Introducing the Story

Literary Focus: Theme and Character

Reading Skills: Making Inferences About Motivation

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Cranesby Hwang Sunwŏn translated by Peter H. Lee

Cranesby Hwang Sunwŏntranslated by Peter H. Lee

Which kind of loyalty comes first—loyalty to a friend or to duty? What would you do if you had to choose?

CranesIntroducing the Story

In “Cranes,” two childhood friends from a war-torn village in Korea meet as adults and find they are on opposite sides in the war. One is a prisoner; the other, his escort and guard.

• The story follows the thoughts and memories of the main character as he walks with the prisoner. How will the main character treat his prisoner and old friend?

CranesIntroducing the Story

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• face overwhelming obstacles

Reading a story is often like following a character on a journey. During the journey, characters may

• make heart-rending decisions

• learn something about themselves, others, or life in general

CranesLiterary Focus: Theme and Character

Theme:central idea of the

story; a truth or insight about life or

human behavior

What obstacles does the main character face?

What does the main character learn?

What decisions must the main character make?

What characters experience during their journey often reveals the theme of a work.

CranesLiterary Focus: Theme and Character

Sŏngsam, the main character in “Cranes,” travels only a short distance on foot, but the journey he takes in his heart and mind is much greater.

CranesLiterary Focus: Theme and Character

• What does Sŏngsam remember and learn during his walk?

Ask yourself the following questions as you read the story:

• What theme does the writer convey?

• How has the writer used the character’s experiences to communicate the theme?

CranesLiterary Focus: Theme and Character

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To understand characters fully, you need to determine their motivation, or the reasons for their behavior.

• Writers don’t usually make direct statements about motivation, so you will need to make inferences, or educated guesses.

CranesReading Skills: Making Inferences about Motivation

InferencesAbout

Motivation

You can base your inferences on your own prior knowledge and on clues from the story.

CranesReading Skills: Making Inferences about Motivation

Prior Knowledge

Based on personal experience and other stories you’ve read, what do you know about people and their motivation?

Clues from the Story

What do the characters do and say thatmight give insight into their motivations?

As you read “Cranes,” think about why the main character

• takes the actions he does

CranesReading Skills: Making Inferences about Motivation

• makes the decisions he makes

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