REVISED+Gothic+Unit+Plan+Rationale

"And now was I indeed wretched beyond the wretchedness of mere Humanity." –Edgar Allen Poe

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.)

To go along with this Gothic overarching concept, the “big questions” for my unit are: “How powerful are human emotions and secrets? ”, “What effects can they have on individuals and society?" and "Where is the line between sanity and insanity?" 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.

 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 discussing Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death.” The second lesson will be spent learning key terms and characteristics of Gothic literature. The three following lessons will then move onto the poem “The Raven” and the short story “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allen Poe. The objectives for the Poe lessons are to ensure the students can identify gothic elements and judge character motivation and emotion. William Faulkner will take up the next lesson as we study his short story “A Rose for Emily” for. The final two instructional lessons of the unit will be spent discussing the novella //The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.// Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. The objectives for the Faulkner and Stevenson lessons are to study how secrets can affect society and to continue the discussion of extreme human emotion and sanity versus insanity. The last day will allow students to present their group projects<range type="comment" id="921034">.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Throughout the unit, students will be expected to keep their own <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">response journal in which they record personal reflections of the reading and discussion material. Their responses should include their initial reactions to the text as well as brief explanations of character emotions, sanity/insanity and secrets throughout the text<range type="comment" id="424198">. Students will take the last five minutes of every lesson to write in their journals and they will be checked every day by the teacher. Students will be assessed through <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"><range type="comment" id="290568">one short essay of three to four pages for which they choose one text to look at more closely. Essay topics will be limited to sanity versus insanity, extreme human emotion, and the impact of secrets on a society. The students will <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"><range type="comment" id="622809">turn this essay into a five minute presentation to be given to the class. This will help students to see what they may have missed when reading and to enrich our class discussions. The final assessment is a project done in pairs. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Pairs of 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 the dead body found in “A Rose for Emily.” The new 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 some type of literary device to make the story eye-catching to an audience. Students may choose to write a one page newspaper article, conduct a live coverage event in class, pre-record a television newscast, or another approved student idea. This final assessment pulls together all big questions and incorporates valuable skills in the use of media to communicate<range type="comment" id="42551">.

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Students will be engaged in this unit because many characteristics of the Gothic genre mirror the characteristics of adolescence. Most importantly, Gothic literature is about human emotion and the characters of these texts go to emotional extremes. 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<range type="comment" id="20777">. These human emotions are rampant in Gothic literature in addition to fear or terror. Students might find these texts disturbing but they will certainly find them interesting and worthwhile because of their intensity<range type="comment" id="758603">.