Reading The things They carried The skills we are going to work on while reading some of the stories in this collection are Making connections between two different texts (in our situation, they are texts by the same author, and they are intended to be read together – however, these skills can be used even when those things aren’t the case) Learning about a literary movement called Postmodernism, identifying Postmodern attributes in the text, and analyzing the literary effect of those Postmodern attributes Making an educated decision about which literary tools to apply to a new text. Throughout this year, I often told you what skills we would be using to make meaning from a text. Now, it is your turn to look at our reading and make a decision about what you need to analyze and how in order to make meaning of what we read.

Putting two texts together – Q we Ask UNRELATED TEXTS (Then compare/contrast the answers) What symbols appear in the text? dkdkd What is the style? dkdkdkdkdkdkdkdkd What motifs are used? dkdkdkdkdkdkdkd What do the thematic messages of each seem to be? If the texts are related, how might those be connected How are the characters developed? Are they static or dynamic? RELATED TEXTS How do the two texts use symbols? Are they the same symbols? What is similar and different about the style of each? How do the two texts use motifs? Are they the same motifs? How might the thematic statements be connected? Kdkdkdkdkdkdk dkdkdkdkdkdkdkdkdkdkdkdkdk Do the characters repeat? Are they the same characters? Are they characters who have the same kinds of conflicts or respond in similar ways?

Quick intro to postmodernism Modernism comes before Postmodernism. Modernism generally came from the emotional reaction people had to the carnage of WWI. They questioned the existence of god and the wisdom of humanity. They sought for answers. Postmodernism generally emerged after WWII and is still obvious in the texts written today. It sees “god” and “humanity” as mere ideas and questions everything, including the need to question. Textual attributes of Postmodernism include: Absurdity Intertextuality (one text linking to another as more than just an allusion) Metafiction (the self-awareness of a story as a story) Blending of fact and fiction Pastiche (exaggerated imitation) Fragmentation Non-linear narrative Contradictions / paradoxes Hyper-reality (mistaking media/language/images for reality)