1. Lesson plan 1
2. Lesson plan 2
PREPARING THE NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE AND NARRATIVE IN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL LITERATURE, short 1
Crafting Narration and Dialogues in Autobiographical Writing: Concise Guide 2
I- Addressing Queries:
Narrative Perspective and Its Function (page 88 of the textbook)
Question
1. In the first passage, the narrator refers to the characters by their names: the king, the little boy, the two fathers and sons, the king's envoy, the ambassador. Referring to the characters by their names allows for flexible and dynamic storytelling of their experiences.
For example, one could narrate the king's intention to test the boy a second time despite knowing his intelligence from the first test, narrate where the two fathers and sons eat their meals. Narrate the king's envoy bringing sparrows and making them into three meals, narrate the child telling his father to give the needle to the king, narrate the child's words to the ambassador, narrate the king's admiration for the child for the second time... (in the third person).
2. In the second passage, the narrator identifies himself as me. By directly identifying himself as me, the narrator recounts what he hears, sees, and thinks about himself. For example, Cricket directly recounts his adult form from the larva, to wing strokes, and takes pride in that maturity. With this form of address, the narrative makes the reader feel directly connected to the character, hearing the character dialogue with oneself, feeling closer to the character in the story, especially by providing specific, vivid character imagery. (in the first person).
3. In the second passage, the narrator identifies himself as Cricket. Although not the words of Tô Hoài, the story's author, through the character's self-narration, we still perceive the author's viewpoint and attitude towards the character. When the character self-identifies as me to narrate, the interesting thing is that the character is free to express himself, to speak his mind (if told in the third person, it cannot be done). We can follow the self-narration and close in on that character.
'Because Cricket eats moderately and works moderately, Cricket grows quickly. Not long after, it became a strong, young cricket. The legs of the cricket became shiny. The claws on the legs gradually hardened and sharpened. Occasionally wanting to test the strength of those claws, Cricket flexes its legs, making them snap. The cricket's wings, once short and stubby, now become a long cloak extending down to the tip of its tail. Every time Cricket flies, you can hear the crisp rustle.'
4. If the first passage is narrated in the first person, you will encounter the following difficulties:
- Determining who is the first person referring to as me to narrate?
- When narrating to different subjects, the form of address must be changed.
For example: This is Mã Lương's story so the first-person character narrating the story must be Mã Lương. Suppose Mã Lương is telling the story to adults, then Mã Lương must refer to himself as me and the passage will be as follows:
'After the first time, the king and the genie acknowledged me as intelligent. But the king still wanted to test again, so the next day, when the two fathers and sons were eating at the public eatery, the king sent the envoy again and gave my father and me a sparrow to make three meals. I asked my father to take a needle to the king and asked the king to forge a knife for me to kill the bird. The king couldn't do it. And from then on, the king respected me.'
5. The first-person narrative can be told freely (page 89 Textbook)
II- Practice (page 89 Textbook)
1. - Every day, throughout the day, Cricket burrows deep into the heart of its burrow, diligently digging soil to carve out a large den to serve as a luxurious sleeping bed. Then, like the old crickets in its family, Cricket plans ahead, digging deep into two branches to create shortcuts, back doors, upper nooks, rooms for emergencies, providing escape routes through another path'.
- The passage with a change in narrative perspective doesn't reveal who the narrator is. It's as if someone is standing beside Cricket, observing Cricket's actions and recounting them meticulously.
2. - 'A tear-shaped shadow swiftly emerges, dropping onto the tabletop. I try to focus: my grandmother's old cat, the cat that used to play with me. The creature nestles against me, gently flicking its tails, then its gemstone eyes widen to look at me. I smile, drawing closer to stroke the cat'.
- The passage with a change in narrative perspective reflects the affectionate feelings of the narrator (may not be Thạch Lam) towards the cat, making the character and the narrator closer. Therefore, the passage conveys more emotions.
3. (page 90 Textbook) The story Magical Pen is narrated in the third person because the narrator does not refer to himself as me.
4. Because the narrator cannot be a character living in that era.
5. When writing a letter, we use the first person.
6. - Recounting to mother the emotions upon receiving a gift from a friend.
Reference: 'Mom! I just received a great book from a friend. I'm so excited because I've been wanting this book for so long. This book is really good, it helps me study Literature 6 very well. Mom! I just wish to have reference materials to study Literature excellently from grade 6 onwards, because I want to become a Literature teacher in the future. Oh, I love this book!
'Oh book, you're my friend, guiding me to score ten...'
- Sharing with friends what I observe when I go to class.
'Every day, I come to class early to review lessons with a few friends. But I'm really annoyed because the classroom is always messy. The board isn't cleaned, the desks and chairs are messy, the floor is littered with trash. There are many inappropriate writings on the walls. I think, our class used to be so advanced, why is it like this now? What do you think? Next class meeting, you and I should unanimously give suggestions to the class.
Continue reading other essays to study Literature 6 well
- Prepare the essay 'The Old Man and the Fish and the Golden Fish'
- Prepare the essay 'Chronological Order in Autobiography'
