Unit Five Unpleasant Experiences Narration: Chain of Action

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Unit Five Unpleasant ExperiencesNarration
Chain of Action
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?. Warming up

• The new richest man in the world

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• He is the new richest man in the world - and his
  latest home will leave no one in any doubt.
• Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani the day before
  yesterday jumped above Bill Gates and Warren
  Buffet, and their short-lived successor, Mexican
  Carlos Slim Helu, at the top of the rich tree as
  his personal fortune was put at nearly 31billion.

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• In keeping with his new-found status, it emerged
  that the 49-year-old plans to build possibly
  the most outrageous home in the world.
• His mansion in Bombay will be 60 storeys tall,
  but will only have 27 floors to allow for
  super-high ceilings on the floors occupied by
  himself, wife Nita, and their three children.

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• There will be accommodation for 600 personal
  servants and staff. Mr Ambani runs Reliance
  Industries, India's second-largest firm. The oil,
  textiles and chemicals giant was founded by his
  father, Dhirubhai, who started work as a petrol
  pump attendant.
• His new pad will also include a helipad, health
  club, hanging gardens and six floors of car
  parking.

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• Construction has already started on what will
  eventually be a 175m tower and planners are
  aiming to complete it by September next year.
• The building, already worth 500 million, could
  start a rush on skyscrapers.
• Earlier this year, Mr Ambani was rated as the
  richest resident Indian with a net worth of
  US20.1 billion.

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• The poorest man in the world
• The world's poorest man who has never had any
  interest in capitalism is Oonabaji Kipkembunja of
  Ethopia. Oonabaji sold his family into slavery in
  order to set up a lettuce factory. However, when
  he bought a goat for companionship, it devoured
  his crop of three lettuces on 23 March this year,
  late at night. Mr Kipkembunja was then forced
  into devouring the goat. His possessions now
  stretch to two strips of goat meat and a shiny
  stone shaped like a carrot (although he doesn't
  know that, having never seen a carrot).

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• Partly-free writing the rich and the poor.

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• Review personal narratives
• Essential elements of narration
• a series of events
• a narrator
• purpose
• Tips on how to write a personal experience
  narrative
• Topic sentence
• First person point of view
• Chronological order
• Transitions

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?. Task One A Moment of Panic

• 1. Showing and telling in narration
• Showing and telling are ways of telling a story.
• Showing dramatizing a scene and creating a
  dialogue.
• Telling summarizing what happened.

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• Showing makes a narrative more vivid, for it
  allows the reader to experience the scene
  directly.
• Telling allows you to include a greater number of
  events and details.
• Showing used in a short narrative relating a
  single event.
• Telling used in longer narratives along with
  showing.

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• How to narrate an unpleasant experience clearly
  and interestingly
• Brainstorming unpleasant experiences
• How can we narrate our unpleasant experiences?
• Use the first person point of view with the
  narrator as a participant.
• Use chronological order.
• Use specific words, esp. action verbs to describe
  a chain of events.

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?. Practicing narrative skills

• Read the three passages, and point out which
  narrative method (telling or showing) is chiefly
  used.
• Pair/group discussion.

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• Passage 1 Shoes
• The writer uses showing to dramatize the scene.

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• Passage 2 Old People
• Telling to provide information about Grandma
  Fritz
• Showing to dramatize one instance to show how
  this 92-year-old woman helps other old people.

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• Passage 3 Ill Get Another One
• Basically uses telling summarizing what Lewis
  did at his fathers funeral and how he finally
  won the gold medal for the 100-meter race.

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?. Reading on the subject

• Passage 1 An Encounter with a Bear
• The passage opens with the fear the writer felt
  on hearing some strange noise.
• The measures grabbed the fire poker as a weapon,
  ran up into the loft, pulled the ladder up
  behind.
• The writer had probably frightened the bear, so
  it went away.

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• Passage 2 Panic Time
• The narrative opens with the thesis my fear of
  elevators began several years ago.
• Functions of the three paragraphs
• Introduction effect of the incident
• Body the frightening experience
• Conclusion emphasizing the panic experience

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• Dialing different numbers, and luckily one of
  them got through to a guard in the building.
• Verbs used
• Action verbs stepped into, pressed the button,
  pounded on the door, reached for the phone, rip
  sth. Off, dial numbers, reached sb., pry the door
  open, climb out.
• Verbs expressing panic panic, pound, get drier,
  have trouble doing sth., sweat.
• Verbs expressing calmness not to appear
  disturbed, stay calm, keep my wits about me,
  reassured sb.

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• Passage 3 A Hair-Raising Experience
• Father believed that the girl had to deal with
  her problem. She needed to face up to her
  problem.
• David played a decisive role in bringing the girl
  back to the rink. Instead of turning away from
  her, he came, grabbed her hand and invited her to
  go on skating with him.

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• Action verbs collided with, went flying, came to
  a standstill, picked up, plunked it back,
  shuffled me off, fix myself up.
• Words expressing the girls feelings was
  completely mortified, passionate sobs, was
  completely devastated, pleading phone calls, in
  tears, held my head high, a memory of a most
  embarrassing moment, a memory of kindness and
  love.

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?. Reading from your peers

• Cutting the Head Off
• An Unlucky Day
• An Embarrassing Experience

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?. Writing assignment

• Write an account of an unpleasant experience
  that you once had in about 200 words.
• Brainstorming what to write about
• Pair/Group discussion
• Working outline (p. 92).