Essay 1 Superhero narrative

What is a literacy narrative Here is what Ch. 10 opens with: “Narratives are stories, and we read and tell them for many different purposes. Parents read their children bedtime stories as an evening ritual. Preachers base their Sunday sermons on Bible stories to teach lessons about moral behavior. Grandparents tell how things used to be (sometimes the same stories year after year). Schoolchildren tell teachers that their dog ate their homework. College applicants write about significant moments in their lives. Writing students are often called upon to compose literacy narratives to explore their experiences with reading and writing.”

We’re Going to go a different way In the past I have gone with a traditional literacy narrative. Instead, we are going to adapt this for different purposes: To tell our story as a superhero.

Superhero identity One of the best ways to imagine a superhero identity is to think of what it might be like to have superpowers but not be able to tell anyone about it. It is a SECRET Identity as well. In American comic books, a character typically has dual identities, with one identity being the superhero persona and the other being the secret identity. The Secret Identity is typically the superhero’s civilian persona (this can also be reversed) when they are not assuming the superhero persona. The secret identity is secret, because superheroes must keep this identity hidden from their enemies and general public to protect themselves from legal ramifications, pressure, or public scrutiny, and to protect their friends and loved ones from harm secondary to their actions as superheroes.

Narrative What does it mean when I say the word NARRATIVE? Narrative is… “a spoken or written account of connected events; a story” So a narrative is a story. So to tell or write a narrative is to tell a story.

Pulling them together So, if we put our two words, SUPERHERO and NARRATIVE back together we end up with: “A story about someone’s experiences living the life as a superhero” So, a SUPERHERO NARRATIVE is a personal account, by you, of an experience in your life balancing (imagining) what life would be like trying to be a superhero while also still a regular young adult.

Key Features The key features for us are: A well-told story Vivid details Some indication of the narrative’s significance

A Well-told story The book points out that part of a well-told story is the need to “set up some sort of situation that needs to be resolved. That need for resolution [is what] makes readers what to keep reading” (42). You want to hook us to have us read on to find out what happens. Want to have a beginning, middle, and ending.

Blog Post examples 1st Post – This should be an introduction to your story 2nd – 6th Posts – Tell us a story about your life, routine, juggling. This is the middle of your story. 7th Post – Conclusion of your narrative. Of course, the length of time you cover can be long or short over these 7 posts.

Vivid details Vivid details are another crucial element, because they help bring the story to life for the audience. You want to help provide us with the feeling that we are there, with you, in the story. Aim to create “mental sensations of the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and texture of the world in which your story takes place” (42).

An indication of the narrative’s significance Tell us the significance of the event to you and its impact on you. What is the point of knowing about this. You could make a point of using this entire writing experience as a metaphor for how, as a young adult, you have a rather busy life and its complicated, it might as well be that it is because you are a superhero, its that complicated.

Getting started On p. 43 of the book (and there is a section like this for each chapter) begins the book’s “Guide to Writing Literacy Narratives” and this begins with “Choosing a Topic” Of course, we are going to modify this a bit.

Choosing a topic When picking a topic, a good place to start is picking a good idea that is “focused on a single event that took place during a relatively brief period of time” (43). You’ll want to look at your own life and then try to imagine if you had to balance your current life with what it might like to be a superhero as well.

Topic ideas Here are some examples to help you start the process: How you got your powers? Interactions with a TEAM of Superheroes or a Mentor A particular adventure of yours. A difficult villain you overcame

An example I want to show you the opening of a graphic novel by Alison Bechdel. This is not only the opening of the graphic novel, which is itself a memoir/autobiography of Alison’s life growing up and coming to terms with her own childhood and relationship with her father, but it is also a fantastic depiction of a story where you are set up to want to read on by what is called a “hook.”