The Seven Stories

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• Leerjaar 3

The Seven Stories

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THE SEVEN STORIES - page 76-77

There are only seven stories in the world. I used to think there were a lot less / a lot more / more books than that, based on visits to blockbuster films and my school reading list, but my high school Creative Writing teacher, Mrs Post, corrected my ignorance. She said that all plots are a variation of one or more of seven basic themes: overcoming the monster, rags to riches, the quest, voyage and return, comedy, tragedy, and rebirth.

All plots are based on some basic themes.

1. True
2. False

THE SEVEN STORIES - page 76-77

There are only seven stories in the world. I used to think there were a lot less / a lot more / more books than that, based on visits to blockbuster films and my school reading list, but my high school Creative Writing teacher, Mrs Post, corrected my ignorance. She said that all plots are a variation of one or more of seven basic themes: overcoming the monster, rags to riches, the quest, voyage and return, comedy, tragedy, and rebirth.

THE SEVEN STORIES

Mrs Post gave us the assignment to read a book and write a review of it. In this review we were supposed to make it a difference/clear/sure which of the seven themes were in the book. A simple assignment as it may seem, it seemed to be exciting/turned out to be quite difficult/was quite tedious after all. Why? Because I found out that the book I read contained more than one basic plot. Actually, all the seven stories in the world were in it!

Mrs Post gave us the assignment to read a book and write a review of it. In this review we were supposed to make it a difference / clear / sure which of the seven themes were in the book. A simple assignment as it may seem, it seemed to be exciting / turned out to be quite difficult / was quite tedious after all. Why? Because I found out that the book I read contained more than one basic plot. Actually, all the seven stories in the world were in it!

Mrs. Post's assignment was simple, because there was only one basic plot in the book.

1. True
2. False

THE SEVEN STORIES

Mrs Post gave us the assignment to read a book and write a review of it. In this review we were supposed to make it a difference/clear/sure which of the seven themes were in the book. A simple assignment as it may seem, it seemed to be exciting/turned out to be quite difficult/was quite tedious after all. Why? Because I found out that the book I read contained more than one basic plot. Actually, all the seven stories in the world were in it!

Mrs Post gave us the assignment to read a book and write a review of it. In this review we were supposed to make it a difference / clear / sure which of the seven themes were in the book. A simple assignment as it may seem, it seemed to be exciting / turned out to be quite difficult / was quite tedious after all. Why? Because I found out that the book I read contained more than one basic plot. Actually, all the seven stories in the world were in it!

THE SEVEN STORIES

Mrs Post gave us the assignment to read a book and write a review of it. In this review we were supposed to make it a difference/clear/sure which of the seven themes were in the book. A simple assignment as it may seem, it seemed to be exciting/turned out to be quite difficult/was quite tedious after all. Why? Because I found out that the book I read contained more than one basic plot. Actually, all the seven stories in the world were in it!

I had heard a lot about The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Luckily, I hadn’t seen the film, so I could start reading it with an open mind. For those of you who don’t know / like / watch The Hunger Games, here’s a short outline:

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated / deserted / liberated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called The Hunger Games: a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change, but one thing is certain: you have to kill or be killed.

The author saw the film with an open mind, because he had read the book.

1. True
2. False

THE SEVEN STORIES

Mrs Post gave us the assignment to read a book and write a review of it. In this review we were supposed to make it a difference/clear/sure which of the seven themes were in the book. A simple assignment as it may seem, it seemed to be exciting/turned out to be quite difficult/was quite tedious after all. Why? Because I found out that the book I read contained more than one basic plot. Actually, all the seven stories in the world were in it!

I had heard a lot about The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Luckily, I hadn’t seen the film, so I could start reading it with an open mind. For those of you who don’t know / like / watch The Hunger Games, here’s a short outline:

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated / deserted / liberated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called The Hunger Games: a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change, but one thing is certain: you have to kill or be killed.

THE SEVEN STORIES

Mrs Post gave us the assignment to read a book and write a review of it. In this review we were supposed to make it a difference/clear/sure which of the seven themes were in the book. A simple assignment as it may seem, it seemed to be exciting/turned out to be quite difficult/was quite tedious after all. Why? Because I found out that the book I read contained more than one basic plot. Actually, all the seven stories in the world were in it!

After I had read the book, I couldn't care less / didn't know / started to wonder which of the seven basic plots were in the book. The first, overcoming the monster, was quite difficult / far-fetched / obvious. Although there are some real monsters in the arena, you could also regard the government as one. They are the initiator of The Hunger Games and cause all the hardships Katniss has to face. So for me it was clear that The Hunger Games has to do with overcoming some sort of monster. 

From rags to riches, so from being really poor to being rich / rich to being poor / unimportant to being influentual, is also a theme I was able to spot in the book. At first Katniss is penniless, but after winning The Hunger Games she can have everything she wants. She gets a house, and is rewarded with a large sum of money. 

THE SEVEN STORIES

Mrs Post gave us the assignment to read a book and write a review of it. In this review we were supposed to make it a difference/clear/sure which of the seven themes were in the book. A simple assignment as it may seem, it seemed to be exciting/turned out to be quite difficult/was quite tedious after all. Why? Because I found out that the book I read contained more than one basic plot. Actually, all the seven stories in the world were in it!

Plot number three, the quest, was an obvious one. Katniss has to battle the other contestants in order to stay alive. More or less the same goes for story number four. Katniss goes on a voyage, because she has to leave her village for the TV show, and returns a hero.

Then for numbers five and six. Although I didn’t expect to have a good laugh while reading this book, on several occasions I had. Despite the pain, the suffering, and the brutality, there are a lot of comical notes in the book. And as far as tragedy is concerned, this theme is not at all / not clearly / quite obviously present in the book. You get to know the contestants throughout the story, but most of them kick the bucket sooner or later.

Katniss has to go on a voyage in order to stay alive.

1. True
2. False

THE SEVEN STORIES

Mrs Post gave us the assignment to read a book and write a review of it. In this review we were supposed to make it a difference/clear/sure which of the seven themes were in the book. A simple assignment as it may seem, it seemed to be exciting/turned out to be quite difficult/was quite tedious after all. Why? Because I found out that the book I read contained more than one basic plot. Actually, all the seven stories in the world were in it!

Plot number three, the quest, was an obvious one. Katniss has to battle the other contestants in order to stay alive. More or less the same goes for story number four. Katniss goes on a voyage, because she has to leave her village for the TV show, and returns a hero.

Then for numbers five and six. Although I didn’t expect to have a good laugh while reading this book, on several occasions I had. Despite the pain, the suffering, and the brutality, there are a lot of comical notes in the book. And as far as tragedy is concerned, this theme is not at all / not clearly / quite obviously present in the book. You get to know the contestants throughout the story, but most of them kick the bucket sooner or later.

The author didn't expect humor in 'The Hunger Games'

1. True
2. False

THE SEVEN STORIES

Mrs Post gave us the assignment to read a book and write a review of it. In this review we were supposed to make it a difference/clear/sure which of the seven themes were in the book. A simple assignment as it may seem, it seemed to be exciting/turned out to be quite difficult/was quite tedious after all. Why? Because I found out that the book I read contained more than one basic plot. Actually, all the seven stories in the world were in it!

Plot number three, the quest, was an obvious one. Katniss has to battle the other contestants in order to stay alive. More or less the same goes for story number four. Katniss goes on a voyage, because she has to leave her village for the TV show, and returns a hero.

Then for numbers five and six. Although I didn’t expect to have a good laugh while reading this book, on several occasions I had. Despite the pain, the suffering, and the brutality, there are a lot of comical notes in the book. And as far as tragedy is concerned, this theme is not at all / not clearly / quite obviously present in the book. You get to know the contestants throughout the story, but most of them kick the bucket sooner or later.

THE SEVEN STORIES

Mrs Post gave us the assignment to read a book and write a review of it. In this review we were supposed to make it a difference/clear/sure which of the seven themes were in the book. A simple assignment as it may seem, it seemed to be exciting/turned out to be quite difficult/was quite tedious after all. Why? Because I found out that the book I read contained more than one basic plot. Actually, all the seven stories in the world were in it!

Six down, only one to go: rebirth. If you take this literally, it’s quite hard to find this theme in the book. Figuratively speaking Katniss is reborn several times in The Hunger Games. It often looks like she is going to be defeated, but she manages to survive every single time. When she goes off to the games, she is sure she won’t get any support from / leave / return to her village. But what happens in the end? She wins the games and goes home a hero!

So, are there only seven stories in the world? As far as I’m concerned there are infinite possibilities by combining the stories. Really good stories though, like The Hunger Games, have all the stories combined into one. 

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