Minds On
| Now that you have read a short horror story and identified some of its elements, you are now going to take a portion of a short story and re-write it from a different point of view, while maintaining the horror. Ask yourself how the choices you make as a writer might affect a reader’s experience of the story. |
Narrative Point of View
Narrative point of view plays an important role in establishing the atmosphere of horror. All of the stories from this unit are written in first person, meaning that you identify with narrator and you only know what he knows. Think about how changing the narrative point of view will change the story. For example, if you read Stephen King’s short story, “I am the Doorway,” you could choose to write the story from the point of view of Artie’s friend, Richard. Think about the ways in which that would change the story. There are certain things Richard wouldn’t know. There are also things Richard would know that Artie wouldn’t. So in addition to retelling a portion of the story, you’re going to have to think about including details that weren’t in the original story.
Language
Careful word choice can also create atmosphere. Here’s an example from Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”:
Now, Poe could have written: Death walked in and surrounded the victim. And it was the sad influence of his upcoming death that made him feel my presence in the room. That doesn’t really have the same feeling though, does it? Poe doesn’t use the word “walked”; he uses the word “stalked.” He doesn’t say “surrounded”; he says “enveloped.” What feelings do you associate with the words Poe used as opposed to the words I used? |
Sub-Genre of Horror
Two of the stories feature unreliable narrators. We can’t trust them for one reason or another. We can’t trust Artie in “I am the Doorway” because, among other reasons, he claims to have black-outs in which he does things he can’t remember. We can’t trust the narrator of “The Tell-Tale Heart” because he is mad. In both cases, we are dealing with the monster within.
That means you’re dealing with Sub-Genre Two: Psychological Horror. The source of the horror comes from identifying with the abnormal psychology of the main character. In “The Lottery,” the narrative point of view is third person. This has the effect of distancing the reader from the characters, and is particularly effective given that this story is dealing with Sub-Genre Three: The Fantastic. We don’t know what’s going on until the end of the story.
When you change the narrative point of view, your sub-genre of horror may change, as well. Think about which sub-genre of horror you want to use in your retell. You will need to explain which sub-genre of horror you’ve chosen and why you chose it.
Before you begin writing your retell, you will need to think about which portion of the story you want to retell (beginning, middle, or end) and think about how changing the narrative point of view will change the events in the story and the sub-genre of horror. In order to help you do that, you will fill out the Retell_ Planning_Sheet graphic organizer, and use it to plan your ideas for your retell.
Have a look at the exemplar below that uses Little Red Riding Hood. You will be using one of the stories you read in the previous activity (or the short story “We”–if you choose “We”, you must retell the entire story).
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| Categories | Level 4 (80 – 100%) |
Level 3 (70 – 79%) |
Level 2 (60 – 69%) |
Level 1 (50 – 59%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge: demonstrate knowledge of the events of the short story, sub-genres of horror, and narrative point of view. RL1.03C. |
Demonstrates an excellent knowledge of the events of the short story, sub-genres of horror, and narrative point of view. |
Demonstrates considerable knowledge of the events of the short story, sub-genres of horror, and narrative point of view. |
Demonstrates satisfactory knowledge of the events of the short story, sub-genres of horror, and narrative point of view. |
Demonstrates limited knowledge of the events of the short story, sub-genres of horror, and narrative point of view. |
| Thinking: demonstrate revisions made to rough draft to improve the content, organization, clarity, and style. WR2.06C. |
Demonstrates excellent use of feedback to improve the content, organization, clarity, and style. |
Demonstrates considerable use of feedback to improve the content, organization, clarity, and style. |
Demonstrates satisfactory use of feedback to improve the content, organization, clarity, and style. |
Demonstrates limited use of feedback to improve the content, organization, clarity, and style. |
| Communication: use language that helps establish an atmosphere of horror. WR2.02C. |
Uses language to establish an atmosphere of horror with a high degree of effectiveness. |
Uses language to establish an atmosphere of horror with considerable effectiveness. |
Uses language to establish an atmosphere of horror with some effectiveness. |
Uses language to establish an atmosphere of horror with limited effectiveness. |
| use spelling rules and patterns. WR3.01C. |
Uses spelling rules and patterns with a high degree of effectiveness. | Uses spelling rules and patterns with a considerable effectiveness. | Uses spelling rules and patterns with some effectiveness. | Uses rules and patterns with limited effectiveness. |
| use punctuation to communicate intended meaning. WR3.03C. |
Uses punctuation to communicate intended meaning with a high degree of accuracy. | Uses punctuation to communicate intended meaning with considerable accuracy. | Uses punctuation to communicate intended meaning with some accuracy. | Uses punctuation to communicate intended meaning with limited accuracy. |
| use grammar conventions to communicate intended meaning. WR3.04C. |
Uses grammar conventions to communicate intended meaning with a high degree of clarity. | Uses grammar conventions to communicate intended meaning with considerable clarity. | Uses grammar conventions to communicate intended meaning with some clarity. | Uses grammar conventions to communicate intended meaning with limited clarity. |
| Application: apply knowledge of one of the three sub- sub-genres of horror. WR3.07C. |
Applies knowledge of one of the three sub-genres of horror with a high degree of effectiveness. |
Applies knowledge of one of the three sub-genres of horror with considerable effectiveness. |
Applies knowledge of one of the three sub-genres of horror with some effectiveness. |
Applies knowledge of one of the three sub-genres of horror with limited effectiveness. |
