Hello, everyone.

It's lovely to see you here today.

My name's Dr.

Clayton.

I'm going to guide you through your learning journey today.

Today's lesson is called, "Emulating Atwood's use of an untrustworthy character in 'Alias Grace.

'" Now, "Alias Grace" is one of my favourite books, so I'm really looking forward to talking it through with you today.

So if you're ready, grab your pen, laptop, whatever you need for this lesson, and let's get started.

So by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to emulate Atwood's use of dehumanisation, disconcerting labels, and conflicting emotions to craft your own untrustworthy character voice.

So we have five words today we're gonna be using as our keywords.

They'll be identified in bold throughout the learning material.

And I'll try to use them myself so you can see them being used in context.

So our first keyword is alias, which means a false name used to conceal one's identity, an assumed name.

Now the title of the novel is "Alias Grace." Just from the title we have an idea that perhaps the narrator isn't going to be somebody we can fully trust.

So our second keyword is untrustworthy and that means not able to be relied on to be honest or truthful.

We're going to be thinking about how Atwood crafts the narrator in such a way that makes us, the reader, think that she's untrustworthy.

So our third key word is dehumanise, and that means to remove from a person the special human qualities of independent thought and feelings for other people.

We're going to be thinking about how being dehumanised can play into these ideas of being thought of as unreliable and untrustworthy.

Our fourth keyword is disconcerting and that means to make someone feel uncertain or uncomfortable or worried.

We're going to be thinking about how an untrustworthy narrator makes us, the reader, feel uncertain or uncomfortable.

Finally, our fifth keyword is conflicting, which means being in conflict or disagreement, not compatible.

We're going to be thinking about how a character having conflicting thoughts can create the impression of them as untrustworthy.

So, I'll just give you a moment to write down those keywords and the definitions.

So pause the video, write them down now.

Fantastic.

Let's get started with the lesson.

So we have three learning cycles on our lesson today.

For our first learning cycle, we're going to be deconstructing how Atwood creates an untrustworthy character through the use of dehumanisation, disconcerting labels, and conflicting emotions.

Then for our second learning cycle, you are going to think about you can emulate how Atwood's crafted this untrustworthy character to plan your own untrustworthy character.

Then the third learning cycle, you are going to write a paragraph that shows the reader that your character is untrustworthy.

So today we're going to be considering Atwood's portrayal of the narrator in "Alias Grace." So, let's begin by looking at a summary of the story and just get a quick personal response to it.

Now, "Alias Grace" tells a story of Grace Marks, a girl convicted of murder in the 1840s.

Now Grace Marks was a real person and the basic plot of the story is based on her.

She was convicted of murdering her master and his housekeeper when she was 16 years old.

Now, there was much discussion at the time about whether Grace was actually guilty or not, and this is what Atwood plays with.

Throughout the novel, we're continually left guessing whether or not Grace is actually guilty of the crime.

And was she an innocent person who was forced to help someone else commit the murders? Was she actually mad and therefore not in control of her actions? Was she possessed by the ghost of someone else? Or was she in fact guilty? That is something the reader's left to decide for themselves.

So, what I'd like to think about first is does this sound like something you'd like to read? Why or why not? Pause the video.

Take few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Now, Atwood is one of my favourite writers.

She's most well known for "The Handmaid's Tale," but "Alias Grace" is actually my favourite book of hers.

I love the unsettling nature of the plot.

And how we never truly know whether we can trust the narrator and what she's telling us.

It makes you feel off balance the whole time.

I think that's really exciting to read.

So, we're going to spend this learning cycle thinking about how Atwood crafts an untrustworthy character voice.

So, in chapter three, the narrator describes herself as an "accomplishment" of somebody else.

So she's saying she's the accomplishment of the governor's wife.

Now we might see this as dehumanising, reducing a character to a thing, rather than a person.

Now dehumanisation is one of our keywords.

It means to remove from a person the special human qualities of independent thought and feelings for other people.

So what I'd like you to think about is why might we, as the reader, find this dehumanisation unsettling and uncomfortable? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Some great ideas there.

Now, you might have said, "It could create distance between us and the character if we think that somehow the character's less human than we are.

It also might suggest a lack of humanity and human emotions.

If we think their humanity has been reduced, we might find this uncomfortable 'cause it means we're not really sure if we'll be able to connect with a person on a human level." So now for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false.

So is it true or false? Then narrator's description of herself as an accomplishment of somebody else might be seem as disconcerting.

Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Now, the correct answer is true.

Now I'd like to know why it's true.

So pause the video, take a few moments to think about it.

Welcome back everyone.

They might have said, "The dehumanising nature of being an accomplishment could create the sense that the character is somehow less human and therefore we as the reader find it disconcerting." So very well done if you've got those right.

Now, in chapter three, the narrator describes being labelled a murderess as "oppressive." However, she also says she whispers it to herself at night.

So what I'd like you to think about is what might this reveal about the narrator? Why might this create a sense of untrustworthiness? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back.

There's fantastic ideas there.

Let's talk through your might have said.

Now if something's oppressive, that means there's something harsh and it's something heavy.

But a whispering means talk softly and gently.

These are often two conflicting ideas.

They aren't in agreement and that could make us feel as if the character's untrustworthy 'cause their own thoughts aren't in agreement with each other.

In terms of the whispering, that if whispering something to yourself at night could offer ideas of affirmation, potentially make us think the narrator takes pride in the label.

Now, this potential conflict and enjoyment over the name murderess could make us believe the character can't be trusted because we could assume that someone would feel negative feelings towards that label rather than sense of conflict and potential enjoyment.

Now, as well as whispering the word to herself, the narrator also compares the murderess label to a skirt.

So, what I'd like you to think about is what might the comparison to a skirt imply? Think about the fact a skirt as an item of clothing and what clothing might suggest to us.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back, everyone.

Some great ideas there.

Let's talk through some of the things you might have said.

Now, because a skirt is an item of clothing, we could say it could be seen as fashionable, perhaps a way of enhancing her outward appearance to others.

Now, clothing can also function as a costume.

So maybe the character might see the label of murderess as a way of pretending to be someone else or of disguising who she really is.

Now, some people can also see clothing as armour, as a way of giving themselves a layer of protection against the world.

So maybe the character could be used in a label as a way of shielding herself from everybody else.

So, now for a quick check for understanding.

What I'd like you to do is tell me whether the following statement is true or false.

So is it true or false? That comparing the label murderess to a skirt makes a narrator seem trustworthy? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Now, the correct answer is false.

Now I'd like to know why it's false.

So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

They might have said, "That as a piece of clothing, skirt has connotations of fashion and appeal.

And that could suggest she sees the label as something that enhances her appearance or as an armour from the world." So very well done if you've got those right.

Fantastic work everyone.

We're now on to the first task of the lesson.

Now throughout "Alias Grace," Atwood maintains the untrustworthy voice of the narrator.

We're aware she's lying to people around her.

We're never sure if we can trust what she's telling us as the reader.

So, what I'd like you to discuss is why might a writer want to use an untrustworthy voice for the narrator? What purpose might it serve? Pause the video.

Take a few minutes to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

There's some great ideas there.

Now, what I'd like you to do is think about Lucas and Izzy's ideas.

Think about how well they align with your ideas.

So Lucas said, "Maybe an untrustworthy narrator conveys the idea we can never truly know someone's intentions or how they see the world?" And Izzy said, "Perhaps it also allows the reader to see how we all have our own perceptions of the world.

There isn't ever one true objective narrative." So pause the video, think about how well Izzy and Lucas's ideas align with your ideas.

Welcome back everyone.

Now we're going to take these ideas and use 'em in the rest of the lesson to create our own untrustworthy character voice.

Amazing work so far everyone.

And now for the second learning cycle, we're going to plan how we are going to write our own untrustworthy character voice.

So in order to emulate Atwood's creation of an untrustworthy character, we might follow these steps.

We might imply the character is somehow dehumanised, more like an object than a person.

We might attach a disconcerting label to them that the character has conflicting thoughts towards.

We might apply this disconcerting label is something the character sees as something fashionable that enhances their outward appearance.

So, now for a quick check for understanding, what I'd like you to do is fill the gaps to complete the steps to emulating Atwood's creation of an untrustworthy character.

So, we might imply the character as somehow more like an object than a person.

We might attach a disconcerting label to them that the character has thoughts towards.

We might apply this disconcerting label if something the character sees as something that enhance their outward appearance.

So pause the video, fill in the gaps now.

Welcome back everyone.

Let's talk through the answers.

So, we might imply the character is somehow dehumanised, more like an object than a person.

We might attach a disconcerting label to them that the character has conflicting thoughts towards.

We might imply this disconcerting label is something the character sees as something fashionable that enhances their outward appearance.

So very well done if you've got those right.

Great work everyone.

We're now on the second task of the lesson.

So, we're going to plan out how we can construct our own untrustworthy character voice.

To do that, we need to think about what the context of our character is.

So let's imagine they've been accused of fraud and hiding illegal shipments of goods.

They're currently being tried in court and the court is full of spectators and reporters.

So now that we have the context, what I'd like you to do is answer the following questions to help you plan your untrustworthy character voice.

So question one, what disconcerting label might you attach to your character? Atwood attached the label of murderess to her character.

What label could you attach? How could you show your character's conflicting feelings towards that label? What could you compare the disconcerting label to, in order to make it seem fashionable and somehow enhancing your character's appearance? And how might you make a character seem dehumanised? Pause the video, answer the questions now.

Welcome back.

That was fantastic work there.

What I'd like you to do now is think about Izzy's ideas and think about whether you think they'd be effective in creating an untrustworthy voice.

So question one, what disconcerting label might you attach to your character? And Izzy said, "You could attach the label of a liar." Question two, how could you show your character's conflicting feelings towards that label? And Izzy said, "Maybe by saying it's an awful word, but there's something sweet about it." Question three, what could you compare the disconcerting label to in order to make it seem fashionable and somehow enhancing your character's appearance? And Izzy said, "Perhaps you could compare it to a hat." Question four, how might you make your character seem dehumanised? And Izzy said, "Maybe suggest that they are simply a courtroom drawing in a newspaper?" So pause the video, think about whether or not you think Izzy ideas could be effective in creating an untrustworthy character voice.

Welcome back everyone.

Now we're going to take your ideas and use 'em to write a paragraph with our own untrustworthy character voice.

Fantastic work everyone.

We'll now onto our third learning cycle where we are going to write our own untrustworthy character voice.

Now, before we start thinking about writing our own untrustworthy character voice, let's deconstruct Izzy's paragraph featuring her untrustworthy character.

I always think it's useful to look at how someone else converted their ideas into writing, so you can use it as a model of turning your own ideas into writing.

So, Izzy wrote, "Liar.

Such an ugly word.

I rolled it around my mouth and tasted sweetness on the tip of my tongue.

Liar.

It almost felt velvety, like the brim of extravagant hat.

I could feel their eyes on me and hear the scratching of pen against paper, adjusting the colour of my eyes, the length of my hair, adding a scowl for good measure.

Until there I was, a two-dimensional being in black and white for the front page." Now, just as Atwood chose the disconcerting label of murderess, Izzy chose the disconcerting label liar.

So repeated it within her writing.

In terms of showing the character's conflicting ideas about the label, Izzy first refers to as an ugly word, but then suggests it tastes sweet.

This shows the character thinks the label is both negative, but also pleasing.

In terms of comparing it to something that could be seen as fashionable, Izzy says it almost felt like velvet, like the brim of an extravagant hat.

So here, Izzy's given us a tactile image of velvet, which again creates a pleasing sensation, but also says the hat is extravagant.

And that could have two meanings.

So could suggest the hat is rich and luxurious, which adds that idea of being something pleasing or it could potentially mean the hat is big and therefore provides as a disguise or an armour just as Atwood's skirt did for her character.

Finally, Izzy implies the character is somehow dehumanised by saying, "Until there I was, a two-dimensional being in black and white for the front page." That suggests the character's been reduced to a drawing and flattened by the idea of them becoming two dimensional.

So now for quick check for understanding.

Which description of a disconcerting label best emulates Atwood's untrustworthy voice? Is it A, traitor.

The heaviness of the word weighed down my shoulders.

It felt as if there was an iron clamp on my heart.

Or B, traitor.

A harsh, heavy word.

I crooned it gently to myself, holding it as softly a newborn kitten.

So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Now remember, that Atwood creates a sense of confliction around the disconcerting label.

In A, the narrator feels only negativity towards the label traitor with the idea of being heavy and being a clamp on their heart.

In B, the narrator suggests that negativity comes from the heaviness of the word, but also positivity through the idea of crooning it themselves and comparing it to a newborn kitten.

So very well done if you've got that right.

Fantastic work everyone.

We're now at the final task of the lesson where you are going to write your own untrustworthy character voice.

Now, just to remind the context of our character is they've been accused of fraud and hiding illegal shipments of goods.

They're currently being tried in court and the court is full of spectators and reporters.

So what I'd like you to do is write a paragraph of your character being in court using an untrustworthy voice.

Now remember to emulate Atwood's untrustworthy voice by implying the character is somehow dehumanised, more like an object than a person.

Attaching a disconcerting label to them that the character has conflicting thoughts towards.

Implying that this disconcerting label is something the character sees as something fashionable that enhances the outward appearance.

So pause the video, write your untrustworthy character voice now.

Welcome back everyone.

That's fantastic work there.

Now what I'd like you to do is share your work with a peer and reflect on the following questions.

So did they imply the character is somehow dehumanised, more like an object than a person? Did they attach a disconcerting label to them that the character has conflicting thoughts towards? Did they imply this disconcerting label as something the character sees as fashionable that enhance the outward appearance? So pause the video, peer assess your work now.

Welcome back everyone.

Now I know that sharing your work, particularly creative writing, with someone else can be intimidating.

But it's such a good habit to get into.

We write to have an effect on someone else.

So we need to share our work to see whether our writing is having the effect we thought it would.

Now, hopefully you can take these ideas and use them in your writing going forward.

But also hopefully it will help you identify when a writer is using an untrustworthy voice in their writing and how they might be doing so.

You all did amazingly well today, everyone.

Here's a summary of what we covered.

Arguably, Atwood crafts an untrustworthy voice for the narrator of "Alias Grace." To emulate Atwood's use of an untrustworthy voice, we might attach a disconcerting label to the character.

We might then demonstrate how the character has conflicting feelings towards this label.

We may then compare the label to something fashionable that may enhance the character's appearance.

The character might also be dehumanised in some way to imply they don't have the same human emotions.

I really hope you enjoyed the lesson everyone.

I hope to see you for another lesson soon.

Goodbye.