This assignment focuses on analyzing elements of scary stories, specifically suspense and theme, and reflecting on how these techniques can strengthen personal narratives. Students are instructed to highlight specific details that build suspicion or suspense while reading.
Students are reminded to log in to YouTube with their BSD username/password for the story readings. The assignment includes a deadline for all First Quarter homework to be emailed by 8:00 PM tonight, and instructions to upload narratives to Teams if not already done.
Question: PRE-READING/BACKGROUND QUESTION: why do you think people enjoy watching scary movies? Be specific. Do you like scary movies? Why or why not? Explain.
Answered By Alan:
Art Teacher Feedback: Alan, you've captured a key reason people are drawn to scary stories – the entertainment and suspense! That's a great start to thinking about what makes these narratives compelling. To deepen your response, consider adding a personal touch about whether you enjoy them and why.
Revision Suggestion: "People enjoy scary movies because they are entertaining and build suspense, and I personally enjoy them because they offer a thrilling escape."
Question: Theme Analysis: what is the theme of "The Landlady?" In other words, what is the message, moral, or lesson of this story? What is the author's advice about how we should think, act, or live? What is true for the story that also applies to life/human nature in general (your theme should be a complete sentence/idea).
Answered By Alan:
Art Teacher Feedback: Alan, your theme "Never trust strangers" is a very direct and important lesson from "The Landlady." You've clearly identified a core message. To make it even stronger, try to phrase it as a complete sentence that reflects a universal truth about human nature, as the prompt suggests.
Revision Suggestion: "The story teaches that appearances can be deceiving, and one should always be cautious of strangers, even those who seem kind."
Question: Which scary/spooky story was your favorite, and why? Be as specific and detailed as possible.
Answered By Alan:
Art Teacher Feedback: Alan, it's great that "The Landlady" (the first story) resonated with you as the scarier one! You've pointed out the "hotel thing" and the "spooky ending" as reasons. To make your answer more detailed, try to recall specific moments or descriptions from the story that made it spooky or scary for you.
Revision Suggestion: "The first story, 'The Landlady,' was my favorite because the seemingly kind landlady and the unsettling details about the other guests created a truly spooky atmosphere, especially the reveal at the end."
Question: What can you learn or "take away" from today's stories that will make your own narrative STRONGER(e.g. use of dialogue, sensory/figurative description, choice of perspective/point of view, etc.).Explain.
Answered By Alan:
Art Teacher Feedback: Alan, you've again highlighted the important life lesson about being aware of strangers, which is a strong takeaway from the stories. For this question, the prompt specifically asks about making your own narrative stronger using literary techniques. Think about how the authors used dialogue, descriptions, or point of view to convey that message or build suspense.
Revision Suggestion: "From these stories, I learned that using subtle sensory details and unsettling dialogue, like the landlady's strange comments, can effectively build suspense and make a narrative stronger."
The assignment includes two short stories for reading: "The Landlady" by Roald Dahl and "Click-Clack the Rattlebag" by Neil Gaiman. Students are instructed to highlight specific details that create suspicion or suspense while reading.
"The Landlady" by Roald Dahl (from video: The Landlady - Roald Dahl - Audiobook and images):
The story introduces Billy Weaver, a seventeen-year-old businessman traveling to Bath (📷 Image 3). He seeks lodgings and is drawn to a bed and breakfast by a sign, despite initially considering a pub (📷 Image 4). The landlady, described as about forty-five or fifty with a warm smile, opens the door immediately after he rings the bell, which makes him jump (📷 Image 5). She offers a very cheap rate and seems "terribly nice," like a school-friend's mother (📷 Image 6). Billy notices there are no other hats or coats in the hall, and the landlady mentions she is "choosy" about her guests, finding Billy "just exactly right" (📷 Image 6).
She leads him to his room, calling him "Mr. Perkins" before correcting to "Mr. Weaver" (📷 Image 6). She asks him to sign the guest-book downstairs (📷 Image 7). In the guest-book, Billy finds only two previous entries: Christopher Mulholland and Gregory W. Temple. He feels these names are familiar, possibly from newspapers (📷 Image 7, 8, 9). The landlady reveals that Mulholland's entry is over three years old and Temple's over two years old, yet she claims they are "still here" on the third floor (📷 Image 8, 9). Billy notices a peculiar smell emanating from her (📷 Image 9).
He also observes a seemingly alive parrot and a dachshund curled by the fire (📷 Image 4, 7). The landlady confesses she taxidermies her "little pets" when they pass away, revealing the parrot and dachshund are stuffed (📷 Image 10). She offers Billy tea, which tastes faintly of bitter almonds, an indication of cyanide (📷 Image 10, 11). The story concludes with the landlady stating that Billy is her only other guest besides Mulholland and Temple in the last two or three years (📷 Image 11).
"Click-Clack the Rattlebag" by Neil Gaiman (from video: Neil Gaiman, "Click Clack the Rattle Bag" | LIVE from the NYPL and images):
The story begins with a boy asking his sister's boyfriend to take him to bed and tell him a story because he's "a bit scared" in the big, dark house (📷 Image 13). The boy asks for a story about "Click-Clack the Rattlebag," a monster he describes as coming from the dark (📷 Image 14, 15). He explains that Click-Clacks take people who don't pay attention back to their "lair" (📷 Image 15). Unlike vampires, Click-Clacks "drink you" by biting you, turning your insides into a "wet, milk-shakey stuff," and then sucking it out through your eye sockets (📷 Image 15).
Afterward, they hang the victim's bones and skin on a hook, where they "rattle in the wind" (📷 Image 16). The boy describes Click-Clacks as looking "like what you aren’t expecting. What you aren’t paying attention to" (📷 Image 16). As they reach the attic room, the boyfriend hears a gentle rattling sound, "Click. Clack. Click. Clack," like dry bones in thin bags, and the boy pulls him forward into the dark (📷 Image 16).
Teacher Reference Answer: Main Idea 1: "The Landlady" uses a seemingly kind and gentle antagonist to lure a young, naive protagonist into a deadly trap, highlighting the danger of trusting appearances and ignoring subtle warning signs. The suspense builds through the landlady's odd behavior, the familiar names in the guestbook, and the reveal of her taxidermy hobby, culminating in the implication of Billy's impending fate. Main Idea 2: "Click-Clack the Rattlebag" builds suspense through a child's chilling description of a monster, creating a sense of dread and vulnerability in a dark, old house. The story effectively uses the unknown and the power of suggestion, culminating in the protagonist being led into the dark by the child, implying he is about to become a victim of the very monster he was told about.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wquGlL_R2RE
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imLja6Emezo
本次作业侧重于分析恐怖故事的元素，特别是悬念和主题，并反思这些技巧如何能增强个人叙事。学生在阅读时被要求突出那些营造怀疑或悬念的具体细节。
提醒学生使用其BSD用户名/密码登录YouTube观看故事朗读。本次作业包括第一季度所有家庭作业的截止日期，需在今晚8:00前通过电子邮件提交，并指示如果尚未完成，请将叙事作品上传到Teams。
问题：预读/背景问题：你认为人们为什么喜欢看恐怖电影？请具体说明。你喜欢恐怖电影吗？为什么喜欢或不喜欢？请解释。
Alan的回答：
语言艺术老师的反馈：Alan，你抓住了人们被恐怖故事吸引的一个关键原因——娱乐性和悬念！这是思考这些叙事为何引人入胜的一个很好的开端。为了深化你的回答，请考虑加入你个人是否喜欢它们以及为什么喜欢。
修改建议：“人们喜欢恐怖电影，因为它们很有趣并能制造悬念，我个人喜欢它们是因为它们提供了一种惊险的逃离。”
问题：主题分析：《房东太太》的主题是什么？换句话说，这个故事的寓意、道德或教训是什么？作者对我们应该如何思考、行动或生活有什么建议？故事中有什么道理也普遍适用于生活/人性（你的主题应该是一个完整的句子/想法）。
Alan的回答：
语言艺术老师的反馈：Alan，你的主题“永远不要相信陌生人”是《房东太太》中一个非常直接且重要的教训。你清楚地识别出了一个核心信息。为了使其更具说服力，请尝试将其表述为一个完整的句子，以反映人性的普遍真理，正如提示所建议的那样。
修改建议：“这个故事告诉我们，外表可能具有欺骗性，一个人应该时刻警惕陌生人，即使是那些看起来很友善的人。”
问题：哪一个恐怖/诡异故事是你的最爱，为什么？请尽可能具体和详细。
Alan的回答：
语言艺术老师的反馈：Alan，很高兴《房东太太》（第一个故事）让你觉得更吓人！你指出了“酒店的事情”和“诡异的结局”作为原因。为了让你的回答更详细，请尝试回忆故事中让你觉得诡异或吓人的具体时刻或描写。
修改建议：“第一个故事《房东太太》是我的最爱，因为看似友善的房东太太和关于其他房客的令人不安的细节营造了一种真正诡异的氛围，尤其是结局的揭示。”
问题：从今天的故事中，你能学到或“汲取”什么，从而使你自己的叙事更强大（例如，对话的使用、感官/比喻性描写、视角/观点选择等）。请解释。
Alan的回答：
语言艺术老师的反馈：Alan，你再次强调了警惕陌生人这一重要的人生教训，这是故事中一个深刻的启示。对于这个问题，提示明确要求你思考如何运用文学技巧来增强你自己的叙事。请思考作者是如何运用对话、描写或视角来传达信息或营造悬念的。
修改建议：“从这些故事中，我学到运用微妙的感官细节和令人不安的对话，比如房东太太奇怪的言论，可以有效地营造悬念，使叙事更强大。”
本次作业包含两篇短篇故事供阅读：《房东太太》（作者罗尔德·达尔）和《咔嗒咔嗒响的袋子》（作者尼尔·盖曼）。学生被要求在阅读时突出那些制造怀疑或悬念的具体细节。
罗尔德·达尔的《房东太太》（选自视频：The Landlady - Roald Dahl - Audiobook and images）：
故事介绍了比利·韦弗，一个十七岁的商人，前往巴斯（📷 图片 3）。他寻找住处，最初考虑一家酒吧，但被一个招牌吸引到了一家提供住宿和早餐的旅馆（📷 图片 4）。房东太太，被描述为大约四十五或五十岁，带着温暖的微笑，在他按门铃后立刻开门，这让他吓了一跳（📷 图片 5）。她提供了非常便宜的价格，并且看起来“非常友善”，就像一个同学的妈妈（📷 图片 6）。比利注意到大厅里没有其他帽子或外套，房东太太提到她对客人“很挑剔”，觉得比利“恰到好处”（📷 图片 6）。
她带他去房间，先称他为“珀金斯先生”，然后纠正为“韦弗先生”（📷 图片 6）。她让他下楼签署留言簿（📷 图片 7）。在留言簿中，比利只发现了两个之前的入住记录：克里斯托弗·马尔霍兰和格雷戈里·W·坦普尔。他觉得这些名字很熟悉，可能是在报纸上见过（📷 图片 7, 8, 9）。房东太太透露，马尔霍兰的记录已有三年多，坦普尔的也有两年多，但她声称他们“仍然在这里”，在三楼（📷 图片 8, 9）。比利注意到她身上散发着一种奇怪的气味（📷 图片 9）。
他还看到一只看似活着的鹦鹉和一只蜷缩在火炉旁的腊肠犬（📷 图片 4, 7）。房东太太承认，当她的“小宠物”去世后，她会把它们制成标本，揭示了鹦鹉和腊肠犬都是填充标本（📷 图片 10）。她给比利端来茶，茶中隐约有苦杏仁的味道，这表明含有氰化物（📷 图片 10, 11）。故事以房东太太声称比利是她过去两三年里除了马尔霍兰和坦普尔之外唯一的客人而告终（📷 图片 11）。
尼尔·盖曼的《咔嗒咔嗒响的袋子》（选自视频：Neil Gaiman, "Click Clack the Rattle Bag" | LIVE from the NYPL and images）：
故事开始，一个小男孩请求他姐姐的男朋友带他上床睡觉并给他讲故事，因为他在这个又大又黑的房子里“有点害怕”（📷 图片 13）。男孩要求讲一个关于“咔嗒咔嗒响的袋子”的故事，他描述这个怪物来自黑暗（📷 图片 14, 15）。他解释说，“咔嗒咔嗒响的袋子”会把那些不注意的人带回它们的“巢穴”（📷 图片 15）。与吸血鬼不同，“咔嗒咔嗒响的袋子”通过咬你来“喝掉你”，把你的内脏变成“湿漉漉的奶昔状物质”，然后通过你的眼窝吸出来（📷 图片 15）。
之后，它们会把受害者的骨头和皮肤挂在钩子上，在那里“随风咔嗒作响”（📷 图片 16）。男孩描述“咔嗒咔嗒响的袋子”看起来“就像你意想不到的东西。你没有注意到的东西”（📷 图片 16）。当他们到达阁楼房间时，男朋友听到一阵轻微的咔嗒声，“咔嗒。咔嗒。咔嗒。咔嗒”，就像薄袋子里的干骨头，男孩把他拉进了黑暗中（📷 图片 16）。
教师参考答案： 主要观点1：《房东太太》利用一个看似善良温和的反派角色，将一个年轻、天真的主人公诱入致命陷阱，突出了相信外表和忽视微妙警告信号的危险。悬念通过房东太太的古怪行为、留言簿中熟悉的名字以及她制作动物标本的爱好逐渐建立，最终暗示了比利即将到来的命运。 主要观点2：《咔嗒咔嗒响的袋子》通过孩子对怪物的令人毛骨悚然的描述来营造悬念，在一个黑暗、古老的房子里制造出一种恐惧和脆弱感。故事有效地利用了未知和暗示的力量，最终主人公被孩子带入黑暗，暗示他即将成为他被告知的那个怪物的受害者。
Source：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wquGlL_R2RE
Source：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imLja6Emezo