After reading "The Rug," click here to refresh your memory about the elements of fiction we've talked about so far this semester. In the comments section, post a short paragraph or so about how one of those elements (Beginning, Ending, Details, etc...) relates to "The Rug." If you have trouble posting, e-mail your paragraph to me and I'll post it. We'll talk about the story on Thursday.
On Wednesday morning, check the blog again for that day's writing assignment. I want everybody (even those who have conference drafts due) to complete the writing assignment and put it on my desk by the end of the period.
Also, 7th Grade Folk: be ready to start practicing on Thursday for your upcoming reading. Aim for 7-8 minutes of reading material.
Thanks.
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Beginnings:
ReplyDeleteThe beginning of this story follows our 'rules.' It gives an "image, action, and open-ended question." It also provides a stong statement: "Ushman Khan doesn't like tourisits." I personally was amused by this statement and the following image of tourists hiding from the rain. We get a good descrpition of Ushman, and a nice opnening to the story.
The beginning for me is strongly set up to give you good details about the character. He doesn't like tourists, and his wife is away and sends him rugs with little notes. It's a strong image for the character.
ReplyDeleteCharacters:
ReplyDeleteIn "The Rug", the characters have very specific traits. This is easy to pick up because the author is really "showing, not telling", therefore leaving a little wiggle room for the characters' behavior. By monitoring Ushman's decisions and actions, it is easier to see how he changes towards the end of the story. And that's one of the big ideas, isn't it?
Plot/Organization:
ReplyDeleteI like how the story ranges between the current story and the backstory. The current bits make you ponder the backstory and the backstory makes you ponder the current story. All of that combined encourages you to keep reading.
Details~
ReplyDeletethe details in the story give it this whole complex feeling in the whole story. It helps create great images and makes the story flow~
Beginning:
ReplyDeleteThe beginning starts off correctly, with the image/action/question rule. It starts off the way I would start a piece, with a blatant, often negative sentence to begin with, followed by somewhat irrelevant details. It keeps a lot of his problems a secret for a long time, so it seems harmless. That's a powerful technique (at least for me).
-Hannah
Ending-
ReplyDeleteThis story really does stop more than it ends. The ending is satisfying, but doesn't fully answer the reader's questions about what happened to the family. We get the impression that Ushman and Farak will not stay together and will have to move on will their lives without each other, but the author doesn't tell us everything about the ending of their relationship or the beginings of the two new ones between Farak and the Turk or the one between Ushman and Mrs, Roberts.
Details-
ReplyDeleteThe details in this story really add a lot to all the characters, especially in the first paragraph when we meet Ushman. In one little paragraph we get a really full scene, and also get to know Ushman pretty well, all thanks to the details.
Edit: I guess that was also about beginning. Oops.
ReplyDeleteDetails-
ReplyDeleteFor me the details in this story help create my own image of the characters. The way they react to certain things they way they act in general and what's really going on inside their heads. For example Mrs. Robinson the way she never has the same rug and how Ushman just likes to keep things the same.
Lauren says: I think that the plot of the story is good. It is well put together and gives insight on how the life of the main character was before the earth quake and after.
ReplyDeleteLita says: I think that the characters and setting are the two most important elements in this story. Ushman is a different person in Tehran than in New York. The different settings have different perspectives on women's roles in society, yet both women (Farak and Mrs. Roberts) both share the need to be loved.
ReplyDeleteThe Rug is a really cool story. I liked all of the details that gave me insights to the characters. There are three different plots: Ushman and Farak, Ushman and Mrs. Roberts, and Ushman and the rug. Ushman is plays a different role in each plot, but over all, his character is the same in each plot, and changes in a similar way in each sub story.
ReplyDelete