Short stories - The man with the scar / The tell-tale heart

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Short stories - The man with the scar & 

The tell-tale heart

Programme

• Discussion The man with the scar
• Start with The Tell-Tale Heart
• Homework upcoming weeks 

Learning objectives

At the end of this lesson, I know and can explain the following literary devices/concepts:

• Main/Frame story
• Literal and figurative meaning
•  Reliable / Unreliable narrator
• Symbols from The tell-tale heart

I understood this short story and was able to answer the questions AND
I can explain the literary devices in my own words

1. Yes, I definitely understood and can explain it!
2. Yes, I think and hope so
3. I'm not completely sure but have tried
4. Did we have homework?

Frame / main story

• A frame narrative is a literary technique, whereby a story is situated within another story. 
• The main story is the internal one.
• The frame narrative merely serves to set the scene, and often introduces some core themes.
• Some frame narratives only appear at the beginning and end of the main narrative, serving as bookends propping up the main story.
• Transforming the story into myth - lots of frame narratives introduce a character who will tell the main story to another. This imbues the main story with a mythic quality, often giving it the idea of gossip, or of the story being passed down and around.

Short story - The man with the scar

The frame story is set in:

1. Hotel bar in Guatemala City
2. Prison in Nicaragua

Short story - The man with the scar
The principal characters in the frame story are:

1. Rebel General - General San Ignacio and Rebel General's wife
2. Narrator - his acquaintance and man with the scar

Short story - The man with the scar
The narrative mode in the frame story is:

1. Third person
2. First person

Describe Rebel General in the frame story: appearance, occupation, habits and his influence

Describe rebel general in the main story: appearance, occupation, habits, influence.

Describe the most important events in the main story

Important events in main story

He was a revolutionary general - he could have won the revolution

He was captured

He was sentenced to be shot at dawn

He killed his wife

He wasn't executed but banished

Explain the difference between literal and figurative meaning in your own words

What is the literal meaning of the title?

What is the figurative meaning of the title?

Looking back at my work / analysis of the man with the scar

1. I succeeded on the analysis and literary devices
2. It was OK
3. Next time I should do things differently, namely.....
4. I'm going to do my homework next time!

Questions, questions, questions???

The-Tell-Tale-Heart

Written by Edgar Allan Poe

Important literary devices / concepts

• Narrative mode
• Reliable / unreliable narrator
• Two controlling symbols
• Suspense  

Read 'The Tell-Tale Heart'

• Read 'The Tell-Tale Heart', look up words you don't know and complete questions 1 up to 3 this lesson

Homework - 12th of October

• Finish  the exercises and your analysis on The Tell-Tale heart and The First Autumn completely. 
• If you have time left somewhere you might want to have a look at Death by Scrabble