Week

2
Creative Non-Fiction – Grade 12 HUMMS
Self-Learning Module

What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you master
the different literary elements and create your own examples. The lessons are
arranged to follow the standard sequence of the course.

This module consists of one lesson, namely:

 Elements of the different Genres

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. Identify different literary elements

2. Create samples of the different literary elements based on one’s experience
(e.g. metaphor to describe an emotion).

Lesson 1: Elements of Different Genres

 What’s In

Read the narrative below and accomplish the task that follows:

Goodbye, Superman

I do not remember, but mom said to me before that you were the first one to
carry me when I came out of this world. She said you were so happy and
maybe I was too. I used to imagine how magical the feeling was- when I finally
opened my eyes and you were the first person that I would see. Just like how it
was in the movies. I imagine your eyes sparkling and your smile so wide the
first time you laid your eyes on me. Did you cry? I wonder. Having me as your
child - your bundle of joy as they say.

During my childhood days, you were always by my side. These I remembered

so vividly. The happy moments we spent together. You taught me how to walk
and every time that I fell you would rush towards me and help me get up. We
always played together and I loved it. Especially when you would throw me up
in the air and my laughter was so loud that even the neighbors could hear it. I
felt so wonderful, I thought I was flying.

I used to think you were a hero and one of your superpowers is healing.
Because every time I get hurt, you would just wrap me around your arms and
the pain was gone. When I was sick, your touch would comfort me and I would
feel better. When I feel restless, you would sing me a song until I calm myself
and finally fell asleep.

Now everything feels so different. Sometimes I would ask myself: “Is it because
I’m not cute anymore?” I wanted to live up to your expectations. But still I
make so many mistakes. And I can’t blame you for that. I know when I made
you mad, I did something wrong. Everytime you hit me, I would try to
remember why you got mad at me, again. Did I forget to flush the toilet? Did I
leave my toys or my books on the floor? Was my voice too loud that he finds it
so annoying? Maybe he’s just tired. I wanted to understand.

You suddenly changed. I do too. I was taller and heavier that you and mom
can’t carry me anymore. You got older and your hands became heavier. You
didn’t like me like you did before. Many years ago, I used to run to you every
time I get hurt, but now I want to run far, far away from you because I know
you will hurt me. The warmth of your touch that used to give me comfort now
feels as cold as ice. Your voice that used to sound so soft and sweet now feels
terrifying. Your arms that used to heal me when I’m in pain now become the
source of my pain.

I never asked to be born; you were the one who asked for me. Still, I am
thankful for it. You gave me life and now I get to see and feel the joy and the
pain that this world offers. The joy that makes me want to live more and the
pain that makes me fight for the life that I have. I was hurt, I got bruised and
bled many, many times but I kept on getting up. From you, who used to be my
hero, I learned something really important - life can be tough, it can be painful
but I don’t need to be a hero to heal my own wounds. The only superpower I
need is strength- strong faith, strong will and strong heart to help me get up
and start again.

A. Complete the graphic organizer below

 CONFLICT
CHARACTERS TITLE

PLOT
POINT OF VIEW MOOD

THEME

 What Is It

Literary Devices refer to the typical structures used by writers in their works
to convey his/her message(s) in a simple manner to his/her readers.
Two aspects of literary devices:

 Literary Element – a component of a literary piece

 Literary Technique – a strategy used in the making of a narrative to
relay information to the audience

LITERARY ELEMENTS

The types of literary elements:

1. PLOT - It is the logical sequence of events that develops a story.

2. SETTING – It refers to the time and place in which a story takes place.
3. PROTAGONIST – It is the main character of a story, novel, or a play (e.g.
Hamlet in the play Hamlet).
4. ANTAGONIST – It is he character in conflict with the Protagonist (e.g.
Claudius in the play Hamlet)
5. NARRATOR – A person who tells the story.
6. DIALOGUE – This is where characters of a narrative speak to one
another.
 7. CONFLICT – It is an issue in a narrative around which the whole story
revolves.
8. MOOD – A general atmosphere of a narrative
9. THEME – It is the central idea or concept of a story.
10. POINT OF VIEW - How the character is told- more specifically who tells
it.

LITERARY TECHNIQUES

The common literary techniques:

1. IMAGERY – It is the use of figurative language to create visual

representations of actions, objects and ideas in our mind in such a way
that they appeal to our physical senses.
2. SIMILE AND METAPHOR – Both compare two distinct objects and
draws similarity between them. The difference is that Simile uses “as”
or “like” and Metaphor does not.
3. HYPERBOLE – It is deliberate exaggeration of actions and ideas for the
sake of emphasis.
4. PERSONIFICATION – It gives a thing, an idea or an animal some human
qualities.
5. ALLITERATION – It refers to the same consonant sounds in words
coming together.
6. ALLEGORY – It is a literary technique in which an abstract idea is given
a form of characters, actions or events.
7. IRONY – It is use of the words in such a way in which the intended
meaning is completely opposite to their literal meaning.

What Have I Learned

Activity 1. Story of My Life

Excerpted and adapted from the autobiography of Helen Keller

Read the selection, and then answer the questions that follow.

(1) Helen Keller was born in Alabama in 1880. A childhood illness left her blind
 and deaf, living in a silent, dark world where she often had frightening fits
of anger. Then Anne Sullivan came to be her teacher. Helen not only learned
to read, she graduated from college and was an active author and lecturer
until her death in 1968. The following is from her autobiography.

(2) I lived, up to the time of the illness, in a tiny house consisting of a large
square room and a small one, in which the servant slept. It is a custom in
the South to build a small house near the family home as an addition to be
used on occasion. Such a house my father built after the Civil War, and
when he married my mother they went to live in it.

(3) The little house was completely covered with vines, climbing roses and
honeysuckles. It was a favorite meeting place for hummingbirds and bees.
The Keller main house, where the family lived, was a few steps from our
little one. The homestead was called "Ivy Green" because the house and
the surrounding trees and fences were covered with beautiful English ivy.
The old-fashioned garden was the paradise of my childhood.

(4) Even in the days before my teacher came, I used to feel along the square
stiff boxwood hedges, and, guided by the sense of smell, would find the
first violets and lilies in the garden. There, too, after a fit of temper, I went
to find comfort and to hide my hot face in the cool leaves and grass. What
joy it was to lose myself in that garden, to wander happily until, coming
upon a beautiful vine, I recognized it by its leaves and blossoms, and
knew it covered the tumble-down summer house at the farther end of the
garden! Here, also, were rare sweet flowers called butterfly lilies, because
their fragile petals resemble butterflies' wings. But the roses—they were
loveliest of all. Never have I found since such roses as those that hung
from our porch. They filled the air with fragrance, and in the early
morning, all washed by dew, they felt so soft.

(5) They tell me I walked the day I was a year old. I was suddenly attracted
by the flickering shadows of leaves that danced in the sunlight on the
smooth floor. But these happy days did not last long. One brief spring,
filled with the music of robins and mockingbirds, one summer rich in fruit
and roses, one autumn of gold and crimson, sped by and left their gifts at
the feet of a delighted child.

(6) Then, in the dreary month of February, came the illness, which closed my
eyes and ears and plunged me into the unconsciousness of a newborn
baby. The doctor thought I could not live. But early one morning, the
fever left me as suddenly and mysteriously as it had come. There was
 great rejoicing in the family that morning. But no one, not even the
doctor, knew that I should never see or hear again.

9. How does the author use imagery to help readers "see" her?

by telling when her father built the house and when he and her mother
a.
moved into it

by describing the first time she walked, how she hid when she was angry, and
b.
how she felt her way along the hedges

by describing the furniture in the two rooms of the house and where she ate
c.
her meals

d. by telling what Anne Sullivan looked like and how she taught Helen to read

10. How did the author use sensory words to help readers visualize the setting
and events in her life? Give at least two examples from the text for each
sense listed.

Sight______________________________________________________________________________

Hearing____________________________________________________________________________

Touch_____________________________________________________________________________

Smell______________________________________________________________________________

Taste______________________________________________________________________________

11. How does the author use imagery to help readers understand what it must
be like to be unable to hear or see?

a. by mentioning that a teacher came to help her

b. by comparing it to the unconsciousness of a newborn baby

c. by comparing the garden to when she learned to walk

d. by telling about hearing the mockingbird sing

Activity 2. Directions: Read the following examples of figurative

language. Identify the poetic device being used. Write the letter of your
answer.
1. The streets were strange and still, / Through the doors of the open churches
The organs were moaning shrill.
a. simile b. metaphor c. hyperbole d. personification

2. Chicago is a city that is fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action.
a. enjambment b. metaphor c. simile d. onomatopoeia

3. She soothed her secret sorrow.

a. hyperbole b. alliteration c. metaphor d. simile

4. Silver bells!... How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle in the icy air of night.
a. simile b. hyperbole c. onomatopoeia d. alliteration

5. He answered her he knew not what: / Like shaft from bow at random shot,
a. simile b. personification c. repetition d. metaphor

6. Chant in a wail / that never halts, / pace a circle and pay tribute / with a song.
a. rhyme b. simile c. personification d. hyperbole

7. Vague pageants woven on a web of dream!

And we, pushing and fighting in the turbid stream / Of modern life
a. simile b. metaphor c. understatement d. hyperbole

8. He would contemplate the distance / With a look of pensive meaning,

As of ducks that die in ill tempests.
a. simile b. metaphor c. personification d. onomatopoeia

9. And I will return, my love, / even if it were a million miles.

a. personification b. onomatopoeia c.hyperbole d. simile

10. Women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys.
a. onomatopoeia b. hyperbole c. personification d. alliteration

What I Can Do
A. Conduct an interview to someone who became successful in
his/her career or studies and write him/her a biography.
 B. Write a poem about how you feel amidst this pandemic. Make
sure to use different literary devices (simile, metaphor, imagery
etc.)

Assessment
Directions: Read each item carefully then choose the letter that corresponds to
your answer. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

1. It is a common structure used by writers to impart their message to

the readers effectively.
a. literary technique
b. literary element
c. literary device
d. all of these are correct
2. It is a necessary feature of storytelling that can be found in any written
or spoken narrative.
a. All of these are correct
b. literary technique
c. literary device
d. literary element
3. These are narrative strategies that add texture, energy and excitement
to the narrative, grip the reader’s imagination and convey information.
a. literary element
b. literary technique
c. all of these are correct
d. literary device
4. It is the logical sequence of events that develops a story.
a. none of these are correct
b. conflict
c. setting
d. mood
5. This refers to the time and place in which a story takes place.
a. conflict
b. setting
c. none of these are correct
d. mood
6. An issue in the narrative. An internal ______ is a good test of a
character’s values.
a. mood
b. theme
c. conflict
d. setting
7. The central figure with whom we usually sympathize or identify.
a. antagonist
b. narrator
c. foil character
d. protagonist
8. Someone that tells his story from his/her point of view.
a. stereotypes
b. narrator
c. protagonist
d. foil character
9. This is where the characters of a narrative speak to one another.
a. narration
b. plot
c. theme
d. dialogue
10. It is the use of figurative language to create visual representations of
actions, objects and ideas in our mind in such a way that they appeal to
our physical senses.
a. personification
b. metaphor
c. imagery
d. allusion
11. It is a deliberate exaggeration of actions and ideas for the sake of
emphasis.
a. alliteration
b. none of these are correct
c. allegory
d. personification
12. “I have got a million issues to look after!” is an example of ______.
a. personification
b. metaphor
 c. irony
d. hyperbole
13. It refers to the figure of speech in which a thing – an idea or an animal,
is given human attributes.
a. alliteration
b. personification
c. none of these are correct
d. imagery
14. This refers to the figurative language wherein the repetition of the
same letter or consonant sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely
connected word is involved.
a. personification
b. alliteration
c. allegory
d. none of these are correct
15. A literary technique in which an abstract idea is given a form of
characters, actions or events.
a. none of these are correct
b. allegory
c. alliteration
d. irony