UNIT

FICTION

Words give quality to glass, blood to blood and life to life itself. Pablo Neruda

Lesson 1
Activity 1 :

Elements of Fiction

Given below are a few extracts. Match these with the words given in
News report, Short Story, Article, Novel
Extract 1

the box:

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of one or other of their daughters. 'My dear Mr. Bennet,' said his lady to him one day, 'have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?' Mr. Bennet replied that he had not. 'But it is.' Returned she; for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it.' Mr. Bennet made no answer. 'Do not you want to know who has taken it? cried his wife impatiently. 'You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it,' This was invitation enough. 'Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately.

Extract 2 Law of the business to which my life is devoted and I should show less than devotion if I did not do what in me lies to improve it, and when I perceive what seems to me the ideal of its future, if I hesitated to point it out and to press toward it with all my heart.

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After 60 years of Independence, the Indian justice system still remains 'untouchable' and non-approachable' to the have not humanity of the country. This is true at the level of the trial court, the appellate court, and the superior tribunals with binding finality and constitutional supremacy. The performance of this great constitutional instrumentality is in need of a transformation. The powerful words of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes persuade me to undertake a moderate critique, with deep reverence to the high Indian judicature, of certain facets of public concern. Everywhere, docket arrears are escalating. Judges clamour for more members, more perks and status-oriented facilities. Overall litigate expenses, court fees, lawyer's fees and incidentals are mounting. Court judgments are a gamble from deck to deck. Even minimal interlocutory proceedings go on interminably, with arcane verbiage, prolix adversarial advocacy and sluggish, leisurely hearings and disposals. In delivering the final conclusions, the system exhibits procrastination or precipitancy. Fair expectations of justice are marred by inevitable frustration of faith in judicial remedies.

Extract - 3 I met little Madhu several years ago, when I lived alone in a town near the Himalayan foothills. I was in my twenties then, and my outlook on life was still romantic; the cynicism that was to come with the thirties had not yet set in. I preferred the solitude of the small district town to the kind of social life I might have found in the cities; and in my books and in my writing and the surrounding hills there was enough for my pleasure and occupation. I knew I could not isolate myself indefinitely; a time would come when the money I had made from my book would run out, and then I would have to return to the cities to make a living. On summer mornings I would often sit beneath an old mango tree, with a notebook or sketch pad on my knees. The house which I had rented stood on the outskirts of the town; and a large tank, and a few poor houses, could be seen from the garden wall. A narrow public pathway passed under the low wall. One morning, while I sat beneath the mango tree, I saw a young girl of about eight, wearing a few torn clothes, darting about on the pathway and along the high banks of the tank..

Extract - 4 The Capital has already got more than its share of the cold wave that has hit northern India and on Tuesday that trend continued with the temperature settling at 2.6 degreees Celsius, the season's coldest so far and four degrees colder than normal.

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The first day of a new year in Delhi had not been close to Tuesday's chill for at least the past five years. Last year, for instance, it was more than 10 degrees Celsius; the year before it was 7, while the first day of the new year was a rather warm 14 degrees Celsius. The cold wave came as a relief for revellers flocking to places like Hanuman Temple, Central Park and Indian Gate. The chilling northwesterly winds had calmed a bit and there was a clear sky and a full winter sun.

What is Fiction ? Activity 2 : Read the following quotes on fiction and answer the questions that follow :
An imaginative creation or a pretence that does not represent actuality but has been invented. A literary work whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact. Fiction is reality that facilitates imagination. This is opposed to our natural tendency to anticipate reality by imagining it or to flee from it by idealizing it.

a) Given below are a few statements. Mark True or False, based on what you have just read.
Fiction presents what is happening around us. The author's imagination plays no role in writing fiction. Fiction anticipates reality and not imagination. Activity 3 :

Now, write your own definition of fiction:

_________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ Fiction, then, can be defined as genre of imaginative prose literature, including novels and short stories. More generally, fiction is both written and oral imaginative literature including comic books, fables, fairy tales, films and interactive fiction. Works of fiction may however include reference to real people, places and events. Depending on the number of words, types of prose fiction include short story or novel.

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Fiction is largely perceived as a form of art and / or entertainment. Fiction may be, created by parents for their children, based on tradition or in order to instill beliefs or values. Fiction, over a period of time, may blend with factual accounts and develop into mythology served narrative.

Story Telling
Fiction is fundamental to human culture and the ability to create fiction and other artistic works is a defining feature of humanity.

Given below are different texts: Read through each one and decide whether or not you think it is a fictional text. If not, then think about the origin of the text. Underline the sentences which helped you decide. Then complete the table given after the texts.
Activity 4 : Text A :

Mobile War Against Water Borne Diseases

Close to half a million children die in India every year of water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, enteric fever, typhoid and hepatitis. Public health officials are convinced that hundreds of thousands of lives can be saved by the seemingly simple act of ensuring access to clean, potable water. But somehow, that's been easier said than done. That could change. In a significant development in the war against such infections, a new mobile or personal water purifier that costs very little has been developed. Named Purewhite in its present, prototype stage, it is said to be the first in a new class of electically operated, flow-based water purifiers. It is a compact purifier, operating on self contained batteries, small enough to be carried in a ladies handbag. It can be used anywhere, weighs about 700 gms (with batteries) and costs approximately Rs. 600 without batteries and mobile charger. It can also be mounted on a fixed stand and fed with water from a container for use indoors or `offline'. This may be of relevance for more than 50% urban homes that either lack piped water, or where connecting commercial purifiers to the plumbing may not be possible. The purifier can also be operated from external batteries, mains (through adapters) or from solar panels. The purifier can use feed-water from all municipal sources or ground water un-contaminated by chemical toxins. On the anvil is a proposal to make the purifier available as a `kit' (without UV lamps) for less than Rs. 200 to facilitate its access by low-income households.

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Text B :

To cut A Long Story Short

Although Harrods has over a hundred thousand customers a week, the quietest period is always between ten and eleven on a Monday morning. Kenny knew every detail about the great store, in the way a football fan knows all the statistics of his favourite team. He knew where all the CCTV cameras were placed, and could recognize any of the security guards at thirty paces. He even knew the name of the assistant who would be serving him that morning, although Mr Parker had no idea that he had been selected as a tiny cog in Kenny's well-oiled machine. 'Good morning, sir,' turning to face his first customer of the day. 'How can I help you?' 'I was looking for a pair of cufflinks,' Kenny said, in the clipped tones he hoped made him sound like a Guards officer. 'Yes, of course sir,' said Mr Parker. It amused Kenny to see the deferential treatment he received as a result of the Guards tie, which he had been able to purchase in the men's department the previous day for an outlay of 23. 'Any particular style? asked the sales assistant. 'I'd prefer silver.' 'Of course, Sir,' said Mr Parker, who proceeded to place on the counter several boxes of silver cufflinks. Kenny already knew the pair he wanted, as he had picked them out the previous Saturday afternoon. 'What about those?' he asked, pointing to the top shelf. As the sales assistant turned away, Kenny checked the TV surveillance camera and took a pace to his right, to be sure that they could see him more clearly. While Mr Parker reached up to remove the cufflinks, Kenny slid the chosen pair off the counter and slipped them into his jacket pocket before the assistant turned back round. Out of the corner of his eye, Kenny saw a security guard moving swiftly towards him, while at the same time speaking into his walkie-talkie. 'Excuse me, sir,' said the guard, touching his elbow. 'I wonder if you would be kind enough to accompany me.' 'What's this all about?' demanded Kenny, trying to sound annoyed, as a second security guard appeared on his other side.

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Text C : Word spread like wild-fire. The rogue is coming this way! Panic gripped the whole village. What should they do? What could they do? Men gathered in someone's front yard to plan a strategy: There must be enough firewood stacked up in one place; a big fire should be lit at that end; the elephant would appear from this end. Women were everywhere, like anxious hens before a storm, as they tried to herd their young ones to the safety of their homes. The elders sat looking at the frightened women. Then they shouted. Didn't the women realize that their bamboo and thatch huts were but match boxes for a wild elephant? One nudge from him would raze these to the ground. A wild elephant has gone mad! It is a big tusker. It was seen coming out of the sanctuary and heading westward. It has not only damaged several houses in its frenzied march but has killed some five or six people. News had already reached the village. A bridge trampled to death in one village. A couple in another. A peasant has been killed on his way to the field. An old man, returning one evening from the weekly market, was kicked around like a football. Who knows how many houses have been destroyed?

Text D :

The Woman on Platform 8

It was my second year at boarding-school, and I was sitting on platform no. 8 at Ambala station, waiting for the northern bound train. I think I was about twelve at the time. My parents considered me old enough to travel alone, and I had arrived by bus at Ambala early in the evening; now there was a wait till midnight before my train arrived. Most of the time I had been pacing up and down the platform, browsing at the book-stall, or feeding broken biscuits to stray dogs; trains came and went, and the platform would be quiet for a while and then, when a train arrived it would be an inferno of heaving, shouting, agitated human bodies. As the carriage doors opened, a tide of people would sweep down upon the nervous little ticket-collector at the gate; and every time this happened I would be caught in the rush and swept outside the station. Now tired of this game and of ambling about the platform, I sat down on my suitcase and gazed dismally across the railway-tracks. Trolleys rolled past me, and I was conscious of the cries of the various vendorsthe men who sold curds and lemon, the sweet-meat-seller, the newspaper boybut I had lost interest in all that went on along the busy platform, and continued to stare across the railway-tracks, feeling bored and a little lonely. Are you all alone, my son? asked a soft voice close behind me. I looked up and saw a woman standing near me.

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Text

Title

Fiction Yes/No

Why?

Word/Pharase which helped you to decide

Possible Source of text

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Read the given extract from a short story and answer the questions that follow:
Activity 5 :

The Bent-Double Beggar

The person I encounter most often in the road is old Ganpat, the bent-double beggar. Every morning he hobbles up and down the road below my rooms, bidding his time, and suddenly manifesting himself in front of unwary passers-by or shoppers. It is difficult to resist Ganpat because, though bent double, he is very dignified. He has a long white beard and a commanding eye. His voice is powerful and carries well; which is probably why people say he was once an actor. People say many things about him. One rumour has it that he was once a well-to-do lawyer with a European wife: a paralytic stroke put an end to his career, and his wife finally left him. I have also been told that he is a C.I.D. man in disguisea rumour that might well have been started by Ganpat himself. I was curious to know the true story of his life, for I was convinced that he was not a beggar by choice; he had little in common with other members of his profession. His English was good, and he could recite passages from Shakespeare; his Hindi was excellent. He never made a direct request for money, but would enter into conversation with you, and remark on the weather or the innate meanness of the human race, until you slipped him a coin. Look, Ganpat, I said one day, I've heard a lot of stories about you, and I don't know which is true. How did you become a beggar? How did you get your crooked back? That's a very long story, he said, flattered by my interest in him. I don't know if you will believe it. Besides, it is not to everyone that I would speak freely. He had served his purpose in whetting my appetite. I said, It will be worth a rupee if you tell me your story. He stroked his beard, considering my offer. Very well, squatting down on his haunches, while I pulled myself up on a low wall. But it happened more than twenty years ago, and you cannot expect me to remember the details very clearly In those days (said Ganpat) I was a healthy young man, with a wife and baby daughter. I owned a few acres of land, and, though we were not rich, we were not very poor. When I took my produce to the market, five miles away, I harnessed the bullocks and drove down the dusty village road, sometimes returning home late at night. Every night I passed a peepul tree, which was said to be haunted. I had never met the ghost, and did not really believe in him, but his name, I was told, was Bippin, and long ago he had been hanged from the peepul tree by a gang of dacoits. Since then this ghost had lived in the tree, and was in the habit of pouncing upon any person who resembled a dacoit and beating him severely. I suppose I must have looked a little

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guilty after a particularly successful business deal, because one night Bippin decided to pounce on me. He leapt out of the tree and stood in the middle of the road, bringing my bullocks to a halt. You, there, he shouted. Get off your cart, I am going to thrash you and then string you up from this tree! I was of course considerably alarmed, but decided to put on a bold front. I have no intention of getting off my cart. If you like, you can climb up yourself! Spoken like a man, said Bippin, and he jumped up beside me. But tell me one good reason for not stringing you up. I am not a dacoit, I replied. But you look as though you could be one. That is the same thing. I am a poor man, with a wife and child to support. You have no business being poor, said Bippin angrily. Well, make me rich if you can. Do you not believe I can? Do you defy me to make you rich? Certainly, I said, I defy you to make me rich. Then drive on, cried Bippin. I am coming home with you. And I drove on to the village with Bippin sitting beside me. I have so arranged it, he said, that no one will be able to see me. And another thing I must sleep beside you every night, and no one must know of it. Should you tell anyone about my presence, I will not hesitate to strangle you! You need n't worry, I said' I can't tell anyone. Good I look forward to living with you. It was getting lonely in that peepul tree.

1. The author is curious about:

(a) an old man (b) an old beggar (c) a ghost

2. The author has heard that the beggar was:

(a) a lawyer (b) a C.I.D. agent (c) None of the above

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3. The theme of the above story seems to be

(a) Ganpat's past exploits (b) The real self of Ganpat (c) The secret behind Ganpat's success

Now, read the rest of the story to confirm your guesses. What, do you think, is the theme of this short story?
And so Bippin came to live with me, and he slept beside me every night; and we got on very well together. He kept his promise, and money began to pour in from every conceivable source, until I was in a position to buy more land and cattle. Nobody knew of our association, though naturally my friends and relatives wondered where all the money was coming from. At the same time, my wife was rather upset at my unwillingness to sleep beside her at night. I could not very well put her in the same bed with a ghost, and Bippin was most particular about sleeping near me. At first I told my wife that I wasn't well, and that I would sleep on the verandah. Then I told her that there was someone after our cows, and that I would have to keep an eye on them at night. Bippin and I slept in the cow-house. My wife would often spy on me at night, suspecting infidelity; but she always found me lying alone amongst the cows. Unable to understand my strange behaviour, she mentioned it to her family; and next day my in-laws arrived on our doorstep, demanding an explanation. At the same time my own relatives were insisting that I give them some explanation for my own rapidly increasing fortune. Uncles and aunts and distant cousins descended on me from all parts of the country, wanting to know where the money was coming from, and hoping to have some share of it. Do you all want to die? I said, losing my patience with them. I am under an oath of silence. If I tell you the source of my wealth, I will be signing my own death-warrant. But they laughed at me, taking this for a lame excuse; they suspected I was trying to keep my fortune to myself. My wife's relatives suspected that I had found another woman. Finally I became so exasperated with their questions and demands that in a moment of weakness I blurted out the truth. They did'nt believe the truth (who does?), but it gave them something to think about and talk about, and they left me in peace for a few days. But that same night Bippin did not come to sleep beside me and I was left alone with the cows. When he did not come the following night, I was afraid that he would throttle me while I slept. I was almost certain that my good fortune had come to an end, and I went back to sleeping in my own house.

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The next time I was driving back to the village from the market, Bippin leapt out of the peepul tree. False friend, he cried, halting the bullocks., I gave you everything you wanted, and still you betrayed me! I'm very sorry, I said, But as a ghost you wouldn't understand what a man's relatives can be like. You can of course hang me from the peepul tree, if you wish. No, I cannot kill you, he said. We have been friends for too long. But I must punish you all the same. Picking up a stout stick, he struck me three times across the back, until I was bent double. After that, concluded Ganpat, I could never straighten , myself up again, and or twenty years I have been a crooked man. My wife left me and went back to her family, and I could no longer work in the fields. I left my village and wandered form one city to another, begging for a living. That is how I came here. People in this town seem to be more generous than elsewhere. He looked at me with his most appealing smile waiting for the promised rupee. You can't expect me to believe that story, I said. But for your powers of invention you deserve a rupee. No, no, said Ganpat, backing away and affecting indignation If you don't believe me, keep the rupee! Finally he permitted me to force the note into his hand, and then he went hobbling away to bazaar. I was almost certain he had been telling me a very tall story. But you can never really be sure. Perhaps it was true about Bippin. And it was clever to give him the rupee, just in case he was, after all a C.I.D. man. Ruskin Bond

Discuss in your class how human behaviour depends on culture and internalized values, and vary like other human requirements. For one society, collective religious practice or community life patterns may be primary, in others individually oriented work or recreative pursuits may rank higher. Some societies prize tradition and continuity as an important aspect of social quality whilst others may place a high premium on innovation and modernity. The developing nations may need strong assertion and acceptance of their cultural and political identity as a prerequisite for their qualitative development. It is worth re-emphasising that some level of material standard is essential to the quality of life. At lower levels of standards of living most choices are formed in survival terms. It is only when we have material sufficiency that more individuals can exercise their qualitative preferences in more definite ways. Various attempts have been made to define the quality of life ranging from individual subjective evaluations to large scale cross-nation surveys. The quality of life is the sense

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of being pleased (happy) or satisfied with those life elements that are most important to a person. In addition, quality is the 'sense of being pleased with what one has'. Although satisfaction, happiness, or pleasure is the central element in this definition, it should not be seen as a momentary state of happiness. May be it is best expressed as a sense of fullness or a completeness of life.

Elements of Fiction
There are some fundamental parts of all story telling:

Theme

Character Setting

Story Telling

Plot and structure

Language and Style

Point of View

Theme
Theme is the central idea or central message. It usually contains some insight in the human condition telling something about human beings and life. The theme is always a generalization gathered from the collective effect of all elements of a story.

Activity 6 :

Read the given piece/ extract and answer the questions that follow Plot and Structure

Plot and structure deal with the arrangement, sequence and organization of events that make up a piece of fiction. The narrative begins with an explanation of the situation and character (exposition), followed by a series of complicating factors ('complicating or rising action). There is a turning point, crisis or climax, followed by action moving towards some result. The story ends with a 'resolution', where the complications of the plot are resolved. However, not all fictional pieces stories,

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novels, novellas follow this pattern. Many stories are not chronological but begin in the future only to look in the past. There is often simultaneous action, a climax, or even no resolution. Conflict is an inherent part of the plot. Without conflict, there is no plot.

CONFLICT

Interpersonal conflict

Internal Conflict

Human Vs Human

Human Vs Nature

Human Vs Society

Human Vs Self

Stages in plot and structure

Exposition : The start of the story, the situation before the action begins. The series of conflicts and crisis in the story that leads to the climax. The turning point, the most intense moment in action. Action which comes after the climax and moves toward the resolution. The conclusion and tying together of all threads. Rising Action : Climax :

Falling Action : Resolution :

Climax
io n

ng lli Fa

gA ct

Ac

sin

tio

Ri

Beginning Exposition

End Resolution

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Therefore, the plot constitutes the substance of a story. It shows the arrangement of events and actions within a story. Character : A Character is a human or some other participant in the story, whose existence is in the fictional work or performance. Characters may be of several types: Protagonist : The main Hero whose story is usually told / from whose point of view the story is to be understood Antagonist : The character that stands in opposition to the protagonist. Supporting Character : A character that plays a part in the plot but is not major. Minor Character : A character in a bit/ cameo art.

The characters of the short story are similar to the characters in a movie. Another way of categorising characters in a fictional piece is on the basis of their nature: Round characters are characters in a story who are convincing and true to life. Their personalities, in the story, are multi-faceted and display several different, and, at times, contradictory personality traits. They are characters that evolve in the course of the narrative. Flat characters are stereotyped and include typical personality traits. From another point of view, characters are deifined as dynamic and static : Static characters do not change in the course of the story. Dynamic characters develop in different ways in a short story/ novel either by or through what they do or so. Elizabeth Bennet in 'Pride and Prejudice' is a round character, while Mrs Bennet, her mother is a flat character as very limited aspects of her personality are brought to the fore. Activity 7 :

Read the following extracts from a short story

Extract -1

Michel was a charming boy full of exuberance always ready to oblige. I had only to mention that I needed a newspaper or an Aspirin and he would be off on his bicycle, swooping down these steep roads with great abandon.

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Extract - 2 There was old Miss Marley at Pine Top. A retired teacher from Woodstock, she had a wonderful memory, and she had lived in the hill station for more than half a century.

Extract - 3 At seventy, Aunty Roopwati had enough bloom left in her cheeks to give the impression of blushing while reminiscing about those wonderful days when modernity meant a newly-wed lady, almost half her face revealed to the public, sharing a handpulled rickshaw with her husband, and when a monthly magazine highlighted the phenomenon of progress in its cover by showing a young lady cycling by (though the artist had forgotten to give a touch of motion to the spokes). Hence the storm that must have been caused by the beautiful Aunty Roopwati joining the struggle can be easily visualized.

These are examples of characterization. Imagine that your best friend features as part of your short story. Write about her in the space given below:
__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Activity 8 :

Now, read the following extracts and answer the question that follow

a) Of course, there was a meet, said the Baroness, All the usual crowd were there, especially Constance Broddie, who is one of those strapping florid girls that go so well with autumn scenery or Christmas decorations in Church. b) For some fears, Dr. Hardacre, he continued, 'my life and that of my wife have been made miserable by a cause which is so grotesque that it borders upon the ludicrous. And yet familiarity has never made it more easy to bear on the contrary, as time passes my nerves became more worn and shattered by the constant attrition. c) I'm small but I'm strong, 'said the boy, who certainly looked sturdy. He had pink cheeks and a well knit body'. d) 'Good evening, General' we greeted in a chorus. General Valla appeared pleased. He kept his dogs under control with one hand and opened the gate with the other. He was almost twice our height. His moustache looked like a pair of rusty hammers joined at their handles. 'Young men, don't believe in your textbook proverb that a barking dog does not bite. It is extremely doubtful if the dog itself has any idea of the proverb, warns a great man.' The general raised his voice and laughed like one of those automatic guns in action. The dogs fell silent and wagged their tails and looked at him in appreciation.

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Fill in the following table :

Speaker of the extract Subject about whom the comments are being made Traits of the person Words that helped you decide

Each of the three extracts, given above exemplify indirect characterization, as these reveal a character's personality through :
The comments of other characters The character's thoughts, words and actions The character's physical appearance.

Setting
The location and time of a story is what we call setting. Setting is significant as the physical details of time and place often have metaphorical value. That is, the setting is associated with values, ideals, attitudes, and beliefs. As setting is the place where the story happens, it reflects upon the characters and embodies the theme. Setting can also convey the emotional or psychological state of characters. The setting includes the following : The geographical location (for eg; Delhi, London, Palghat) The time period (for example, 1965, during World War II, today) The socio-economic characteristics of the location (for example, wealthy suburbs, extreme poverty) The specific building, room and so forth (for eg, a prep school, a log cabin, a bus, a military base)

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Read the following extracts and answer the questions regarding their setting :
Activity 9 :
A) One morning Mr. Ta En left for Shillong and travelled for about 150 kilometres in order to seek more information from the concerned offices. In the city, he went straight to the house of a fellow villager, who was working as a peon in one of the offices, for he was quite perplexed where to begin and how to go about his errand. Parbatpuri, I knew the place. A small town surrounded by hills on three sides, and bordered by the mighty river on the fourth. Surrounded by mile upon mile of lush tea gardens, it is the headquarters of one of the remote districts of our state. But though it is a picturesque town, it is not for its beauty that Parbatpuri is in the news these days. We, at the newspaper office where I work, see the name often in the news dispatches that come in. Parbatpuri, these days, is the very nerve centre of the fierce unrest that boils all around the district, the insurgency and violence that threatens to rip apart the very fabric of our lives, even in this distant capital city of the state where I live. Far out by the open sea there was a poor little fishing hamlet ten small, black, wooden huts. Half buried in the sand, the string of low houses crept like a caterpillar behind the high, naked sand- down over which the breakers scattered their foam. Best Barricune died in 1910. Not more than a dozen persons showed up for his funeral. Among them was an earnest young reporter who hoped for a human interest story; there were legends that the old man had been something of a gunfighter in the early days.

B)

C)

D)

Fill in the following table

Geographical Location Time Period Socio-economic features of the location Specific Location

A B C D

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Points of View
Point of View is the place from which, or the way in which, something is viewed. There can be three points of view: my point of view, your point of view and other peoples' point of view the first person, second person and third-person point of view. In terms of a short story, the point of view is the perspective from which the story is told. A story can be told by a distant third person, a mere observer who may or may not have the privilege of knowing the characters' thoughts and feelings.

Activity 10 :
(a)

Read the following passages and try to identify the point of view:

Don't know why I keep remembering the night meals as a child in my grandmother's house with uncles and aunts and cousins.. I wonder why these memories come back to me now ? I sometimes wondered if we had seen each other before. Surely so many years could not have passed by without us meeting ? When I was about eight years old, the marriage of the goddess at our local temple was to be celebrated. My mother and I were to take part in the celebrations. I was dressed in red and my hair was fragrant with jasmine and coconut oil. I had twirled around the front room of our house as my mother got ready, my heart as light as my silk pavadai which caressed my ankles. At the same house this morning Captain Lewis and Captain Clark set out to explore the two rivers. Captain Lewis with six men crossed the north fork near the camp, below a small island from which he took a course W.300 for four and a half miles to a commanding eminence. Here, he observed that the north mountain, changing its direction paralleled to the miss over, turned towards the north and terminated abruptly. While he spoke, he shivered from head to foot, and the sweat came out upon his face, and he knew not why, for he had looked upon many crosses. He passed over two hills and under the battlemented gate, and then round by a left-hand way to the door of the Abbey.

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Passages a, b, and c are first person narratives, while passages d and e are addressed by a third person. When the narrator talks he has the privilege of knowing the character's thoughts and feelings, for instance in d, the narrator is an omniscient narrator. The 'limited omniscient' narrator knows the characters' thoughts and feelings partially.

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Language and Style

The way a writer chooses words, arranges them in sentences and longer units of discourse, and exploits their significance determines his or her style. Style is a kind of verbal identity of an author/ writer that reflects his/ her perceptions about the world. For eg. Hemingway uses short, cryptic and journalistic kind of writing. How something is said is just as important as what is said. Language and style also includes images, the concrete representation of a sense impression, feeling or idea. Images may invoke our sight, hearing, sense of smell and taste, and tactile perceptions. Imagery refers to a pattern of related details. When images form patterns of related meaning that convey a feeling beyond what the images literally describe, we call them metaphorical or symbolic.

Read Extract 1, 2 and 3 given under Activity 1 again and try to pick out characteristic features of language and style.
Activity 11 :

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End of the Lesson-Review Questions.

1. Comprehension
a. List the features of a short story? b. What is the difference between: i) round and flat characters

ii) interpersonal and internal conflicts iii) rising and falling action iv) protagonist and antagonist c. What role do the following play in a short story : theme character setting plot climax

2. Vocabulary
a. What do you understand by the following in a short story: Theme Language and Style Point of View Setting Character Plot and structure

3. Writing for your Portfolio.

a. Collect two short stories of your choice. Develop a small write-up on each of these, outlining the following points Reasons for selecting this short story Characters Point of View Setting Plot Mood Language and Style Theme

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b. Given below in an outline of a short story. Write your short story with the help of the given outline. Include this in your Portfolio. A teacher taught moral lessons had lazy students kept a big stone on the way to school next day student come go - week passed they did not remove it the teacher took them for a picnic acted as though the stone was seen for the first time tried to remove it could not got the students to do it. Under it was a big box, marked 'For the student who moves away the stone' lots of chocolates the students learnt a lesson.

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Understanding Lesson 2 Short Stories

Read the story given below and fill in the flowchart in the diagram that follows
Activity 1 :

Monkeys Don't Have A Sense Of Humour

My brother Sonu and I studied in the rather plebian central government school which made perfect sense to my parents because as a government servant, my father could get posted to any part of the country. We did not mind it because in these schools we learnt more about life and the world around us (and got to have more fun ) than the much more rarified academic atmosphere of the socially approved private schools in bigger and more centrally located towns of the country. We must have been in our early teens when we were sent to one such school. The school was housed in an old Circuit House and was very close to the center of the town. In those days as I remember it, we were in a small town built around the river. Our school was situated on one bank of the river, and the sport field was on the top of a small hill across the river. There was a rope bridge that connected the two banks of the river . And boys being boys, the sport Sonu and his friends indulged in was to drive their cycles at top speed over the rope bridge, around half way down the river, the bridge became a steep incline so they would have to cycle up-hill. Then after they reached the other side, they would turn back and cycle down full speed. Every hill top has its own tribe of resident simians and the tribe which lived in this hill was particularly bold, well organized in army fashion. The general was huge by simian standards and had lieutenants who were not above snatching food from the people who trekked the hill and if they resisted, the entire tribe of monkeys would launch a full scale attack and chase the hapless victim down-hill. Over-bold monkeys and boys aged 12 is a recipe for disaster - - - It was a winter day, the river was mercifully not in full spate. It was lunch time in school and as was the norm, all the boys and girls from age 12 to 17 were on the river bank. The girls were sitting on the steps leading to the river, gossiping. The elder boys were playing cricket to get close to them, and the younger ones were cycling up and down the rope bridge. Sonu and his friend were also cycling. Sonu had a paper bag of

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peanuts in his hand and when he reached the bank near the river, he was munching peanuts. The monkeys wanted the peanuts. Sonu had no intention of sharing them. So he did what any 12 year old cheeky boy would do he offered the peanuts to the monkeys and then stuffed them all in his mouth, laughing at the monkeys. That was a big mistake. The general gave the call for attack. The entire battalion of monkeys descended on the bridge chattering and baring their teeth and launched an attack on Sonu. Sonu screamed and fled on the cycle , with monkeys chasing him. Around the middle of the river, where the bridge was now on a steep incline, two of the agile lieutenants climbed on Sonu's back and one grabbed at the cycle. Sonu gave up and jumped into the river with his cycle. There was chaos by now on the river bank, with boys and girls screaming and crowding near the bridge but no one had the guts to get on the bridge. The monkeys had pretty much won the territory and now had occupation rights on the bridge. Sonu and cycle were in the river. Some panic stricken seniors had run to the school and got the teachers. The place being a one-horse town my father was notified by an interested spectator and he reached school poste-haste. It was an impasse. The monkeys did not get peanuts, and had decided that we would not get the boy. They would not allow any one to get on the bridge. The school boys tried to stone them but it only infuriated them. Some enterprising teacher tried to drive a scooter on the bridge to scare them and they pushed the scooter and climbed on the teacher's head and scratched his face. One hour had passed and Sonu by now was quite chastened, and was shivering in the water. The kids were delighted that they now had got one hour of unscheduled freedom from classes. A crowd had gathered on the river bank and every one had their own inputs to give. The monkeys by now had settled on the bridge, suckling the young and grooming each other. Stoning had had no effect, even scooters that would normally make them flee did not work. No one knew how to break this impasse. In this situation, an old lady about 70 years of age came to the river bank. Upon enquiring the cause of the commotion, she just said go get a lot of peanuts from the market. 5 kgs of peanuts were procured and offered to the monkeys. The general came up, inspected the peanuts, was satisfied and ordered a retreat. The monkeys collected the sack, and ran off to their side of the river and a shivering chastened Sonu was hauled up from the river. Ritu Lalit

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Beginning of the story

Rising Action

Climax

Falling Action

Ending

A. Now, read the story again and identify details regarding

(a) Setting : _______________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ (b) Main Character :_________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

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(c) Supporting Characters : __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ (d) Antagonist : ___________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ (e) Climax : _______________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ (f) Resolution : ___________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Read the given short story and see how it progresses, then complete the table given after the story.
Activity 2 :

After Twenty Years

The slow and heavy footsteps of the policeman echoed in the avenue. It was not late, it was not yet ten 'o'clock at night, but there was almost nobody about. The cold wind and showers of rain had driven most people indoors. The policeman walked on at his regular pace. Now and then he stopped to try a door to see whether it was properly locked. Now and then he swung his club in a skilful manner or turned to give a watchful look down the peaceful street. His beat was a quiet one. There were chiefly shops and offices which had long since closed. The only places lighted up were the chemist's at the corner, and an all-night caf. The policeman suddenly slowed his walk. In the dark doorway of a hardware store he could see a man standing. The policeman went up to him. It's all right, officer, the man said quickly. I'm just waiting here for a friend. It's a meeting that we arranged twenty years ago. It sounds a bit strange to you, doesn't it? Well, I'll explain so that you'll know it's all right. Twenty years ago, there was a restaurant here where this store is `Big Joe' Brady's restaurant. It was pulled down five years ago, said the policeman. The man in the door-way struck a match to light his cigar. By the light of the match, the policeman saw a pale, square face with sharp eyes and a little white mark near the right eyebrow. He also saw the man's tiepin which was a large diamond in an unusual setting. The man puffed at his cigar and went on with his story. Twenty years ago tonight, he said, I had dinner here at `Big Joe' Brady's with Jimmy Wells, my best friend and the truest man in the world. Jimmy and I were brought up together here, in New York. We were like brothers. I was eighteen and Jimmy was twenty. The next morning I was going to start out for the West to make my fortune. But Jimmy-you couldn't get Jimmy to move an inch from New York! It was the only place in the world for him. That night we arranged that we'd meet here in twenty years' time. No matter how far off we

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were, rich or poor, if we were alive, we were going to meet here. We thought that in twenty years' time we'd have made something of our lives. It sounds very interesting, said the policeman. But rather a long time between meetings. Haven't you heard from your friend since you went away? Well, you know how it is. We wrote pretty regularly at first. Then, as time passed, we lost track of each other. I had a pretty lively life out there in the West and not much time for writing letters. But I'am sure that Jimmy will come to meet me here if he's still alive because he was always the best and truest friend in the world. He won't forget his old friend, I'm certain. I've come a thousand miles to stand here waiting tonight, but it's well worth if my old friend turns up. The man from the West pulled a handsome watch out of his pocket. The policeman saw that its lids were set with small diamonds. Three minutes to ten, he said. It was exactly ten o'clock when Jimmy and I said goodbye at the door of `Big Joe' Brady's. Did pretty well out West, didn't you? the policeman asked. Not bad. I hope Jimmy has done well for himself too. Jimmy was always a bit slow, you know. A good fellow but a bit slow. He wouldn't take any risks. I've had to risk a lot to make my money. You have to, out there in the West. The policeman swung his club and began to move on. I'll have to be on my way, he said. Hope your friend turns up all right. Are you going to wait long? Half an hour, at least, the man said. If Jimmy's alive, he'll be here by then. Oh, I'll wait, I don't mind how long I have to wait for Jimmy, good old Jimmy! Good night, officer. Good night, sir, said the policeman. And he went along his beat with his slow and heavy tread, trying a door here and there as he went. By this time it was raining hard and the wind was blowing in wild gusts. The few people who had to be out in such bad weather hurried along with bent heads. Their coat collars were turned up, their hats were pulled down and their hands were pushed deep inside their pockets. And in the dark doorway of the hardware store, the man who had come a thousand miles to meet his old friend, smoked his cigar, watched and waited. He had been waiting for about twenty minutes when a tall man hurried across the street towards him. Like everyone else, the man was wearing a long raincoat with the collar turned up to his ears while his hat was pulled down low over his forehead. Is that you, Bob? the man called uncertainly. Is that you, Jimmy Wells? cried the man in the doorway. The newcomer seized both the other's hands with his own. It's Bob! Dear old Bob! I was certain that you'd come if you were still alive. Well! Well! Twenty years is a long

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time, isn't it? `Big Joe Brady's is gone. What a pity! We might have had a dinner there to celebrate. How has the West treated you, old man? Fine. It's given me everything I wanted. Jimmy, you've changed a lot. I never thought that you were so tall. I guess I've grown a bit since you went away. Doing all right in New York, Jimmy? Not bad. Can't complain. I'm working in one of the city offices. Well, come on, Bob. Let's go to a little place that I know of, and have a long talk about old times. The two men walked up the avenue, arm in arm. The man from the West was talking about his life and his successes. The other, his face buried in his coat collar, was listening with great interest. At the corner of the street they came to the chemist's which was brilliantly lit up. They stopped and each looked closely into the other's face. Suddenly, the man from the West pulled his arm free. You're not Jimmy Wells, he said sharply. Twenty years is a long time but it's not long enough to change your nose from long to short. It's long enough to change a good man into a criminal, said the other, `Silky' Bob, you've been under arrest for the last ten minutes. You're wanted by the police in Chicago. They thought that you might come this way and phoned us to keep our eyes open. They want a little talk with you, and you know why-about that bank robbery. You're coming quietly, aren't you? That's sensible. But before we go to the policestation, I want to give this little note to you, I promised. You can read it here by the light from that window. It's from Jimmy Wells. He's the policeman on this beat. The man from the West unfolded the note. His hand was steady when he began reading it but it was trembling before he had finished. The note was quite short : Bob I was there on time, just as we had arranged. But when you lit your cigar, I recognized you as `Silky' Bob, wanted by the Chicago police. I just couldn't arrest you myself, so I got a plain - clothes policeman to do the job for me. Jimmy O Henry

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Identify and give details regarding:

Setting ___________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Protagonist ________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Supporting Characters _______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Problem ___________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Clue 1 ____________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Clue 2 ____________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Clue 3 ____________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Resolution _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

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End of the Lesson-Review Questions.

Comprehension

i) What are the stages in the plot and structure of the story, ' Monkeys don't have a sense of humour'. ii) What is the inherent part of the plot used in 'After Twenty Years'. iii) What is your understanding of 'Character' in a short story? Describe various types of characters in the story, After Twenty Years. iv) What is setting of a story. Throw light on the setting of story, Monkey don't have a sense of humour.

Writing for your Portfolio.

1. Select a detective short story of your choice. Develop a small write-up outlining the following points: Reasons for selecting this short story Protagonists Problem Setting Supporting characters Resolution

2. Select a short story of your choice. Comment on it outlining Your reasons for selecting the same Characters Point of View Setting Plot Mood Language and Style Theme

Add these to your Portfolio. 3. Use the following technique to write a story together. Jumble Story Preparation : Have student choose three numbers (from 1 to 10). Each number corresponds to an item on the list below. The first number is the character their stories are to focus on, the second number is the setting for their stories and so forth. Assignment : Write a story with the character, setting, time period and situation that you've chosen. The character that you've chosen should be the main character in the story,

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but isn't necessarily the ONLY character in the story. Likewise, most of the story will take place in the setting that you've chosen, but you can include other settings or elaborate on the setting that you have chosen (breaking it into several smaller settings, for example). The situation or challenge that you've chosen may involve the main character or your main character may observe someone else who must deal with the situation or challenge. In other words, you can combine these elements anyway that you desire, so long as all four are included in your story. Character 1. a new mother 2. a photographer 3. a recent high school graduate 4. a restaurant owner or manager 5. an alien from outer space 6. a homeless child 7. a 93-year-old woman 8. an environmentalist 9. a college student 10. a jazz musician Setting 1. near a National Forest 2. a wedding reception 3. a celebration party 3. someone's pride has been injured 4. an expensive restaurant 4. a death has occurred 5. a shopping mall 5. someone has found or lost something 6. a city park 7. the porch of an old farmhouse 8. a polluted stream 9. a college library 10. a concept hall 6. someone has accused someone else of doing something wrong 7. reminiscing on how things have changed 8. someone feels like giving up 9. something embarrassing has just happened 10. someone has just reached an important goal Time 1. during a forest fire 2. after a fight 3. the night of high school graduation 4. after a big meal 5. sometime in December 6. late at night 7. after a big thunderstorm has passed 8. in early spring 9. first week of the school year 10. during a concert Situation / Challenge 1. an important decision needs to be made 2. a secret needs to be confessed to someone else

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Writing Lesson 3 Short Stories

Activity 1 :

You are in the process of writing a short story.

Setting _________________ _________________ Point of view _________________ _________________ Ending _________________ _________________ Incident/Beginning _________________ _________________ Sequence of events _________________ _________________ Theme _________________ _________________

A. Think about what you want to write on. Characters _________________ _________________ Mood _________________ _________________ Climax _________________ _________________

Let us work on the main characters. As you did last year, decide some of the aspects about the characters (even if you don't include all these in the story)
Name : __________________________ ___________________________________ Age : ______________________________ __________________________________ Profession :_________________________ ___________________________________ Nationality : ________________________ ___________________________________ Appearance : _______________________ __________________________________ Address : __________________________ ___________________________________ Favourite colours : ___________________ ___________________________________ Friends : ___________________________ ___________________________________ Favourite Food : _____________________ ___________________________________ Fears : _____________________________ ___________________________________ Faults : ____________________________ ___________________________________ Pets : ______________________________ ___________________________________

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Religion : ___________________________ ___________________________________ Hobbies :___________________________ ___________________________________ Single or Married : ___________________ ___________________________________ Children :__________________________ ___________________________________ Personality : ________________________ ___________________________________

Temperament : ______________________ ___________________________________ Secrets : ___________________________ ___________________________________ Ailments : __________________________ ___________________________________ How does she/he behave under stress : ___________________________________ ___________________________________

Imagine all these details will help you get to know your characters, but your reader probably won't need to know much more than the most important things in the given areas. Decide about some of the following as facts

Appearance : In order to help the readers visualize the character. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Action : Helps the reader understand the character with the help of actions, rather than using adjectives to describe the characters. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Speech : Helps in the development of the character as well as the plot. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Thought : Helps the reader in entering the character's mind to reveal the character's unexpected memories, fears and hopes. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

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Develop these details about your characters.

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Write meaningful dialogues Dialogue is what your characters say to each other (or to themselves). Identify the situations in which you are going to use dialogues and list these here.
__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Now, develop dialogues for each of these in the space provided below :
__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Developing Setting and Context

As you know, the setting includes the time, location, context and atmosphere of the plot you need to unravel. Thus you may : Combine the setting with characterization and plot. Include enough details to help the readers to imagine the scene, but focus on details that add to the elements of short story. Use at least two scenes describing the setting.

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Keeping the above details in mind, develop an outline of the setting and context in the space given below :
__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Working Out the Plot Detailing the Plot is what happens in the story. It includes setting up the situation, identifying the turning points of the story and resolution at the end. Keeping this in mind, identify the following vis--vis your short story. Source of Conflict :
__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Nature of Conflict :
__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Climax :
__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Resolution:
__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

G. Now, list the events in your short story.

1. _______________________________________________________________________ 2. _______________________________________________________________________ 3. _______________________________________________________________________ 4. _______________________________________________________________________

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5. _______________________________________________________________________ 6. _______________________________________________________________________ 7. _______________________________________________________________________ 8. _______________________________________________________________________ 9. _______________________________________________________________________ 10. _______________________________________________________________________

Beginning the Short Story

In this day age, a reader's willingness to continue reading a short story depends on its first paragraph. The first sentence of your short story should grab the reader's attention with the unusual, an action or a conflict. Remember that short stories need to begin close to their end.

Keeping these in mind, write the first paragraph of your short story.
__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

You have worked out the details of your short story in the tasks listed above. Putting these together, write your short story. You may have to revise some other earlier worked out details. Now, go through this short story. Revise wherever necessary. Add it your Portfolio. You may paste a few pictures/ colour the background to make it interesting.
Activity 2 :

A.Read the ghost story given below and fill in the table that follows :
The Ghost On The Boundary Wall

I can still remember my first encounter with the fear of supernatural. I was about 8 years old and my younger brother Sonu was 7. We lived in Meghalaya a really beautiful part of India, and this was long before civilization really came to that part of the country. We were allotted a huge bungalow, complete with outhouse and servants quarters and sprawling lawns. The net result was that we were isolated from the hoipolloi .

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It was about mid June, on a Saturday. My brother and I had just finished dinner. Our parents had gone to the club when it started raining in earnest. Father rang up to tell us that they would not be driving home in the storm and that us kids should lock the house up from inside after informing the guards. Now this left us alone in the huge house in the middle of what appeared to us in the night like a huge jungle. All of a sudden, there was a huge crack of lightening and the power failed. I was in my bed at that time and started quaking with fear. My younger brother came running into my room absolutely terrified. Dee dee, can I sleep with you ? Now I could not admit that I was scared too. So like a very brave elder sister I took charge. I smiled and told him Sure, but let's play knots and crosses, a game he hated and I was addicted to. He agreed making a face. Both of us together lit a lamp, got out our pencils and some paper and started playing. As time went by, it was more like a night without parents and we were savouring our independence. We took the lamp and went to the kitchen, got ourselves some cookies, and lemonade, and had a party. Then we sat down to laugh and discuss the daily happenings in school. The fear receded and we felt very brave and grown up two children in a seven bedroom house all alone. We both pretended that it was quite okay and together we could face anything. Soon the oil in the lamp went down and the wick needed trimming, the lamp-light became dim. So we decided that we should sleep together and got into my bed for the night. There was a loud crash followed by a huge earthquake that woke us up. All pretence at bravery was over. The lamp had gone out and we did not even know what time it was. On the top of that, we could not find the matches. I had started crying and it was Sonu's turn to be the brave macho brother. Both of us held hands, I was holding the lamp and we walked to the kitchen, Sonu leading the way. That walk is etched in my memory a wooden floor with creaky floor boards, an open window slamming again and again in the storm, and tree branches rustling and groaning in the storm. We never reached the kitchen. We had reached the living room, which overlooked the boundary wall of the bungalow lawns about a mile away. From the distance we could see the wall on and off in the flickering lightening. And all our fears were realized !!!! On the wall looking straight at us in the flickering light were two heads. I forgot all reserves and started wailing. The lamp slipped and fell out of my hands and broke. Sonu somehow managed to hold on to me and take me to the two seater sofa close by. Both of us sat down on the sofa with our eyes focused on the wall. We could not take our eyes away from the two people peering at us. I whispered to Sonu Shall we scream for the guards, Sonu did not even waste a minute and started yelling Chowkidaar, chowkidaar but most probably the guards were sitting inside the room, away from the cold rain and could not hear the screams of a terrified seven year old boy. I had lost my voice and could not say anything all efforts brought just a quavering Help bachao from me. Both of us kept sitting on the couch our horrified eyes fixed on the heads that were looking at us menacingly all through the night. After a while, the tears and fear took its toll on us and we drifted into an uneasy sleep, cuddled into each other. I woke up with a

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start in the morning, weak sunbeams lighting up the room . Our parents had just come home. Father and Mother came into the house and saw us both on the couch, and woke us up. We had eyes for nothing but the boundary wall. What we saw had us speechless. Some one had apparently picked up coconuts from the palms growing near the gate, and placed on the wall were two halved coconut shells and we had actually spent the entire night petrified because of two coconut shells.

B.
Protagonist __________________ Details __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ Supporting Character __________________ Details __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ Beginning __________________ Details __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ Rising Action 1 __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________

Rising Action 2 __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________

Rising Action 3 __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________

Main Event __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________

Climax __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________

Following Events (Falling Action 1) __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________

Rising Action __________________ Following Events (Falling Action 1) __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________

Ending __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________

Theme __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________

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C. Now, let us attempt writing a ghost story. Think of the options that you would like to write about. List these here
1. _______________________________________________________________________ 2. _______________________________________________________________________ 3. _______________________________________________________________________ 4. _______________________________________________________________________ 5. _______________________________________________________________________

Beginning ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________

Main incident ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________

Setting ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________

Rising Action ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________

Falling Action ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________

Ending ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________

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D Now, identify the protagonists of the story and give them names Also, work on their personalities as reflected in the story
A : ______________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ B : ______________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________

E Write an interesting beginning for your story

_______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________

F Now, write your ghost story in the Portfolio. Revise this short story and add it to your Portfolio.
Activity - 3 :

Now, let us attempt writing a detective short story.

A. Think of a secret, which needs unravelling. Write it here

_______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________

B. Think of who is hiding this secret and a reason for the secret being hidden.
_______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________

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C. Think of who is responsible for unravelling this secret and their reasons for doing so.
_______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________

D. This, has provided you with a tentative plot and the characters. Now, think of clue that need to build in the narrative and list these here :
1. _______________________________________________________________________ 2. _______________________________________________________________________ 3. _______________________________________________________________________ 4. _______________________________________________________________________ 5. _______________________________________________________________________

E. Write an interesting beginning in two paragraphs that may help the readers identify the setting of the problem in your detective short story.
1. _______________________________________________________________________ 2. _______________________________________________________________________ 3. _______________________________________________________________________ 4. _______________________________________________________________________ 5. _______________________________________________________________________

F. Now, combine the details to complete the short story in your Portfolio. G. Go though the detective short story that you have written and ensure that there are more than two people who can be framed for the problem, and that there are enough clues pointing to each of them. Identify the effects of your short story to be re-worked. Improve upon their detailing and write your short story once again . Add it to your Portfolio.

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Think of a theme you would like to write about. Identify the specific problem situated in a setting of your choice. Think of a character who will fit in and write a short story. Add it to your Portfolio once you've ensured that you have included most of the elements of short story. The possible points of view include
Activity 4 : First Person : Puts narrator and reader through a series of secrets through one character's perceptions. However, it can lead to telling and emits readers' connection to the other characters in the short story. Second Person : Puts readers within the actual scene so that readers confront possibilities directly. However it is important to place your characters in a tangible environment so that you do not omit the details readers need for clarity. Third Person Omniscient : Helps you explore all the character's thoughts and motivations. Transitions are extremely important as you move from character to character. Third Person Limited Omniscient : Helps the readers in exploring character's thoughts and motivations from a limited perspective.

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End of the Unit Review Questions

1. Comprehension and Vocabulary.
(a) What are the elements of fiction? What is their significance vis-a-vis short stories. (b) Define the following (i) round characters

(ii) flat characters (iii) setting (iv) point of view 2. Give features of the following and collect a sample of each of them. Analyse the characteristic features in detail and place them in your Portfolio. (i) ghost story

(ii) detective story 3. Complete the given dialogue and develop a short story centred around it. A : As I entered the mall, he merged with the crowd and kind of disappeared B : Oh! What bad luck! A : Really, But, I desperately need to You can create suitable identities for A and B. Revise and edit your short story before adding it to your Portfolio. 4. Review a short story of your choice. Your review should include Title, Author, Plot, Characters, Language and Style, Unique features Add these to your Portfolio after revision.

Project work :
Choose any five short-story writers. Find out about their work, the time they worked in and their writing. themes language unique features

Add it to your Portfolio

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Writing for the Portfolio

1. In your spare time, you sometimes help out under-privileged and disadvantaged children. Write about an account of an experience when it seemed that all your attempts to handle a difficult child are turning futile. Gradually however your patience and concern has finally paid off. Try to address in your writing: What was your objective? What were the issues? What did you do when things were not working out? How did things improve? How did the child feel finally?

2. On a recent visit to a nearby Shopping complex, you found some children wandering aimlessly and they seemed to have lost their way. Write in around 500 words how you approached the situation. 3. We all grow up with lots of adventures. You also must have had some interesting ones already. Write in the Portfolio about one such adventure which will never fade with time in your memory. 4. Given below are some newspaper headlines. Pick any two and write an article in not more than 500 words for your Portfolio.

High time we stop moral policing

Make me a cup of coffee, robot... It's only the beginning...

Outsourcing happening in networking sites

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H-1B visa shortage again Alcohol plus 180 kmph claims 2 young lives in late-night car crash Budget must benefit common people Top-order a worry for us Antarctic glaciers surge to the ocean
5. Write a review of the latest electronic gadget in the market. The review needs to be summed up in 250 words. You can use technical terms but do keep your target audience in mind. 6. Collect a few news in two formats Web Newspaper

7. Read both and give your comments on the similarities or differences in terms of their Content Presentation Structure Language Style

Give your reasons for the same.

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