Research Essay

In our English class, we explored both fictional and nonfictional topics that helped us develop an advanced understanding of narrative structure and its intricacies. We began this unit with Octavia Butlers ‘Parable of the Sower”, which explored complex character development, dystopian worldbuilding, and unique narrative techniques. Although fictional, the conflicts the character faces in this book, as well as the components of her world, required us to assess a myriad of nonfictional topics that currently plague our own world. Coincidentally, the book takes place in 2024, which forced us to draw even deeper, more distinct parallels between the novel and reality. This book gave us a foundation for fictional Worldbuilding using real world elements. Using this foundation, we each created a research essay based on a real-world issue of our choosing. For my essay, I chose to assess the impact of the Fentanyl crisis on children, as well as the various failures and successes within the attempts to solve it.

Pitch Presentation

For this part of the unit, we collaborated with two classmates on a Worldbuilding pitch presentation. We chose a medium, formulated a detailed plot, logline, character arcs, and chose visual imagery to accompany it. With CJ Hoo and Eva Halsey, we created a book reminiscent of the southern-gothic style of literature. You can find our full presentation below.