© Let’s Think in English

© Let’s Think in English

© Let’s Think in English

� Decide who was most to blame for the

woman’s death and write this first under My list

� Decide who was second most to blameDecide who was second most to blame

� And so on down to the one who was least to

blame (5th)

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� Now share your list with your group and see if

there are any differences.

� If there are, explain your reasons to each other If there are, explain your reasons to each other

� Agree on a group list and write it down

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� This story is a fable – a story to make us think

about how people behave.

� A difficulty with a fable is that it doesn’t say why � A difficulty with a fable is that it doesn’t say why

the people behaved as they did, their motive.

� What ‘good’ or acceptable reasons might there

be for the woman to take a lover?

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Can you think of a ‘good’ or acceptable reason

why

� the lover

� the boatman� the boatman

� the soldier

behaved as they did?

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We don’t usually read fables like this one.

We usually read longer stories – 5 pages, 10

pages, 100 pages, whole novels.pages, 100 pages, whole novels.

Why do people read fiction? Why do you read

stories? (It’s the most popular pastime.)

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� Suppose you had to rewrite The Bridge as an

is enjoyable story.

� What would you need to add to the story to � What would you need to add to the story to

make it enjoyable to read?

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� what the characters look like; how they dress;

how they behave

� description of where they live, of the bridge

� good descriptive language� good descriptive language

� dialogue

� suspense

� a good beginning and end

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� If you were going to rewrite the story for readers to

enjoy, would it matter if you thought the woman

behaved badly or she had a good reason? Why?

�

If you were going to rewrite the story for readers to � If you were going to rewrite the story for readers to

enjoy, would you write it in the 3rd person (“he

said”) or 1st person (“I said”)? If 1st person, which

character would you have tell the story? (Not the

woman because she is dead.)

© Let’s Think in English