games from his childhood, what hyperboles does he use? What effect or message does this have?

Elements of Literature

Short Story Unit #2

Directions: Apply the following elements of literature to the short stories read below.

Literary Elements: / How to Tell a True
War Story / Battle Royal / How to Cheat at Basketball
Characterization:
Direct/indirect
Static/Dynamic
Antagonist
Protagonist
Point of View: (omniscient/limited, first person, third person)
Plot Elements:
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Resolution
Theme
Mood
Setting
Irony
Diction
Imagery
Symbolism
Dialogue
Atmosphere

Extra Info:

Elements of Literature: Visual Project

Objective: You are going to demonstrate your knowledge of the elements of literature by creating either a poster or mobile that includes at least 4 elements of literature and apply them to at least 3 pieces of literature we have read as part of the school curriculum.

Literature choices:

October Sky

Romeo & Juliet

To Kill a Mockingbird

Black Boy

The Great Gatsby

Scarlet Letter

Their Eyes are Watching God

A Raisin in the Sun

Macbeth

Beowulf

Canterbury Tales

A Brave New World

Lord of the Flies

“The Stranger”

“Metamorphosis”

Step 1: Pick your project

Mobile: A mobile has four sides. On each side you will write the name of the element being used. Hanging from each side should be at least 3 examples of how each one was use in 3 different stories.

Poster: List at least 4 elements at the top of the poster (in different colors). Under each element, list at least 3 examples of how each one was used in three different stories.

Step 2: Pick your elements

Elements: You must choose one element from each column.

Column 1Column 2Column 3Column 4

CHARACTERIZATIONPLOT ELEMENTSMEANINGMEANING

Direct CharacterizationRising ActionThemeSymbolism

Indirect CharacterizationClimaxMoodDialogue

Dynamic CharactersFalling ActionIronyAllusion

AntagonistResolutionDictionMotif

ProtagonistImageryAtmosphere

Points Available: 50

Due Date: