Literature-in-English
General Overview of the Novel
Subject: Literature-in-English
Theme: Literature in English
Topic: General Overview of the Novel
Sub Topic: General Overview of the Novel
Date: dd/mm/yyyy
Class: S.S 2 & S.S 3
Average Age: 15/16 years and above
Duration: 35 Minutes
No of Learners: 40
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:
1. defined novel.
It is not easy to define the word "novel", However, for our purpose, one can say that the novel is a long story written in prose which creates an illusion of rcality by presenting imaginary characters in imaginary situalions.A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, normally written in prose form and published as a book.
2. List and explain Elements of Novel.
Elements of Novels are: Plot, Setting, Characters, Subject matter and Theme1. Plot:
Plot is what happens in a work of fiction, and the order that it happens in.
For a work of fiction to be worth reading, something has to happen by the end. You have to take the reader from Point A to point B. This journey might be:
The Plot is the skeleton or framework which give shape and proportion to the novel. Order of Events or happenings in the novel. Conflict is an important element of the plot. It may be caused by the physical environment like hostile nature, social environment like the conventions, customs or traditions that exist in a cultural community, other characters, or it may be a physical, emotional and mental handicap within the main character itself.
(i) A change in the character (for example, the character matures or overcomes a challenge).
(ii) A change in the situation (for example, zombies take over the town).
(iii) A change in the readers' understanding (for example, in the beginning, readers think the protagonist was falsely accused of murder, and at the end, readers understand that he is guilty).
(iv) Skeleton or framework which give shape and proportion to the novel.
(v) Order of Events or happenings in the novel.
(vi) Conflict is an important element of the plot. • It may be caused by the physical environment like hostile nature, social environment like the conventions, customs or traditions that exist in a cultural community, other characters, or it may be a physical, emotional and mental handicap within the main character itself.
The bones of one of these key plots can be found in all novels, and most of the best novels contain at least four.
1. Rags to riches – the Cinderella plot. For this plot reversed, see Disgrace.
2. Love – succeeding after being thwarted. See The Shipping News. Or, for an interesting inversion, Brick Lane.
3. Transformation – which may be literal, children growing into adults (Clear Light of Day) or psychological (Disgrace, Brick Lane).
4. Disaster – how does the protagonist cope under ever-increasing pressure? As in Yann Martel’s The Life of Pi (2001). This is a plot more commonly used in films than novels.
5. Good v. evil – for example True History of the Kelly Gang (with the twist that the outlaw Ned is good, and the police and society are evil).
6. The Outsider – someone strange comes to town. This is the central plot of much Science Fiction and many Westerns, but also literary fiction like The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-time, Property and Brick Lane.
7. Quest or mission – the protagonist has to find or accomplish something. See American Pastoral, The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-time.
Most good novels contain elements of most of these plots. Crossing from one plot to another creates suspense.
2. Setting:
Setting is where your novel takes place. Your setting might be a room, a forest, a battlefield, a spaceship' e.t.c
The setting covers the time, place, and the background. It involves not only geography but also the entire climates of beliefs, habits and values of a particular region and historical period. Sometimes, it emphasizes a certain locality like Chinatown in Sta. Cruz, Manila in Edgardo Reyes' "Sa Mga Kuko Ng Liwanag". It is essential that the setting be in keeping with the story that is told.
Setting can:
(i) Create atmosphere for your fiction, help your reader imagine the scenes.
(ii) Convey information about a character. For example, if your character's life is in chaos, you could express this by showing her in her messy home.
(iii) Provide plot opportunities. For example, if your setting is a Florida swamp, and you put a hungry alligator in your character's path, then something interesting is likely to happen.
Setting:- Covers the time, place, and the background. It involves not only geography but also the entire climates of beliefs, habits and values of a particular region and historical period. Sometimes, it emphasizes a certain locality like Chinatown in Sta. Cruz, Manila in Edgardo Reyes' "Sa Mga Kuko Ng Liwanag". It is essential that the setting be in keeping with the story that is told.
"Showing" instead of "telling" will help your reader imagine your setting.
Narrative voice (Point of view):
Narrative voice is the most important single choice. Finding the right voice makes the writing of the book possible; the narrative voice or voices tell the story, their vocabulary and style and tense determine the texture and mood of the novel.
Narrative point of view is the perspective from which you tell a work of fiction. From what angle do the readers see the action? Are they at the police station? Looking over the murderer's shoulder? Inside the murderer's brain?
Another way to think of point of view : If your novel were a movie, the point of view would be the location of the camera.
Your narrator is the voice that's telling the story.
(i) First person (‘I’): A first-person narrator tells the story using the words "I" and "me," as if he/she were actually there.
The first person voice is dramatic – indeed, it is a monologue. And the character of the narrator is revealed in the most direct way possible, by the language he uses.
(ii) Second person (‘you’): This is rarely chosen, and can feel rather contrived. But in the hands of some writers it is even more compelling than the first person, leading the reader to identify strongly with the protagonist. Second person is often used for short passages within a first or third person narrative, when a character is (schizophrenically) talking to herself as ‘you’.
(iii) Third person (‘he’ or ‘she’): A third-person narrator tells the story from the outside and doesn't use the word "I" and "me" to describe the story's events because he or she isn't a participant. Instead, this type of narrator describes the characters as "he/him" or "she/her," etc.
3. Characters:
It refers to the person in the story. Moving spirit of the novel. They do not only act but also manifest the moral, emotional and intellectual qualities endowed to them by the author.
The characters is the moving spirit of the novel. They do not only act but also manifest the moral, emotional and intellectual qualities endowed to them by the author.
Categories of Characters
1. Characters in terms of Morality:- These characters tells us the good guys from the bad guys.
2. Characters in terms of Personality:- These characters are more modern concepts
Kinds of Characters
(a) Main/major character.
(b) Minor/supporting character.
(c) Round character.
(d) Flat character.
4. Subject matter and theme:
The subject matter is the specific topic or content a work addresses, such as love, war, or friendship. In contrast, the theme is the underlying message or insight about life and human nature that the author communicates through the subject matter.
What is important to remember is that a good novel usually contains more than one theme.
3. Explain properties of the novel.
i) it is a narrative of considerable length, i.e. it is a long story: Most people who have tried to define the novel have insisted that it should be of considerable length. But it is difficul~to say cxaclly how long it sbuld be. There are long sliort storics which may bc morc or less the length of a short novel. This may lead to some confusion. As a general rule, one can say that a novel is much lon,rer than a folktale, a fable, or a short story -usually, anything about two hundered pages or more. E.M. Forster (1879-1970). in his short book Aspects of he Novel (1928) has suggested a minimum length of about 50,000 words. Anythlng shorter thui this would be called a novella, which is longer than a long short story. A novella thtlrs is somewhere between a short story and a novel in length.A novel contains a story, but all stories are not novels. The story is an important part of the novel but not its most distinguishing element. We find stories in other literary types also as in the short story, the epic, the ballad etc;. However, the short story and the novel are the two major forms of narrative in modem times. In addition to being shorter than the novel, the short story conccntrates on a single effect. The novel 'on the other hand' develops its characters and themes in a more comprehensive manner.
ii) it is in prose: The forefathers of the novel are the epic and the romance. A novel is a story in prose and so is easily distinguishable from its ancestor "the epic" which is in verse. Though some people have written novels in verse too, we can call them novels only by courtesy. "Romance" was a literary farm popular in medieval times. In it, the author narrates a long story of adventure. The novel differs from romance in being more realistic, i.e. close to reality. The characters of a novel seem to be people like us while the characters of a romance seem to be people of a different world altogether. It is interesting to note that in the French language, the novel is called "roman" which is derived from the word "romance". The word "novel" however, is derived from the Italian word "novella" which means a tale or a piece of news.
iii) it is in writtcn form and is usually printed in book form: A novel is usually in written form. As we shall see, the reasons for the emergence of the novel lay, among other things, in the growth of literacy, printing technology, book clubs, and circulating libraries. Some people argue that the future belongs to video magazines and compukr floppies. They may be right, but till now, and in the near future, novels have come and will come to us in me book form alone.
iv) it contains situations and actions that are fictitious, i.e.imaginary, but which seem to represcnt real life. It deals with imaginary characters that seem to be real: A novel deals with imaginary people and imaginary situations but in doing so it creates an illusion of reality. The creation of the "illusion of reality" implies that the reader tends to believe in the world of the novel as something real. This is more true of the classical novel, i.e. the pre-twentieth century novel, which aims to be realistic externally at the level of situations as well as internally at the level of the character's inner self. A novel may be written about real characters but web should always look at thcse characters as fictional characters who seem like real characters. That is why, though novels are usually described as works of fiction, all works of fic tion are not novels. The novel may often borrow its style and structure from non-fictional prose such as autobiographies, journalistic pieces, reportage, travelogues, essays, letters, memoirs, religious tracts, political manifestoes etc.
Many novels are printed in serial form in magazines and not as books. Others deal with real people and real events. Some novelists are consriantly and intentionally working against any creation of the illusion of reality. All this is true but then these are exceptions. A large number of novels are likely to conform to our definition. As our aim is to arrive at a working, and not a comprehensive, definition of the word "novel", we can safely say that a novel is a long story written in prose and printed as a book that creates an illusion of reality while dealing with imaginary characters and imaginary situations.
4. list TYPES OF THE NOVEL
Critics have tried to classify novels into various types. Enumerating all the types into which novels have been classified would make a long list, and perhaps not be of much use. Ftlrther, no rigid classification is possible as the same novel may belong to more than one type. However, typologies are convenient as they provide the reader with labels which help hiqher in knowing what to anticipate in a particular novel. Thus, some shape is given to the large variety of novels by providing some coherent methods of grouping and separating them. To give you some idea, novels have been classified on the basis of(i) the extra-disciplinary field they are close to such as sociological novels, psychological novels, political novels, historical novels, religious novels, science-fiction.
(ii) their subject matler such as utopian novels, crime novels, detective fiction, bildungsroman.
(iii) their literary style/suucture/tcchnique such as epistolary novels, realistic novels, naturalistic novels, s tream-of-consciousness novels.
(iv) the particular emotions that.they evoke such as romantic novels, sentimental novels, "escape" novels.
(v) the particular class inlerests that they evoke such as bourgeois novels, proletarian novels.
(vi) the geographical areas that they highlight such as the Westerns, local colour novels, novels of the soil.
(vii) the geographical areas from which the novelists hail such as Indo-Anglian novels, Commonwealth novels, African novels. E.t.c.
5. Explain how to begin a novel.
‘How do you begin to write a novel?’ There are two answers to this question, and the first is, ‘I don’t know’. I’ve written seven and I still don’t really know. Ask a number of novelists where their novels begin and you will get some of the following replies: they begin with an idea, a feeling, an image, a mood, a face, a place, a plot, a dream, an autobiographical experience, an item in the news, a story from history, family, friends, Shakespeare, the bible, myth or fairytale; or more probably, a mixture of several of these. What this adds up to is that anything can be the starting point for a novel.To begin to write a novel, ‘start writing words on a page’. I am always reassured by this. No matter how complex or ethereal the inspiration for a novel is, what it boils down to, is writing words on a page. Which pulls the whole thing back into the realm of the practical and possible.
What you begin by writing may not figure at all in the finished novel; and indeed, it is easier to begin writing if you have told yourself that what you’re writing is provisional and can easily be thrown away. But what you are doing is writing yourself into it, you are finding out what it is, you are edging your way into defining the book’s territory. And best of all, by writing something down, you are providing yourself with something concrete to work on, even if it is only to cross out.
The early stages of a novel are a period of exploration. Whatever the story, there will be lots of different possible ways of telling it. Sometimes, instinctively, one hits on the right way from the start; sometimes it takes a lot of playing around and trial and error to discover the right way. What follows in this chapter are a number of thoughts and suggestions for what to do in the early stages, to encourage wider exploration of the material, and to help with structuring it.
Given that, as a writer, you are choosing every twist and turn of the plot, every detail of characterisation, every sentence structure, every single word you write, it is important to make the best choices possible – and to be able to do this, it’s important to have some sense of the range of options open to you. The exercises are about playing with the way you write, and trying out different techniques.
Rationale:
‘How do you begin to write a novel?’ There are two answers to this question, and the first is, ‘I don’t know’. I’ve written seven and I still don’t really know. Ask a number of novelists where their novels begin and you will get some of the following replies: they begin with an idea, a feeling, an image, a mood, a face, a place, a plot, a dream, an autobiographical experience, an item in the news, a story from history, family, friends, Shakespeare, the bible, myth or fairytale; or more probably, a mixture of several of these. What this adds up to is that anything can be the starting point for a novel.Prerequisite/ Previous knowledge:
Storyings, songs, history etc.Learning Resources:
Flash cards, an audio video youtube examples, Available useful objects.Reference Materials:
1. Exam focus on Literature in English by J.O.J Nwachukwu et’al.2. Standard literature in English vol.4 by Tony Duru
3. Introduction to the Novel by Jane Rogers
4. Internet sources
Lesson Development:
STAGE |
TEACHER'S ACTIVITY |
LEARNER'S ACTIVITY |
LEARNING POINTS |
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| STEP 1: PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE full class session (3 mins) |
The teacher Introduces the lesson by asking questions based on previous knowledge. 1. List and explain the types of literary genres. 2. What is the differences between Style and Language? 3. Explain the following Characteristics of Prose: (a) Plot; (b) Character; (c) Style; (d) Setting; (e) Theme |
The students respond to the questions based on previous knowledge. 1. Types of literary genres are: (i) Poetry: Poetry is a major literary genre that can take many forms. Some common characteristics that poetry shares are that it is written in lines that have meter and rhythm. These lines are put together to form stanza in contrast to other writings that utilize sentences that are divided into paragraphs. Poetry often relies heavily on figurative language such as metaphors and similes in order to convey meanings and create images for the reader. (ii) Drama: This literary genre is often also referred to as a play and is performed in front of an audience. Dramas are written through dialogue and include stage directions for the actors to follow. (iii) Prose: Prose is a type of writing that is written through the use of sentences. These sentences are combined to form paragraphs. This type of writing is broad and includes both fiction and non-fiction. 2. Differences between Language and Style Language refers to the system of communication used by a particular community or country, including vocabulary, grammar, and syntax. Style refers to the distinctive way in which language is used, encompassing choices in vocabulary, sentence structure, tone, and rhetorical devices. 3. (a) Plot: Plot is the sequence of connected events that make up a narrative in a novel. Generally, a plot in friction builds up to a climax and ends in a resolution at the finish of the story. (b) Character: It is a person, animal, or object/thing presented as a person in a narrative. There are two required elements of a story; the first being characters, the second is the plot or events of the story. (c) Style: Style is the literary element that describes the ways that the author uses words, the author’s choice of words, sentence structure, figurative language and sentence arrangement and all work together to establish mood, images and meaning in the text. (d) Setting: Is the time and place (or when and where) of the story. It’s a literary element of literature used in novels, short stories, play, films etc. The setting of a story can change throughout the plot. (e) Theme: A literary theme is the main idea or underlying meaning a write explores in a novel, short story or other literary work. (The central message of a story.) |
Reversing previous lesson |
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| STEP 2: INTRODUCTION full class session (3 mins) Identification of prior ideas. |
The teacher review/introduce what they are going to study today, General Overview of Novel. What is a novel? Most of you, I am sure, can easily diflcrentiale between a novel and a pocm, or a novel and drama i.e. you can easily tell which literary works are novels and which are not. But if you are asked to define the word "novel", you may find it a difficult task. The reason can be that it is not easy to define literary terms. Definitions of literary tcrms often lack the accuracy that definitions of scienlific terms have. Not only you, but even experts find it hard to give a final definition of many litrary terms. They often enter into discussions and debates on the meaning of a particular literary term. In the case of the novel, theie is an additional problcm. The novel is a very open and flexible literary form. Over the last thee centuries, it has changed and developed a great deal. Some novelists, particularly in the last fifty years, have fully exploited this flexibiiity. They have changed the whole shape of the novel form. Knowing then that no definition of the word 'novel' will be broad enough to fit every type of novel, we shall attempt to formulate only a working definition of this word. Our definition will, try to accommodate all types of novels, but will bc primarily based on the masterpieces of great novelists like Fielding, Dickens, and Hardy, among others. |
The students listen attentively to the teacher. | Introducing the topic for discussion to arouse their interests and refresh their memories. |
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| STEP 3: DEVELOPMENT Group Work (2 mins) |
The teacher guides the learners to form four groups and asks them to choose their leaders and secretaries. | Learners choose their group leaders and secretaries. | Inculcating leadership skills, competitive spirit, cooperation, teamwork and a sense of responsibility among learners. |
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| STEP 4: EXPLORATION 3 mins Mode: Individual |
The teacher presents to the class the instructional resources and discuss the rise(origin) of novel and leads the students
to air their views on them. RISE OF THE NOVEL Thc novel is the creation of the West. Though some people tuy to locate its origins in ancient
Egypt or medieval Japan, the birth of the novel actually is a seventeenth century
phenomenon. The novel is a comparatively recent phenomienon as compared to poetry and
drama which have existed for almost as long as recorded human history. In England, the novel as a popular literary form was born in the eighteenth century. Many reasons have been
put forward for the growth of the novel in England during this period. Some of the major
reasons are: Earlier on, writers would get financial support from rich and influential people known as "patrons". With the growth of capitalism, this "patronage system" gradually declined and the writers had to depend on the sale of their books for survival. The improvenlents in printing technology led to a comparatively cheaper, mass production of books. Thesc books had a market because the population was increasing at a fast pace, and in the newlyemerging literate middie class, the novelists found a new target audience. These readers has spare lime at their disposal and avidly devoured the substantial volumes. The coming into existence of book clubs and circulating libraries also helped in the popularity of the new literary form. The eighteenth century had such prominent English novelists as Samuel Richardson, Henry Fielding, Laurence Steme, and Tobias Smollett. However, it was in the nineteenlh century hat the novel in its classical form reached its height in he works of Walter scott, Jane Austen, W.M. Thackeray, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy etc. Among the prominent twentieth century English novelists, we find the names of D.H. Lawrenp, Virginia Woolf, E.M. Forster, James Joyce. The novel form has also bcen used by American, Latin American, African, Indian and Commonwealth writers. They, too, have enriched it by exploring new themes and experimenting with new techniques. Some of these novels have been prescribed in your course and you will be studying them soon. Thereafter, Teacher asks probing questions that lead students to defined novel.The teacher makes contribution were necessory. |
The students defined novel. novel is a long story written in prose which creates an illusion of rcality by presenting imaginary characters in imaginary situalions. A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, normally written in prose form and published as a book. |
Definition of novel. |
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| STEP 5: DISCUSSION 5 mins. Mode: Group |
The teacher guides the learners to list the properties of a novel | The Students in their various groups list the properties of a novel. i) it is a narrative of considerable length, i.e. it is a long story. ii) it is in prose. iii) it is in writtcn form and is usually printed in book form. iv) it contains situations and actions that are fictitious, i.e.imaginary, but which seem to rcprescnt real life. It deals with imaginary cha-acters that seem to be real. |
The properties of a novel |
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| STEP 6: APPLICATION 4 mins Mode: Group |
The Teacher allows some contributions from students, stating types of novels. | The Students made contribution on types of novels novels have been classified on the basis of (i) the extra-disciplinary field they are close to such as sociological novels, psychological novels, political novels, historical novels, religious novels, science-fiction. (ii) their subject matler such as utopian novels, crime novels, detective fiction, bildungsroman. (iii) their literary style/suucture/tcchnique such as epistolary novels, realistic novels, naturalistic novels, s tream-of-consciousness novels. (iv) the particular emotions that.they evoke such as romantic novels, sentimental novels, "escape" novels. (v) the particular class inlerests that they evoke such as bourgeois novels, proletarian novels. (vi) the geographical areas that they highlight such as the Westerns, local colour novels, novels of the soil. (vii) the geographical areas from which the novelists hail such as Indo-Anglian novels, Commonwealth novels, African novels. E.t.c. |
Being able to explain the types of novels. |
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| The Teacher guides students to list elements of Novel and how to begin a novel. | The students list elements of Novel. 1. Plot 2. Setting 3. Characters 4. Subject matter and theme The students explain how to begin a Novel. Most novels begin with an idea, a feeling, an image, a mood, a face, a place, a plot, a dream, an autobiographical experience, an item in the news, a story from history, family, friends, Shakespeare, the bible, myth or fairytale; or more probably, a mixture of several of these. Hence, anything can be the starting point for a novel. To begin to write a novel, ‘start writing words on a page’. |
Being able to list the elements of novel and how to begin a novel | |
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| STEP 7: EVALUATION Mode: Entire Class 5 mins |
The teacher asks the students the following questions: 1. What does one mean by saying that the novel creates an "illusion of reality"? 2. Identify any five grounds on the basis of which novels have bcen classified. |
The students expected answers 1. It means that though the world of the novel is an imaginary one, a product of the novelist's mind, the reader tends to perceive it as a real world. 2. The novels have been classified on the basis of (i) the extra-disciplinary field they are close to; (ii) their subject matter; (iii) their literary style/structure/teclmique; (iv) the geographical areas that they highlight; and (v) the geographical areas from which thc novelists hail. |
Asking the learners questions to assess the achievement of the set objectives. |
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| ASSIGNMENT | The teacher gives learners take home. 1. Use the voice of a cynical and weary journalist to narrate the story of a joyful incident in your protagonist’s life, for example winning a prize. The journalist is a neighbour of your protagonist, but is not a close friend. 2 Analyse the structure of your three favourite novels. Consider use (or non-use) of parts, chapters, divisions. Write a brief summary of what happens in each chapter or section, note crises, time gaps, changes of voice, etc. Now do the same for your own novel-in-progress. Although this will throw up problems, it usually makes the writing seem more manageable, and there may be aspects of the structure of the novels you have analysed which you decide to borrow. Bear in mind that there are no rules about writing. You don’t have to begin at the beginning. If there is a difficult section, leave it till later. Very often, the way to tackle it will emerge mysteriously, from somewhere in the back of your mind, while you work on other things. And allow yourself to work on from bad writing to good, don’t waste days repeatedly crossing out that awful first sentence. |
The learners copy the assignment | Better understanding of the Poem. |
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| CONCLUSION 2 mins |
The teachers wrap up from the learners' contribution.How to read a novelAt Ihe simplest level, reading a novel means reading a story. But rcading a novcl scriously means more than just knowing its story. We must analyze, interpret, and cvaluatc the novel. To do that wc nced special tools, i.e., critical concepts.The earliest of thcsc concepts are those of plot, characier, style etc. given to us by Aristotle. Though Aristotle used these concepts to study tragic drama, students of the novel have found them useful too. Anothcr important critical concept, i.e., the "point of view", was introduced in the latc nincteenlh century. Reading a novel mcans participating in the experience that the novelist is attempting to prescnt. To get at that, w6 have to unravel the complex interaction bctween the various elements of the novel such as plot, character, point of view, style etc. It means discovering the central idca, i.c., lhc THEME of thc novel. We have to analyzc the linkages in the plot, study characters both as individual entitics and in their interaction with each other to arrive at what thc novelist is trying to say, that is, thc nlcaning of the novcl. Wc should know that what the novclist wants to say controls his/hcr sclcction, consciously or unconsciously, of the various elements of the novel. In addition to knowing what the novelist wants to say, we must also pay atteniion to how he says it, that is, to the formal devices of the novel. The means of presentation are as important as what is supposed to be presented. In some twenticlh ccntury novels, the means of presentation take precedence over what is meant to be said. The novelist sometimes wants to convey to the reader that the world that s/he is creating is an artificial world. In short, s/he wants to destroy any illusion of reality the novel may create. This puts extra pressure on the reader in that s/he want to know how and why the novelist is doing so. Reading a novel means participating in a valuable experience. The way that experience is communicated provides what is known as aesthetic delight to the reader. |
The students listen to the teacher and copy down notes. | Consolidating and harmonizing scientific concepts. |