Essay on Video Game Violence - 1599 Words

Smoking, Drinking, Pornography are just among some of the things that people have decided are immoral for children to take part in. However, a child making a character in a video game ruthlessly rape, beat, and kill another character has been deemed acceptable as long as said child is of a certain age. Video games are prominent in everyday life. Children as young as two are starting off playing basic video games to learn their ABC’s and 123’s. The problem is as children get older they are influenced by the video games they play and most of the video games in today’s society are violent and gory. Video games affect children and cause them to take on violent tendencies. These violent tendencies may be as subtle as inappropriate language or†¦show more content†¦Though, some stores have taken proactive steps to ensure that a child does not buy a game above their age rating, most stores have not. Even the stores that have taken such measures cannot ensure tha t all of their employees are going to follow through with carding each and every individual. The problem with the fact that video games are not regulated is that young children are buying mature rated games and are being influenced by the violence and viciousness of these games. Some will even buy the games and play them just to be in the â€Å"popular† crowd. Video games are not like movies, music, or television. Video games are very interactive. Interaction in video games allows the child to participate and choose what he or she wishes for his or her character to do. The act of rewarding a child with points or some other great award gives the child more initiative to redo the violence again when presented with the option. In addition, video games do not teach children that violent tendencies like killing are not acceptable in real life. As Senator Joseph Lieberman quite adequately points out, â€Å"It is the interactivity that makes them even more damaging than movies and television. Watching TV is passive; playing a video game is active. Worse still, video games can be addictive, and it is not unusual for children to play them for three or four hours straight† (Lieberman 23). To sit and play a video game which compels a person to act violently for four hours straight is worseShow MoreRelatedVideo Game Violence : Video Games892 Words   |  4 PagesVideo Game Violence On December 14, 2012, a twenty year old boy named Adam Lanza shot twenty children and six staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Before arriving to the school, he shot his mother then committed suicide after the shooting. The reports say that he was influenced to shooting others by the video game â€Å"Call of Duty†. Video game violence is defined as a behavior including physical violence intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something impacted by videoRead MoreVideo Game Violence : Violent Video Games1626 Words   |  7 PagesDavis English III 27 March 2015 Video Game Violence Violent video games have been being created since the first console. Yet only recently have we been blaming them for aggression in the player. We as humans have a tendency to blame our violent behavior on other things rather thin ourselves. Now aggression is being defined in many ways in this situation but mainly people point to the anger that’s brought out in the real world after the game or maybe it’s the gamers’ tendency to haveRead MoreVideo Games : Video Game Violence Essay1693 Words   |  7 PagesVideo Game Violence Blood and gore, intense violence, strong sexual content, use of drugs. These are just a few of the phrases that the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) uses to describe the content of several games. The future of entertainment revolves around technology. Along with the evolvement of technology, video games are also changing. More ways of playing violent video games are created each year, but most of us have this question in mind; do violent video games influence peopleRead MoreVideo Games : Video Game Violence1502 Words   |  7 Pages2013 Video Game Violence The evolution of video games has taken a drastic change since the 1970’s when video games were first introduced. Since then every decade video games have become more violent in nature with strong language and realistic to suit society today. Craig Anderson states that with more violence in video games they would sell better than games with less violence (Anderson, Gentile, and Beckley pg.5). Violent video games really became popular when the first person shooter games wereRead MoreVideo Games and Violence1011 Words   |  4 Pagesare probably millions and billions of video games sold every year to people. Some people seem to believe that violence correlates directly with video games. Video games are something that is usually a big interest in people at the ages of 13 to 19 years old. Video games usually start off as a little fun and then turn into a major hobby for some people. Emotions change based on whatever happens while a person is engaging in these games most of the ti me. These games are another way to observe how peopleRead MoreVideo Games : Violence And Violence1301 Words   |  6 PagesThe issue of violence in these media products has been a highly-debated issue for the past few decades. Recently it has become extremely popular in the subject of violence in video games. It is rumored that games such as â€Å"Call of Duty, Mortal Kombat, Battlefield, Halo and many more have been the culprit behind a recent spike in childhood aggression. Many people have their own views on the subject, but it has been most commonly deduced that aggression is caused by the games, but violence does not alwaysRead MoreVideo Games Violence664 Words   |  3 PagesUNV - 104 August 11, 2013 Video Games and Violence Video games and violence have different effects on children according to the type of video games that is being watched It is important to understand the world of video games. All video games do not prevent violence in children. Parents should take into consideration in monitoring their child while choosing video games. Depending on the video game that is chosen, does not mean the child will result in violent behavior later on in lifeRead MoreThe Violence Of Video Games971 Words   |  4 PagesMost kids today play video games to entertain themselves and it’s their hobby. Today kids and even young adults play games like Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V), Call of Duty, and Fallout 4. All three of these games were one of the top games of their respective year of release. What do they all have in common? They depict violence in a way that its becoming more realistic every year they’re sequels are released. But what’s up with people blaming video games for mass shootings and other heinousRead MoreVideo Games and Violence942 Words   |  4 Pages Video Games and Violence Awe entering in more advanced society of technology, video games has become a popular source of entertainment among us. Almost all of us has rented or owned a video game and we have spent hours playing it. As we all know, video games have become the second most popular form of entertainment after television; the source of entertainment is proven to be violent. Excessive playing of video games has a huge impact on our life as well asRead MoreVideo Games and Violence1981 Words   |  8 Pagesconcerned about violent video games due to the increased reality in the games. However, society may not realize how children and teens are affected by these games. In modern times, children and young adults are affected by violent games in a negative way by causing changes in their behavior. The average American child watches 28 hours of television a week and by the age of eighteen will have seen 16,000 murders and 200,000 violent acts (Gallagher). People who defend violent games like to point ou t that

Death of a Salesman (Analysis and Personal Reaction)

Death of Salesman is a a very deep play written by Arthur Miller about a salesman struggling to keep his grip on reality and his family. This play is a memory play, switching from present to past and vice versa whenever Willy, the salesman and father of the family, has a moment of insanity and returns to times gone by. Being memory, it allows for music to announce emotions and characters, and well as exaggerations and/or omissions. As Tom says in Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie: Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic. In memory everything seems to happen to music., and although this describes The Glass Menagerie, it also applies to Death of Salesman. The fact that its a memory play†¦show more content†¦This leads us right into Willys character. Willy is entirely consumed by illusions. He says in the beginning of the play If old man Wagner was alive Id be in charge of New York now! That man was a prince, he was a masterful man. But that boy of his, that Howard, he dont appreciate. When I went north the first time, the Wagner Company didnt know where New England was!, making it seem like hes a big business man, although we later find out hes only working for commission, no longer even having a salary and being forced to borrow money from a neighbor to pay for all he owes, until he finally gets fired, though even then he pretends to be an important business man, even bragging to his boss (Howard) as hes getting fired, in an attempt to get what he wants: in 1928 I had a big year. I averaged a hundred and seventy dollars a week in commissions (pg 1592) to which Howard replies: Now, Willy, you never averaged--- then Willy interrupts him to restate the preposterous lie. When his boss suggests that he ask his sons for help, to which he quite falsely replies: Theyre working on a very big deal., still doggedly clinging to his pride and the illusion of importance. To make matters worse (at least for his wounded pri de), he is confronted by a modest Bernard and Charley on his way out, and Charley informs Willy that Bernard will be presenting a case in front of the Supreme Court later thatShow MoreRelatedCriticism of Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman Essay1474 Words   |  6 PagesCriticism of Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman I found Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman, while a definite classic, not as interesting as other Miller plays. For example, ‘All my Sons is a story about an unscrupulous businessman who lies in court to save himself from certain imprisonment, sends his business partner to prison, and eventually commits suicide once one of his sons uncovers his devious plot. The intrigue, excitement, and setting were easy to follow, enjoyable and riveting. ConverselyRead MoreMarketing Environment10927 Words   |  44 PagesScreening Analysis: Here the company evaluates all ideas. The intention here is to avoid unnecessary expenses by stopping further processing of unwanted ideas, which do not suit the company’s requirements. An idea is evaluated with reference to various factors such as consumer needs, investments, profitability, technology, etc. 3. Concept Testing: In the stage the concept of the new is tested. The co. evaluates whether the concepts would suit the co., requirements. 4. Business Analysis: HereRead MoreThe Changing Relationship Between Individual and Society in Modern Drama3272 Words   |  14 Pagesindividualism however those who did gain the freedom of independence were made stronger by swimming against the current of social normality and could thereby gather more following and create revolution in the society. Around thirty years after Ibsens death in 1906, Brecht was remodelling the modern stage with his own philosophies. He `succeeded in altering the functional relations between stage and audience, text and producer, producer and actors. By moving away form the naturalist theatre traditionRead MoreThe Analysis of the Mythic Dimension in ‘a Streetcar Named Desired’6094 Words   |  25 PagesThe Analysis of the Mythic dimension in ‘A Streetcar Named Desired’ Background This paper tells about American South which exposed in A Streetcar Named Desire written by Tennesse Williams. The changes were drawn from the life experience of the main characters in the play, named Blanche Du Bois. Here, we try to explore about the analysis of the main character, Blanch Du Bois. Problem and its Scope This study principally constitus the analyze of the myth in a play that written by Tennese WilliamRead Moresecrets of body language11913 Words   |  48 Pagesapproaching people. Now together, let s give America the kind of comeback the New Hampshire has given me. What she does now is she embraces the applause, she goes up to it. She almost wants to hug people for the noise that they re making. For the reaction that they re giving her. What are the coaching giveaways? You can tell when somebody is coached when their gestures don t seem natural. When the beat is off slightly. When you can tell I m thinking and then I m showing. Hillary always looksRead MoreThe Role of Drama in Our Society4602 Words   |  19 Pagesfacial expressions and gestures of the actors, and the growing tension of the plot. Stage Directions and Their Value: As plays are intended to be seen, not read, everything in them, must be seen or heard. All information, emotions, attitudes, and reactions must be presented through speech and action. This means that stage direction must succeed in reaching the audience through effective use of speech, action, furnishing, lighting, exits, entrances, and sound effects. Stage directions must determineRead MoreEthical Decision Making and Behavior13474 Words   |  54 Pageslistening and role playing Imagining other perspectives Stepping back from a situation to determine whether it has moral implications Using moral terminology to discuss problems and issues Avoiding euphemisms Refusing to excuse misbehavior Accepting personal responsibility Practicing humility and openness to other points of view In addition to these steps, we can also increase ethical sensitivity by making an issue more salient. The greater the moral intensity of an issue, the more likely it is thatRead MoreConsider the Theme of Transformation in Metamorphosis and the Yellow Wallpaper.3444 Words   |  14 Pagesinsect, by the description given by Kafka, possibly similar in appearance to a cockroach, although the description given does not allow the reader to make any definite identification. He has been the breadwinner of the family, working as a travelling salesman to keep a roof over the heads of his mother, father and younger sister. This is a service that he has got no thanks or recognition for from his parents who do nothing towards the up keep of the household and just expect Gregor to take care of everythingRead MoreSeminar: Literary Theory Applied to H.P. Lovecraft-Notably â€Å"the Beast in the Cave†6821 Words   |  28 PagesBuena VistA university | A Theoretical Analysis of H.P. Lovecraft’s â€Å"Beast in the Cave† | Senior Seminar | | Cory J. Dahlstrom | 7/28/2012 | H.P. Lovecraft has been called â€Å"one of the best, worst authors of our century.† In the following paper, I will explore his earliest work, â€Å"The Beast in the Cave,† a story written when he was around fifteen years old. I will explore its meanings and context through the lenses of reader response, deconstructionism, newRead MoreIntroduction to Motivation16686 Words   |  67 Pages- a recent survey commissioned by our company revealed that lack of recognition is one of the primary reasons employees quit their jobs. Criticize Carefully When you must criticize, do it privately and keep the discussion performance-based, not personal. Be consistent and evaluate all employees according to the same set of standards. Set Clear Expectations Conduct regular performance appraisals so employees understand whats expected of them. Instill confidence and enthusiasm by noting an employees

Biometrics Free Essays

Biometrics are automated methods of recognizing a person based on a physiological or behavioral characteristic. Among the features measured are face, fingerprints, hand geometry, handwriting, iris, retinal, vein, and voice. Biometric data are separate and distinct from personal information. We will write a custom essay sample on Biometrics or any similar topic only for you Order Now Biometric templates cannot be reverse- engineered to recreate personal information and they cannot be stolen and used to access personal information. Using a unique, physical attribute of your body, such as your fingerprint or iris, to effortlessly identify and verify that you are who you claim to e, is the best and easiest solution in the market today. That is the simple truth and power of Biometrics Technology today. Although biometric technology has been around for many years, modern advances in this emerging technology, coupled with big reductions in cost, now make biometrics readily available and affordable to consumers, small business owner, larger corporations and public sector agencies alike. How Does a Fingerprint Optical Scanner Work? A fingerprint scanner system has two basic Jobs it needs to get an image of your inger, and it needs to determine whether the pattern of ridges and valleys in this image matches the pattern of ridges and valleys in pre-scanned images. Only specific characteristics, which are unique to every fingerprint, are filtered and saved as an encrypted biometric key or mathematical representation. No image of a fingerprint is ever saved, only a series of numbers (a binary code), which is used for verification. The algorithm cannot be reconverted to an image, so no one can duplicate your fingerprints. Employees Privacy and Cleanliness Concerns? It is important to note that Easy Clockings biometric time clocks do not actually collect and store fingerprints. Instead, it saves a mathematical representation of the employee’s biometric data. When the biometric time clock scans a hand or finger during a supervised enrollment process, only an encrypted mathematical representation of the fingerprint is stored. As a result, it’s virtually impossible to duplicate the original image from that mathematical representation. Additionally, if employees question cleanliness, this concern should not be dismissed. Instead, you should assure employees that the time clocks finger zone is not a hot zone for germs. In fact, it will be touched far less frequently than restroom door handles, water cooler spigots, or chairs in the break room. Top Advantages of Fingerprint Authentication There are several ways an electronic time clock system can verity that somebody is who they say they are. Most systems are looking for one or more of the following: What you have What you know Who you are To get past a â€Å"what you have† system, you need some sort of â€Å"token,† such as an dentity card with a magnetic strip. A â€Å"what you know† system requires you to enter a password or PIN number. A â€Å"who you are† system is actually looking for physical evidence that you are who you say you are a specific fingerprint pattern. â€Å"Who you are† systems like Easy Clocking Fingerprint Time Clocks have a number of advantages over other systems. To name few: Fingerprints are much harder to fake than identity cards. You cant guess a fingerprint pattern like you can guess a password. You can’t misplace your fingerprint, like you can misplace an access card. You can’t forget your fingerprints like you can forget a password. Conclusion on Biometric Workforce Management Biometrics has been used effectively for more than a decade for time and attendance and workforce management. Despite widespread use, confusion and misconceptions about the technology and its capabilities persist. These concerns are easily dispelled when the facts about biometrics are established. Biometrics offers unparalleled ability to quickly and accurately capture real-time, labor data and provide a nonrepudiated audit trail. Biometrics has undergone intense scrutiny and the results are in – when properly deployed, biometrics work well and are safe, secure, and accurate. Biometrics offers organizations a broader range of direct and indirect time, cost, and operational benefits than alternative time and attendance methods. Today over one hundred thousand thriving organizations rely on Easy Clockings time attendance systems to automate their employee attendance and as a result they are seeing a significant reduction in direct and indirect labor costs. How to cite Biometrics, Papers Biometrics Free Essays string(73) " never be forgotten as they are a physical characteristic of the person\." Fingerprint technology is a part of biometric system that is made to recognize special characteristics of an individual. Basically it involves an individual’s fingerprint, where those minute raised ridges on our polar pads are called friction ridge skin’ is special from one person to another. For this reason fingerprints are able to be used as a form of personal identification as it is reliable and accurate. We will write a custom essay sample on Biometrics or any similar topic only for you Order Now No one would have to remember passwords, PIN numbers or even carry keys or cards, which could avoid many kinds of unwanted problems. One of the company used this Biometrics Fingerprint system is the LISTS- Lead Core technology System Inc. A Filipino corporation established on November 14, 2006, which engaged in battery distribution in the Philippines and provides full range services such as installation, monitoring, testing and preventive maintenance. LISTS also caters engineering services which includes fabrication, synchronizing panel services, technical audit, operation, training management and maintenance. The firm has way in preparing the attendance it is the Biometrics Fingerprint system which is 100% recognizing the person who are suggested in this system and when they starting using it on 2011 they said that it is expensive and the cost is almost PH 5000 with the brand of Eagle The IT is involve in preparing input and edit the information of the employee, the HRS Assistance is involves in time keeping and the accounting for verification and preparation of the salary of the employees and if they find any problem the HRS Head will give notice to check the attendance of the employee. Pattern Eye Care Center started with an investment of 3,780,000. 00 and now continuously earns an approximate value of UP, 972,325. 30 per year. The whole yester starts with the marketing staffs of Pattern Eye Care Center calling prospected companies with their information shown at the center’s database; after the conversation the staff will send a proposal via fax or email. The main objective is to persuade the client with the centers Free Eye Examination Program, if the transaction is settled they would set a schedule that will be based on the company’s employees. The center offer products such as eye glasses, frame, contact lenses and solutions. They also prescribe eye glasses to employees that the on-site doctors refracted and found in need of the said product. If ever an employee avails of one of the products they are given terms of installment and every cut-off there would be a staff from the center that will collect the payment. Pattern Eye Care Center is consists of 20 employees only. In regards of monitoring the daily time records of each employee they still used a manual system. By using manual logbook and Bundy clock, there will be possible to misplaced logbook by the time keeper which is the Admit Assistant or just only put on the security guard and the pages of logbook are crumpled and torn apart, and when it comes to the Bundy clock proxy attendance for others. This is the reason why the researchers decided to propose a system entitled â€Å"Biometrics The employee used to log his time in and time out in a log book. They prefer this log book because it will cost Just a little. In this case, any person can manipulate the attendance sheet due to lack of securities. For example, if one employee is late he can alter his time of arrival or he can ask somebody to log his name. And the most disadvantage of using a log book is when it has been misplaced or lost there is no other reference for salary purpose. Rephrase the paragraph in red font, the aground is good you Just have to discuss the manual process in detail touching the problem encountered by the company. In general, the problem of using the logbook as a monitoring for daily time record can be manipulate by anyone. Specifically it aims to answer the following questions: How sure are we that the logbook is reliable? Who is authorized of safe keeping the logbook? Inaccurate and are less secured. The proposed study is beneficial to the following: Students. It helps us broaden our minds in this area through the help of all lectures, research and surveys. Future Researcher. This can serve as their reference if they choose to propose to use Biometric System Business Owners. This will served as a guide for monitoring the daily time record of his employees. Purpose The purpose of biometrics is to uniquely identify or verify an individual through the characteristics of the human body. Such as a fingerprint or voice as a security measure. These devices are used by a variety of organizations, ranging from colleges to the federal government. Identification Biometrics is a broad term given to security measures that identify a person based on biological or behavioral traits. The purpose of employing a biometric device is to install a higher level of security than traditional security methods would employ. Examples Biometrics can identify fingerprints, faces, voice and the iris of individual. Signature verification and the process of identifying an individual through hand recognition are also examples of biometrics. What are the benefits of Biometrics? Uniqueness One of the difficulties of security is the ability for more than one person to possess a password. People can share it voluntarily or it can be stolen. A person’s fingerprint cannot be shared easily or stolen and no one else has an exact match to yours. This technology is useful for corporate America where a hacked password could cost millions in profits and revenue. No Forgotten Passwords Another problem that many companies have is people forgetting their passwords. In this era of website log-ins, everyone has different passwords for everything from email to banking. This can make it difficult for people to remember every one even if they use it regularly. Biometrics never have to be remembered and can never be forgotten as they are a physical characteristic of the person. You read "Biometrics" in category "Papers" Accountability A biometric reading unequivocally attaches a person to an event. If there is a security breach or something is stolen, police and security have an accurate record of who as last in that location or had access to a specific computer. Since biometrics cannot be easily forged, there can be little defense of a hacked password or saying it was not you. Management Less paper use and they can save an expenses, and the biometric have its own program , and you can update or change or edit and put a limit in the number of working days, working hours, and overtime and the personal data of the employee. Employee They can save a lot of things in terms of time hassle, time consuming in the time keeping of the HRS Assistance, and it is convenience to each of the employee. How to Capture Biometrics Instructions 1 . Capture an identity through an eye scan. Use a small and fast digital camera to take a scan of a person’s iris. Then, employ an iris recognition system through a computer to translate and store the data for comparison. The iris is the colored ring around the pupil of the eye. Each person’s iris is specific to them and can be entered into a data system Just like a fingerprint. According to the University of Tennessee, this technology is the most noninvasive way of capturing a biometric signature. 2. Capture a copy of someone’s fingerprint. This is the simplest way to obtain biometric information about yourself or someone else. A simple fingerprint contains all the data necessary to identify someone beyond a doubt. You must capture all of the fingerprint, and preferably the entire palm, for fast and undeniable identification. Complicated computer programs will store the collected data and provide match information for later comparison. This technology is used most often in law enforcement for suspect and victim identification, but is also very useful for security systems. Today, companies like Identification Solutions provide the service of capturing and storing biometric information. Financial institutions and other companies who find this type of identification necessary will pay for this service to avoid bothering law enforcement for such tasks. 3. Take a digital scan of a person’s face. Facial structures are unique to us all and, though the subtle differences often aren’t identifiable to the human eye, can be recognized with the aid of computer systems. Modern facial recognition technology will take the scan in real time to identify people walking through specific checkpoints where the cameras are set up. 4. Record and store an audio bit containing the sound of someone’s voice. This is a metric signature and an identifiable characteristic. You don’t need expensive, specific equipment for this type of biometric capture, as you do for some of the other ways like iris scans. A simple voice recognition software program will allow you to compare vocal signatures, identify and separate people’s voices. The sounds created by humans or animals are broken down into electrical signals, which have very specific frequencies. What are the Advantages Disadvantages of Biometric Software? Improved Security Most security systems depend on physical keys, cards or passwords, which users often lose or forget. The loss of keys and cards creates the possibility of unauthorized users gaining access to secure areas or data. Users cannot forget or lose, except in extreme circumstances, the physical characteristics that biometric software analyzes. This simplifies providing access to, for example, high security areas, by tying access to a difficult-to-duplicate physical characteristic. Reduced Administration Biometric software also provides organizations with a means of reducing administrative costs. Organizations must track every key and card they issue to an employee or member. In the event of a key or card loss, the organization must animally record the loss and lock the card out of the system. Depending on the sensitivity of access, the loss may even require the replacement of locks. The organization must then issue, record and track replacement cards or keys. Biometric software reduces the administrative load to one-time entry of biometric data and, when the employee or member leaves the organization, a one-time lockout or deletion of data. False Results One core problem facing biometric software is the issue of false results. False results come in two main forms. Biometric systems sometime fail to recognize someone thin the system. In other cases, the system falsely associates a person with another user in the system. Either type of error leads to a security issue. Technological Limits The physical hardware that captures the biometric data and feeds it to the software sometimes suffers performance limitations. Poor lighting and even the position of the user can inhibit facial recognition software in real world settings. Buildup of dirt and grease, as well as smearing on sensors, limits the effectiveness of biometric software. Weather conditions, such as rain, snow and heat, can adversely affect biometric yester as well. Social Acceptability While there is widespread understanding of the benefits of biometric technologies, some concerns remain, with privacy at the top the list of objections, according to a 2009 research study conducted by Tech-cast. The very unique nature of biometric characteristics makes it possible to use them for tracking citizen movements to a degree that would constitute invasion of privacy. Other concerns include the security of the biometric data. Objectives Recognizing that biometric technologies are seeing increased usage in the public and riveter sectors, International Biometric Group’s Privacy Initiative defines best practices as well as deployment and technology guidelines for maintenance of personal and informational privacy in biometric deployments. The objectives of ‘Bag’s Privacy Initiative are as follows: To raise awareness of privacy issues for end users and deplores of biometric technology. To increase the likelihood that biometric system, when deployed, will be as protective of personal and informational privacy as possible. (the paragraph is not background of the study it is more on the usage advantage and disadvantage of biometrics) How to cite Biometrics, Papers

Prose Fiction in the English Classroom free essay sample

We will: think about text selection. think holistically about what a fiction unit might cover. understand some generic elements of prose fiction as a form and how they might be taught. learn how to develop 3 level guides as prompts for close reading. Lets begin by discussing the novels we might use with a senior English class. In most departments, teachers are free to choose texts for study with their class (departmental resources will limit the scope of your choice). It is important that you develop an idea of what you think is suitable for a senior class. Think back to your own experiences with prose fiction study and to texts you have enjoyed reading independently. Are there any you would consider appropriate for study with a year 11, 12 or 13 class? Why? Activity 1:1:1: Discussion Forum Texts for study Narrative study an overview The study of narrative is the study of how stories are told. When we study prose fiction, we are looking in detail at the choices that the author has made and how those choices combine to create a particular piece of writing. It is important to convey to your students the idea that nothing happens by accident; everything contained in the novel /short story is a product of the authors choices. These choices are made purposefully for a particular effect and to elicit a particular response in the reader. In order to help students understand this, we need to focus our study on the selection and organisation of material in the text. The following outline provides a useful overview of the headings we might include in a novel study structured around the selction and organistaion of material in a text. Read through the outline carefully. NarrativeNarrative is how a story is told. The how of story-telling involves techniques and conventions characteristic of narrative genres, e. g. narratives, anecdotes, news stories, parables. How involves: A) SELECTION(i) Vantage Point:1. Who tells the story. (Narrator) 2. Scope of the access. (Limited/omniscient) 3 Perspective in time (Removed/retrospective, immediate tense) (ii) Content:1. What are the significant settings? 2. Who are the significant characters? 3. What are the significant events and actions? B) ORGANISATION(i) The basis for sequence (plot) ii) The basis for juxtaposition. | Using this as our guide, lets look at how we might approach each aspect with a senior English class. In particular, we will discuss the activities, explanations and questions that might be of use. First though, we need a short story to read as an example for discussion. Read through the story A Piece of Yellow Soap by Frank Sargeson. Pre-reading At the very beginning of a prose fiction unit, it is common for a teacher to ask students to engage in an introductory activity. These activities are designed to draw students into the study of a text they have not yet read. A pre-reading activity might address itself to the theme of a piece of fiction, or be concerned with some aspect of style or form. Design a pre-reading activity you might use with a class studying A Piece of Yellow Soap, then add your ideas to the discussion below. Activity 1:1:2: Discussion Forum Pre-reading Point of View Once the pre-reading is complete and the students have read the text (hopefully), it is time to look in detail at various aspects of the text. It is not unusual for teachers to begin discussions on a novel/short story with a close look at the vantage point or point of view chosen by the writer. In my experience, students tend to struggle a little with point of view and the idea of a narrator, so it is important to have a clear explanation up your sleeve. Think about how you would describe the concept of point of view to a senior English class. And, just as a wee extra challenge, think about how you might make a connection between point of view and irony. Once you have pondered this, click on the link below to add your explanations. Activity 1:1:3: Discussion Forum Point of view Ok. Lets look at some resources that might help you. The art of the short story (page 22 of your readings) is a chapter taken from Close-Up on Literary text (Locke,2001) In the point of view section, the author asks readers to look closely at the narrator first. Read through the following excerpt and answer the 5 questions with reference to A piece of yellow soap. This introduction and these questions help students first to discover who the narrator of the story is, before they begin looking at the narrators influence on the story. They may still need to clarify the difference between the narrator and the author of the text. The next set of questions from The art of the short story helps them to do this. Once again, work through the questions with reference to A piece of yellow soap. The narrator of a story should not be confused with the writer. The writer of this story is Frank Sargeson. 6 On the basis of this story alone, which of the above questions can you answer if you substitute the word writer for the word narrator? 7 How would you go about finding answers to the questions that can’t be answered on the basis of information found in the story? 8 How might knowledge about Frank Sargeson contribute to your reading of this story? Once students have a firm understanding of the narrator and have it clearly differentiated from the author. It is time to begin looking more broadly at point of view. This invloves asking students to look at the perspective from which the story is being told. Work through the following explanation and questions reflecting as you do on the extent to which they help you develop a better understanding of the point of view. If you think of a story as providing a particular window onto the world a particular angle of vision then you are reflecting on the important notion of point of view. Point of view answers the question, Through whose eyes or from what vantage point am I viewing the action that is being presented in this story. (A useful analogy here is to imagine a movie camera and to think about how its location affects what we see when we are watching a movie. )9 From whose perspective is this story being told? 10 How much time has elapsed between the story being told and the telling itself? 11 How limited is the narrative point of view? To answer this question, try identifying the sorts of information that the narrator cannot access. 2 How involved is the narrator in the story? Is he quite central to the action or is he quite peripheral (like a witness to a motor accident)? [Language Tool Kit:Narrator: The voice one can identify as telling a story. Point of view: The perspective from which the events of a story are presented. Chronological time: The order followed by events as they actually happened. Psychological time: The order of events as they are recalled or reconstructed in a persons mind. ]Finally, we can distinguish between first-person and third-person narrators. A Piece of Yellow Soap is a an example of a first-person narrative, told from the point of view of a character who has quite a degree of involvement in the story being told. 13 Identify the pronouns in the first paragraph of this story which tell you whether this is a first-person or third-person narrative. | These explanantions and questions should prove useful in guiding students to a clear understanding of a narrator and his/her influence on the text. Time When we look at the ways in which the author has chosen to orientate the story, it is important to examine the authors treatment of time. When we do this, we are asking studnets to look at whether the narrators perspective is immediate (present tense), retrospective (past tense) or a mixture (see The art of the short story p. 25 of your readings for a table of tenses if you need clarification), and at the ways in which time is manipulated to suit the purposes of the author. The following exercise (from The art of the short story) is designed to make students think about the relationship between time and story-telling. As you read through them jot down some answers Time Activity You cant tell a story without thinking about time. The following log exercise is designed to make you think about the relationship between time and story-telling. 1. Write down in chronological order the things you did after you work up this morning. (You dont have to go on for too long. ) 2. Underline the words you used to indicate the sequence in time of what you were recounting. (First, then, later are examples of such words. ) 3. From the flow of events that have occured since you woke up, choose and describe the most memorable. 4. Add to this description an account of what lead up to or caused this event to happen. Reflect on what these questions are guiding you towards. What have you learnt by doing this activity? Or, what would your students learn by doing this activity? Activity 1:1:4: Discussion Forum Time Look back at our overview. As you can see, we have had a close look now at the elements that come under the heading of Vantage Point. We are going to take a quick detour now to plot because it makes sense to get a good grip on this before moving on to the content (character, setting etc). Plot Teaching plot can be tricky, mainly because it sounds deceptively simple. The key to students coming to grips with it is having a clear defintion of plot and some narrative structure terms to work with. So, how would you define plot to a senior English class? What are some plot elements that you would consider helpful in helping students understand the way a particular narrative is structured? Activity 1:1:5: Discussion Forum Plot The following extract from The art of the short story offers some clear definitions of a number of plot elements that may be of use to you and your students. As you read through them, try to connect as many as possible with specific parts of the short story A Piece of Yellow Soap. There are a number of plot elements that can be used to shape or structure a narrative. The selection and arrangement of these plot elements have an enormous impact on the effect a story has on its readers. although A piece of Yellow Soap is a very short story, it contains a number of plot elements. i Exposition: Exposition is the provision of important background information so that a reader feels oriented to what is happening in a story. How effective is the opening paragraph of this story as an example of exposition? ii Predicament: A predicament is a difficult choice difficult because it involves a character in a choice between two undesirable options. 2 What is the narrators predicament as described in paragraph one? iii Conflict: Most plots involve conflict. Conflict occurs in a plot when a character or groups interests are opposed by another character or group. 3 Why is the narrator in conflict with the woman? 4 On the face of it, the woman is the milkmans antagonist. Find evidence in the story that the narrator also feels himself in conflict with:†¢ his firm;†¢ the way his societys economy is organised;†¢ certain peoples views about God. Conflict can also be internal. Internal conflict occurs when two parts of a character are in involved in a struggle with each other. 5 In what way might the narrator of this story be described as in conflict with himself? iv Rising action: The part of a story, often accompanied by tension and suspense, which leads up to a climax or some other defining moment. 6 In what way does paragraph two contain suspense? ) Climax: A climax is the highest point in a single action, the decisive moment towards which events appear to be heading . 7 Which paragraph (indeed which sentence), in your view, provides a climax for this story? vi) Denouement: This is a French word meaning unravelling. It refers to the process which follows a climax, where some kind of sense is made of the proceeding events. Sometimes the denouement involves a discovery or a disclosure. Sometimes, as in this case, it involves a moment of recognition a sudden growth in awareness or the realisation of some truth. In what sense, do the last two paragraphs of this story provide a recognition. 9 Is this recognition for the narrator, the reader (or both)? [Language Tool Kit:Exposition: The provision of essential background information early in the narration of a story. Predicament: A difficult choice between undesirable alternatives, often presented to a character early in a narrative. Conflict: A situation where the interests of characters or groups of characters are opposed. Antagonist: Usually, but not always, a character whose interests are opposed to those of the main character or group of characters in a story. Internal conflict: A situation where two parts of a single character are in conflict with each other. Rising action: The suspenseful part of a story leading up to its climax. Climax: The decisive moment in a story towards which events appear to be heading. Denouement: The process of unravelling or winding down that occurs in the aftermath of a storys climax. ]| Lets look, by way of example, at what we might do in the classroom to help students gain a better understanding of one of thesed terms: predicament. Once we have discussed the definition of predicament, we would need to help students pinpoint the predicament the narrator recounts in the short story. Having done this, it would be useful to engage students in a kind of role play activity to help them better understand the narrators predicament which is central to the story. This role play would be fun to do as a drama activity, using a voiced thoughts monologue. If this were impratical, it could also be done in the form of some expressive writing. Either way, the task itself might look something like this The milkmans predicament activity. Imagine you are the milkman and you are just about to go and visit the woman to ask her for money. What are you thining/worrying about? What thoughts are competing in your head? Try to use some quotes from the story and some of your own words. Activities such as this could (time permitting) be constructed for each plot element to help students develop a thorough understanding of the storys narrative structure. Character and characterisation Senior students seldom have any problems with the idea of character. By year 11, it is a term they are generally familiar with and comforatble using. Characterisation on the other hand is a different story. Understanding the term characterisation invloves students making the shift to seeing text as something that has been constructed by the author and that is constructed by the reader as he/she reads. This can be a difficult jump for some! So, how can we explain the difference between character and characterisation to senior English students? Keeping in mind that the term character refers to WHAT and the term characterisation refers to HOW, write some defiinitions that you might use with your students. Then, write some questions relating to A Piece of Yellow Soap that guide students to an understanding of characterisation. Activity 1:1:5: Discussion Forum Character and Characterisation For a clear definition, lets refer again to The art of the short story. Characterisation refers to the process whereby readers construct characters on the basis of evidence in the text provided by writers. This evidence can include:†¢ actions;†¢ thoughts, feelings and deliberations;†¢ descriptions (from a narrator or another character);†¢ dialogue| Setting Looking back to our overview of narrative study, the final remaining element under the heading of selection is setting. You may find students have a functioning albeit narrow understanding of the term setting as the place where the story happens. With a senior class, our task is generally to help them broaden this definition to include time and the cultural setting in which the text was composed and to help them to understand the ways in which setting is important in a prose fiction text. How would you explain to students what setting is and why it is important in a work of fiction? Design an activity that helps students understand the importance of setting in a piece of yellow soap. Activity 1:1:6: Discussion Forum Setting Style Style is a combination of the way a writer uses words, syntax and punctuation. In some books, the word texture is used to denote the characteristics of style a reader is aware of at any point in the narrative. As such it can be usefully contrasted with the term structure whicg refers to the organisation of the text as a whole. (Art of the Short Story). It would take far too long to look at all the possible terms and techniques that we might discuss under the heading of style. It might therefore, be more useful to discuss the particular features of style evident in A Piece of Yellow Soap, so that you can get a grip on how a style discussion might work ina classroom. Read through A piece of Yellow Soap once again, paying particular attention to its style. List some metalinguistic terms (terms used to describe language) you would use to describe the style of this short story. Select one sentence of the story that you believe would elicit an interesting discussion about style. Activity 1:1:7: Discussion Forum Style Theme The term theme is a problematic one. If we refer to the theme of a novel, then we imply that a theme is a central message put in by a writer who is deliberately concerned to raise an issue or communicate a lesson to the reader (The Art of the Short Story, p8. ) In the version of reading that this constructs, the reader is merely a passive recipient of the ideas in the story. How else might we look at the idea of theme (and reading in general)? How would you present the idea of theme to a senior English class? Activity 1:1:8: Discussion Forum Theme 3 level guides Just before we wind up this module, Id like to look at a type of resource that can be extremely useful when approaching close reading of a text with a class. The 3 level guide offers a set of questions which draw students into a close reading of a text. Students are asked to agree or disagree (providing textual evidence) with propositions grouped in three categories: Level 1: Reading for information Level 2: Reading to interpret Level 3: Reading critically Lets look at some examples from a 3 level guide written for Chapter 23 of the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J. D Salinger. Level 1: Holden has only a short converstaion on the phone with Mr Antolini. Level 2: Holden respects Antolini because he doesnt care about appearances. Level 3: Holden believes that natural ability is a stronger factor in what a person can do than education or training. Question 1 is straightforward. Students can go to the text and find a definitive answer. Level 1 questions involve facts that are direc tly stated in the text. Question 2 is more complex. It requires students to interpret a characters thoughts, words or actions in some way. They may need to refer to other parts of the text to do this. The level 3 question is still more complex. It requires students to apply a critical perspective to the text to examine the belief systems or prejudices at work in a characters actions. Sometimes, level 3 questions require students to examine their own beliefs and prejudices that are supported or challenged by the text. In your readings, you will find a copy of a short story commonly taught in year 11 English classes, The Outsider by Graeme Lay. Read through the first few pages of the short story. Once you have done so, come up with one questions for each level of a three level guide.