This thesis addresses a creative writing approach to exploring reader empathy through the critical analysis of writing devices implemented by contemporary American short fiction writers and through creative experimentation through a written collection of short stories. It explores the ways in which writers can implement specific literary devices to potentially affect a reader's emotional reaction to a character or situation. The specified devices in this research have been utilised by contemporary American authors in their short fiction collections, namely Lydia Davis (The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis), George Saunders (Tenth of December), and David Foster Wallace (Brief Interviews with Hideous Men), who have influenced reader empathy in their short stories. Two categories of devices are in focus: narrative perspective and story format. These categories are signified due to contemporary American authors' experimentation with these devices and due to their inclusion in literary theory on reader empathy and fiction, namely Suzanne Keen's theory of narrative empathy. She focuses on the importance of reader empathy (namely, the effects that fiction can have on a reader in reality) and discusses devices that writers have used to possibly evoke these emotions. Keen explores the relationship between a reader and character identification, with a further emphasis on reader empathy and reader altruism in an inter-disciplinary setting, stating that reader empathy may lead to reader altruism; however, little to no research has been conducted on the creative implementation of writing techniques in regards to reader empathy from the perspective of a creative writer. Through creative application, this thesis aims to show the ways in which devices explored by narrative theorists can create the possibility for reader empathy. Therefore, the thesis takes into account first-, second-, and third-person narrative perspectives and question and answer (Q&A), short-short (a.k.a. flash fiction), and segmented formats through literary analysis of contemporary short fiction and through writing experimentation in the form of a short story collection. The thesis aims to explore the creative use of these devices and their linkage to reader reaction by the production of a short fiction collection entitled Fragmented Perceptions: A Collection of Characters. This creative work intends to implement the specified devices researched in order to experiment with perspective and format in relation to a possible empathetic connection of the reader to a character. Finally, by analysing possible effects on reader empathy through devices employed in the creative work, the thesis explores ways in which authors can use narrative perspective and format to discover various ways in which a writer can implement devices to affect reader empathy through short fiction.

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Claudia Sanches 2018..pdf: 5928310 bytes, checksum: d0e238afa37e6d6ac3bd76cd194a81af (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-12-14 / Este trabalho se propõe a contribuir para a transformação de uma realidade em quealunos utilizam com facilidade a oralidade em língua espanhola em sala de aula, emdecorrência da necessidade do uso em função do mercado ou pela influência dafamília. Porém a escrita, nesse processo, não só fica em segundo plano comomuitas vezes é repelida por esses estudantes pelo medo de errar. Desenvolvi apresente pesquisa durante o Mestrado profissional em Ensino de Línguas, portanto,com o objetivo de analisar o processo de implementação de uma sequência didáticade produção escrita de contos voltada a um público de alunos da Educação deJovens e Adultos do Ensino Médio, de uma escola pública do município de Sant’Anado Livramento, fronteira com a vizinha cidade de Rivera, no Uruguai. Desenvolvida apartir da produção e aplicação de um Material Didático Autoral, composto por 19aulas, com vistas a implementar uma proposta didática de produção escrita decontos em língua adicional (Língua Espanhola), focando na valorização dasidentidades locais dos alunos e também como uma forma de estimular a produçãoescrita desses alunos, essa pesquisa teve como objetivos específicos: apontar asprincipais facilidades e dificuldades no processo de aprendizagem dos estudantesao longo do desenvolvimento da proposta, a partir de atividades autoavaliativassistemáticas; avaliar a gestão dos tempos pedagógicos para o desenvolvimento daproposta, a partir do planejamento inicial, contrastando-o com a sua efetivaimplementação; comparar a produção inicial e final dos contos dos alunos queparticiparam de todas as etapas da proposta e identificar se as temáticasmobilizadas nos contos produzidos pelos estudantes apontam para a valorizaçãodas identidades regionais/locais. O embasamento teórico se deu principalmente apartir dos seguintes conceitos: Língua, Bagno (2001); Língua adicional, Leffa e Irala(2014); Portunhol, Celada (2002), Mota (2010), Lafin (2011) e Albuquerque (2014);Fronteira, Sturza (2005) e Garcia (2010); aprendizagem significativa de Ausubel,Moreira (2011); conto, Gotlib (2000); e os conceitos de cultura e ensino de línguas.Quanto aos resultados pude perceber a partir do acompanhamento das atividadesque houve um progresso na produção escrita dos alunos, juntamente com odesenvolvimento da oralidade. Concomitante a isso, os alunos resgataram, atravésda escrita dos contos, elementos das diferentes culturas presentes no grupo,valorizando as identidades locais. / This work aims to contribute to the transformation of a reality in which students easilyuse Spanish orality in the classroom, due to the need to use it because of the marketor the influence of the family. But writing in this process not only takes second place,but is often repelled by these students by the fear of making mistakes. I developedthe present research during the Professional Master in Teaching of Languages,therefore, with the objective of analyzing the process of implementation of a didacticsequence of written production of short stories directed to a public of students of theEducation of Young and Adults of High School, of a public school in the municipalityof Sant'Ana do Livramento, bordering the nearby town of Rivera in Uruguay.Developed from the production and application of an Authoritative Didactic Material,composed of 19 classes, with a view to implementing a didactic proposal of writtenwriting in additional language (Spanish Language), focusing on the valuation of thelocal identities of students and also as a In order to stimulate the written production ofthese students, this research had as specific objectives: to point out the mainfacilities and difficulties in the students' learning process throughout the developmentof the proposal, based on systematic self-evaluation activities; to evaluate themanagement of pedagogical times for the development of the proposal, starting fromthe initial planning, contrasting it with its effective implementation; compare the initialand final production of the short stories of the students who participated in all thestages of the proposal and identify if the themes mobilized in the stories produced bythe students point to the appreciation of the regional/local identities. The theoreticalbasis was based on the following concepts: Language, Bagno (2001); Additionallanguage, Leffa and Irala (2014); Portunhol, Celada (2002), Mota (2010), Lafin(2011) and Albuquerque (2014); Fronteira, Sturza (2005) and Garcia (2010); learningfrom Ausubel, Moreira (2011); tale, Gotlib (2000); and the concepts of culture andlanguage teaching. As for the results, I could see from the follow-up of the activitiesthat there was progress in the students' written production, together with thedevelopment of orality. Concomitant to this, the students rescued, through the writingof the stories, elements of the different cultures present in the group, valuing the localidentities.