Even+more+revised+rationale

The Gothic genre is one of the most forgotten ones in high school English classrooms. The idea of “gothic” has also been misrepresented in modern times. When someone hears the word “gothic,” more often than not they would picture a pale, Satanic, dark make-up covered hermit that would sooner set you on fire than give you a smile. With this unit, I intend to reverse the distorted image that this particular term has come to have. Students will be introduced to this mysterious and rich genre starting with its origins in the 18th century, its cultural significance, and the influence that the authors studied in this unit have had on modern entertainment. This genre provides an engaging opportunity to look towards the darker side of literary elements (tone, mood, irony, etc.) and literary devices (symbolism, foreshadowing, personification, etc.

The “big question” for this unit is : “How is human nature affected by exterior influences?” In this unit-long discussion, students will investigate what aspects of the surrounding environment (including the physical setting, social conventions, “friends” and “enemies”, etc.) can have an effect on a person. This goes along with the Gothic theme since it is characteristic of this genre for characters to be severely affected by elements outside of their own persona. The main unit goals are: In order to get the most out of Gothic literature, we have to look beyond physical terror to the secrets and feelings of characters in the text. Anyone can discuss plot. It would be more beneficial to pull out why Gothic characters are particularly maniacal or psychologically unstable and examine how authors create a more mysterious experience for the reader. In our discussion about human nature, we will address how the above-mentioned elements of society, secrets, sanity, reputation, and environment all affect people.
 * 1) Analyze human nature and its relationship to: society, secrets, sanity, reputation, and the environment.
 * 2) Explain vital characteristics of Gothic Literature and identify them within the unit texts.
 * 3) Identify moments in their own lives (and in the texts) as examples of a person’s reputation or personality being altered by exterior influences.
 * 4) Distinguish between character sanity/insanity and narrator reliability/unreliability and use textual evidence to support claims.

An opportune time to study Gothic literature is at the start of autumn when a chilly wind kicks up and night falls earlier since atmosphere is crucial in the Gothic genre. In the first lesson of this unit, students will step into the gothic atmosphere by reading and listening to the poem “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe . This poem is an appropriate starting point because it includes almost every element of Gothic literature that we will discuss throughout the unit. The bulk of the unit will be spent discussing the novella //The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. //  Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 16px;">. The benefit to using this text is that we can look at how Dr. Jekyll’s environment affects him (as well as how different elements of the story affect other characters). The last day will allow students to present their projects.

<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Throughout the unit, students will be expected to keep their own <span style="color: #c0504d; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 16px;">response journal <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 16px;">in which they record personal reflections of the reading and discussion material. Each day of the lesson has a specific journal prompt and student responses are used to fuel discussions. Students will be expected to respond to every prompt and the journals will be checked for honest completion by the teacher at the end of the unit. The physical structure of these journals is simple: each student will have a composition notebook in which to write in and prompt responses are to be dated and labeled. <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Students will be assessed overall with <span style="color: #c0504d; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 16px;">informed creative writing <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 16px;">. Students will create a news story about one of the crimes (or events) committed in one of the texts studied throughout this unit—for example they might write a newspaper article about a dead body in the street of //Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde//. The news story must include background information, a detailed account of the crime, speculations made by the news writer, and the society’s reaction to the crime. They will also be expected to use Gothic literary elements to make the story eye-catching to an audience (and to show what they’ve learned!). Students may choose to write a one page newspaper article or write dialogue for a live coverage presentation. This final assessment incorporates valuable skills in the use of media to communicate.

<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Students will be engaged in this unit because many characteristics of the Gothic genre mirror the characteristics of adolescence. Gothic literature is about human nature and the characters of these texts are affected by their surroundings. Adolescence is also a time for solidifying personas and deciding what to be influenced by and what to stand up against. These texts also sympathize with the outcast and carry themes of loneliness, confusion, and uncertainty—all things that teenage students often feel as they move closer to adulthood. Commentary on human nature is rampant in Gothic literature in addition to fear and terror. <span style="color: #c0504d; font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Students might find these texts disturbing but they will certainly find them interesting and worthwhile because of their intensity.