A long time ago, I saw something on Pinterest titled “Beyond PIE: Teaching Author’s Purpose.” It made me laugh because, as much as I love PIE, it gives student (and teachers) the impression that the author’s purpose always fits into one of three neat categories: persuade, inform, entertain.
Of course a nonfiction book can be entertaining, and a novel can do much to persuade, so PIE only takes us so far. It can also obscure what I want to talk about today: author’s craft.
When discussing author’s craft, we’re asking students to see beyond the page and infer the author’s motive, or purpose. What is the author trying to say? To what use is she putting this particular literary device? How come she didn’t do it differently?
If you’re doing a novel study over The Girl Who Drank the Moon, the italicized sections of the book provide a great opportunity to talk about the purpose behind the author’s craft. The italicized sections are short chapters that appear throughout the book. They’re written in second person–an adult is telling you (the child) about the witch. The stories are exaggerated and somewhat contradictory, but they give us an idea of how stories of the witch in the Protectorate have spun out of control:
“But the stories were wrong–and what truth they had was twisted and bent.”
The Girl Who Drank the Moon, Kelly Barnhill
When discussing the italicized section with students, here are some things to bear in mind:
- The italicized sections include both truths and untruths about the witch. This shows the confusion the Protectorate is struggling with.
- These sections are representative of tales told to children throughout the Protectorate. The child is revealed to be several people in the story, both the madwoman and Ethyne.
- The stories found in these sections relate to themes of sorrow and fear. The stories contribute to people’s sorrow and fear.
- These sections contribute to a sense of mystery, they keep us wondering who the witch is.
Some discussion questions to get your students thinking about these sections:
- What is unique about these sections? Why did the author italicize them? What do you expect when you come to an italicized chapter?
- What point of view are these sections written in? Who is the “you”? How do you know? Who is the speaker?
- Do these sections help us better understand the witch, or the people of the Protectorate? Why do you say so?
- Who do you think the speaker is? Who do you think the child is?
- How do the stories in the italicized sections match up with the rest of the story? How well does the speaker really know the witch?
- Why did the author include these sections? How would the book be different without them?
I’m curious–how did your students do with these sections of the book? Did they get them? Did they have much to say about them? I’d love to hear in the comments!
This is a series for teachers who are reading The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill with their students. You’ll read about focusing your novel study around major literary devices found in the book. If you’re looking for activities to go with the book, you can preview my novel study here.
