Making the Ordinary Extraordinary: Magical Realism in Latin American Literature

Lesson 8
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ELA

Unit 4

10th Grade

Lesson 8 of 22

Objective


Analyze the diction and imagery Paz uses to describe the different stages of the narrator's relationship with the wave.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: Sun, Stone and Shadows: 20 Great Mexican Short Stories by Octavio Paz  — Short Story: My Life with the Wave

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Target Task


Discussion & Writing Prompt

How is the fantastical relationship a metaphor for a real human love affair? Provide specific evidence from the story to support your ideas and carefully explain your thinking.

Sample Response

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Key Thinking


Close Read Questions

How does Paz characterize the wave and the narrator in the first paragraph of the story? How does this characterization foreshadow the outcome of their relationship?

What diction and imagery does Paz use to describe the narrator's experience with the wave when he returns home? What does that reveal about their relationship?

What diction and imagery does Paz use when describing the wave on page 32? What does this reveal about how their relationship has changed?

What is the meaning of the image of ice at the end of the story? How do you interpret the narrator's decision to sell her, and the image of her being chopped into little pieces?

Vocabulary


Text-based

impenetrable

adj.

(p. 32)

impossible to understand

implacable

adj.

(p. 32)

 relentless, unstoppable

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Standards


  • L.9-10.5 — Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
  • RL.9-10.3 — Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
  • RL.9-10.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).

Supporting Standards

L.9-10.1
L.9-10.6
RL.9-10.1
RL.9-10.6
SL.9-10.1
SL.9-10.6
W.9-10.9.a
W.9-10.10

Next

Analyze Bender's structural choices in "The Rememberer" and how those contribute to the meaning of the text.

Lesson 9
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