A Snapshot of You: Writing a Cultural VignetteMain MenuA Snapshot of You: Writing a Cultural VignettePrefaceWhat's Your Culture?A Vine- What?! Let's Talk about Short StoriesLessons from a Pro: Sandra Cisneros & The House on Mango StreetLearn a bit about vignettes from experienced authorsA Different Approach: David Levithan's Story of LoveDo Some ExploringWriting with Intent: Write the Way Ya Wannum ta ReadShow You What? Show vs. Tell WritingThe Brush StrokesSpice up your (description about your) life!Now It's Your TurnPoint Break DownWorks Cited & CA State Standard ObjectivesMegan Gilmorea80f0291be70c55513622a62ce418e9802a41d88
Huck Finn Dressed as a Girl
12015-11-25T06:42:43-08:00Megan Gilmorea80f0291be70c55513622a62ce418e9802a41d8869241Sommers, Stephen. "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." 1993.plain2015-11-25T06:42:43-08:00Megan Gilmorea80f0291be70c55513622a62ce418e9802a41d88
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12015-11-25T06:25:18-08:00Writing with Intent: Write the Way Ya Wannum ta Read7plain2015-11-25T07:06:39-08:00A little old lady from the 1960s surely wouldn't talk the way a preppy, popular teen girl from the 1990s would, so why would their dialogue in a literary work be the same?! Liiiiiike they tooottally wouldn't even riiiight?! Ooh no deary, they shorely wouldn't!
Sometimes, in order to make a certain impression, authors have to make the decision to intentionally misspell words, add extra gaps or spaces in their work, or italicize and bold words that otherwise would't be in a standard essay or novel.
Watch this short clip from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and see if you can jot down about 20 seconds of the language that might be on the original script for the scene. Can you write the words like the actors say them? How about adding grammar to adjust the intonation with which the actors deliver their lines?
Now, carefully think about your own vignette. Where is it set? Did your family come from the deep south? Where your characters tawlk wid a deep, suthern accents? Or is it in Boston (Bawston)? Where your nana spent heh summas in da gahdens? Areyoutalkingreallyfastbecauseyou'rereaaalllyyyynervousandyoujustneedtogetoutwhateveritisyou'retryingtosay? It's up to you!
Beneath your short notes on the Huck Finn clip, try writing a few phrases or sentences you could include in your vignette that might have intentional spelling or grammar errors. You won't be locked into using these, it's just to get you thinking! (And it's fun!) Comment one of your phrases or sentences below to let your classmates have a look at what you've come up with.