Extended Metaphor with the Puritans & Shel Silverstein

This lesson occurs near the end of a collection of texts from the early Americans.  We have already looked at origin myths by Native American tribes, exploration documents from the early explorers, slave narratives, and early colonial accounts from John Smith and William Bradford.  Prior to this class period, students were to view a short film,  "Puritan Family in Early New England" (10:29), to learn more about the family structure and ordinary life of Puritan colonists.  Additionally, they were to create a Venn Diagram which compared and contrasted Puritan life with modern life.  We have already talked briefly about the Puritan values that became central to American culture, and I would like to frame conversation today about the video on our similarities rather than on our differences.  We will begin the hour by taking a short quiz to confirm that students have watched the required video, then segue into reviewing student-created Venn Diagrams.

In order to transition to the next part of the lesson, I will explain to students that we are going to continue looking at Puritan literature written in the "Plain Puritan Style."  I will show students "Huswifery" briefly on the projector to let students get a look at the challenge before them, then explain that part of the irony of this project will be that the "Plain Puritan Style" isn't always so plain to the modern eye!  I will also explain that this poem uses an extended metaphor to create a fabulous image for the reader and give deeper meaning.  In order to refresh students' memory of metaphor, I will ask them to remind me what a metaphor is, give me a few examples of metaphors, and predict what they believe an "extended metaphor" or "conceit" might be.  When students have guessed at the definition of an extended metaphor, we will work together to build an example.

In order to create an example that students relate with, I will choose a very familiar object to them and transform it into an extended metaphor with their help.  The progression of questions and student responses will go something like this:

• So what if I said "my life is a notebook"?  What would that say to you?  What does that mean?  (Usually students will sit dazed because it's a terrible metaphor that really says little.  I will capitalize on this by waiting for them to comment on the uncertainty of the metaphor.)
• It's really not a great metaphor.  So let's flesh it out and see if we can't do better with an extended metaphor to give it some actual meaning.  So if this notebook is my life, what would the pages be?  (Experiences, days, etc.)
• How about the spiral?  What's binding the "pages of your life" together?  (Family, friends, and culture will all be common answers.)
• And the pages that are written on?  What are those?  (Memories)
• And the blank ones?  (Your future)
• Okay, so that part was pretty obvious.  So let's try something tougher.  How about the blue lines on the pages?  (Students could guess a lot of things that are wonderful.  If they struggle with this, suggest that there are approximately 24 lines on wide ruled paper, which most students will put together as hours in a day.)
• And the red margin?  (Rules, guiding features, etc.)
• And how about the front and back covers?  What is unique about those that we could use to really add some amperage to this conceit?  (The front cover, which is unique and usually snazzy, could be birth or your unique life beginning.  The back cover, which is typically your standard brown, plain cardboard cover, could be your death.  This is a particularly nice aspect, because despite all the frills on and in notebooks, back covers are all the same, therefore, we're all on an even playing field in death.)
• And this could go on and on!  How crazy is this?!  Who knew we were all happy little notebooks?  How about the crumbly edges that exist when you rip a page out?  And what's a ripped-out page?  (Missing pages might be things we've forgotten--by choice or otherwise.  The crumbly edges are the leftover memories that can never quite be fully erased.)
• Want to get really crazy?  What if your notebook has multiple sections like a 5-subject notebook or a 3-subject notebook?  (It could be chapters in your life like childhood, young adult, adult, etc.)
• And what if they are the kind that have spots for you to tuck in extra pages?  What are those?  (Typically students will offer additions like spouses or children as possibilities.)  
• When I was a kid, I always got the cheap notebooks.  About 2 months in, the front cover was always peeling off, leaving the white, fuzzy internal part of the cover exposed.  I always decorated it with about a zillion colors.  What might that be?  (Recreating yourself)
• So as you can see, you can suddenly get very, very deep with metaphors when you extend them.  Our original "life is a notebook" was very weak, but this is getting pretty mind blowing.  Let's go one step further.  So up until now, we've just been looking at your notebook...your life...as an individual.  What does it say about your life if you write that your notebook is kept on a happy shelf with other well-used, well-loved notebooks?  It could be that you're happy and have found other diverse "notebooks" to spend your days with!  And if your notebook ends up forgotten about?  Chucked under the stairs to collect dust?  Bad sign.  Does extended metaphor make a little more sense now?  (Students will be humming with how much their lives are like notebooks, and that's exactly how you want them at this point!  Feel free to explore any other student suggestions and extensions of this metaphor.)

As a final element to this lesson, I will ask the students to define "allusion" as a literary element.  I will first point out that an "allusion" is different from "illusion" and "elude," since these are both extremely common answers that students tend to give.  Since we will have just completed an in-depth look at The Giving Tree, I will take this opportunity to showcase the powers of a well-placed allusion in text.  In this case, it will be a song entitled "The Giving Tree" by the Plain White T's.  Before we listen to the song, I will ensure that all students are aware of the power that allusions lend to text by using an example of inserting the words "I have a dream" into a speech.  I will ask students what this immediately calls to mind and explain that this connection is intended to strengthen the message by giving it additional context and background.  I will also point out that allusions don't always have to be understood in text to understand the text itself.  To demonstrate this, we will discuss how the film Shrek is entertaining to both children and adults because of allusions.  Though kids think the movie is funny for all kinds of physical humor or other features, older viewers can appreciate the film more deeply by understanding more of the allusions made in the film.  

After a clear understanding of allusion is demonstrated through class discussion, we will listen to "The Giving Tree" while viewing the lyrics.  While watching, students should be thinking about the following ideas, which we will discuss after the song:

• Summarize the plot and characters of the song.  Who is the narrator?  To whom is the narrator speaking?  What happens?
• How does the allusion to Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree strengthen this song's message?  (Students will likely say that they feel worse for the narrator because of their feelings for the tree.  If they are having issues understanding how this changed their understanding of the song, I will ask them if they typically would feel bad for a man who kept taking back his girlfriend after she repeatedly breaks his heart.  If the answer is no but they feel bad for this man, that's likely a leftover emotion about the tree.)
• How did this song's writer interpret the extended metaphor in Shel Silverstein's version of The Giving Tree?  (Students will choose the metaphor which relates a relationship where one party feels used.)
• Though we don't know exactly how this story ends for the couple, what can you infer about how they will end up based on his allusion to The Giving Tree?  (In the story, the boy and the tree end their days together.  This means that if we carry out the allusion, we can infer that the man and woman will also end their days together rather than continue in their different directions.