In the on-ground class, we ask students to come to the second class prepared to discuss the Anthony Griffith "Moth" performance. Feel free to discuss this performance on the class Slack channel and/or in the first Zoom office hours (once we get that set up!), but in order to practice analyzing story structure, please be sure to post your own thoughts and reasoning (and citations, if appropriate) when responding to this Discussion Board.
Once you have created a posting, you will be able to see what everyone else has said so far. You are encouraged (but not required) to respond to other people's posts with questions and comments.
After the deadline for this Discussion Board, I will publicly respond to everyone's initial thoughts (and will privately grade your efforts, primarily focusing on how well you express your original ideas). I strongly encourage you to read the comments on each others' postings, as this will help you to prepare to write next week's short essay.
At a minimum, please respond to the four questions below as one very short and informal essay. You don't need to worry about writing a strong opening or conclusion like in a full essay, but you do need to answer the questions in a way that makes logical sense without the reader seeing the original question list!
What is the antagonist/challenge that the protagonist faces?
Where does the "act 1" exposition end and the action begin?
How does the narrator help you to visualize the action they are experiencing?
What do you feel the narrator did well as a storyteller? What could the narrator have done better? (If you feel there were weak points in the story, identify them and explain what you think could have been done better and why you think it would have improved the story. If you found no weak points, explain what about the story and narrator most affected you and grabbed your attention.)
If you wish, you may write more about your reactions to the Anthony Griffith story, but bear in mind that we're looking for quality of response, not quantity. In other words, please don't write more just to fill the page, but please do feel free to write more if you would like to engage your classmates and me in further discussion about this story.
As you work, please be sure to refer to the first three resources in the Overview module for this course. These resources offer important guidance on what to do and what not to do when writing for this class!
The Moth is a NYC-based non-profit group. It is a world-wide phenomenon that has been providing a venue for storytellers for over 20 years. Moth stories can be found on their website, on YouTube, or can be downloaded as podcasts, although they are best experienced live. A Moth event usually includes several storytellers, each telling a story ranging from 5 to 15 minutes in length, usually connected by a specific idea or theme. Moth storytellers range widely in age. They come from all countries and walks of life.
All Moth stories are based on personal experiences, told from the narrator’s point of view. Despite their sometimes controversial topics, these are traditional stories, with their roots in the style of the very earliest storytellers: shamans, hunters and tribal leaders. As such, they provide us with an open window into humans as storytelling creatures and make it easy to see story architecture.
Complete all of your Reading and Viewing assignments for this week. You may want to refer to them in the Week 1 Discussion, and you'll definitely want to refer to them in your Week 2 Discussion.
Watch this Moth story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdBJ1X33rXM (Anthony Griffith) and post your initial thoughts on the questions in Week 1: "Moth" Discussion - Anthony Griffith Please post your thoughts as an informal essay, not as a bulleted list! Cite any sources that you use to inform your opinions. This discussion will be graded primarily on how well you express your thoughts, not on whether you are "right" or "wrong". In fact, it is primarily a practice for the real essay that you'll write about a different Moth story next week!
Only 1 student can sign up for each story. Choices will be honored by order of signup. This is the Moth story that you will analyze in a short essay during Week 2 of the class.