2. READING FICTION
RESPONSIVELY
“Books must be read as deliberately and reservedly as they
were written.”
--Henry David Thoreau
“The ability of writers to imagine what is not the self, to
familiarize the strange and mystify the familiar, is the test of
their power.”
--Toni Morrison
3. KATE CHOPIN
• Feb 8, 1850-Aug 22, 1904
• In 1870, at the age of 20, she married Oscar Chopin and
settled in New Orleans.
• By 28, she had 6 children.
• When Oscar Chopin died in 1882, he left Kate with $12,000 in
debt, which would be around $250,000 in 2009 money.
• She had depression due to her husband’s death and
mother’s death, and was encouraged to go into writing by her
OB.
• Not many writers during the mid- to late 19th century were
bold enough to address subjects that Chopin willingly took
on. Although David Chopin, her grandson, claims "Kate was
neither a feminist nor suffragist, she said so. She was
nonetheless a woman who took women extremely seriously.
She never doubted women’s ability to be strong.”
4. WRITING EXERCISE:
KATE CHOPIN’S “THE
STORY OF AN HOUR”
Write a response to the story on p. 15
• How would you categorize this story?
• What are the attributes that would put the story in this
category?
• What was confusing in the story?
• What did you notice about the language? Was it easy to
follow and read?
5. DISCUSSION
Look at the annotated copy of Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an
Hour” on p. 17.
Discuss in a group whether or not you agree with some of
the annotations. Was there anything that you thought about
the story that was not included?
6. LITERARY FICTION V.
GENRE FICTION
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm5muPNkANQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CT2B22dgJo
7. DISCUSSION
Discuss the article and short videos in a group. What are the
limitations of genre fiction? What are the advantages? What
could be the problem with labels in writing and reading?
8. A COMPOSITE OF A
ROMANCE TIP SHEET
P. 26: Composite of a Romance taken from a publisher.
Discuss the composite and answer the questions on p. 29.
Group #1: Discuss Questions #1-4
Group #2: Discuss Questions #5-8
Group #3: Discuss Questions #9-12
9. WHY DO WE STUDY
LITERARY FICTION IN
COLLEGE?
• It challenges preconceptions we have.
• It deepens understanding of privilege—gender, race,
language, ethnicity, class, disability/ability
• The language usage is more artful. The level of craft is,
often, higher than that of genre fiction.
• It provides connections between other studies.
• It provides room for discussion.
10. OVERVIEW OF THE
COMPONENTS IN
FICTION
• Character: A good writer gives us the illusion that the
character is real, but we should also remember that a
character is not an actual person, but instead has been
created by the writer.
• Setting: the context in which the action of a story occurs.
• Point of View: refers to who tells the story and how it is
told.
• Symbolism: a person, object, or event that suggests more
than its literal meaning.
• Theme: the central idea or meaning of the story.
