Overview

This text allows further practice with the strategies established earlier in the module. Students have opportunities to think about point of view, look for literary cues and tropes for unreliablity in a more complex literary text, distinguish between author and character, and continue to practice constructing thematic statements and constructing litarary arguments.

Guiding Questions

• To what extent is this character reliable? How do you know?
• What might be the character’s worldview?
• Why might the author present an unreliable character? How might this connect to theme?
• If the narrator is reliable, what does this say about human nature? If the narrator isn’t reliable, what does this say about human nature?
• How does this story add to our understanding of the world?

Texts/Materials

• “Victor”
• Video performance of Victor

Activities

1. Introduce Victor. Before beginning, ask students to jot down one strategy they use for making sense of what they read—what kinds of notes do they take? Students first read story to themselves, annotating for understanding of literal events, writing down questions. Then they can work with a partner to agree on two-sentence summary.

2. Return to story for second read—this time, play : a performed monologue version of this story. After listening, students should discuss and write answers to the following questions in small groups:

• What is this character’s experience of the world?  Why might this character have this view of the world?
• Why might the author have created this character? What does he do for us?
• If narrator is reliable, what might that suggest about human nature? If narrator isn’t reliable, what might that suggest about human nature?
• How does this story add to our understanding of the world?

When they are finished discussing, they can share their ideas with the class. 

Assessment

The following are means of assessing students during activities so instruction can be adjusted and differentiated according to students’ needs.

• Discussion
• Student written responses to guiding questions