Language in Use 61-62
This unit is concerned with the way in which fiction can convey kinds of information
which the writer intends his reader to accept as he would accept a factual account
of the same matter. The aim of the unit is to explore the limitations which
such a purpose imposes on the writer of fiction and selects for this the story
with a moral. It would be equally possible to apply the unit to the SM4 of historical
fiction.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] The aim of this session is to let the class discover for themselves that fiction may be used quite deliberately to put over a moral argument. Divide the class into two halves, one to write a short story and the other to write a short story with a moral, suitable for inclusion in their favourite magazine. Possible subjects include the dangers of smoking or drugtaking; sex; some aspect of road safety; precautions to be taken when swimming or letting off fireworks; relations with one's parents, or an adult authority.
[2] In this session, the class compare the two kinds of story. This is best done by circulating the stories and asking the class to discuss the work in pairs, each pair having a story of both kinds. In the class discussion which should follow, the focus should be upon the way in which the need to point a moral determines such things as plot, action, characterisation and dialogue.
[3] For this session, the class need to have read collectively a number
of short stories or novels which were written to put over a particular point
of view. Ask the class to select from what they have read passages which seem
to them to show the operation of tile same principles as were discussed in [2]
and consider how far the novelist's freedom to write is limited by his purpose
in writing. A particular genre which may be considered in this unit is
the career novel, as published by (e.g.) Bodley Head and Batsford.
Novels and stories which may be used as examples include:
James Baldwin - The Fire Next Time
Truman Capote - In Cold Blood
Len Deighton - Bomber
Graham Greene - The Power and the Glory
Arthur Koestler - Darkness at Noon
D. H. Lawrence - Odour of Chrysanthemums
Norman Mailer - Miami and the Siege of Chicago
A. Malraux - Days of Hope
George Orwell - 1984
Alan Paton - Cry the Beloved Country
Clancy Sigal - Weekend in Dinlock
John Steinbeck - Grapes of Wrath
Raymond Williams - Border Country