UNIT OVERVIEW
This module focuses on the novel as a literary form and explores the unifying theme of loneliness and isolation in the modern novel Circe by Madeline Miller. Students will apply knowledge of literary elements explored in the short story unit to a new literary form: the novel. Student activities highlight setting and characterization, with particular attention paid to the question of how and why characters in Circe experience some form of loneliness and isolation. Students will also present to their class a surface reading summary of an assigned chapter and lead a deep reading discussion with their classmates.
This module focuses on the novel as a literary form and explores the unifying theme of loneliness and isolation in the modern novel Circe by Madeline Miller. Students will apply knowledge of literary elements explored in the short story unit to a new literary form: the novel. Student activities highlight setting and characterization, with particular attention paid to the question of how and why characters in Circe experience some form of loneliness and isolation. Students will also present to their class a surface reading summary of an assigned chapter and lead a deep reading discussion with their classmates.
ABOUT THE NOVEL
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child -- not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power -- the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves. Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus. But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man's world. |
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Learn about the history of the novel as a literary form.
- Recognize the importance of historical context to the appreciation of setting and character.
- Identify major and minor characters.
- Analyze and explain characterization techniques for major and minor characters.
- Explain that novels may have more than one plot and explain the use of multiple plots.
- Recognize the importance of point of view in a novel and why it wouldn't be the same story told from someone else's point of view.
FOCUS STANDARDS
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LITERARY TEXTS
EXTENDED READING
ONLINE SOURCES
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TERMINOLOGY
Antagonist
Characterization Characters: major and minor Conflict |
Feminism
Motif Novel Plot (i.e., exposition, rising action, crisis/climax, falling action, resolution) |
Point of view
Protagonist Setting Theme |
IMAGE GALLERY: Circe in Art Through the Ages
VIDEO GALLERY.
Circe Full Audiobook
Narrated by Perdita Weeks (10h 39m) The Myth of the Minotaur
TED Ed Video by Iseult Gillespie (4m 46s) |
The Myth of Prometheus
TED Ed Video by Iseult Gillespie (4m 46s) Jason and the Argonauts: The Quest for the Golden Fleece
TED Ed Video by Iseult Gillespie (5m 15s) |