Comments are due January 01, 2022 00:00
Unit 5: Confronting the Darkness
How do we confront the darkness within us?
Do all humans have a dark side that we must work against in order to be “good”? What can we learn from exploring this other part of us? What happens when we allow this darker nature to drive us? We also have a natural desire to seek out and explore the mysterious and sometimes it is even enjoyable to scare ourselves, but when does it go too far? Why do you think people enjoy being frightened?
Over the course of this unit, we will explore both real and literary perspectives about the darker side of human nature, mystery, and fear. We will track the development of this theme, as well as the figurative language that enhances it, in poetry, short stories, nonfiction articles, film, and a culminating creative project.
Questions to get you thinking:
What is EVIL?
What is the appeal of fear and horror?
Do we all have a dark side?
What are the elements of an effective horror story?
Targeted skills:
Understand theme and analyze an author’s purpose
Identify mood and tone and how they are established in a story
Recognize figurative language in poems, short stories, and essays
Analyze multimedia representations of similar topics
List of possible texts:
Nonfiction:
Short Stories:
“Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” by Nathaniel Hawthorne (CommonLit)
“Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne or “Young Goodman Brown”(CommonLit)
“Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allen Poe (CommonLit)
“Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allen Poe (CommonLit)
Illustrations Inspired by Poe
“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner or A Rose for Emily (Commonlit)
“A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O'Connor or A Good Man is Hard to Find (CommonLit)
Art:
The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters by Francisco Goya (1799)
Self Portrait and Death Playing a Fiddle by Arnold Böcklin (1872)
Poetry:
“The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe (CommonLit)
"We Grow Accustomed to the Dark" by Emily Dickinson (CommonLit)
Film
The Man with the Black Suit
Nightmares & Dreamscapes: You Know They Got a Hell of a Band
Summative Rubric:
Rubric for creative adaptations:
Rubric for inspiration piece analysis & artist statement:
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