Video: Approaching unseen fiction texts

﻿Welcome to today's English lesson. I'm Mrs. Crompton. Our focus today is to look at reading strategies, particularly for on-scene fiction texts. We will be working with 'The Time Machine' by H G Wells. You will need a pen and paper. Take a moment to make sure you've cleared any distractions away and have everything you need at hand. So, the first thing that I would like you to do is to draw the pyramid that you can see on the screen onto your piece of paper. And if you give it the title of a 'Freytag's Narrative Pyramid', and also label it with the five different points, exposition through to denouement. Pause the screen in order to do so, I'll be waiting for you in a moment to look at this in more detail. So looking at 'Freytag's Narrative Pyramid' is actually really useful when we get on on-scene extract. Because when we've got that extract, we are usually told whereabouts in the narrative it is from. And when we know where it's from, we can also start to piece together certain expectations of that aspect of the narrative. For example, if it's from the exposition, we're at the beginning. So what do we get at the beginning? We are told about character, setting, place, action. All of those things are established. Usually, this is a point of 'equilibrium'. So it's a point where everything is stable. However, sometimes we do encounter texts where we have 'disequilibrium' and that too is a very deliberate choice on the part of the writer. If they create a point of 'disequilibrium', they want to make us feel unsettled. So it's really useful to know, is it from the beginning? What do we expect? Similarly, if it's from the rising action, we would expect some sort of complication to be introduced. We need that complication, in order for some action to develop, in order for there to be a narrative. If it's from the climax, then we are at the point where the action has reached a peak and we will see some sort of event or situation occur, which will mean that the course of the action is going to change forever, that will be an irrevocable change. If it's from the falling action, then we're going to see consequences. We're going to see what the impact is of the changed situation. And then finally, if it's from the denouement, and that word, fancy word for ending, and it literally means to 'unknot', it comes from a French word or knotting all of the different strands of the narrative, all of the problems that have occurred. That's what it's talking about. So literally it means to 'unknot'. And we will then see everything resolved and some sort of new 'equilibrium' is going to be established. Okay. So pause at this point, if you need to get additional notes there, but having this in your mind is incredibly helpful as a first step to asking some questions of your on-scene material. Next, let's have a look at this as a strategy for reading that we're going to be using. When we are reading the text, we are going to track our events through the text, make sure that we're understanding all of the connections. And we're going to ask ourselves the following questions. First, what does the writer want me to know at the beginning of the extract? Next, how is the action developing? Then, what's happening then? What's happening next at this point? And then finally, how does this all link back to the events at the beginning? And we're going to treat the extract as an entity on its own. We can't know everything, it's on-scene, so we are working within the confines of what we're given within this passage. But we are going to work through it with some sort of strategy. First, next, then, and finally, tracking and linking as we go. Okay. Don't worry about getting all of that down. We're going to be actually working with that right now. Before we get to the actual text though, there's one final thing. Once we've understood, literally what's happening within a text. There's one more question we need to ask ourselves. And that is to start thinking about the author ideas that a text brings to life. What big picture ideas does the text offer us? What does the text tell us about mankind, about the way that human beings behave, about the way that societies function? Very few texts are just a basic plot. There is always something else that we end up going away thinking about. Okay. So as a final step, once we've understood the literal meaning, we're going to take our thinking one step further and consider big picture ideas. All right, then. I think we're ready to try this out. What we're going to do is to work through a text by splitting it as I mentioned before into four sections. First, next, then, and finally. You will see some prompt questions running along the bottom of the screen. Those prompt questions will help you to think about the right things. And I shall show you that just now on our screen. Okay. So you can see in green, we're going to get some prompt questions running along the bottom. Just go back to where we were. When you see those prompt questions, I would like you to record your responses to those prompts on lined paper. Wherever possible with evidence and in full sentences. The more you get into the habit of responding in full sentences the better. But if at this stage, you're not sure and it's just notes, that's fine. Hopefully that confidence will build and you will be responding in those full sentences by the end. We will then stop, pause, and I'll go through a review with you. So show you the types of things that you could have noticed. And at that point, either with a different coloured pen or pencil, you'll have an opportunity to self-assess what you've already done and also add in additional detail. Okay. So that's the process of what we're going to be doing. Just a little bit of information about the text we're going to read, it is 'The Time Machine' by H G Wells. It's a science fiction novel published in 1895. So you don't need to write lots down, but I do think you need to have all of this information onboard. So science fiction novels take something that's happening in the present and project that into a future world and think about what the consequences might be if x were to be developed. And in this case, it is this idea of time travel. So this science fiction novel was published at the turn of the century. And it's often read as a warning against progress whilst exploring classic conflicts. If you think about what was happening in the Victorian period, so much change, industrialization, lots of different working conditions. And in particular, these impacted hugely on the working classes having to work in factories, very different living conditions, etc. And H G Wells had something to say. The society that H G Wells travels to in the future is split into the Elois and the Morlocks. The Elois are the descendants of the upper classes and the Morlocks, the working classes. And they literally live underground. So you can see it in the future he projects that idea of a divide between the classes to a really extreme level. However, there is a bit of a twist in this story, the Elois that dressed beautifully they have silk gowns, they eat fabulous food, but they seem quite weak and intellectually not particularly developed as a species. The Morlocks on the other hand who seem to be working for the Elois, they provide them with the food, they do everything. They are secretly feeding and then harvesting the Elois. Interesting twist there from H G Wells. So just bear that in mind. What is he saying? We mustn't neglect our work working classes. We're not going to eat anybody. However, there is an interesting message there about divides between rich and poor and what will happen if we don't take care of inequality. So, little bit of background information for you before we begin. This extract is from the rising action of the novel. What did we say? Rising action. If you look at your pyramid and you look at your notes, the rising action is where a complication is introduced. Okay. So the time traveller is describing his first experience of time travel to a group of dinner guests. Let's have a little look. So we're going to look at the passage, just the first part. And I would like you to think about the idea of the fact that it's the rising action and I want you to consider what is the complication? Okay. You can work your way through, pause at the end of each passage as you read through the text, pause, make your notes, then move on. There'll be three, four slides at the most, every time we do this, but it is to get you into that opportunity of reading independently and then I will be reviewing with you. Okay. So it's over to you. Use the prompts to help you. I will see you very shortly. And welcome back. How was that? Now, you're probably not going to have as detailed a writeup as I have got for you, but I want to show you what we could be getting. You will have some of these ideas there. So please do make sure that you take those and make sure that you recognise where you have got some quotations in, etc. Okay. The extract focuses on the time traveler's struggles to get the time machine made, "One of the nickel bars was exactly one inch too short, and this I had to get remade," and the details of how he resolves this minor complication initiate the action. So can you see, I've used the phrase complication and we've got that at the beginning. However, I've said it's minor. So watch out for what I say later. This level of detail adds to the authentication of the machine, and by consequence of the process of time travel itself, which is the overall complication of the text. See, that's the main complication. We need to believe that time travel is possible. That is the problem. Can it possibly even happen? This is further reinforced by the way in which he reminds his audience of dinner guests how some of them had seen the incomplete machine a week ago and then how, "there it is now, a little travel-worn, truly; and one of the ivory bars is cracked, and the brass rail bent; but the rest of it's sound enough." The 'proof' is there for everyone to see; as he is recounting his tale, the 'damaged' machine is in front of their eyes. Time travel must be possible. Okay. And that is the focus. The focus is on establishing the veracity of time travel. That is the complication that is being dealt with in the rising action of this novel. I'm just going to show you how this will work from here on. When we get to these points and we get to a review, I will always give you opportunity to have a little look at it at your own pace, so that you can pause and also get down any additional details. So now I'm going to hand it over to you to have a little lookout and pause, and then add to your own notes, improve on your ideas, and we'll look at the next section. I'll be with you in a moment as soon as you are ready. And welcome back. So now we're going to look at what we'd learned next, and you've got a little bit more idea of the types of ideas you could be noticing, and also how you can write that up. So hopefully you're going to be a little bit more confident expanding your ideas. As we come into this next section, I have got some more areas for you to focus on. What does H G Wells focus our attention upon now? Think about references to time and think about things that look typical and things that look atypical, so, not typical. Think about what evidence you're going to pick out and make sure you're now trying to explain those ideas a little bit more clearly. Trying to put them together. Control is over to you. Same process, pause at the end of each, and you can see your text in front of you and you will have opportunity to record your ideas on your piece of paper. I'll see you very soon. And welcome back. So let's have a look at the next review. Initially, the time traveller too seems wary and even sceptical about his invention working, "I seem to reel; I felt a nightmare sensation of falling and looking around, I saw the laboratory exactly as before. Had anything happened?" The abrupt question suggests a feeling of disappointment. However, Wells then goes on to use a further simple sentence, to change the mood of the passage. "Then I noted the clock." So I've tried to put on a little bit of analysis here, too. Just trying to think about how the language is working to explain my ideas as thoroughly as possible. The focus on time is reinforced throughout ... Sorry, through the symbol of the clock, which is the physical proof he needs. That despite his situation seeming typical with everything as it was, time itself has moved on. His urgency and determination is then shown when he says, "I drew a breath, set my teeth, gripped the starting lever with both hands, and went off with a thud," as he attempts a further adventure. It is interesting that time travel isn't initially presented as a dramatic event. But a gentle blurring of the boundaries between reality and this new dimension. This is emphasised with the detail about Mrs. Watchett, who "came in and walked, apparently without seeing me, towards the garden." The fact that his own housekeeper, someone who knows him really well is unable to see him, again, provides a veracity to the story. Wells carries on with this detail and explains how time is operating at different speeds. And he states how "she seemed to shoot across the room like a rocket." This very precise detail, pinpoints a moment that can be used to measure the fact that time travel has occurred. Okay. so again, depth and detail to this particular second section. Now we're really getting into the nitty gritty of proving that time travel is possible, but it's not dramatic yet. It's all very gradual. Okay. Over to you, I'll be waiting. So what do we learn next? What does H G Wells focus our attention upon next? This time, I'm just going to do it slightly differently. I want you to try and pick out five key quotations that show what travel is like? And I want you to particularly think about the use of senses, how he use his objects and also feelings that are communicated. Okay. So your task this time is five quotations. Not trying to write everything, but trying to pick the best evidence. Over to you. Let's have a look at the review then. So did you have anything like this? I'll tell you my quotations first, and then I'll tell you my reasons. So, "The night came like the turning out of a lamp ..." First one. "I saw the sun hopping swiftly across the sky, leaping it every minute ..." is my second one. "I am afraid I cannot convey the peculiar sensations of time travelling. They are excessively unpleasant." Is my third one. So I've gone for objects and the way that he's tried to communicate time travel through the lamp and the sun. And then I've got the feelings there. They're excessively unpleasant, this feeling of time travel. Two more, "The slowest snail ever crawled dashed by too fast for me." And then finally, "The twinkling succession of darkness and light was excessively painful to the eye." And what we get in here, it's the combination of sight and sound has been really dominant senses. We get the use of typical reference points, but a typical imagery. So the sun is used and we know what the sun looks like, but the sun is described as hopping. So that's a really unusual image. The sun doesn't skip about when we look at it, because it just doesn't move that fast. Equally with the snail, the snail is darting past, so it's atypical. And then the other thing that's really striking is that it's a physically painful experience. Okay. Back over to you, take little bit longer to look at it, if you wish, and then we'll have a look at the next step. Finally. So we're onto the last part of the extract. And remember what we said, we've got to treat the extract as a text in its own right. And what we're going to do when we get to the end is to think about how it links back to the beginning and how far we've moved within the passage. What does H G Wells focus our attention upon now? How does the time traveller feel at the end of the extract? And in particular, we're going to do the linking back. Okay. So it's over to, before we look at the review. So, as the extract draws to a close, Wells presents us with an image of the time traveller high above the earth, "the whole surface of the earth seemed changed - melting and flowing under my eyes." With this vantage point comes a sense of wonder and achievements. And now we've got something dramatic and spectacular at last. Whereas the focus at the start of the extract was on the damaged machine and establishing a sense of truth, we now have a changed focus on the beauty and majesty of both our world and the potential of time travel, "the jerking sun became a streak of fire, a brilliant arch," and "my pace was over a year; and minute and minute by minute the white snow flashed across the world and vanished, and was followed by the bright, brief green of spring." There's a sense that the time traveller is now in an elevated, privileged position of knowledge and experience. So we've got this broadening out and I'm trying to bring in those big picture ideas. What does it mean that he's up there looking down on things that he would usually be part of? And this is what I think. However, the reader is also left wondering about this situation. Has the time traveller transgressed the boundary of man versus nature? Should he be there? That's the question at the end? So we've got a really interesting interpretation. Something to just push the reader a little bit in that final image. Yes, he's up there. Yes, he's experiencing something incredible. But we have to question, is this safe? And because it's at the rising action parts of the novel, there is that feeling that something is not going to go well from this action. All right. It's over to you. You have the opportunity to review and then we'll come together again. Finally then, a question for you. Has the time traveller transgressed the boundary of man versus nature? That was my interpretation at the end there, and I was taking onboard the four conflicts, and I decided that this is ultimately man transgressing nature. You might think that there's a different conflict going on in there too. So, just for the last part of the lesson, I want you to create your own refined response to that question. Has the time traveller transgressed the boundary of man versus nature? Pause to complete, resume when you're ready. All that remains for me to say is thank you for your focus today. Don't forget to do your exit quiz. We need to check that everything has sunk in from today's learning and enjoy the rest of your learning today.

Exit Quiz: Approaching unseen fiction texts

Completed: Approaching unseen fiction texts

In this lesson, we will look at Freytag’s Narrative Pyramid and the idea of ‘Four conflicts in Literature’ as ways of reading unseen fiction extracts. You will then have an opportunity to try out these ideas by applying this learning to an unseen fiction extract from H G Wells’ ‘The Time Machine’. You will be guided through the reading with prompt questions and after each section we will stop to review our ideas together. At the end of the lesson, there will be a quiz to recap on our learning.

English

Approaching unseen fiction texts

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Final Quiz

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