How an Author’s Style Impacts Meaning

1. How an Author’s Style Impacts Meaning CP English 10

2. Objective • Students will analyze the cumulative impact of an author’s stylistic choices on meaning. • For today’s objective, I will ___________.

3. Prior Knowledge • TPS: What do you think of when you think of “style”?

4. BIG QUESTION: What is style? Style refers to the particular way writers use languageto express their feelings and ideas. Style is created through: • Diction=WORD CHOICE • Imagery • Details • Language • Sentence Length and Structure T –WRITE-PS: What is style and how is style developed? Style is __________________. Style is developed through _______________.

5. Diction TPS: What is diction? What should we ask ourselves when we analyze the diction in a text? Diction is ____________. We should ask ___________ when analyzing diction in a text. • What does the author’s use of diction suggest about his or her attitude toward the subject, event, or character? • What are the connotations of a given word used in a particular context? • Slang • Colloquial • Jargon • Dialect • Denotation • Connotation

6. Diction She met him at a dance. Pretty too, and young. Said he worked in a restaurant, but she can’t remember which one. Geraldo. That’s all. Green pants and Saturday shirt. Geraldo. That’s what he told her.  And how was she to know she’d be the last one to see him alive. An accident, don’t you know. Hit and run. Marin, she goes to all those dances. Uptown. Logan. Embassy. Palmer. Aragon. Fontana. The manor. She likes to dance. She knows how to do cumbias and salsas and rancheras even. And he was just someone she danced with. Somebody she met that night. That’s right.  • “Geraldo No Last Name” • I will analyze the passage. You need to ANNOTATE as I explain. • Important Words I marked in my passage: • Pretty • Young • Dances • Cumbias • Salsas • Rancheras • Someone • Somebody • Night Question to Ask: Why is this diction important? This diction is important because it shows the types of dances that the characters were doing. It gives us a hint about perhaps their ethnicity as well as leaving suspense since Geraldo is described as “someone” and “somebody” which are general terms.

7. Check for Understanding • How did I analyze the text for diction? • You analyzed the text for diction by _________.

8. Imagery Think-Pair-Share: What do we look for when we look for imagery in a text? When we look for imagery in a text, we must look for _________________. • What figures of speech––metaphors, similes, analogies, personification––does the writer use? • What color, scents, sounds, tastes, or textures are present? Why are these elements important? • How does the imageryaffect the meaning of the text? What is the author trying to accomplish by using them?

9. Imagery She met him at a dance. Pretty too, and young. Said he worked in a restaurant, but she can’t remember which one. Geraldo. That’s all. Green pants and Saturday shirt. Geraldo. That’s what he told her.  And how was she to know she’d be the last one to see him alive. An accident, don’t you know. Hit and run. Marin, she goes to all those dances. Uptown. Logan. Embassy. Palmer. Aragon. Fontana. The manor. She likes to dance. She knows how to do cumbias and salsas and rancheras even. And he was just someone she danced with. Somebody she met that night. That’s right.  • “Geraldo No Last Name” • I will analyze the passage. You need to ANNOTATE as I explain. • Important Imagery I marked in my passage: • “Worked in a restaurant” • “Green pants and Saturday Shirt” • “Hit and run” • “Someone she danced with” Question to Ask: Why is this imagery important? This imagery is important because it establishes the image of Geraldo and Marin and the night that he was killed in a terrible accident.

10. Check for Understanding • How did I analyze the text for imagery? • You analyzed the text for imagery by _________.

11. Details • What important details are given to you in the text? • What information are you NOT given? Is this omitted information important?

12. “Geraldo No Last Name” • I will analyze the passage. You need to ANNOTATE as I explain. • Important Details I marked in my passage: • “She met him at a dance” • “Geraldo. That’s all.” • “…last one to see him alive” • “Marin, she goes to all those dances” • “She likes to dance” • “…just someone she danced with” • “Somebody she met that night” Details She met him at a dance. Pretty too, and young. Said he worked in a restaurant, but she can’t remember which one. Geraldo. That’s all. Green pants and Saturday shirt. Geraldo. That’s what he told her.  And how was she to know she’d be the last one to see him alive. An accident, don’t you know. Hit and run. Marin, she goes to all those dances. Uptown. Logan. Embassy. Palmer. Aragon. Fontana. The manor. She likes to dance. She knows how to do cumbias and salsas and rancheras even. And he was just someone she danced with. Somebody she met that night. That’s right.  Questions to Ask: Why are these details important? What details are we not told? These details are important because they show us that Marin likes to dance and meets many people when she dances. The details also show that Marin did not know Geraldo very well. In fact, we do not even know Geraldo’s last name, which makes him a mystery to the reader as well.

13. Check for Understanding • How did I analyze the text for details? • You analyzed the text for details by _________.

14. Language Think-Pair-Share: What do we look for when we look for language in a text? When we look for language in a text, we must look for _________________. • Rhetorical Question • food for thought; pose dilemma • Repetition • also called refrain; repeated word, sentence or phrase • Irony • Either verbal or situational – good for revealing attitude • Allusion • refers to something universally known

15. Language She met him at a dance. Pretty too, and young. Said he worked in a restaurant, but she can’t remember which one. Geraldo. That’s all. Green pants and Saturday shirt. Geraldo. That’s what he told her.  And how was she to know she’d be the last one to see him alive. An accident, don’t you know. Hit and run. Marin, she goes to all those dances. Uptown. Logan. Embassy. Palmer. Aragon. Fontana. The manor. She likes to dance. She knows how to do cumbias and salsas and rancheras even. And he was just someone she danced with. Somebody she met that night. That’s right.  • “Geraldo No Last Name” • I will analyze the passage. You need to ANNOTATE as I explain. • Important Language I marked in my passage: • Notice the repetition of dance/dances • Notice the simplicity of the language • Notice the contrast of the hit and run with the festivity of the dance. • Notice the specialized language of the types of dances Question to Ask: What is important about the language used? The language used is colloquial in style. It sounds like a conversation. There is a repetitive feel to the style of these two paragraphs.

16. Check for Understanding • How did I analyze the text for language? • You analyzed the text for language by _________.

17. Warm-Up Please answer in complete sentences • What is style? • How do we analyze style? • What do the letters of “DIDLS” stand for?

18. Syntax Think-Pair-Share: What do we look for when we look for syntax in a text? When we look for syntax in a text, we must look for _________________. Punctuation: • Declarative • Imperative • Interrogative • Exclamatory Structure: • Simple • Compound • Complex • Compound-Complex Sentence Length: • Fragments • Run-ons Devices: • Repetition • Parallelism

19. “Geraldo No Last Name” • I will analyze the passage. You need to ANNOTATE as I explain. • Important Syntax I marked in my passage: • Notice how many sentences start with the word “she” • Notice how many sentences are SHORT • Notice that his name is its own sentence Syntax She met him at a dance. Pretty too, and young. Said he worked in a restaurant, but she can’t remember which one. Geraldo. That’s all. Green pants and Saturday shirt. Geraldo. That’s what he told her.  And how was she to know she’d be the last one to see him alive. An accident, don’t you know. Hit and run. Marin, she goes to all those dances. Uptown. Logan. Embassy. Palmer. Aragon. Fontana. The manor. She likes to dance. She knows how to do cumbias and salsas and rancheras even. And he was just someone she danced with. Somebody she met that night. That’s right.  Question to Ask: What is important about the syntax? The syntax is important because we notice the focus on Marin with the repetition of “she”. The sentences are also short and fragmented, like a conversation. They are also rhythmic like the music Marin and Geraldo would have danced to.

20. Check for Understanding • How did I analyze the text for syntax? • You analyzed the text for syntax by _________.

21. Relevance- Why is it important to understand an author’s style? • It is important to understand an author’s style because • An author’s style helps to reveal meaning and tone in a text which can help you to determine theme. • Understanding style and seeing different styles of authors helps to develop your own writing style. • Do you have your own reason? TPS: Why is it relevant, or important, to learn about an author’s style? It is relevant, or important, to learn about an author’s style because_____________________.

22. Skill Development- Steps • Read the text • Break down the text using DIDLS • Analyzethe cumulative impact of an author’s stylistic choices on meaning.

23. Read the text • Break down the text using DIDLS Diction Imagery Details Language Syntax (Sentence Structure) • Analyze the cumulative impact of an author’s stylistic choices on meaning. In this passage, we can conclude that the style establishes the quick encounter of Marin and Geraldo. The simple sentences and fragmented sentences mirror the simple conversation that they had and leaves us wondering more about these characters. It is important to notice that the rhythm of the sentences also sounds much like music, which would have been all around Marin and Geraldo the night he was killed by a hit and run. I Do-Teacher Model She met him at a dance. Pretty too, and young. Said he worked in a restaurant, but she can’t remember which one. Geraldo. That’s all. Green pants and Saturday shirt. Geraldo. That’s what he told her.  And how was she to know she’d be the last one to see him alive. An accident, don’t you know. Hit and run. Marin, she goes to all those dances. Uptown. Logan. Embassy. Palmer. Aragon. Fontana. The manor. She likes to dance. She knows how to do cumbias and salsas and rancheras even. And he was just someone she danced with. Somebody she met that night. That’s right. 

24. Read the text • Break down the text using DIDLS Diction Imagery Details Language Syntax (Sentence Structure) • Analyze the cumulative impact of an author’s stylistic choices on meaning. From the stylistic choices by the author of this text, a reader can determine ___________ because _________________________________________________. We Do-Whole Class That’s the story. That’s what she said again and again. Once to the hospital people and twice to the police. No address. No name. Nothing in his pockets. Ain’t it a shame.  Only Marin can’t explain why it mattered, the hours and hours, for somebody she didn’t even know. The hospital emergency room. Nobody but an intern working all alone. And maybe if the surgeon would’ve come, maybe if he hadn’t lost so much blood, if the surgeon had only come, they would know who to notify and where. 

25. Read the text • Break down the text using DIDLS Diction Imagery Details Language Syntax (Sentence Structure) • Analyze the cumulative impact of an author’s stylistic choices on meaning. From the stylistic choices by the author of this text, we can determine ___________ because _________________________________________________. You Do- Partner Work But what difference does it make? He wasn’t anything to her. He wasn’t her boyfriend or anything like that. Just another brazer who didn’t speak English. Just another wetback. You know the kind. The ones who always look ashamed. And what was she doing out at 3:00 A.M. anyway? Marin who was sent home with her coat and some aspirin. How does she explain? She met him at a dance. Geraldo in his shiny shirt and green pants. Geraldo going to a dance. What does it matter? 

26. Read the text • Break down the text using DIDLS Diction Imagery Details Language Syntax (Sentence Structure) • Analyze the cumulative impact of an author’s stylistic choices on meaning. From the stylistic choices by the author of this text, a reader can determine ___________ because _________________________________________________. You Do- I Check They never saw the kitchenettes. They never knew about the two-room flats and sleeping rooms he rented, the weekly money orders sent home, the currency exchange. How could they? His name was Geraldo. And his home is in another country. The ones he left behind are far away, will wonder, shrug, remember. Geraldo—he went north . . . we never heard from him again. 

27. Compare and Contrast to Notice Shift in Style • Complete the compare/contrast for style in “Geraldo No Last Name” Answer these questions in the space provided on your handout How does the style differ from the first part of the story to the last two paragraphs? What does this reveal to us about meaning of the story?

28. Independent Practice • Read “The Bracelet” • Work through the steps to analyze the style of the short story. • Due at the end of class