Making the Ordinary Extraordinary: Magical Realism in Latin American Literature

Lesson 9
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ELA

Unit 4

10th Grade

Lesson 9 of 22

Objective


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

Readings and Materials


  • Short Story: “The Rememberer” by Aimee Bender 

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Target Task


Discussion & Writing Prompt

For what might Ben's dramatic reverse evolution be a metaphor? Provide specific evidence from the text to support your ideas and carefully explain your thinking.

Sample Response

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Key Thinking


Close Read Questions

How does this story exemplify the genre of magical realism? 

How does the narrative point of view impact the reader's understanding of events? How would this story be different if told from Ben's point of view instead of Annie's?

"The Rememberer" covers a long stretch of time. What techniques does Bender use to manipulate time in the story?

Homework


  • Book: St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell  pp. 225 – 235

While reading, answer the following questions.

  • How did the girls feel when they first arrived at St. Lucy's? How do you the nuns react to their behavior?

  • What happened to the boys in the pack? How do the girls feel?

  • Who are the girls' mothers and fathers? Why have they been ostracized by both humans and wolves?

  • Why were the children sent to St. Lucy's? What were they expected to learn there?

  • What do the nuns start to give the girls at the end of Stage 1? What is the significance of this moment?

  • How do the girls feel at the start of Stage 2? Why don't they leave?

  • Why does the pack begin to hate Jeannette? Why do they hate Mirabella more?

  • How does the narrator describe her place in the pack in Stage 2?

  • What happens between Mirabella and Claudette?

  • What is the significance of Claudette's reaction to MIrabella at the end of Stage 2?

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Standards


  • RL.9-10.5 — Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.
  • RL.9-10.6 — Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.

Supporting Standards

L.9-10.1
L.9-10.6
RL.9-10.1
RL.9-10.2
RL.9-10.3
SL.9-10.1
SL.9-10.6
W.9-10.9.a
W.9-10.10

Next

Analyze how diction and narrative point of view reveals the central conflict within the story.

Lesson 10
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