Curriculum / ELA / 10th Grade / Unit 3: Feminism and Self-Respect in Sula / Lesson 3
ELA
Unit 3
10th Grade
Lesson 3 of 21
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Analyze the techniques Susan Minot uses to characterize the narrator.
Short Story: ““Lust” from Lust and Other Stories” by Susan Minot
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Tasks that represents the peak thinking of the lesson - mastery will indicate whether or not objective was achieved
How does Minot use literary choices such as structure, diction, and figurative language to develop the narrator’s character?
An example response to the Target Task at the level of detail expected of the students.
Key thinking students do about today's reading.
What examples of structure, diction, and figurative language does Minot use to reveal the narrator’s character?
What is the narrator’s state of mind? How do we know?
What do you notice about her vignettes in the beginning? What is her tone in these? What is missing from these vignettes? What is odd about them?
The narrator does not have a name. Why is this significant?
What are the expectations for men? What are the expectations for women? To what extent does she live up to these expectations? How does her ability to live up to these expectations impact our understanding of the narrator’s character?
Closing here—how has the POV shifted? What does this reveal about the narrator at this point?
What is the significance of the title “Lust”? (Why is this short story titled “Lust” as opposed to “Love?”) How does the title impact our understanding of the narrator?
Suggestions for teachers to help them teach this lesson
"Lust" chronicles the experiences of an unnamed narrator/girl who explores her sexuality. While it is easy for students to easily categorize the narrator as someone without self-respect, ignoring Didion's definition and the narrator's use of figures of speech to reveal the complexity of her inner feelings, this is not a complex analysis and understanding of the narrator. Despite her sexual encounters, the narrator is unhappy with herself and feels empty.
This lesson and text provide students with an opportunity to evaluate a character against Joan Didion’s definition of self respect, which students unpacked during the first two lessons of the unit.
Please skip this text/lesson if it does not align with your school culture and regional politics. If this text does align with your school culture and regional politics, we suggest:
Reading and/or task to be completed at home in preparation for the next lesson.
Read and annotate “Introduction” and “Our Bodies, Ourselves: Reproductive Rights” from Feminism Is for Everybody by bell hooks
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LO 2.3A — Assert a precise central claim that establishes the relationship between a work's features and overall meaning.
LO 2.3B — Organize ideas and evidence to effectively develop and support a thesis.
LO 2.3C — Select and incorporate relevant and compelling evidence to support a thesis.
LO 2.3D — Use an appropriate style and carefully selected language to strengthen an analysis.
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).
Standards that are practiced daily but are not priority standards of the unit
LO 5.1A — Extend the conversation around an idea, topic, or text by formulating questions and recognizing the claims and perspectives of others.
LO 5.1B — Cite relevant evidence and evaluate the evidence presented by others.
RI.9-10.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
SL.9-10.1 — Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9—10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
W.9-10.2 — Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
Lesson 2
Lesson 4
Introduction
Analyze how word choice and structure impact meaning in the opening sentence of “On Self-Respect.”
LO 1.3B RL.9-10.3 RL.9-10.4
Close Reading
Characterize Didion’s view of self-respect and analyze how Didion conveys this view.
LO 1.2A RI.9-10.3 RI.9-10.5
LO 2.3A LO 2.3B LO 2.3C LO 2.3D RL.9-10.3 RL.9-10.4
Socratic Seminar
Interpret and evaluate “Lust” through a feminist critical lens using bell hooks’s Feminism Is for Everybody.
LO 5.1A LO 5.1B SL.9-10.1
Analyze the techniques that Zora Neale Hurston uses to characterize Janie.
LO 1.3B RL.9-10.3
Analyze the techniques that Gloria Naylor uses to characterize Mattie Michael.
Explain Deborah Tannen’s line of reasoning in “There Is No Unmarked Woman” by identifying relevant claims and clearly explaining connections among them.
LO 1.3A LO 2.3A LO 2.3C W.9-10.2
Formulate and share unique arguments about self-respect and feminism across texts.
Support arguments with strong and thorough textual evidence in a Summative Socratic Seminar.
LO 5.1A LO 5.1B SL.9-10.1 SL.9-10.2
Analyze how the author establishes setting, conflict, and characterization in the beginning of Sula.
Writing
Analyze the techniques Morrison uses to reveal Helene’s character.
Examine Morrison’s description of Sula and Nel’s upbringings and explain the impact it has on their friendship
LO 1.3B RI.9-10.3
Analyze how Morrison portrays Eva, Plum, and Hannah and their complex relationships as mother and children.
Analyze how Morrison portrays Sula and Nel and their complex relationship as friends.
Analyze the changes in Nel and Sula’s friendship. Examine the significance of Jude’s infidelity and Sula’s betrayal.
Assessment: Free Response
Analyze how the relationship between the deficiencies of a male character and the strengths of a female character in Sula illuminates the central ideas in the text.
LO 1.3A LO 1.3B LO 2.3A LO 2.3B LO 2.3C LO 2.3D RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.3 W.9-10.2
Analyze how Denise Levertov uses structure and other poetic techniques to highlight her perspective on marriage.
LO 1.3A LO 1.3B RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.4
Synthesize ideas about marriage, sex, and love across Sula and “About Marriage.”
LO 1.4B RL.9-10.2
Analyze how Morrison portrays the complex relationship between Ajax and Sula.
LO 1.2B LO 1.4B RI.9-10.3
Analyze the paradox of Sula’s evil and the impact it has on the residents of the Bottom.
Examine the ironic nature of Sula’s death and analyze the significance her death had on the community of the Bottom.
LO 1.2B LO 1.4B RL.9-10.3
Assessment: Socratic Seminar
Formulate and share unique arguments about Sula.
Support arguments with strong and thorough textual evidence in a summative Socratic Seminar.
LO 5.1A LO 5.1B RL.9-10.3 SL.9-10.1 SL.9-10.2
Assessment: Performance Task
Complete the performance task to show mastery of unit content and standards.
L.9-10.5 LO 1.4B LO 1.4B LO 2.1A LO 2.1B LO 2.4B LO 2.4C LO 3.2B LO 3.3C RI.9-10.2 RI.9-10.3 RL.9-10.2 W.9-10.3 W.9-10.4 W.9-10.5
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