Revising Structure

Remember: you will need to talk about how the structure of the text (the building blocks of how it is put together) affects the reader.
For example: Bad weather might create an ominous atmosphere; it may told in a non-linear order to withhold information and keep the reader guessing; it may open with a setting to build a clear image for the reader to know where the action will take place; it may be told in a first person narrative so we get to see the events through the narrator's eyes which may make it more exciting/ terrifying/ melancholy (etc).

To approach this question, think of the famous Bowie song: Let's SCANCE!

SETTING –

How do we know where and when the book is set?

Where does the scene open?

Where does it move to?

How does all this help to tell the story?

 

CHARACTER –

Do we know who the protagonist is? How?

Are they there immediately or later?

How might this affect what we think of these characters?

 

ATMOSPHERE –

What is the tone of the scene?

What is it meant to make the reader think or feel?

Does the atmosphere change during the passage? Why? How?

 

NARRATOR –

1^st 2^nd or 3^rd person?

What is the effect of the choice of narrator?

Who are we encouraged to feel empathy or sympathy for? Why?

 

CHRONOLOGY –

 How does it begin?

What happens by the end?

 Is it linear or non-linear?

What is the effect of releasing the information in this order?

What happens at the end?

Is it cyclical? (Does the narrative go back to the beginning again?)

 

EVENTS –

What happens during the first few lines?

What happens by the end?

How do the events engage the reader?

Are the events plausible? (believable) Can we relate to them ourselves?