Tall Tales - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Tall Tales

Mark TwainSlide2

Do Now

Chapter 16-19 vocabulary crosswordSlide3

Figurative Language

Writers use figurative language such as imagery, similes, and

metaphors to

help the reader visualize and experience events and emotions in a

story.

Imagery—a

word or phrase that refers to sensory experience (sight,

sound, smell

, touch, or taste)—helps create a physical experience for the reader

and adds

immediacy to literary

language.

Some

figurative language asks us to stretch our imaginations,

finding the

likeness in seemingly unrelated things.

Simile

is a comparison of

two things

that initially seem quite different but are shown to have

significant resemblance

.

Similes

employ connective words, usually “like,” “as,” “than

,” or

a verb such as “resembles.”

A

metaphor is a statement that one thing

is something

else that, in a literal sense, it is not. By asserting that a thing

is something

else, a metaphor creates a close association that underscores

an important

similarity between these two

things. Slide4

Tall Tales

In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the stylistic power of a tall tale serves to extend and deepen the story, characters, and themes.

The most frequent stylistic effect is hyperbole—exaggeration, usually for comic purposes and often enhanced by biblical or Shakespearean echoes.

With hyperbole, Twain makes a point by overstating it.

This reflects the influence of the frontier tradition of the tall

tale

.Slide5

Group activity

How many tall tales can you find in chapters 1-19? List them.

Create a presentation that answers the following questions. Use specific examples from the text.

Which ones are the best and why?

Do these tales serve as metaphors?

Do they provide us with additional insight into Tom’s world?

What does it take for Tom to weave a successful tale?Slide6

Lesson 2

Tall Tales ContinuedSlide7

Do Now

On one level, this is just another silly Simpsons joke--the hobo doesn't know that Tom and Huck were the product of an author. On quite another level, though, it reveals how deeply Tom, Huck, and Mark Twain have become engrained in the American cultural consciousness, as icons of American literary history. The hobo can't distinguish Twain's stories from some incredibly famous tall tales, and by inclusion in the "Tall Tales" episode of the Simpsons, neither can the writers. Tom and Huck have become American icons in the same vein as Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed..

Quickwrite

: Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?Slide8

How can the scene when the boys visit their own funerals be a tall tale?

There was a rustle in the gallery, which nobody noticed; a moment later the church door creaked; the minister raised his streaming eyes above his handkerchief, and stood transfixed! First one and then another pair of eyes followed the minister's, and then almost with one impulse the congregation rose and stared while the three dead boys came marching up the aisle, Tom in the lead, Joe next, and Huck, a ruin of drooping rags, sneaking sheepishly in the rear! They had been hid in the unused gallery listening to their own funeral sermon!Slide9

Why can the whitewashing story be considered a tall tale?Slide10

Why can the episode between Becky and Tom

be considered a tall tale?

Slide11
Slide12

How can the rafting scene be a tall tale?Slide13

Do Now: Tall Tale Knowledge

#1   Who ruled over Camelot?

King Arthur

Merlin

Lancelot

None of the above

#2   Who is the giant lumberjack with a large blue ox?

Paul Bunyan

Pecos Bill

John Henry

Davy Crockett

#3   Who could ride a cyclone like a bronco?

Paul Bunyan

Pecos Bill

John Henry

Davy Crockett

#4   Who is known as "King of the Wild Frontier"?

Paul Bunyan

Pecos Bill

John Henry

Davy Crockett

#5   John Henry was a steel driver for the railroad who challenged and beat a steam hammer in a contest to prove he was just as good.

True

False

#6   According to legend, this pioneer introduced apples to the country as he traveled by foot spreading seeds as he went.

Paul Bunyan

Pecos Bill

Johnny Appleseed

Davy Crockett

#

7   Who had an affair with King Arthur's wife Guinevere?

Galahad

Merlin

Lancelot

Gawain

Kay

#8   This man stole from the rich to give to the poor.

Galahad

Robin Hood

Sir John

Lancelot

#9   In the poem of the same name, what epic hero kills Grendel?

Beowulf

Heorot

Hrunting

Thor

Freyr

#10   This European legend split an apple that rested on the top of his son's head.

Robin Hood

Beowulf

William Tell

Hans Christian AndersenSlide14

What did you find common to the stories in

Tom Sawyer

?Slide15

Characteristics of a Tall Tale

A

tall tale involves exaggeration, often used for humorous purposes. Mark Twain used exaggeration effectively in many of his stories--"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," "The Invalid's Story," and "Punch Bros. Punch," for example.

Other

writers who effectively use exaggeration, albeit not in a tall tale necessarily, include Charles Dickens (think Uriah

Heep

or Francis

Micawber

), and Garrison Keillor (Gary Keillor being a fabulous tale that comes to mind).

First

Person Narration:

Tall

tales are normally written in first person, that is the narrator is an active participant in the tale. This lends the tale more "authenticity."

Some

tall tales involve legendary figures.

Paul

Bunyan is the most famous American character.

Some

legendary figures are real people.

There

are more tall tales involving American baseball player Babe Ruth than could fill a book.Slide16

Group Activity

You will read two tall tales

Summarize each

Compare and contrast each tale with a tale in

Tom SawyerSlide17

Write a Tall Tale

Write a tall tale on Storybird.com.

Choose an incident.

List facts about the incident.

Exaggerate the facts.

For

example, you could write about last Friday's football game that your school won 21-10. I meant the football game we won 213-6 (Star running back

Timmy Tidewater

felt sorry for the other team and scored a touchdown for them in the 4th quarter.). Todd

Wallenbacjerstynomerslimkadin

passed for 8,000 yards, saved orphans from a burning building at halftime, and sold popcorn between the third and fourth quarters.

Make sure it's written in the first personSlide18

Storybird.com

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