Paying Attention to How Cultures Are Portrayed in Stories Fantasy Paying Attention to How Cultures Are Portrayed in Stories

Noticing differences in characters Some books depict dragons as wise and caring Other books show them as fierce an scary. WHY??

Noticing differences in characters Some books depict dragons as wise and caring Other books show them as fierce an scary. WHY?? Because cultures look at things differently

Teaching Point Today I want to teach you that expert fantasy readers not only pay close attention to the cultures the stories they are reading come from, but they also pay attention to how other cultures are portrayed. They also take note of how similar characters, settings, even plotlines vary across fantasy stories from different cultures. By paying attention to those things, readers can learn more about their own and other cultures.

All literature teaches us All literature teaches us about the culture the text is coming from. But in fantasy stories everything or anything can be made up including ways people dress, the words they use, the foods they eat, the homes they live in, and even the way they act, this can give us a unique look into the culture being presented.

What do we know about this book

Clive Barker was born in England and lived there for almost 40 years before writing this book.

Clive Barker was born in England and lived there for almost 40 years before writing this book. So we know he is English just like C.S. Lewis. So I know something about England from doing research about Lewis. What else can I think about that I noticed or learned….

Clive Barker was born in England and lived there for almost 40 years before writing this book. So we know he is English just like C.S. Lewis. So I know something about England from doing research about Lewis. What else can I think about that I noticed or learned…. Holidays are part of the English culture as well as our culture, and they are holidays that WE know. Halloween and Christmas, so it must be a Western culture .

SO what does this mean Maybe Clive is trying to show that holidays are important to Western culture. Important enough to lure children?? Maybe he is saying the regular old days should be valued more?

NOW YOU TRY Grab your latest book and try your hand at thinking about culture in your book. You may want to start with your author’s background. Consider family relationships, character actions, food, even objects and how they are treated. See if any of these things give you some insight to your culture or theirs.

WOW What you are trying is something college students do for their thesis papers. This is some fantastic work.

Remember to use text features Make sure you are using maps if they are included and use them by scrutinizing them to see what landforms, important buildings, roads, bridges or landmarks the author has given. OR

Make your own chart of relationships