Click on the button above to access resources for teaching narrative writing. The booklet has two main parts: ten extracts (listed below) and four Q5 tasks.
1. The Company of Wolves, by Angela Carter
Big question: How does Carter create a threatening mood?
2. The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka
Big question: How does Kafka create a pervasive sense of unease?
3. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
Big question: How does McCarthy create a desolate setting?
4. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Attwood
Big question: How does Attwood create an austere setting?
5. Small Island, by Andrea Levy
Big question: How does Levy convey a subtle sense of disappointment?
6. Circe, by Madeline Miller
Big question: How does Miller establish a contrast between Circe’s mother and Oceanos?
7. Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy
Big question: What methods does Hardy use to present Christminister as a dreamy, ethereal place?
8. The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway
Big question: What methods does Hemingway use to present the Old Man as a solemn character?
9. The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath
Big question: What methods does Plath use to present Esther Greenwood as a restless character?
10. The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
Big question: How does Martel convey that Pi is in a state of discomfort?
The idea is for students to reflect on the methods used in each of the texts – as directed by the big questions – and then eventually go on to mimic or adapt them when they approach the Q5 tasks.
Hope the stuff’s useful –
Doug