The stories that shape us
Aug 21, 2026
⋮⋮ Program
- 08.35 Warm-up read and discussion
- 08.55 Calvin
- Playthrough
- 09.15 Characterisation
- 09.30 Break
- 09.40 Twine-creations
- 10.40 Break
- 10.55 Twine playing
Warm-up read and discussion
- How do people usually describe themselves when they tell their life story?
- Do you think people focus more on positive or negative experiences when talking about their past? Why?
- Can a bad experience help a person grow? In what ways?
- Why do some people see challenges as important turning points in life?
- Do you think the way we talk about our past can change how we feel about ourselves? Why or why not?
- Is it possible to “rewrite” your personal story without changing the facts? How?
- Comment on this quote: “This will be obvious later, but my mom never told me any of these stories. Edie would have, but Mom didn’t like bringing up the past. Though when we adopted a stray kitten she was the one who named it “Molly"". What do the stories mean to Dawn? What do they mean to Edie?
Playthrough
Characterisation
- Look at Sam and Calvin’s room. How do you know they are twins?
- How is it visually inferred? And how is it plainly stated?
- What is odd about the room?
- How did Calvin deal with the trauma of Barbara’s death?
- Did his disobedience lead to death? What evidence is there that Calvin is defiant? Did he die happy?
- Why is his leg in a cast? What does it say about Calvin?
- What does the letter in the astronaut helmet symbolize?
Twine-creations
- Create a 3-passage Twine. The first should be a neutral description of Calvin’s demise. Then create a link to a passage that describes his death as a redemptive narrative and a second link to a passage that describes Calvin’s demise as contamination narrative.
- Create another minimum 3-passage Twine. It can be one that describes an incident in your life that was life-changing or contributed to the development of your identity with a redemptive arc and contamination arc. If you feel inspired you can also choose your own topic and structure.
- Twine
Twine playing
- Play/read at least three of your classmate’s Twines.