61 67709 English AC Yr7 04 Web PDF

4
NARRATIVE WORLDS
UNIT
The BIG question

How do narratives capture an imagined world?
Key learnings
Narratives engage readers through a sense of time and place.
Characters actions and reactions move narratives forward.
Successful writers alter their narrative voice depending upon audience

and purpose.
Narrative texts have changed over time, continually evolving to connect

with new audiences.
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Knowledge, understanding and skills
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Students will:
read and analyse a range of narrative texts
investigate the narrative techniques authors use to engage readers
experiment with writing about different settings and characters
use different narrative voices for different audiences and purposes.
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Narratives rule . . .
Tuesday,11 April, 1944
It turned half past ten, eleven, but not a sound; Daddy and
Van Daan joined us in turns. Then a quarter past eleven, a
bustle and noise downstairs. Everyones breath was audible,
otherwise no one moved. Footsteps in the house, in the
private office, kitchen, then . . . on our staircase. No one
breathed audibly now, footsteps on our staircase, then a
rattling of the swinging cupboard. This moment is
indescribable. Now we are lost! I said, and could see us all
being taken by the Gestapo that very night.
Twice they rattled at the cupboard, then there was
nothing, the footsteps withdrew, we were saved so far. A
shiver seemed to pass from one to another, I heard someones
teeth chattering, no one said a word.
There was not another sound in the house, but a light
was burning on our landing, right in front of the cupboard.
Could that be because it was a secret cupboard? Perhaps
the police had forgotten the light? Would someone come back
to put it out?
Dear Mum
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I hate it here. Nobody will talk to me,

and I get stuck with the worst
chores. The whole camp looks like it
was built in the Dark Ages (which is
appropriate, because did I tell you its
lights out at 8pm? 8pm?!)
The days are freezing, and the nights
are worse. We have to sleep four to a
room on rickety bunks with squeaky
rubber mattresses. We have to cook
our own food, so you can imagine how
bad that is. And last night I swear I
heard rats in the walls. Please tell me
I dont have to stay here all term!
Yours hopefully,
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Karen
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Girl
From The Diary of a Young Girl,
by Anne Frank, Tuesday, 11 April, 1944
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A student writes a letter home during

a term spent on-campus.
For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

An early example of flash fiction by Ernest Hemingway.
This is a complete story written using only six words.
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English is . . . Year 7
I wonder, O wall,
that you have not
fallen in ruins
from supporting
the stupidities of so
many scribblers.
Graffiti from the streets
of Pompeii, AD 79
Understanding the what and how of storytelling
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NEED TO KNOW
dramatic effect the ability
of literature to deeply stir the
emotions or imagination
A narrative is a story containing events or experiences, real or imagined. Narratives

have existed for as long as there have been people. They tell us about the world and
about our place in it. In studying how narratives are constructed, we need to look
at the story (what it is about, including the events, setting and characters) and the
discourse (how it is told).
A strong narrative is one that thoroughly engages the reader or listener. As well as
containing interesting events, an entertaining narrative will usually include interesting
settings and characters that the reader can understand or relate to. Effective writers
work hard to develop a distinctive voice to tell their stories a voice that allows their
stories to be identified from those of other writers. In order to develop this narrative
voice, writers carefully choose words and expressions for dramatic effect. By analysing
the way that different writers construct narratives, we will find it easier to construct
effective narratives of our own.
Tuning in
flash fiction also known

as micro fiction, this is a
form of prose defined by
its extremely short length
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1 Think and compare:

a Draw (by hand or by computer) a table with seven columns, one for each day of
the week. Then think about how many narratives (in any form) you have read,
viewed, played or listened to over the course of the last seven days. Compare
your table with those of other class members. Does the total number surprise
you?
b Look at the flash fiction narrative written by Ernest Hemingway and write down
anything you can deduce (work out) about the events, characters and setting.
c Choose two examples of narratives from the collage opposite. Based only upon
these snippets, write as much as you can guess about the narrator, including their
age, gender, views and opinions, and whether they were writing today or in the
past.
Once you have finished, compare your answers to questions (a), (b) and (c) with
those of a classmate.
2 Experiment and decide: Using the Ernest Hemingway example as inspiration, write
your own piece of flash fiction (no more than 50 words) that establishes something
about character, setting and at least one event. Then decide what the biggest
challenge is when creating a narrative of this length.
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eLesson:
The English is . . .
team explores how
narratives capture an
imagined world.
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Searchlight ID: eles-1579
LITERATURE link
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Creation stories and myths

Narratives are as old as time. The first narratives were oral (spoken), and were occasionally accompanied
by pictures, some of which remain in the form of cave paintings. These paintings reveal many things
about the people who created them, such as their beliefs about the creation of the natural world and their
own existence within it. It could be said that myths and creation stories were peoples way of expressing
what they understood about the world, what they feared, and what they considered mysterious and
unknowable. Mythological characters include beings such as Thor, the Norse god of thunder; Tangaroa,
the Maori god of the ocean; the Rainbow Serpent, who is seen by the people of western Arnhem Land as
the creator of human beings; and Tagai, the warrior featured in Torres Strait Islander stories.
Research one mythological story or character from your local area or, if you have recently arrived
from another country, research a story or character from that region. What do you think this story
or character says about the beliefs of the people who first described it? Share your findings with
your classmates.
UNIT 4 Narrative Worlds
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4.1 SETTING CREATES NARRATIVE WORLDS

How do writers create vivid and engaging settings?
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genre kind or sort; a category

of literature or artistic works
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NEED TO KNOW
If events are the what of a narrative, the setting may be considered the first part of how
a narrative is told. Settings include when and where a story takes place. When a setting
is detailed enough, readers will often lose a sense of themselves, as they truly begin to
inhabit the world of the story. The world in which the story takes place may be as small
as a room in a house, or as large as a newly discovered universe. The story may be set
in the present day or at some time in the past or future.
Often, particular settings are associated with different genres.. For instance,
many horror stories are set in isolated places, while Westerns take place in frontier
America in the late nineteenth century. Within each of these genres, there are further
expectations about setting: horror stories often take place in stormy weather; Westerns
show the heat and dust that people had to contend with. Sometimes, a writer might
play with the readers expectations by giving a story an unlikely setting.
For more on genres in narratives, see Unit 7.
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Use the Cowboys &

Aliens weblink in your
eBookPLUS to explore
the graphic novel
version.
NEED TO KNOW
prose ordinary written or
spoken language that is not
poetry or verse
protagonist the leading
character in a novel
or other literary work
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In 2006, Platinum Studios

developed the comic
book Cowboys & Aliens,
which placed aliens in a
familiar Western setting.
In 2011, the comic book
was made into a movie
starring Daniel Craig.
Creating a setting means painting a clear picture of where your story is set, so that
the reader can see it in their mind. This can be a tough thing to do. In prose fiction,
you need to consider how much detail to include and how to describe it. In the extract
from Holes, by Louis Sachar, Camp Green Lake is more than just a setting; the camp
becomes a character in its own right. Speaking about the book, Sachar has said that
the story began with the place, and the characters and plot grew out of it. You can see
how the author creates Camp Green Lake in the mind of the reader in the extract on
the next page as the protagonist sees it for the first time. Before you read the extract,
your teacher may ask you to complete the following Ready to Read activities.
READY TO READ
from Holes
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by Louis Sachar
Stanley Yelnats was the only passenger on the bus, not counting the
driver or the guard. The guard sat next to the driver with his seat turned
around facing Stanley. A rifle lay across his lap.
Stanley was sitting about ten rows back, handcuffed to his armrest.
His backpack lay on the seat next to him. It contained his toothbrush,
toothpaste, and a box of stationery his mother had given him. Hed
promised to write to her at least once a week.
He looked out the window, although there wasnt much to see
mostly fields of hay and cotton. He was on a long bus ride to nowhere.
The bus wasnt air-conditioned, and the hot heavy air was almost as
stifling as the handcuffs.
Stanley and his parents had tried to pretend that he was just going away
to camp for a while, just like rich kids do. When Stanley was younger
he used to play with stuffed animals, and pretend the animals were at
camp. Camp Fun and Games he called it. Sometimes hed have them
play soccer with a marble. Other times theyd run an obstacle course, or
go bungee jumping off a table, tied to broken rubber bands. Now Stanley
tried to pretend he was going to Camp Fun and Games. Maybe hed
make some friends, he thought. At least hed get to swim in the lake . . .
. . .The bus was slowing down. The guard grunted as he stretched out
his arms.
Welcome to Camp Green Lake, said the driver.
Stanley looked out the dirty window. He couldnt see a lake.
And hardly anything was green.
The story is told in the third

person. (4)
The reader sees what Stanley

sees. (8,9)
Reference to Stanleys physical
discomfort helps the bus ride
feel real to the reader. (1011)
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When was the last time you went

away without your family? How did
you feel?
When you enter a new place for the
first time, which of your five senses
do you use the most?
Do you know this story already, either
because youve read the book or seen
the movie? If so, how might this affect
your reading of a particular section?
Read this extract through once,
ignoring the annotations. Then read
the story a second time, reading the
annotations to gain a more detailed
understanding.
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A single sentence, on a
line of its own, shows Stanleys
realisation that his imagined
setting is very different from
its reality. (19,23,24)
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Activities . . .
UNDERSTANDING an imaginative text
Getting started
1 What was the name of the camp Stanley was going to?
2 How many people were on the bus, including Stanley?
3 How does Stanley feel about being on the bus? Find words or phrases that
reflect his feelings and write them in your notebook.
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Working through
4 What sort of place does Stanley imagine Camp Green Lake will be? What sort of
activities does he imagine? Do you think things will be as he expects? Why or
why not?
5 What would you predict about what happens next in the story? How might the
setting continue to play an important part in Stanleys experience?
ANALYSING an imaginative text
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Getting started
6 Complete the table below by choosing some of your own words to describe
what each phrase from the extract makes you think or feel.
The bus wasnt air-conditioned, and the hot heavy

air was almost as stifling as the handcuffs.
Stanley looked out the dirty window. He couldnt
see a lake.
Working through
7 Why do you think the author tells the reader about Camp Fun and Games?
8 The author uses the description He was on a long bus ride to nowhere. What do
you think he means by this? How do you imagine nowhere to look?
9 The last line in this extract is And hardly anything was green. How would Stanley
have been feeling when he saw this? What effect might it have on the reader?
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How a reader feels when

reading a narrative depends
upon a combination of
elements, including the
events, characters, and
setting. The setting is
important, but a narrative is
not a tourist brochure. The
setting should be described
either because it will make
the reader see it as the
characters do, or because it
will play a role in the story.
He looked out the window, although there wasnt

much to see mostly fields of hay and cotton.
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How do events, settings

and characters
combine to engage
the reader?
Your reaction: thoughts and feelings
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LITERATURE link
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Sentences
With a partner, analyse

the extract from Holes that
you have just read. Decide
which phrases or sentences
gave you the greatest
sense of immersion, or
being there. Did these
phrases or sentences
concern the events (taking
the bus ride), the setting
(the bus, and Camp Green
Lake), or the character?
Use examples to justify
your opinion.
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Going further
10 With a classmate, decide whether we care more about a setting when
we see it through the eyes of a character. If so, why? If not, why not?
Use examples from your own reading to support your view.
CREATING in response to an imaginative text

Getting started
11 Draw a picture of (a) what Stanley sees from his bus window when he arrives
at Camp Green Lake and (b) what he would have liked to have seen.
How different are the two pictures?
Working through
12 Rewrite the last four lines to show a very different setting and
conclusion to Stanleys bus ride.
Creating settings in visual narratives

NEED TO KNOW
graphic novel a story told in
comic-book format
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visual grammar the

rules, elements or patterns
of visual language that
allow us to understand an
image or multimodal text.
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Creating a vivid setting is an important aspect of all imaginative texts such as narrative
writing. It is a particular challenge for writers who create stories that contain pictures,
such as picture books and graphic novels. The setting in a graphic novel must be
communicated to the reader largely through the illustrations or pictures. Words can
then focus on conveying character and events. We have all read stories where there
may be so much description of setting at the beginning of the story that we become
impatient and wonder when the real story is going to start. We may feel like this at
the beginning of Holes for example, where there are only words to fill the reader in
on the details of what Stanley is seeing as he travels towards Camp Green Lake. Our
imagination must create the pictures in our mind.
Someone elses imagination does this for us in a visual text and then transforms it
into artwork. If the illustrator of a graphic novel is not also the writer of the words,
then what we see drawn is the illustrators interpretation of the setting. It is common
for writers of these types of stories to work closely with the artist to choose the right
visual grammar to bring the setting to life. In the same way, a film director and the
cinematographer can shape the way the viewer sees a setting through what they
choose to show on screen. Again, we have all seen a film version of a novel we have
read and think when we see a setting, Hmm, thats not as I imagined it.
To learn more about graphic novels and the language of visual texts, see Unit 2 of
this book.
In Coraline, written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by P. Craig Russell, the protagonist
has just moved into a new house, and spends some time familiarising herself with her
rundown surroundings. This will become important to the story when she enters a
door in the drawing room and enters a world that looks strangely similar to her own,
yet better. Before you read the extract, your teacher may ask you to complete the
following Ready to Read activities.
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READY TO READ
Close your eyes and think about

walking into a section of your own
house. It could be inside or outside.
Now open your eyes. What sort of a
place is it? (Think about the size and
shape, what this part of the house is
used for, and where the various doors
might lead.)
Do you think a house can have a
personality?
Look at the cover of Coraline. What
mood or atmosphere is conveyed by
the elements on the cover? What sort
of story does it lead you to expect?
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A view from the ground

of the top of the house
highlights that it is an old and
somewhat scary building.
Characters speech is
contained in speech bubbles.
The old mans speech is in

larger type than Coralines
words to show he is calling
down to her from above.
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Careful placement of speech

bubbles allows us to read
them in the correct order. This
is part of the visual grammar
of the comic book format.
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The two outside vertical

panels highlight how tall
the house is, and how small
(and insignificant) Coraline is
by comparison. The central
panel is a close-up view, which
creates visual drama and
contrast with the narrow longdistance views.
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Narration is written in the

third person and seems to
float in the air, using the
images as a backdrop.
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A large panel, taking up more

than a third of the page,
allows the reader to see a
large part of the garden at a
glance.
A series of small panels

allows the reader to see each
separate part of the garden
as Coraline describes them.
The image of the well is
smaller than the rest, but is
contained by a large border,
highlighting its importance.
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The words support the

picture.
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The narration moves

forward with linking
text at the top of panels.
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The word well is in both

bold and italic type to
highlight the humorous
tone of the narrative as
the character uses a play
on words.
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The bubbles that

capture Coralines
counting are drawn a
different shape to those
that contain dialogue.
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This panel is quite large,

demonstrating the
importance of the
well to Coraline.
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Activities . . .
UNDERSTANDING a visual text
Getting started
1 What age group do you think would enjoy this graphic novel most?
What makes you say this?
2 Locate the first image that depicts the main character, Coraline. Looking at her
facial expression, body language and clothing, what do you predict about the
sort of person she is?
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Going further
5 Draw a map of Coralines new house and its grounds, based upon what
youve read so far. Annotate the map so that it would make sense to
somebody other than you. What significant events have already taken place
in each location?
6 There are three pages that precede the three pages included here. What do
you think might have been presented on these pages?
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Working through
3 In what way is Coralines narration used to create the setting?
4 Which of the pictures in the extracts are most important in setting the scene?
ANALYSING a visual text
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Getting started
7 Which is the most common type of written text in this extract: narration,
dialogue or sound effects? Why might this be?
8 If the speech bubbles were removed, could you still follow the story? Explain.
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Working through
9 Words and pictures work together to create meaning in a comic or graphic
story. Based on the pages you have read, was it the words or pictures that
helped you most in understanding the setting? Is this the same for your
understanding of the characters?
10 Choose one image from the text that clearly depicts a part of either the house or
its grounds. Then, analyse it by considering the following questions.
a What architecture, furniture or other props can you see? What do these
suggest about Coralines new house?
b How has lighting been used to create a particular mood?
c What do the colours suggest about the setting?
d What other interesting observations have you made about the setting based
upon the visuals in this image?
Going further
11 An important part of graphic novel construction is the size of panel that the
artist chooses to use to depict each visual event. Often, the larger the panel, the
more dramatic the picture is, and the more important to the story.
a Find three examples of larger-than-average panels used in these pages from
Coraline. For each one, explain why you think the artist chose to give this
picture more room on the page than some others.
b Do you agree with his choices, or are there other events that you would have
given prominence? Explain your view.
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12 Coraline has been made into a film. If you can, view the film and look at how the
pages reproduced on the previous pages were transformed in the film. What is
the same and what is different?
13 Do you think that a graphic novel can be a real novel? Why or why not?
14 Check out other graphic novels in your school or local library or bookshop. Are
there any common genres, storylines, characters or settings that feature in these?
CREATING and RESPONDING to a visual text
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Getting started
15 Using what you now know about Coraline and her new house, write a brief
description of what you think might happen on the next page.
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Working through
16 Turn your description of what happens next into a script that includes
narration, dialogue, sound effects (if necessary), and instructions for an
artist to accurately show what you imagine. In your writing, you
should do your best to replicate the writing style of the author.
17 Rule up a piece of paper into three rows and three columns, nine
squares in all. Then plan what is going to happen in each panel in
order to tell the next part of the story.
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Going further
18 Work in pairs to illustrate the script you have created using your nine panel
plan as a guide. If you feel that you need to decrease or increase the number
of panels to tell your story properly as a comic book, you can do so, but you
must stick to one page. Throughout the process, you must share the tasks of
pencilling, inking and colouring the page.
19 Having finished your page, are you happy with the finished product?
Why or why not? Did you enjoy collaborating with a partner to create
your page? Explain what you enjoyed, and how you believe the
process could be improved in future.
20 Alternatively, create your page using free software found in
the Comic life weblink in your eBookPLUS.
LITERATURE link
Text transformation
One imaginative text can have many different lives from novel to graphic novel to film
to interactive game. Coraline is a good example of a novel transformed first into a graphic
novel and then an animated film. Its not a huge leap to think that in future it could also
be transformed into a computer game. Stories that adapt well to transformation are often
based on universal themes and traditional or archetypal characters. Coraline draws on the
tradition of the scary fairytale and the idea of reaching a parallel world through a portal,
in this case, a door in the old house. C. S. Lewis used a wardrobe as the portal in The Lion,
the Witch and the Wardrobe in a similar way.
What other imaginative texts do you know of that have been transformed from
one text type to another? What ingredients do you think make for a successful
transformation?
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Wordsmith . . .
Possible word choices

old/ crumbling /decrepit
Old is not necessarily scary. Decrepit is a Latin

word and seems less visual. Crumbling is a simpler
word, but paints a picture. A crumbling mansion
has atmosphere.
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Chloe entered the ___________ mansion.
Reasons for choice
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Description
To succeed, a writer or storyteller must immerse the reader in the world of the story.
In a novel, all that a writer has at his or her disposal are words. The most powerful tool
that any narrative writer has at their disposal is language choice: selecting words that
will paint pictures in the readers imagination.
For example, in Holes, Louis Sachar uses the clause:
. . . the hot heavy air was almost as stifling as the handcuffs.
He made a deliberate choice to use the adjectives hot and heavy to add information
about the air. Notice how he has supported this feeling of heat and the weight of the
air by another adjective: stifling. In a few well-chosen words, we are in the bus with
Stanley, feeling the oppressive heat restricting our breathing as it does Stanleys.
Look at the table below, in which a writer has chosen words from the middle column
in order to complete the sentence on the left. The aim is to create a powerful setting
for a scary story. In the right-hand column, the writer has given reasons for her choice.
Now do the same yourself with the remaining sentences in the table.
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CHOOSE LANGUAGE TO CREATE IMPACT
decay /mothballs/rot and

filth
Holding her breath, Chloe heard only

a/an ___________ silence.
overwhelming/eerie/
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The place was dark and smelled of

_____________.
Can an entire house really smell of mothballs? And

what does rot and filth actually smell like? Decay
reminds us of dead animals, bad teeth and rotten
timber, and creates alliteration with dark.
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deafening
lilting/maniacal/loud
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Then somebody laughed on the floor

above a ____________ laugh that made
the hair on the back of her neck stand up.
OVER TO YOU
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1 After completing this activity, share your scene with a partner and compare
your reasons for the words you selected. How different were your choices? What
difference did this make to the feel of the story?
2 Write the next part of this story in 100 words or fewer, making sure to choose
adjectives and other words that create impact and immerse the reader in the time
and place. Swap with a partner when finished.
My view . . .
After working through this section, write down three musts or rules for creating
a vivid and engaging setting in a narrative. Are these rules the same for prose
fiction as they are for a visual narrative, such as a graphic novel?
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4.2 CHARACTERS CREATE NARRATIVE WORLDS

How do characters bring a story to life?
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When creating a narrative, a writer might have an interesting series of events and
a great setting, but without great characters the reader will lose interest. Solid and
detailed characterisation makes a story interesting to read and easy to relate to. This
doesnt mean that readers have to like all the characters, but it should be clear what
kinds of people they are. This can be seen through the way they act, react and interact.
Harry Potter, for example, is one of the most popular and successful heroes in recent
fiction. Readers and viewers get to know Harry so well through the characterisation
in J.K. Rowlings books and the films, that many fans think of him as a real person, and
that they know him personally.
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archetype a typical example.

An archetype is a character
type that occurs again
and again in narratives.
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NEED TO KNOW
Although the situations in which

characters find themselves might have
changed over time, the basic character
types have not changed very much. They
can all be found in the stories that many
of us grew up with, including myths and
fairytales. These common character types,
or archetypes,, include the Child, the Hero,
the Mentor and the Trickster.
Characters of myth and fairytale
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Child
The child in
narrative will often
come from humble
beginnings, but will
demonstrate great talent
the talent he or she will
need to fulfil his or her heros
journey. One example is
Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars.
Mentor
This character often takes the
hero under his or her wing and
imparts wisdom. The mentor
may die in order to protect
the hero. One example is
Dumbledore from the
Harry Potter films.
Hero
This character is
usually the protagonist
of the story. He or she
will display courage in the
face of great danger for the
benefit of humanity. The
heros story often acts as a life
lesson, especially in fairytales.
One example is Harry Potter.
Trickster
This character is willing to bend
or break the rules, usually just in
order to have fun. However, the
trickster can be very important
in helping the hero to achieve
his or her goal even if this
happens accidentally. One
example is Han Solo
from Star Wars.
At least two of these character types can be found in the following extract from the
classic fantasy or fairytale Alices Adventures in Wonderland, written by Lewis Carroll in
1865.
Before you read the extract, your teacher may ask you to complete the following
Ready to Read activities.
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LEWIS CARROLL
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Think about the stories you were told when you were
young. They might have been read to you or told orally.
How many of these involved a hero (male or female)
who had to complete a quest?
What examples of heroes quests can you think about
from your favourite books, films, TV shows, comic books
or computer games?
Skim the extract on the next page and judge
whether you think it is easy, challenging or difficult to
understand. Are there any unfamiliar words or phrases
that jump out at you? If so, look them up in a dictionary.
Make a prediction about what the extract may be about,
based on the illustration below.
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READY TO READ
101
from Alices Adventures in Wonderland
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Contractions, such as
shortening it is to its, make this
feel more like real speech. (14)
Although this extract is written
in the third person, the reader
is still given access to Alices
thoughts. (17)
A punctuation mark called a
dash demonstrates a break in
Alices thoughts, showing us
that she is hesitant. (23)
The author plays with phrases

to confuse the protagonist and
amuse the reader. (3031)
Text is italicised for emphasis.
(32)
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(11,13)
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15
Dialogue immediately gives the

reader a sense of the Hatters
personality: he is rude and
impetuous. Alices reply tells
the reader about her character.
The table was a large one, but the three were all crowded together at one
corner of it. No room! No room! they cried out when they saw Alice
coming.
Theres plenty of room! said Alice indignantly, and sat down in a large
armchair at one end of the table . . .
Then it wasnt very civil of you to offer it, said Alice angrily.
It wasnt very civil of you to sit down without being invited, said the
March Hare.
I didnt know it was your table, said Alice; its laid for a great many
more than three.
Your hair wants cutting, said the Hatter. He had been looking at
Alice for some time with great curiosity, and this was his first speech.
You should learn not to make personal remarks, Alice said with some
severity; its very rude.
The Hatter opened his eyes very wide on hearing this; but all he said
was, Why is a raven like a writing-desk?
Come, we shall have some fun now! thought Alice. Im glad theyve
begun asking riddles. I believe I can guess that, she added aloud.
Do you mean that you think you can find out the answer to it? said
the March Hare.
Exactly so, said Alice.
Then you should say what you mean, the March Hare went on.
I do, Alice hastily replied; at least at least I mean what I say
thats the same thing, you know.
Not the same thing a bit! said the Hatter. You might just as well say
that I see what I eat is the same thing as I eat what I see!
You might just as well say, added the March Hare, that I like what I
get is the same thing as I get what I like!
You might just as well say, added the Dormouse, who seemed to be
talking in his sleep, that I breathe when I sleep is the same thing as I
sleep when I breathe!
It is the same thing with you, said the Hatter, and here the conversation
dropped, and the party sat silent for a minute, while Alice thought over all
she could remember about ravens and writing-desks, which wasnt much.
The Hatter was the first to break the silence. What day of the month
is it? he said, turning to Alice: he had taken his watch out of his pocket,
and was looking at it uneasily, shaking it every now and then, and
holding it to his ear.
Alice considered a little, and then said The fourth.
Two days wrong! sighed the Hatter. I told you butter wouldnt suit
the works! he added looking angrily at the March Hare.
It was the best butter, the March Hare meekly replied.
Yes, but some crumbs must have got in as well, the Hatter grumbled:
you shouldnt have put it in with the bread-knife.
The March Hare took the watch and looked at it gloomily: then he
dipped it into his cup of tea, and looked at it again: but he could think
of nothing better to say than his first remark, It was the best butter, you
know.
LY
by Lewis Carroll
40
45
102
An adverb makes the tone of

the March Hares reply clear,
and tells us about his character.
(42)
A saying verb is a quick,

clear way of describing the
manner in which the Hatter is
speaking, and tells us about
the Hatters character. (43)
Activities . . .
UNDERSTANDING characters in fairytales
LANGUAGE link
How does language
express identity?
Getting started
1 List the characters we meet in the extract. Identify them in the illustration.
2 What sort of character is Alice? For example, is she bossy, confident or clever?
How can you tell, based upon this extract?
When writing dialogue to

convey character, a writer
must remember that
characters come from a
particular place, time and
culture, and may have a
unique way of expressing
themselves.
IO
Going further
4 In what ways does Alice seem like the archetypal hero? In what ways does she
differ from this model?
AT
ANALYSING characters in fairytales
PL
E
EV
AL
Getting started
5 How would you describe the relationship between the Mad Hatter and the other
characters (excluding Alice)? Consider equal, unequal, friendly, unfriendly.
Working through
6 Why do you think that fairytale characters, such as those in Alices Adventures in
Wonderland,, continue to appeal to audiences?
7 Do they appeal only to children or to adults as well? Why might this be so?
Going further
8 Would Alices Adventures in Wonderland be as effective if it was set today? How
might a present-day version of Alice differ from her nineteenth-century version?
CREATING characters in fairytales
Getting started
9 Fairytales have archetypes, recognisable settings and a lesson. From the table,
choose a combination of archetype, setting and lesson for your own fairytale.
Choose up to two archetypes, one setting, and one lesson. Add a baddie to
challenge the protagonist, such as a witch, a wicked stepmother or a cruel king.
SA
For example, read this line

of dialogue from Alices
Adventures in Wonderland:
Wonderland
You
You should learn not to
make personal remarks, Alice
said with some severity; its
very rude. This suggests
that Alice values manners;
they are very important
to her, and she expresses
herself in very formal
language. It appears that
Alice comes from a section
of nineteenth-century
English society in which
this is the standard way of
speaking. In contrast, many
of the characters created
by Charles Dickens (who
was writing around the
same times as Lewis Carroll)
depict a different section of
that society. In Oliver Twist,
the speech of characters
such as Fagin and the Artful
Dodger is typical of the
back streets of London and
the values of trickery and
cunning.
Name:
Gender:
Age (approximately):
Character traits:
Quote:
Picture
(Your depiction of the character: be as
creative as you like)
LY
Working through
3 Choose one of the characters (other than Alice) featured in this extract and draw
up a character profile, including the following information:
Archetypes
Settings
Lessons to learn
Child
Forest
Friends are more important than belongings.
Hero
Castle
If you are pure of heart, you will succeed.
Mentor
Gingerbread house
Trust your own judgment.
Trickster
Cave
Always listen to your parents.
Now use headings and dot points to outline your own fairytale.
Working through
10 Write the beginning of your own fairytale, introducing the main characters and
the challenge.
When you next read

a novel, pay special
attention to the
characters language.
How does it represent the
time and place in which
the story is set and the
characters position within
their society?
NEED TO KNOW
value a principle, standard
or quality considered
worthwhile or desirable
103
Action and reaction in characters
LY
Characters are often defined by the things they do (their actions) and the way they
respond to the actions of others (reactions). In The Unclaimed by Luke C. Jackson, Andy
and Jenna, a brother and sister, have arrived in a town called Broken Reef, where things
are not as they seem. In this extract, Andy searches under the staircase in their holiday
house, where hes sure he will find something mysterious.
O
N
IO
EV
AT
Choose a recent event in which you acted or reacted

in a particular way. What do you think this says about
you?
Do you think a person should be judged more by
what they say or what they do? Discuss this with a
classmate.
What sorts of characters and situations would you
usually expect to find in a mystery story?
Have you ever gone exploring somewhere when you
knew you shouldnt? If so, what happened? How did
you feel when you were there?
Have you ever overheard a conversation not
intended for your ears? How did you react to what
you heard?
As you read, look for the short sentence fragments
that are a feature of the writers style.
AL
READY TO READ
PL
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from The Unclaimed

by Luke C. Jackson
Under the landing, the cupboard is more than three times Andys height.
It is dusty, and beams and struts support the staircase from within.
Balanced between two of the beams are loose slats that might once have
belonged to a bed.
More boxes litter this part of the storage area, most of them empty.
Andy gives each a cursory glance before shifting it and testing the
floorboards beneath. None give way or are able to be lifted up.
He is just feeling his way along the back wall when he notices
something glimmering in the weak torchlight, and kneels to examine
the object.
Its shiny, and only a couple of millimetres wide.
As he leans closer, however, he realises that all he can see is the edge
of something. The rest of it is buried in a small knot in the floorboards.
He could get it out if he had something sharp
The narrative is written in the

present tense and from a thirdperson point of view. (1)
SA
10
104
It is clear that Andy is

observant. (8,9)
The use of an ellipsis like this
often indicates an unfinished
thought. We can guess that
Andy will probably try to find
something sharp. (14)
25
(15, 16)
The use of italic in sentence

fragments tells us that these are
Andys thoughts. (19,20,24)
The word shaky indicates how

excited Andy is by his discovery.
(28)
The reader has shared Andys

thoughts and now shares
Andys feelings as he overhears
his parents conversation. This
is the vicarious experience that
narratives provide.
Andys instinctive reaction

suggests that he is afraid.
(3839)
Although he had seemed

resourceful earlier, as Andy
sits silent in the cupboard,
the reader is reminded of
how young and helpless
he is in the face of his
parents marriage
breakdown. (41,42)
SA
PL
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EV
AL
40
AT
35
IO
30
Andy demonstrates
resourcefulness by using an
item from his pencil case to
dislodge the item he has found.
LY
20
Opening his bag and the pencil case within, Andy removes his compass
and begins to pry the item loose. It takes him almost a minute to get it far
enough out to use his nails.
It feels cool and smooth between his fingers.
A coin.
Old, by the look of it.
As he delicately pulls the coin out of the hole, Andy finds an eyehook
welded to its outer rim. Looped through the hook is a thin silver chain,
which makes a whispery noise as it comes loose.
Not a coin. A pendant.
He allows the chain to curl into the palm of his hand as he examines the
objects metal face. Its small but ornate, with a ship engraved on one side
and leaves on the other.
Opening the chains clasp with shaky fingers, Andy wraps it around
his neck. After fastening the clasp, the pendant sits just below his collar,
sparkling in the torchlight.
When he hears footsteps outside the cupboard, Andy makes a fist
around the pendant, then drops it inside his t-shirt. The footsteps pass
by the cupboard and continue into the lounge room. Although distorted
by the cupboard door, his fathers words are clear. So what are you saying,
exactly?
Andys mum sounds tired. What Ive been saying for months, Darren.
And you choose our holiday to bring it up?
Its what Ive been saying for months,, she repeats, in a voice that makes
Andys scalp prickle. Youre just choosing today to finally listen.
Andy wants to leave the cupboard, but then theyd know he heard them.
Instead, he turns off his torch and sits with his back against the far wall,
trying not to listen.
15
105
Activities . . .
UNDERSTANDING characters actions and reactions
Getting started
1 Choose one word you would use to describe Andy, based on this extract.
For example, you could choose brave, curious, clever, strong, dishonest or foolish.
Then use it in a sentence, beginning Andy is a boy who is ___________ , as shown
by ________________.
2 Do you think you would get along with Andy? Why or why not?
Reactions
Actions
LY
Working through
3 Draw up a table like the one below, and place as many examples (at least four)
of actions and reactions as you can in the relevant column. Based upon your
analysis, does Andy seem like an active or a reactive character?
i i(i) Andy explores the cupboard.
IO
(ii)
(iii)
AT
(iv)
Going further
7 Explain what you think the significance of each of the following lines is:
a Opening the chains clasp with shaky fingers, Andy wraps it around his neck.
b Andys mum sounds tired.
c Instead, he turns off his torch and sits with his back against the far wall, trying
not to listen.
d Its what Ive been saying for months, she repeats, in a voice that makes
Andys scalp prickle.
SA
PL
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vicarious experience an
experience felt at second
hand, by identifying with the
experience of someone else
EV
NEED TO KNOW
AL
4 Andys actions suggest that he is both resourceful and immature. Do you

agree?
5 What do you think Andy is trying to find in the cupboard under the stairs?
Which of his actions suggest this to you?
6 Through reading about characters and their actions and reactions, readers can
have vicarious experiences
experiences. What vicarious experiences does the reader have
in this extract?
ANALYSING characters actions and reactions

Getting started
8 How does Andy feel about his parents marriage? What makes you say this?
Working through
9 The Unclaimed is largely a mystery story, and yet part of this extract involves
Andy hearing a heated exchange between his parents. Why might the author
have chosen to include this argument in the story?
10 In what ways does dialogue work in this passage to give the reader a better
sense of the characters, including Andys parents? See the next Literacy link on
inferring meaning from dialogue.
106
Going further
11 A number of times during this extract, the author has chosen to give the reader
access to Andys thoughts, such as: Not a coin. A pendant.
a Why might he have done this?
b Would it have had a different effect upon you, as a reader, if these lines had
been told in a different way, for instance: Not a coin, Andy thinks. Its a
pendant. Explain your perspective.
CREATING characters actions and reactions
AT
IO
Working through
13 Write a scene, starring Andy, which takes place at his school. Imagine that some
art supplies have gone missing, and the teachers know that a student took
them. Andy didnt take them, but knows who did, and why. How might he act
and react in such a difficult situation? You can use the lines below as an opening
to your story if you like.
One by one, the teacher asks whether the students took the art supplies: a pack of
expensive markers that would be good for scribbling tags all over the school. Each
student says no, to the obvious disappointment of the teacher. Then, finally, she
approaches Andys desk . . .
LY
Getting started
12 Write five questions that you would like to ask Andy, and then construct answers
for each of them. Does this exercise help you to get to know the character
better? Why or why not?
PL
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EV
AL
Going further
14 Create a detective of your own. He or she could be young, like Andy, or an adult.
Outline his or her first case and give it a suitably mysterious name.
Then write one scene from the story, making sure to include actions
and reactions that will convey a strong sense of character to the
reader.
LITERACY link
Inferring a characters meaning from dialogue
SA
Storytellers often hint at a characters feelings beyond the sentence or paragraph that appears
on the page. Characters might not always say exactly what they mean. As a reader, it is your
task to infer
infer,, or work out, what these unstated feelings might be. You can do this by referring
to what you have learned from the text so far, or to your knowledge of real-world situations.
In the extract from The Unclaimed, the reader (and Andy) must infer meaning from Andys
parents dialogue:
. . . So what are you saying, exactly?
What Ive been saying for months, Darren.
And you choose our holiday to bring it up?
Its what Ive been saying for months, she repeats . . . Youre just choosing today to finally listen.
What can you infer about Andys parents relationship from their dialogue? How does
Andys father feel? How does Andys mother feel?
107
Wordsmith . . .
WRITING EFFECTIVE DIALOGUE
LY
Action and reaction tell the reader much about a character, but a characters
personality can truly shine when they are forced to interact with other people.
Often this interaction will take the form of dialogue. The following scenes from
TheUnclaimed include dialogue from a number of characters. Each example tells us
something important about the speakers, either through what is said or through the
tone in which it is said. The first example continues the dialogue between Andys
parents from the extract on pages 1045. In the second, Jenna, Andys sister, reacts
to her fathers questioning in a typically teenage way: she provides little information
when it is requested and then asserts herself when challenged. Her father responds
like a typical parent, asserting his authority.
EV
AL
AT
IO
Why did we even come on this holiday, if you had . . . issues?

You booked the holiday, remember? As a surprise, Elizabeth says, then
softens her tone, which was lovely. But you didnt think to ask me first.
You could have said something, Andys father answers, his voice more sad
than angry.
When youd already told the kids we were going? Besides, the biggest
problem is that youre never around . . . for them, especially . . . and you seemed to
be promising that youd be there more, starting with the holiday.
Which I will be.
Andys Mum laughs softly. Starting when, exactly? I booked you in for the
tour yesterday, but you had calls to make. Every time the kids come
downstairs, youre reading or doing something outside, always
by yourself. Its not enough . . .
SA
PL
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Where do you want to go? her father asks.

Out, Jenna shrugs. Into town, maybe.
Youll have to give us a better idea than that. This is a big area. Her father
motions to Andy. Both of you can explore, but you have to tell us exactly where
youre going.
What? I want to go and check out the town on my own! Andys reading,
anyway, about . . . fossils and stuff. She looks at her brother for support. Right?
Andy nods. Madagascar . . .
Were here for weeks. Therell be plenty of time to explore on your own and
to read magazines. But neither of you know the area, and I think it would do
you good to explore together. Okay? It isnt really a question; with her
father, it never is.
Jenna is halfway down the front steps, with her helmet buckled
and backpack on, when her mum calls, Wear your helmets!
108
AT
IO
This is the suburb where words like and, at and of are redundant, where full
sentences are not necessary. Two kilo dis. Give me seven dat. If you were to
ask politely, Would you please be so kind as to give me a half-kilo of the Lady
Fingers? the shop-owner might not understand you. You wanna dis one? Dis
banana? How many you want hah? To communicate, my father realises, does not
merely mean the strumming and humming of vocal cords, but much movement
of hands and contortion of face. The loudest pokers always win, and the loudest
pokers are usually women. My fathers moment is lost when a middle-aged woman
with Maggi-noodle curls points at the man behind the counter with a flailing
forefinger and almost jabs out an eye as she accuses the other Non-EnglishSpeaking Person of selling her furry trotters.
Why yu gib me dis one? Dis one no good! Hairy here, here and dere!
Hairy everywhere! Dat nother one over dere better. Who you save da
nother one for hah? Bang on the counter goes the bag of bloodied
body parts, and my father knows that now is the time to scoot
away to the stall opposite if he wants hairless ham.
LY
The example below is from the prologue to Alice Pungs book Unpolished Gem.
Alices father is a recent immigrant to Australia from Cambodia, and in this scene he
stands silent, totally unsure of how to proceed as he attempts to buy groceries in the
hustle and bustle of Footscray market. The authentic way in which the writer captures
the words of the stallholders and their customers conveys much about them and the
country her father now finds himself in.
PL
E
EV
AL
This passage is powerful because it highlights the characters sense of isolation in

the middle of a crowd of market-goers who are far more comfortable at the market
than he is. The dialogue is written phonetically (spelled the way it is spoken), which
adds a sense of realism to the scene. However, the writer manages to portray the
market-goers as more than stereotypes (fixed and oversimplified characters). She can
do this because she has made a careful study of their speech patterns and because she
connects with them; she is not mocking them.
OVER TO YOU
SA
Keep a Real Voices journal: a paper or digital notebook that you can carry with you.
Begin collecting examples of authentic (realistic) speech or other writing. These
examples might be words and phrases that you overhear at a family gathering, at the
school canteen, on the bus or train, or at the shopping centre. They should capture the
speakers personality. Feel free to write this dialogue phonetically if it helps to convey
the persons speech. Be sensitive to other peoples right to privacy during this exercise.
My view . . .
Characters are defined by the things they do, think, feel and say. By acting,
reacting and interacting, they help to bring a story to life. Having read through
this section and completed the activities, which do you think is most important:
a characters actions, reactions or interactions?
109
4.3 NARRATIVE VIEWPOINT

How do writers use point of view to position the reader?
AT
IO
unreliable narrator a narrator

who cannot be relied upon
to tell the truth; or who does
not really know what is going
on; or whose beliefs dont
match those of the author.
This can be both compelling
and frustrating for the reader.
LY
narrator the person who tells

the story or gives an account of
events
NEED TO KNOW
One important aspect of narrative is the perspective, or point of view, from which the
story is told.
The most common point of view in narrative is third person. A third person narrator
is not part of the story, and uses words such as he, she and they:
She kicked the ball straight through the goal posts.
Another popular perspective from which to tell a story is the first person. A first
us:
person narrator is part of the story, and uses words such as I, me, we and us:
I jumped over the fence and ran for my life.
There are both advantages and disadvantages to each kind of perspective. Writing
in the third person allows the writer to move easily between describing the physical
aspects of the story (such as setting) and describing the actions and events. It also
allows the narrator to tell us what all the characters are thinking, if they choose to.
The first-person point of view gives the reader access to the innermost thoughts
of the narrator. Sometimes, writers will shift between these perspectives within their
stories in order to give the reader different information at different times. Sometimes,
writers will even employ an unreliable narrator to keep the reader on their toes.
The table below summarises the advantages and disadvantages of the different
points of view available to a narrative writer.
Pronouns
Advantages
Disadvantages
First person
I, me, my,
we, our
The narrator is an eyewitness

to events. This makes readers
feel as if they are there.
The narrator cannot know

everything about the other
characters. All the major action
has to take place around the
main character.
Second
person
you, your
SA
PL
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EV
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Narrator
The reader becomes a

character in the story, or the
narrator might temporarily
make the reader stand in his
or her shoes. If done briefly in
a first-person narrative, its like
being pulled into the story for
a little while.
It is an unusual form of
storytelling, and it is very
difficult to tell an entire story
in this way. The reader may not
accept being a character in the
story.
Third person
omniscient
(knows, sees
and hears
everything)
he, she, they,

his, her, their
It helps the reader understand

all aspects of the characters
and the world of the story.
The narrator may sound too

detached, or too objective, so
the reader may be less likely to
become involved in the story.
Third person
limited
he, she, they,

his, her, their
The narrator tells the story in

the third person but tells us
only what is experienced and
felt by a single character. This
can help give the reader the
impression that they are part
of the story.
Like first-person narration, the

reader cannot see everything
that occurs. You also have to
hang out only with the main
character, which is a problem
if you dont like this character
much.
The extract on the next page is from Trash by Andy Mulligan, a prose fiction novel
written in the first person. Look carefully at how the author uses his narrator, Raphael
Fernandez, to bring the story to life for the reader.
110
READY TO READ
LY
N
Do you think the experience of homeless people

in Australia differs much from the experience for
people in a country like Brazil or the Philippines?
What do you think it would be like if you were
forced to drop out of school to support yourself
financially?
Scan (look quickly over) the text for unfamiliar
words. Use a dictionary to find definitions for these
words.
Have you ever been to the council dump and
brought something home?
IO
from Trash
by Andy Mulligan
I was a trash boy since I was old enough to move without help and pick
things up. That was what? three years old, and I was sorting.
Let me tell you what were looking for.
Plastic, because plastic can be turned into cash, fast by the kilo.
White plastic is best, and that goes in one pile; blue in the next.
Paper, if its white and clean that means if we can clean it and dry
it. Cardboard also.
Tin cans anything metal. Glass, if its a bottle. Cloth or rags of any
kind that means the occasional T-shirt, a pair of pants, a bit of sack
that wrapped something up. The kids round here, half the stuff wewear
is what we found, but most we pile up, weigh and sell. You should see me,
dressed to kill. I wear a pair of hacked-off jeans and a too-big T-shirt
that I can roll up onto my head when the sun gets bad. I dont wear shoes
one, because I dont have any, and two, because you need to feel with
your feet. The Mission School had a big push on getting us boots, but
most of the kids sold them on. The trash is soft, and our feet are hard as
hooves.
Rubber is good. Just last week we got a freak delivery of old tyres
from somewhere. Snapped up in minutes, they were, the men getting
in first and driving us off. A half-good tyre can fetch half a dollar, and a
dead tyre holds down the roof of your house. We get the fast food too,
and thats a little business in itself. It doesnt come near me and Gardo,
it goes down the far end, and about a hundred kids sort out the straws,
the cups and the chicken bones. Everything turned, cleaned and bagged
up cycled down to the weighers, weighed and sold. Onto the trucks
that take it back to the city, round it goes. On a good day Ill make two
hundred pesos. On a bad, maybe fifty? So you live day to day and hope
you dont get sick. Your life is the hook you carry, there in your hand,
turning the trash.
Repeated use of the pronoun I

makes it clear that this is a firstperson account. (1)
A rhetorical question seems
to be addressed to the reader,
putting him/her on the spot. (2)
The protagonist addresses the
reader, using the pronoun you.
(3)
The protagonist identifies

himself as young by using
the inclusive term we when
speaking about other kids. (10)
Again, the protagonist addresses
the reader as you, making it
seem as if he is telling his story
straight to the reader. (11)
SA
15
PL
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10
EV
AL
AT
20
25
The narrator changes from first

to second person. This has
the effect of making the
reader feel as if they are
right there in the
trash heap. (2729)
111
Activities . . .
UNDERSTANDING an imaginative text
Getting started
1 Which of the following words best describes the way you felt while reading
about Raphael Fernandez: comfortable, uncomfortable, happy, sad. Explain which
words or phrases in the extract made you feel this way.
2 Draw a picture of the way you imagine Raphael would look if you were to find
him on the rubbish dump in the Philippines.
Low
LY
Working through
3 What sort of person is Raphael Fernandez? Which words and phrases convey his
personality most clearly?
4 Recreate the table below in your workbook or on a sheet of paper and then rate
this text extract from one to five, judging how much you learn about each of the
following:
IO
High
Physical descriptions of people and places
Thoughts and feelings
AT
Detail about events
5 Which features scored most highly on this scale? Why do you think this might be?
AL
Going further
6 With a classmate, list three alternatives for where the story might go next. How
do you think Raphael might respond to changing events in his life?
EV
ANALYSING an imaginative text
PL
E
Getting started
7 Use the line numbers to find as many examples as you can in this extract of the
narrator directly addressing the reader. Write out the examples in your notebook.
8 What does the simile our feet are [as] hard as hooves make you think of?
9 Think of another animal-based simile that could be used to describe Raphael
and the other children.
NEED TO KNOW
SA
simile a direct comparison

of two different things
Knowledge Quest 1
Quest
Simile
Working through
10 Do you think that this book is written for an audience that is familiar with the
poverty faced by some children in developing countries? What makes you say this?
11 Why might the writer have chosen to have the narrator directly address the
reader? Do you think it is an effective technique? Why or why not?
12 List three characteristics we usually associate with children, then share your
list with a partner. Based upon the words youve listed, what advantages and
disadvantages does a child narrator using the first person offer for a writer?
Oneexample might be innocence.
Going further
13 Using the extract from Trash, find examples of gaps in what the narrator tells the
reader. List any questions you have about him, or his life, that go unanswered.
14 Based upon this extract, would you consider Raphael a reliable or an unreliable
narrator? Explain your view.
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CREATING in response to an imaginative text

Getting started
15 Raphael mentions a number of other people within this extract, including
the men in the dump and his friend Gardo. How might they view Raphaels
situation? Write a couple of sentences from each of their perspectives. You
might want to do this in a table like the one below.
Characters
Quote
Man of the dump
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Working through
16 Plan and write a short piece (200 to 300 words) from the perspective of
Raphaels former teacher at the Mission School. In your writing, you should give
the reader a sense of who you are, how you feel about life for kids who live in
the dump, and your feelings about Raphael in particular. In order to make your
writing sound authentic, you will need to do some research on the slums and
shanty towns in countries like Brazil and the Philippines.
17 Read your finished piece of writing to a classmate and get them to comment on
the following:
a how convincing your characters voice sounds
b whether or not you have established a sense of place
c how well you have conveyed your characters feelings about life for kids in the
trash heap.
If your classmate expressed any confusion, or made suggestions for
improvement, make these changes before submitting your final draft to your
teacher. Your final draft should also include a reflection of 100 words on how
you altered your story after the workshopping process you went through with
your classmate.
18 Study the image below and write a detailed description of what you see.
Alternatively, go online and do an image search using the key words trash
dump Philippines. Choose an image that might be a suitable illustration for the
extract. Cut and paste it into a Word document and write an extended caption
for it, describing it in detail.
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Gardo
113
Point of view in multimodal texts

NEED TO KNOW
empathy the ability to
understand the feelings or
experiences of someone else
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multimodal text text

that allows the audience a
number of modes or ways
of reading and interpreting
the text, such as writing and
visuals, or writing and sound
As we have seen, the first person perspective can be used to make the reader feel
a sense of empathy for the narrator in fictional prose. In a multimodal text that
is interactive, like Inanimate Alice, point of view is still important in the narrative.
Inanimate Alice tells the story of Alice, a young girl who travels the world with her
parents. Her story is told in diary format, in the present tense, and incorporates words,
images, video, audio and puzzles. All these elements combine to make the reader feel
as if Alice is a real little girl who is expressing herself in her own unique way. Before you
read the screenshots, your teacher may ask you to complete the following Ready to
Read activities.
How many of the texts that you enjoy would be considered multimodal
texts? List the texts youre thinking of and compare your list with that
of a classmate.
Try scanning multimodal texts that contain words and visuals before
reading them. Learn what you can about what you will be reading from
the visuals.
Unlike a book, which is designed to be read from the top left-hand
corner of the page to the bottom right-hand corner, a text like
Inanimate Alice can be read in a number of ways. As you read, think
about the way your eye travels over each page, which elements you
view first and last, and how this affects your understanding of the story.
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Alice incorporates the

image of a jeep into
the background, and a
little animation of a dog,
to illustrate what shes
talking about.
READY TO READ
Alice uses her own

style of punctuation,
and ignores some
grammatical features
such as quotation marks
to signify the use of direct
speech. This helps to
establish her age, and the
fact that she is writing for
herself.
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Alices narration is presented
in the middle of the screen in a
smaller font, and doesnt contain
detailed description.
At certain points during the

story, the reader can use different
functions on Alices phone-like
device to perform tasks such as
taking photos or playing music and
games that Alice has created.
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Background images help to set the

scene for the reader, and mean that
Alices narration can concentrate
on how she feels rather than giving
physical descriptions.
The reader can tell where theyre

up to in this episode of Alices story
by looking at the images on the
right-hand side of the screen. These
form navigation tools, and allow the
reader to move back and forward
between screens if they would like to.
Alices friends chat to one another
on Alices phone-like device. Their
language is colloquial (everyday)
and abbreviated.
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Alices friends words appear in

speech bubbles to indicate that
they are shouting to her. One
is larger than the other,
suggesting that it is louder.
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In this closeup on Alices phone-like device, you can see that her
friends are chatting with one another in a language that seems
authentic to kids of their age living in this century. Nobody uses
capital letters or full stops, and Dean uses the abbreviation l8r (later).
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LANGUAGE link
Storytelling responds to new technologies
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The future of storytelling seems to be digital, with texts incorporating a combination of written
language, audio, visuals, interactive elements, animations and hyperlinks. Examples of digital
texts include DVDs, websites, and e-literature such as Inanimate Alice.
As the form of narrative changes, so must the language we use to tell stories. Once upon a time,
stories were told in a formal language, with correct grammar and spelling. Today, some stories
incorporate more colloquial or everyday language in order to sound more authentic. In the
twenty-first century, this colloquial language extends to the use of SMS text and chat language.
Design a texting/chat conversation of your own. Then share your finished product with
a group of three or four other students. Who has managed to use language in the most
authentic way? How did they do so?
Activities . . .
UNDERSTANDING point of view in multimodal texts
Getting started
1 Who are the characters we meet in Inanimate Alice?
2 From whose point of view is Inanimate Alice told? How can you tell?
3 In one or two sentences, explain what this story appears to be about.
116
Working through
4 What do the sections of Inanimate Alice that you have read suggest about Alice
and the sorts of adventures she has?
5 Who do you think is the intended audience for Inanimate Alice? What makes you
say this?
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Going further
6 Visit the Inanimate Alice weblink in your eBookPLUS and read one full episode
of her adventure. Based upon this episode, write down what you learned about
Alices personality from each of the following multimodal elements:
a her narration
c the sound
b the visuals
d interactive elements.
Getting started
7 Inanimate Alice is written in the first person. What effect does this have on
you as a reader? Does it make you feel closer, or less close, to the events she is
describing?
ANALYSING point of view in multimodal texts
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Working through
8 In multimodal texts, how important are the words compared to the other elements?
Use examples from the screenshots presented on pages 11416 in your answer.
9 Draw up a table with two columns. One column should be headed What we
know; the other How we know. Using the extract, write down anything you
learn about issues, events and characters from the narrator. In the second
column, locate the specific words, phrases, or aspects of the imagery that
illustrate this. You can base your table on the one below.
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What we know (about

issues, events or
characters)
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Text
How we learn this

(specifically through
narration)
Inanimate Alice
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Going further
10 Can you see any similarities between the story of Inanimate Alice and Lewis
Wonderland If so, what are the main ones? What are
Carrolls Alices Adventures in Wonderland?
the main differences?
RESPONDING to point of view in multimodal texts
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Getting started
11 When you write a narrative, what point of view do you prefer to use? Why do you
think this might be?
Working through
12 If the character in Inanimate Alice were to continue writing in this digital diary
format, how might the events of her life change in five years time? How might
she use future technologies to make her story more appealing and interactive?
Going further
13 Write a brief outline of what you think might happen in the next
chapter of Alices adventure. Then plan one page in detail, including
relevant visuals, sound and interactive elements, that you would
use to tell this part of the story.
117
Wordsmith . . .
FROM THIRD PERSON TO FIRST PERSON
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Interactivity:
You be the writer:
Choose language to
create impact
Searchlight ID: int-3009
When writing narratives, there are advantages and disadvantages to using one
perspective rather than another. (See the table on page 110.)
The first person is ideal for demonstrating how a character thinks and feels about
their situation, and for allowing the reader to hear the characters individual voice.
The third person allows the writer to slip between multiple characters and to give a
clear, objective account of the events.
These differences are highlighted by the following examples of first- and thirdperson description of the same event: a football match.
Notice the highlighted words (generally nouns and pronouns) in each passage,
which show the point of view of the narration.
What other differences are there between the two passages?
Which account makes you feel more immersed?
First-person account
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As the ref blew his whistle for the last time in the match, it was on. I jumped up
from my seat and screamed until my throat hurt. Go! Kick it! Kick it!
Id come to the match expecting my team to lose. The whole train ride there, Id
listened to the opposition down their end of the train carriage, singing up a storm,
waving their black and white scarves. The few fans wearing blue and gold around
me looked glum, as if our team had already lost.
And for nearly the whole match theyd looked like they wanted to prove me
right, dropping the ball, kicking it out on the full, even kicking it to the
other team a couple of times. But through sheer luck rather than any
skill, theyd stayed in it. Now we were only three points down with
twenty seconds to go . . .
SA
Third-person account
As the referee blew his whistle at the start of the last quarter, it was on. Alan
jumped up from his seat and screamed until his throat hurt. Go! Kick it! Kick it!
Alan had come to the match expecting his team to lose. On the train ride there,
hed listened to the opposition down their end of the train carriage, singing their
team song and waving their black and white scarves. The few fans wearing blue
and gold looked glum, as if their team had already lost.
For nearly the whole match the players had looked as if they wanted
to prove the fans right, dropping the ball, kicking it out on the full, even
kicking it to the other team a couple of times. But through sheer luck
rather than any skill, theyd held on. Now the team was only three
points down with twenty seconds to go . . .
Write the next few lines for each account, detailing the conclusion of the match.
Remember to continue in the first person for the first account, and in the third person
for the second account! Which account was the easiest to finish? Now highlight the
words in each account that show either first or third person.
118
OVER TO YOU
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Nigel walked into the room and sat

down on the far end of the sofa, as far
from Cathy as possible. For the last
few days, shed noticed how sullen her
son had seemed; how quick-tempered
he had been. She had tried broaching
the subject with him, but he had
reacted angrily. Now she found herself
questioning him less gently than she
usually would.
Whats up with you?
Nigel shrugged.
Nige? Cathy said, in a stern voice.
Im sick of it, Nigel answered, his
bottom lip trembling a little. Why do
they have to pick on me? Every time!
Getting up, Cathy moved so that she
was sitting close beside him
and touched his shoulder in mute
sympathy.
She said nothing. She knew
exactly who he was talking
about . . .
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Read through the scene below. It is told using the third-person perspective. As you
read, try to work out why Nigel is acting the way he is. Whatever you decide is Nigels
motivation for this scene will form the basis of your own piece of writing.
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1 Where do you think this scene might go from here? Outline three possibilities, each
of which could be wrapped up in 200 to 300 words.
2 Once youve outlined your three possible continuations, choose one and develop
it into a short piece of writing, to be written using Nigels voice and from Nigels
point of view. In your piece, remember that you should explore Nigels thoughts
and feelings. It might help to first change the scene above into first person and then
continue from there.
My view . . .
After working through this section, consider how important a role point of view
plays in capturing the imagined world of a narrative. Do different texts work
better with particular points of view? Do you have a preferred point of view in the
stories that you read or in the stories that you write?
119
COMPOSE AND CREATE

Productive focus: writing and creating
Either
Write a reflection on a place you have been to recently, a place that you remember
from when you were younger, or a place you would like to visit. The place you choose
could be somewhere exotic, such as a country you once visited or would like to visit;
or it could be somewhere you visit every day. It doesnt matter, as long as you give the
reader a strong sense of place. You should use techniques you explored in section 4.1
to describe the setting as vividly as possible.
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The perfect setting
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Visit a setting that you think would be

interesting for a reader to learn about.
Examples might include the beach, a football
match or a market. Wherever you choose
should be somewhere that contains interesting
visuals and sounds. You will need to record
these using a device such as a smart
phone. When visiting your location,
take notes about what you see, hear,
smell, taste and touch, as well as
what you are thinking and feeling.
Then write approximately a page of
text in which you give the reader the
experience of being there.
Once you have completed
your writing, import your written
description into a digital presentation
program such as PowerPoint or Photo
Story. Then, at relevant points during
the description, include pictures and
snippets of sound that will combine
with the words to bring the setting
to life for the reader. Share your final
presentation with your classmates.
Ask them whether they felt as if they
were really there, and reflect upon
their comments in your workbook.
Or
Some key points to remember
Use the assessment

criteria rubric to guide
you through your
chosen task.
120
Remember your purpose: to create a sense of a particular time and place for your
reader.
Remember your audience: your classmates and teacher.
Use drafting, editing and proofreading techniques to refine your writing.
Incorporate the elements of a successful digital presentation.
Character creation
Either
Choose one character from within the extracts in this unit or from a novel you are
studying. Then, create a character profile that includes age, gender, character traits,
likes, dislikes and any other interesting facts about the person. Next, write one or two
paragraphs in which the character is placed in a scene in which they are forced to act,
react or interact in an interesting way.
Or
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Select one or more snippets from your Real Voices journal, and use
them as a basis for a scene, or scenes, in which your readers will learn
something significant about a character. Once you have finished your
rough draft, use a peer-conferencing process to help you improve the
draft. Then share your final draft with your peers.
ARROLL
LEWIS C
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Remember your purpose: to convey an understanding of a

convincing character.
Remember your audience: your classmates and teacher.
Convey character through dialogue and narration. Make sure
you capture the characters voice by using his or her words and
expressions, including idioms.
Use editing and proofreading techniques to refine your writing.
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Use the assessment

you through your
chosen task.
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Working in a group of three or four, create a story segment that explores the same
event from a number of perspectives. It may be based upon one of the texts described
in this unit, or on a text you are reading in class. The finished product should be
presented in a format that will add interest for the reader: it may contain writing, visuals
and sound. After identifying the event that you are going to present from multiple
perspectives, you will need to develop a timeline. Then you will need to work out
whose perspective you are going to take: either somebody who already features in the
event, or somebody who arrived during the event and has a unique perspective on it.
In order to create interest for the reader (who will be able to read all of your group
members perspectives of the event), it is important that you decide where and how
your narrator and other narrators storylines intersect, so that character A refers to
character B and vice versa where relevant. Each group member must write in the first
person.
When you are finished, load your story into a digital presentation program, where
you can insert appropriate images and sound. Suitable software includes PowerPoint
and Photo Story. Or, for something a bit different, your eBookPLUS includes links to
other digital presentation programs available online.
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Point of view
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Use the assessment

you through your
chosen task.
Your audience is other students. They know the text you have based your story on
and will be interested in a story that is consistent with the original text but has its
own unique perspective.
Remember your purpose: you are creating one perspective on an event.
Intersections between your character and those of your group members should
make sense.
To enhance the experience for the audience, your presentation may contain writing,
visuals and sound.
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Self-evaluation . . .
1 What did you learn in this unit that was totally new to you? What did you
already know about?
2 In this unit, there were texts that relied heavily on visuals. Do you find it
easier to understand pictures or words? How might using both pictures and
words help your understanding?
3 After you have completed your assessment, answer the questions below in
an individual reflection on the success of the task.
a How did you feel while working on this task? What made you feel this way?
b Who did you consult with as you worked on your task? How did this help?
c Do you feel satisfied with your final result?
d What would you do differently, if faced with a similar task in the future?
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INDIVIDUAL PATHWAYS
122
Worksheet 4.1
Worksheet 4.2
Worksheet 4.3
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4

The BIG question

Characters actions and reactions move narratives forward.

Successful writers alter their narrative voice depending upon audience

Narrative texts have changed over time, continually evolving to connect

Knowledge, understanding and skills

investigate the narrative techniques authors use to engage readers

experiment with writing about different settings and characters

use different narrative voices for different audiences and purposes.

I hate it here. Nobody will talk to me,

A student writes a letter home during

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

Understanding the what and how of storytelling

A narrative is a story containing events or experiences, real or imagined. Narratives

flash fiction also known

1 Think and compare:

Searchlight ID: eles-1579

Creation stories and myths

UNIT 4 Narrative Worlds

4.1 SETTING CREATES NARRATIVE WORLDS

genre kind or sort; a category

Use the Cowboys &

In 2006, Platinum Studios

The story is told in the third

The reader sees what Stanley

When was the last time you went

UNIT 4 Narrative Worlds

ANALYSING an imaginative text

The bus wasnt air-conditioned, and the hot heavy

How a reader feels when

He looked out the window, although there wasnt

How do events, settings

Your reaction: thoughts and feelings

With a partner, analyse

CREATING in response to an imaginative text

Creating settings in visual narratives

visual grammar the

Close your eyes and think about

UNIT 4 Narrative Worlds

A view from the ground

The old mans speech is in

Careful placement of speech

The two outside vertical

Narration is written in the

A large panel, taking up more

A series of small panels

The words support the

UNIT 4 Narrative Worlds

The narration moves

The word well is in both

The bubbles that

This panel is quite large,

ANALYSING a visual text

CREATING and RESPONDING to a visual text

Possible word choices

Old is not necessarily scary. Decrepit is a Latin

Chloe entered the ___________ mansion.

Reasons for choice

CHOOSE LANGUAGE TO CREATE IMPACT