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ELA 3: If You Could Read My Mind 9 Views


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Description:

Well, you'd probably ask why we keep thinking about squirrels fighting for coconuts. But that's our business. Quit peeping. Today's video is about the inner thoughts and feelings of characters in books since mind reading in real life isn't real. Supposedly.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

[Coop and Dino singing]

00:14

Despite what psychics want you to believe, it's impossible for people to read each other's minds. [A couple with a psychic statue]

00:18

However, like so many things that are impossible in the real world, you can actually read the

00:23

minds of fictional characters… [Boy reading a Harry Potter book]

00:25

…and you don't even need a crystal ball.

00:28

The easiest way to channel a character's thoughts is through an interior monologue!

00:32

What's an interior monologue, you ask?

00:34

It's a piece of writing that expresses the inner thoughts and feelings of a character. [Dino teaching interior monologue]

00:38

Kind of like all those times you've read your sibling's diary.

00:41

Which…don't do that. [Boy reading Kate's diary]

00:42

That ain't right.

00:43

These come up not when a character is talking to another character…

00:46

…but when a character's just…thinking to themselves.

00:50

Luckily as readers, we get access to all those juicy, private thoughts, straight from the [Girl reading a book in a library]

00:54

character's mind.

00:55

It might not be the most polite thing in the world, but hey, that's fiction for ya!

01:00

An interior monologue is very different from a dramatic monologue. [Coop discussing dramatic monologue]

01:03

Sure, a character is revealing their thoughts and feelings, but they're doing it to a different character.

01:08

Dramatic monologues tend to be pretty long, almost like speeches.

01:12

They're great for capturing a character's thoughts and feelings in fiction… [Man conveying his feelings on stage to another man]

01:15

…but they're not exactly the best way to have a two-sided conversation.

01:19

There are also other ways for characters to get their thoughts and feelings across, without

01:23

boring their friends.

01:24

One is the soliloquy, where a character addresses their thoughts and feelings not to another [Man and girl on stage and girl is whisked away]

01:29

character, but to the audience.

01:31

At least the audience paid to be there, so they don't mind hearing all that stuff.

01:34

Well…most of them, anyway. [Man checking his watch]

01:36

Another way for a character to speak their mind is through an apostrophe: not the punctuation

01:40

mark…that might be hard…

01:42

…but when a character addresses their thoughts and feelings to a person who isn't there… [Girl discussing her feelings to imaginary person]

01:46

…or even to an inanimate object.

01:48

At least an inanimate object will definitely stick around to hear all the character's thoughts

01:52

and feelings, and won't do anything rude like check the time. [Girl talking to a pumpkin and pumpkin looks at a clock]

01:55

…Probably.

01:56

Wilson, pay attention.

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