1. Do Now Now: Grab your novels and Reading Response sheets.
15 minutes of silent reading.
Then: 10 minutes of vocabulary.com

2. “Dress of White Silk” by Richard Matheson
Why did we choose this text?
To analyze ambiguously written short stories
To explore the unreliable narrator

3. About the Author His Life American author & screenwriter
Background
American author & screenwriter
Genres: fantasy, horror, science fiction
Wide adaptation of his works
Richard Matheson
( )
His Life
Born on Feb. 20, 1926 in New Jersey to Norwegian immigrants parents
Raised in Brooklyn, New York
Served as an infantry soldier in WWII
Bachelor in journalism from the University of Missouri in 1949
Moved to California in 1951, married in 1952, had four children, three of whom were fiction and screenplay writers

4. About the Author His Works Background
A prolific writer: 28 novels, 19 short story collections, 19 movie scripts, and 33 TV screenplays
An extended writing career: first short story in 1951, and latest novel in 2011
Author of a list of New York Times Best Sellers
Screenplays and adaptations:
16 episodes for The Twilight Zone ( ; 1986)
An episode for Star Trek
Major film adaptations:
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1955)
The Last Man on Earth (1964)/The Omega Man (1971)/I am Legend (2007) {all adapted from I am Legend}
The Box (2009)
A Stir of Echoes (1999)
What Dreams May Come (1998)
His Works

5. Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America, 1973
Background
About the Author
Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America, 1973
World Fantasy Ward for Best Novel (Bid Time Return), 1976
World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement Award, 1984
World Fantasy Award for Best Collection (Richard Matheson: Collected Short Stories), 1990
Inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, 2010
His Influence

6. Ambiguous Writing – Infer Much???
In fiction, ambiguity refers to the way in which a writer intentionally presents aspects of a story as confusing or open to interpretation.
Writers often create ambiguity with words, phrases, or passages that have multiple meanings.

7. The Unreliable Narrator
First-person narrators are characters within the story telling the events of the plot from their perspective. Sometimes these characters deviate from the truth or have mental conditions that limit their abilities to tell the story accurately. We call these characters unreliable narrators.
An unreliable narrator is a character whose telling of the story is not completely truthful or credible due to problems with the character's mental state or maturity.
Some literary critics argue that there is no such thing as a reliable first-person narrator since every character is affected by his or her past experiences in the telling of a story, but most first-person narrators attempt to give the most accurate version of the events.

8. The Unreliable Narrator (continued)
An unreliable narrator, however, holds a distorted view of the events, which leads to an inaccurate telling of the story.
Some indicators that a narrator is unreliable include contradicting stories, incomplete explanations of events, illogical information, and even questions of the narrator's sanity.
This can give readers/viewers a chance to offer their own interpretations of the story.
As you read, notice how Matheson uses this technique to build your interest in the story.

9. Let’s Read!
“Dress of White Silk”

10. Let’s Discuss “Dress of White Silk”
What is going on in the story? What is the little girl? What is her mother? What happened to her friend?

11. Complete the comprehension checkpoints. On a sheet of paper:
Assignment
Complete the comprehension checkpoints.
On a sheet of paper:
Write a short literary analysis, NOT JUST A SUMMARY, about the unreliable narrator in today’s story. How does it make the story interesting? How does it make the story frustrating to read? Use quotes from the story to support your answer.
Also, discuss the ambiguity that Matheson uses in the story. What are your thoughts on all that he left out of the story for your own interpretation. Use quotes from the story to explain your answer.

12. Homework
Vocabulary.com

13. Launch