Pick one of the 5 stories from the listed categories, and write a short analysis of the story, based on the process explained in MacKay’s analysis of The Pied Piper, pp. 81-85.
- Morality Plays and Fables- Effects of good and evil.
- Fairy Tales- Expand imaginations.
- Nature and Anthropomorphic stories- Awareness of the world around them, and
using animals as talking characters, creating empathy to animals.
- History- Appreciation of times before the present.
- Adventure- Appreciation of valor, self-sacrifice and heroic deeds, plus excitement!
Treat the story as if it were a play for example;
Setting- Where is the story set? A definite location, city, forest, castle. Does it change locations during the course of the story? Are we inside or outside?
When does the story take place: a definite time period? Middle Ages, Renaissance, Victorian England? Or is it more vague “Once upon a time…” (Pay attention to the details of the story, even though it may not be clearly stated, there might be clues, a king, a castle, no electricity, a type of forest or jungle. Maybe even do a little research on the story, like Cinderella is a French folktale, Jungle Book is in the jungles of Colonial India.) See if you can pick out some clues to the when of the story.
Who are your characters? The people or anthropomorphic animal characters who speak, or that the story is about, is it a narrator telling the story? There will be the main characters and the minor characters, for our purposes, you only need to name the main characters, and then add ‘Townsfolk” “other animals’ etc. As you identify the characters, give descriptions, gender, if applicable, general age range, ( for example if some of the characters are children with obvious parents, make sure they are identified as children of…don’t necessarily need ages, just children.) Also, add any identifying characteristics; the old Witch; mean and vengeful. The young girl, innocent and kind. If these traits are not clear, just list the characters.
What is the story? Outline the basic plot, beginning, middle, end. Is there a lesson to be learned, or simply a telling of a tale? See if you can identify the climax of the story, where the conflict is resolved, and all is well.