Comparing stories in the same genre

0:00- [David] Readers, hello, and welcome to the Story Kitchen, where I'm taste-testing different flavors of stories. We call different story flavors, genres. Why is it spelled like that? It's French. What's a genre? It's just a type of story. Mystery, science fiction, fantasy, adventure, romance, these are all genres.

0:22And I'm gonna talk about comparing stories in the same genre today, like two different kinds of pizza or two different kinds of noodle. Why do this? Why compare one story to another? Well, it's part of becoming a stronger reader. It lets you see what stories have in common, make predictions about what's coming, and recognize how and why authors make different choices to express their ideas.

0:47One way we can compare two stories in the same genre is by comparing their themes. And what's a theme? The theme of a story is a message about life or the world, right? Khan Academy has lots of lessons on theme if you need a more in-depth refresher. Here's what I'm gonna do to compare two stories in the same genre.

1:07First, I'll look to see how each character grows or changes by dealing with a problem. Then I'll figure out the theme of each story based on that. Then I'll compare the two stories' themes and how the texts reveal those themes. The genre I chose today is science fiction.

1:24Imagine spaceships, aliens, lasers, that kind of vibe. Here's story number one. "Captain Brenda was flying home when her spaceship's alarm started beeping. A quick search of the cabin revealed a giant straw poking through the ship's door, slurping up all her breathable air.

1:39She looked out the window, the straw led to another spaceship. 'Pardon me, please stop that. I'm running out of air,' she said over the radio as politely as she could. 'Not my problem,' said the alien in the other spaceship. Captain Brenda decided it was time to stop being polite.

1:54She attached the ship's vacuum cleaner to the straw. With a whir and a whoosh, air filled the cabin again. Then something else came through the straw. 'Hey, that's my favorite hat!' the alien yelled. 'Not my problem,' said Captain Brenda and sped away." Onto story two.

2:10"Glim was an alien visitor to Earth who wished to know more about humans. But he was frightened of things that were new to him. One day, a human friend gave him a small red fruit, dotted with little seeds. He feared it. 'This is called a strawberry,' said his human friend.

2:26'Try the red part.' Glim took a deep breath and chomped the strawberry. 'Say!' Glim said. 'That's wonderful!' And from then on, he promised to always try new things. He had many wonderful adventures, and he was a very happy alien indeed." Let's figure out the theme of each story.

2:46In story number one, how does Captain Brenda grow or change by dealing with the big problem? The big problem is that an alien is stealing all her air, even after she asks it to stop. So, she steals the air back and takes the alien's hat. The alien is rude to her, and so she decides to be rude right back.

3:03So, I think the theme here is that if you treat others badly, you'll get that same treatment back. Story number two. Step one, how does Glim grow or change by dealing with his big problem? Well, what's his problem? He's afraid of new things. In this case, a strawberry.

3:21How does he solve the problem? Well, he goes for it and he learns that strawberries are delicious and that all sorts of new things are worth trying. And then he goes on to have a very fun life. So step two, what's our theme? I think the theme of this story might be, even though it might be scary, trying new things is good for you.

3:40Step three, let's compare. These texts have similar topics, both show aliens encountering a new person or a new thing. When we look at the texts together, we can see two different ways of reacting to or interacting with new people or experiences and what can happen as a result.

4:00The texts different themes highlight that how you deal with someone or something new, can lead to different outcomes. You go one way, you're kind and open-minded, you'll have a nice time. You go the other way, you're rude and greedy, you're likely to have a bad time.

4:14I hope that you'll be open-minded about my one consistent theme, that you can learn anything. David, out.