Atmospherea.k.a. “mood”

The overall feeling a work conveys to a reader

Commonly used words to describe atmosphere

• Tense• Tragic• Mysterious• Melancholy• Scary• Pessimistic• Suspenseful• Gloomy

• Thoughtful• Sentimental• Joyful• Optimistic• Hopeful• Humorous• Touching• Poignant

What is the atmosphere of “The Cask of Amontillado”?

What is suspense, exactly?

• Suspense is not the same as horror. It’s that feeling you get when you can’t wait to see what happens next…

• THINK/PAIR/SHARE - What kinds of movies have you seen that made you feel that way? Why?

What does a writer use to heighten the reader’s suspense?

• Setting

• Irony

• Foreshadowing

• Imagery

• Narrator/POV

• Plot Elements

Setting

• THINK/PAIR/SHARE - Consider the last movie you saw that kept you on the edge of your seat– What time of day did it occur?– What time of year did it occur?– Where was it located?– What was the scenery like (furniture, landscape,

architecture)?– The weather?

• Why did these elements add to the plot?

Situational Irony

• THINK/PAIR/SHARE - How do we react to stories containing situational irony? Why do we respond so violently? (Consider “The Necklace”)

Verbal Irony

• THINK/PAIR/SHARE - Why is verbal irony effective?

Dramatic Irony

• THINK/PAIR/SHARE - When you are watching a scary movie, and you know something that the character doesn’t, how do you react? Consider the physicality of your body. How are you sitting? What are you doing with your hands? Your eyes?

Foreshadowing

• THINK/PAIR/SHARE - How does it make you feel when you recognize a hint of what’s to come? If you could have a conversation with the character, would you want to warn him/her? Why does foreshadowing fill us with anxiety/anticipation?

Imagery

• Imagery is vivid description that creates a visual picture in the reader’s mind.– THINK/PAIR/SHARE

• What colors might we associate with a mood of suspense?

• What kinds of characters?• What might be in a room in a

suspenseful scene?

Types of Narrators

• First Person – Uses the “I” voice. – Roman numeral for 1 = I– A character in the story relates the

events“I was wandering down the road when I

saw a strange light coming from a faraway house…”

• Second Person – Uses the “you” voice. – Usually used in books that let you “choose the

next path”– It feels as if the reader is performing the

action“You are wandering down the road when

you see a strange light coming from a faraway house…”

• Third Person Limited – Uses the “he/she” voice. Follows only one character’s thoughts and actions.– It’s like an objective observer is watching ONE

character through binoculars or a video camera

“He was wandering down the road when he saw a strange light coming from a faraway house. He wondered what was going on. That house had been deserted for years!”

• Third Person Omniscient – Uses the “he/she” voice. Follows all characters’ thoughts and actions.– It’s like GOD watching all of the characters

“Harry was wandering down the road when he saw a strange light coming from a faraway house. Gazing at Harry out the window, the ax murderer hoped that his light would lure the curious boy into his trap.”

Narrator/POV

– How might shifting perspective from one narrator to another add to the suspense?

– Which kinds of narrators makes you feel MOST like you are a part of the action? Why?

– What makes a narrator reliable? Unreliable?

Plot Elements

• Dragging out a scene for what seems like forever

• Do you know the story of the golden arm?

• Providing a “BANG” moment– Also known as “BOOO!”

TEST FOR UNDERSTANDING

#1This question will use an example from the classic play, "Romeo and Juliet". In the Fifth Act of the play, Romeo arrives at the Capulet family tomb to find his love, Juliet, supposedly dead. However, we the audience know that Juliet is not really dead, she merely took a potion to make it look like she was dead for her own motives. When the audience of a story knows more than the characters involved, what type of irony is employed?

TEST FOR UNDERSTANDING

#2 If you were bullied by another kid on the playground, and afterwards your friend comes over and says "I'll bet you loved that" and you say "Of course", what type of irony are you employing?

TEST FOR UNDERSTANDING

#3 In the movie "Casablanca" you expect the loving couple to stay together, but then the girl hops off on a plane! Hey, that's not what I expected! What type of irony is employed in this instance?

Test for Understanding

• “She was small for her age, pixie-like, almost fragile. She always wanted to bat people’s hands away when they poked at her, treating her like a porcelain doll or an infant.”

• “I’m small for my age, pixie-like, almost fragile. It drives me crazy when people poke at me, treating me like a porcelain doll or an infant.”

• “You are small for your age, pixie-like, almost fragile. When the woman pokes at you, treating you like a porcelain doll, you swat her hand away.”

• “She was small for her age, pixie-like, almost fragile. She always wanted to bat people’s hands away when they poked at her, treating her like a porcelain doll or an infant. Her mother stood by, watching her, wondering when she would grow, hoping that she would hit a spurt and sprout up like a tree.”