The Father by Hugh Garner The Father Hugh

“The Father” by Hugh Garner The Father Hugh Garner's parents immigrated to Canada in 1919 and his father abandoned the family soon after. Garner spent his youth in the poorer neighbourhoods of downtown Toronto and entered the publishing world as a newspaper copyboy. Garner's poor, urban and Protestant background was a rare one for a Canadian writer and pervades his work. His focus is working-class Ontario and his preferred genre, the realistic novel. The legend of Garner grew out of a hard-living lifestyle that fed his writing. To the end he smoked and drank, and was outspoken, abrasive and always unfashionable. In 1963 Hugh Garner's Best Stories, a collection of his short stories won the Governor General's Award.

“The Father” by Hugh Garner Pre-reading • Read the author biography provided in your learning guide. • In your group, or through a discussion board in the virtual classroom, discuss the following questions from page 6 of your learning guide (5 marks): 1. What are the connotations of the word “father”? 2. What common expectations do children have of their own fathers? • Vocabulary: acquiesced, burlesque, curate, dais, investiture at Buckingham Palace, mollify, overly-loquacious, sanctity (See page 243 of Inside Stories I)

“The Father” by Hugh Garner Pre-reading antecedent action Literary Terms Good to Know: realism flashback • refers to any subject matter or techniques that create “true-to-life” impression on the reader. Writers of realism record life “as it is” and allow stories “to tell themselves”. Realism can also refer to stories which are about simple, everyday people. verisimilitude • a life-like quality possessed by a story as revealed through its plot, setting, conflict, and characterization. • significant action that has taken place before the story begins. • a plot device which shifts the story from the present to the past, usually done in order to illustrate an important point or to reveal a change in character. epiphany • a moment of significant realization which happens to the main character, usually at the end of a story. allusion • a direct or indirect reference to a familiar figure, place, or event from history, literature, mythology, or from the Bible. Most allusions expand on or develop a significant idea, impress, or mood.

“The Father” by Hugh Garner Pre-reading Literary Terms Good to Know: irony • A literary device which reveals concealed or contradictory meaning(s). Three common forms of irony are: 1. Verbal irony, which occurs when a contrast is evident between what a character says and what that character actually means. 2. Dramatic irony, which occurs when the author share with the reader information not known by a character. As a result, the reader becomes aware that a character’s actions may be inappropriate for the actual circumstances, that what is to come is the reverse of what a character expects, or that a character has unknowingly made a comment which anticipates the outcome. 3. Situational irony, (or irony of situation) which occurs when a set of circumstances turn out differently from what was expected or considered appropriate.

“The Father” by Hugh Garner During Reading • Annotate the text while you read (see cover of short story to read how to annotate a text). • Reread the text more deeply for understanding of theme. Reading for Meaning Annotating a Text To annotate a text is to make careful notes that can help trigger new ideas later. The process of annotating (or note-making) allows you to stretch your mind and write down, as you read and study, everything that occurs to you about a particular topic. CHECKLIST FOR EFFECTIVE ANNOTATING: There is no right or wrong way of annotating a text. Each reader has a different style. Here a few ways to annotate a text: Highlight or underline key words and sentences. Use different colours for different elements or different colours for different characters. Bracket important passages. Connect related ideas with lines. Outline the main ideas in the margins. Circle words to be defined. Write brief comments and questions in the margin. Place an asterisk beside something unusual, special, or important. Label important events in the plot at the top of the page or with a “post-it” note. From Reference Points

“The Father” by Hugh Garner After Reading • Answer questions 1 -6 on page 7 of the learning guide (20 marks). • When you have finished the questions bring your responses to your CA to orally deliver your answers. (additional 10 marks)

“The Father” by Hugh Garner Freytag’s Plot Diagram • In your small groups, draw and label a plot diagram on the chart paper provided. • Together, add all the elements of plot, based on the short story “The Father” by Hugh Garner.

“The Father” by Hugh Garner Paragraph Writing Remember, that the proper structure of a paragraph is as follows: • Topic Sentence • Supporting ideas AND details connected with appropriate transitions (body) • Concluding Sentence Unless you are asked to provide only one or two sentences or point form, your short answer responses should be expressed in the format of a proper paragraph.

“The Father” by Hugh Garner Paragraph Writing Please note: The proper paragraph structure has been used to demonstrate how you should model your written response paragraphs, using the SEE method. Topic Sentence Body Conclusion S – State your idea. E – Example – provide an example(s), detail(s), or quotation(s) to support your idea E – Give an explanation of your example and show it is linked to the idea.

“The Father” by Hugh Garner Theme These are the rules for stating theme: 1. Theme must be stated as a complete sentence with a subject and a verb. For example, do not say, “The theme of the story is loneliness. ” Ask yourself – What is the author saying about loneliness? “The theme of the story is that a time of loneliness in a person’s life may give him an opportunity to discover who he really is. ” 2. Theme must be stated as a generalization about life. Never use names of the characters from the story in your statement of theme, as this makes theme statement specific, not general. Use words such as “may, ” “most, ” “many, ” “often, ” “sometimes”, etc. Avoid using words such as “all, ” “every, ” “always, ” “never, ” etc. 3. Do not use clichés when you state theme. A cliché is a phrase that has been used too many times. Examples of clichés are “You can’t judge a book by its cover, ” “Love is blind, ” “Out of sight, out of mind, ” “You can lead a horse to water. . . ” • There may be many different ways to state theme of a story. • A statement of theme involves stating theme and then discussing it in a few sentences to a paragraph. • THEME PARAGRAPH - Sometimes you will be asked to show your understanding of theme by writing a theme statement paragraph.

“The Father” by Hugh Garner Analyzing Character • • Read number 7 on page 7 of your learning guide. Complete the character graphic organizer using the SEE method of analysis. Be sure to provide the page number for your supporting evidence. • Place any words, phrases or sentences taken directly from the text in quotation marks. Example: “quotation taken” • Add the page number the quote was taken from in brackets after the quotation. Example: (pg. 6)

“The Father” by Hugh Garner Character Graphic Organizer – Analyzing Character Using SEE

“The Father” by Hugh Garner Character Graphic Organizer – Analyzing Character Using SEE

“The Father” by Hugh Garner Theme Paragraph • See page 8 and 9 of your learning guide and complete theme paragraph assignment (15 marks) • Often, you can determine theme of the story by looking at the protagonist’s character arc from initial incident to climax and outcome. To determine theme of this short story, consider your answer to the following questions: - Generally speaking, who does the protagonist represent in the world? - What was the protagonist’s main conflict? - How was this conflict resolved? • By considering these answers, you can see how the author is suggesting certain ideas through the “journey” of the father, John Purcell.

“The Father” by Hugh Garner Theme Paragraph Write a theme paragraph using the following paragraph structure: Topic Sentence = Establish focus for discussion – use the sentence given if you wish. In the short story, “The Father”, by Hugh Garner, the father moves from selfish ignorance to a painful realization. First transition = Establish what kind of person, attitude the father is/has toward his family, his son, himself at the beginning of the short story and then provide evidence and explanation Initially, …. Second transition = Establish the father’s conflict, how he tries to “fix” things. Again, don’t forget to provide evidence and explanation. However, …. Third transition = Establish the outcome of this conflict; be precise about what happens and, more importantly, what the father’s epiphany is. Provide evidence and explanation. Consequently, …. Concluding Sentence = In this paragraph, end with your statement of theme. Through the father’s epiphany at the end of the story, Hugh Garner suggests that …. • See Appendix 2 of your learning guide for an example of a theme paragraph.