Download Sourcebook for English Teachers and more Exams English in PDF only on Docsity!
DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 347 569 CS^ /13^481
AUTHOR Ley,^ Terry^ C.,^ Ed. TITLE Sourcebook^ for^ English^ Teachers:^ Directed Reading/Teaching Guides for Selected Literary Works. Volume 1. INSTITUTION Auburn^ Univ.,^ Ala.^ School^ of^ Education. SPONS AGENCY National^ Endowment^ for^ the^ Humanities^ (NFU), Washington, D.C. PUB DATE 85 NOTE 281p.;^ Developed^ by^ participants^ of^ the^1985 Summer Humanities Institute in Literary Criticism and the Teaching of Literature. For other volumes, see CS^213 482-483. AVAILABLE FROM Project^ Director,^5040 Haley^ Center,^ Auburn University, AL 36849 ($18--checks payable to Auburn University). PUB TYPE Collected^ Works^ -^ General^ (020)^ --^ Guides^ -^ Classroom Use - Teaching Guides (For Teacher) (052)
EDRS PRICE 701/Pr12^ Plus^ Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Authors;^ *Class^ Activities;^ English^ Curriculum; English Instruction; Encllish Literature; Instructional Materials; Language Arts; *Literary Criticism; *Literature Appreciation; Resource Units; Secondary Education; Teaching Guides; Teaching Methods; United States Literature; *Units of Study IDENTIFIERS *Aesthetic^ Reading
ABSTRACT This sourcebook presents reading guides for 22 literary works frequently used by secondary school English teachers. The guides contain an overview of the work, a pool of instructional objectives for each work, a variety of activities, a series of discussion options, suggestions for evaluation, and annotated lists of related works. Included are: "Foreword" (T. C.Ley);^ "Overview^ of Critical Approaches" (D. Clark and A. Dunlop); "Stephen Vincent Bennet's 'By the Waters of Babylon" (N. J. Tow and J. Whitman); "Ambrose Bierce's 'Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge'" (J. Lucci and M. Shepherd); "Joseph Conrad's 'The Secret Sharer'" (S. Douglas and S. Lessley); "Robert Cormier's 'I Am the Cheese'" (M. Evans and others); "T. S. Elliot's 'The Hollow Men'" (J. Atwood); "T. S. Elliot's 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock'" (J. Copland); "Gustave Flaubert's 'Madame Bovary'" (S. McAnulty); "William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies'" (D. Gullatte and others); "Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Ambitious Guest'" (W. J. Nix and J. Word-Ross); "Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'" (P. Cherubini); "Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'Young Goodman Brown'" (K. Hightower); "Ernest Hemingway's 'The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber," (D. Teel and D. Thompson); "HenriA Ibsen's 'A Doll's "House'" (P. Westbrook);^ "D. H. Lawrence's 'The Roc:king Horse Winner'" (E. Reynolds and D. L. Smith); "Flannery O'Connor's 'The Life You Save May Be Your Own'" (G. Kelley); "Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Tell Tale Heart," (J. Blankenship and others); "William Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'" (H. D. Freeman and others); "John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men'" (B. Esslinger and others); "John Steinbeck's 'The Pearl'" (B. Doyle and others); "Alfred Lord Tennyson's 'Ulysses' and Robert Browning's 'My Last Duchess," (N. Salter); and "Dylan Thomas's 'Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night'" (D. Teel). (NKA)
Sourcebook
for
ctd EnglishTeachers
cal
Developedinthe1985SummerHumanities Institute
U (^) DEPARTMENTOFEDUCATION OfficeDIEcluce.onaiResearchIWOImCoOvement EDUCATIONALRESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER1ERICt Th8documenthisbeenreprOduCedas rectovedItemthePersonOrOrgemtitOn Ongmabng Woolchangesnevebeenmade10.mpfove teproducttonQualay Po.nIs01veworOpm.01111MetedalthS00Cu menldonothecessaroyrepreaehtotfic.al OEP,00101,0nOr00I.Cy
Fundedby aGrantfromtheNationalEndowmentfortheHumanities
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Foreword iv
Terry C. Ley
Overview of Critical Approaches 1
Drew Clark Alex Dunlop
"By the Waters of Babylon" (Stephen Vincent^ Benet).^5
Norma Jean Tow Janice Whitman
"Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (Ambrose^ Bierce)^19
Joanne Lucci Margaret Shepherd
"The Secret Sharer" (Joseph Conrad) 28
Sue Douglas Suzy Lessley
I Am^ the^ Cheese^ (Robert^ Cormier)^38
Martha Evans Gloria^ Pipkin Ruth Taylor Jessie^ Ward
"The Hollow Men" (T. S. Eliot) 52
Jim Atwood
"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (T. S. Eliot) 58
Jean Copland
Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert) 71
Sara McAnulty
Lord of the Flies (William Golding) 92
. 1111 Donna^ Gullatte Vivi^ Anne^ Johnson Shirley McClaine Loyd^ Mehaffey
page
"The Ambitious Guest" (Nathaniel Hawthorne) 108
Wilma Jean Nix Jacqueline Word-Ross
The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne) 123
Phyllis Cherubini
"Young Goodman Brown" (Nathaniel Hawthorne) 138
Karon Hightower
"The Short Happy Life of Frances Macomber" (Ernest Hemingway) 153
Dary Teel Deborah Thompson
A Doll's House (Henrik Ibsen) 163
Peggy Westbrook
"The Rocking Horse Winner" (D. H. Lawrence) 170
1110 Evelyn^ Reynolds Donna Lessenberry Smith
"The Life You Save May Be Your Own" (Flannery O'Connor) (^183)
Gil Kelley
"The Tell Tale Heart" (Edgar Allan Poe) 191
Jane Blankenship Leigh Martin Annette Smith
Macbeth (William Spakespeare) (^202)
Harris Dale Freeman Fay Little Angela Nicholson
Of Mica and Men (John Steinbeck) (^216)
Betty Esslinger Ann Sharp Norma Wyckoff
The Pearl (John Steinbeck) (^239)
Brian Doyle David Lenoir Edward Shelton
Ii
5
FOREWORD
The resource guides reproduced in this volume were written by partici- pants of the 1985 Summer Humanities Institute in Literary Criticism and the Teaching of Literature, a five-week institute conductedon the campus of Auburn University, Alabama. (^) Funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the institute was designed to provide opportunities for secondary school English teachers to expand their knowledge of literary criticism and their abilities to apply that knowledge to instructional planning based upon sound teaching principles.
Throughout the institute, participants devoted mornings to attending lectures and participating in discussions related to selected critical approaches and assigned literary works, all of which are commonly antholo- gized and thus are frequently taught in secondary schools. (^) During their afternoons, participants considered reading theory and its applications to the teaching of literature, developed teaching strategies for literary works discussed in morning sessions, and planned and wrote the resource guides which follow.
Participants were permitted to choose the literary works f)r which they developed resource guides so long as the workswere frequently taught in secondary schools. (^) Some chose to develop materials for works considered during the institute, but most chose other works with which they were familiar. (^) They were also given the opportunity to organize development teams if they wished.
Individuals or teams were asked to develop resource guides containing the following information for themselves and prospective readers:
-An overview which includes a brief plot summary, information regardino the work's potential for teaching, and comments on critical approaches best suited to the work.
-A pool of instructional objectives fromwhich an instructor might select those which are appropriate for his/her classes.
-A variety of options for beginning studyof the work, including activities which build background (including concepts and vocabulary), provide a preview, and establish purposes for reading.
-At least one xerox-ready reading guide aimed at enhancement of a designated concept, insight or literary/reading skill.
-A series o (^) options for dealing with the text after students have read it, Acluding discussion and activities requiring oral communication and written composition.
iv
III/
-Suggestions for evaluating students' success with the literary work and with selected activities.
-An annotated list of related works.
This sourcebook has been produced in a loose-leaf format for the convenience of teachers who may wish to use only certain guides or who wish to insert their own materials. Those wishing additional copies should send their request and a check or money order for $10.00 to Douglas Alley, 5040 Haley Center, Auburn University, AL 36849. Payment should be made to the order of Auburn University.
1111 OVERVIEW^ OF^ CRITICAL^ APPROACHES^2
Eliot and the admiration of New Critics in general for the English meta- physical poets.
By mid-century New Criticism had the field largely to itself except for a small but vocal group of scholars at the University of Chicago who empha- sized the old rather than the new as they championed Aristotelian principles and methods for the interpretation of literature. Because^ of^ Aristotle's emphasis on the preliminary identification of species in order to recognize the qualities peculiar to each, the neo-Aristotelian literary critic ascribes more importance than the New Critic to literary genres or types. Another difference between these critical groups is the neo-Aristotelian's "pluralistic" willingness to admit social or political aspects of a work as part, albeit a secondary part, of its overall aesthetic effect. Most^ impor- tant, the two groups differ in what they emphasize as the basic stuff and the immediate purpose of literature. Where the New Critic sees primarily a pattern of words and images that produce a meaning, the neo-Aristotelian sees primarily a pattern imitating human action and experience to produce an emotional effect.
In 1985 the differences of these mid-century schools of criticism seem less important than the similarities. The most lasting contributions of both New Critics and neo-Aristotelians may be, first, their insistence on attention to the concrete, the particular and the specific, and second, tneir emphasis on methodological consistency and self-awareness. The most fundamental characteristic of both groups, however, is the predominant con- cern with structure and unity that permits us to label them both as formal- istic approaches.
Rather than formalistic, practitioners of New Criticism or Neo- Aristotelianism might prefer to call their approaches to literature intrin- sic. That^ is,^ such^ critics^ and^ teachers^ concern^ themselves^ with^ life-RFT= ness, with poetry as poetry (so a New Critical dictum puts it) and not as some other thing, whether that other thing is philosophy, persuasion, or general system-clearing self-expression on the part of the author. New Critics and Aristotelians claim to focus instead on the structures, quali- ties, and effects of what they call literary works themselves.
Another set of powerful approaches to literature can be called extrin- sic. Critics^ and^ teachers^ using^ one^ of^ these^ approaches^ suspect^ that^ to speak of literature-as-literature is more to engage in tautology than to define a useful concept. Concerned instead with the workings of psycholo- gies or societies, these students approach literary texts as records of and occasions for significant behavior. Literature, they think, does not insulate writers and readers from their families, their culture, or their own minds. It rather may reveal under analysis the meaning of behavior, especially that sort of behavior centering upon texts.
Two related approaches within this extrinsic set are psychoanalytic and archetypal criticism. (^) The first approach descends, of course, from the theories of Sigmund Freud, the second--a little less directly--from those of
OVERVIEW OF CRITICAL APPROACHES 3
Eliot and the admiration of New Critics in general for the English meta- physical poets.
By mid-century New Criticism had the field largely to itself except for a small but vocal group of scholars at the University of Chicago who empha- sizeo the old rather than the new as they championed Aristotelian principles and methods for the interpretation of literature. Because of Aristotle's emphasis on the preliminary identification of species in order to recognize the qualities peculiar to each, the neo-Aristotelian literary critic ascribes more importance than the New Critic to literary genres or types. Another difference between these critical groups is the neo-Aristotelian's "pluralistic° willingness to admit social or political aspects of a work as part, albeit a secondary part, of its overall aesthetic effect. Most impor- tant, the two groups differ in what they emphasize as the basic stuff and the immediate purpose of literature. Where the New Critic sees primarily a pattern of words and images that produce a meaning, the neo-Aristotelian sees primarily a pattern imitating human action and experience to produce an emotional effect.
In 1985 the differences of these mid-century schools of criticism seem less important than the similarities. The most lasting contributions of both New Critics and neo-Aristotelians may be, first, their insistence on attention to the concrete, the particular and the specific, and second, their emphasis on methodological consistency and self-awareness. (^) The most fundamental characteristic of both groups, however, is the predominant con- cern with structure and unity that permits us to label them both as formal- istic approaches.
Rather than formalistic, practitioners of New Criticism or Neo- Aristotelianism might prefer to call their approaches to literature intrin- sic. (^) That is, such critics and teachers concern themselves with lifFIFFT: ness, with poetry as poetry (so a New Critical dictum puts it) and not as some other thing, Wether that other thing is philosophy, persuasion, or general system-clearing self-expression on the part of the author. New Critics and Aristotelians claim to foci_s instead on the structures, quali- ties, and effects of what they call literary works themselves.
Another set of powerful approaches to literature can be called extrin- sic. (^) Critics and teachers using one of these approaches suspect that to speak of literature-as-literature is more to engage in tautology than to define a useful concept. (^) Concerned instead with the workings of psycholo- gies or societies, these students approach literary texts as records of and occasions for significant behavior. Literature, they think, does not insulate writers and readers from their families, their culture, or their own minds. (^) It rather may reveal under analysis the meaning of behavior, especially that sort of behavior centering upon texts.
Two related approaches within this extrinsic set are psychoanalytic and archetypal criticism. (^) The first approach descends, of course, from the
theories of Sigmund Freud, the second--a little less directly--from those of
OVERVIEW OF CRITICAL APPROACHES 5
many to find their studies valid. As^ long^ as^ the^ persuasion^ holds--and^ as long as stories, poems, plays, and movies are about that wh4ch we have called our minds, souls, spirits, or selves--psychoanalytic and archetypal criticism will remain attractive to many.
Another set of extrinsic approaches to literature begins from analysis not of individuals but of groups or classes. Its^ master^ codes^ derive^ less from psychology than from history (understood to include politics, sociol- ogy, and economics). Such^ analysis^ may^ sound^ scholarly^ and^ objective;^ it often is the first and claims to be the second. Often, too, however, the teacher or critic using one of these approaches is self-consciously com- mitted to a set of values (whether traditional or revolutionary) and a pro-
gram of action (whether guarding the culture or inverting it).^ Suspicius
of universal archetypes, both scholars and the agitators in this mode agree, however, that literary texts reflect social conditions. More^ than^ that, those who write and read literary texts use them in relations of power to form those social conditions.
The single socially oriented approach considered during the 1985 Insti- tute was feminist literary criticism. (The^ previous^ paragraph^ should suggest parallel criticisms of "Literature" as a white, male, aristocratic and bourgeois institution.) Feminist^ critics^ and^ teachers^ may^ be^ said^ to have two main tasks: to^ resist^ the^ dominant^ literary^ system^ and^ to^ discover alternatives to it. Feminists^ typically^ perform^ these^ tasks^ by^ raising questions. What have women had to say? And^ what^ does^ this^ text^ say^ about women? Answering^ these^ questions^ has^ meant^ the^ unearthing^ of^ buried^ texts and the rethinking of responses to familiar ones. As within intrinsic and psychological literary discourse, so within feminist criticism and teaching there has developed no uniform approach. Nevertheless^ feminist^ study^ of literature remains for some in both the university and the secondary school a necessary and exciting approach today.
"BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON"
Stephen Vincent Benet
Norma Jean Tow Gadsden High School Gadsden, Alabama
Janice Whitman Charles Henderson High School Troy, Alabama
This is for you who are to come, with Time, And gaze upon our ruins with strange eyes.
So, always, there were the streets and the high, clear light And it was a crowded island and a great city; They built high up in the air.
I have gone to the museum and seen the pictures.
--Stephen Vincent Benet
OVERVIEW
Stephen Vincent Benet's science fiction adventure tale, "By the Waters of Babylon," is an account of a young man's passage into manhood. (^) This story lends itself well to the archetypal approach to criticism in that the reader can clearly trace the initiation ritual from the time that John is chosen for the priesthood until he returns from his quest, having matured so that he now has the wisdom to use the knowledge that he has gained. (^) The neo-Aristotelian approach could also be used because the protagonist moves through a clearly defined plot to the recognition that knowledge must be tempered with wisdom. (^) Much of what the reader knows about John and the setting of the story is gained through Benet's use of imagery, which lends itself to the New Critical approach.
John, a priest's son who has been chosen to become a priest himself, sets out on a journey, his quest for manhood, after he has undergone the ritual of purification performed by his father. After he has been given certain signs, John takes the forbidden way east, eventually reaching the great river which he has been forbidden to cross. (^) Even though he believes his life to be at risk, he knows that he must cross the river and enter the Place of the Gods so that he may be at peace with his spirit.
Entering the place of the Gods, John not only findsmany strange and wondrous things, but he does not die. In a vision, he sees what this place
6
"BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON" 8
SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIUNAL OBJECTIVES
After studying "By the Waters of Babylon," students
- will^ perceive^ how^ Benet's^ use^ of^ the^ first^ person^ narrator^ adds^ to or serves to create the suspenseful plot and allows the reader to gradually learn with John
- will be able to relate the Biblical allusion in the title to the tone of the story
- will^ be^ able^ to^ identify^ the^ phases^ of^ John's^ ritual^ initiation into manhood
- will be able to relate the prophetic nature of this science fiction work to today's world and to the implications for the future of our civilization
- should^ be^ able^ to^ determine^ ways^ in^ which^ aohn^ is^ separated^ from authority and how this separation affects the process of maturation
- should^ be^ able^ to^ identify^ the^ methods^ used^ by^ Benet^ to^ make^ the primitive life style seem realistic
- should be alle to identify what John learned or recognized in the process of his journey
- should be able to identify the images that Benet has used and show how these images function in the story
PREREADING ACTIVITIES
- In order to establish point of view, read with students the first six paragraphs of the story. Ask the following questions:
a. Who is telling the story?
b. What do we know about the narrator?
c. What do we know about when and where he lived?
d. What do you think that the story is going to be about?
e. (^) What was like a fire in the heart of the narrator and burned in him?
- (^) Read aloud Psalm 137 in order to help students to understand the Biblical allusion in the title. Give background information as is necessary for the students to know what and where Jerusalem, Zion, and Babylon are. Then ask the following questions:
"BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON" 9
a. Who or what is destroyed? By whom?
b. Where are the Jewish people? How do we know?
c. From^ the^ title,^ what^ kind^ of^ story^ do^ you^ think^ that^ this^ will^ be? What will it be about?
- This^ activity^ may^ be^ used^ in^ relation^ to^ item^2 or^ it^ may^ be^ used^ as^ a separate discussion.
Discuss the various possibilities of the destruction of a civilization, basing the discussion on questions such as the following:
a. What^ civilizations^ have^ been^ destroyed^ or^ no^ longer^ exist?
b. What happened to these civilizations? What caused or led up to the demise of the civilization? Were^ the^ causes^ internal^ or^ external?
c. Could^ this^ destruction^ have^ been^ prevented?^ If^ so,^ how?^ If^ not, why not?
d. Could^ such^ destruction^ happen^ in^ our^ country^ or^ in^ the^ world^ today? Explain.
- (^) In order to focus on an understanding of the tribal structure and the rite of passage or initiation, use questions such as the following to lead the discussion:
a. (^) When does one become an adult? Are there any outwardly identifi- able signs or things that you could use to show that you are an adult in our culture? (Some examples that might be used are the driver's license, work permit, voter registration, registration for the draft.)
b. Is^ there^ any^ particular^ process^ or^ procedure^ that^ must^ be^ followed in order to attain adult status?
c. In other cultures (e.g., Indian tribes) are there particular pro- cedures? What kinds of rituals? In these, what is the role of a priest?
- In order to focus on John's potential for leadership, read the first six paragraphs. After reading, use questions such as the following:
a. (^) What is your idea of an ideal leader?
b. (^) In the story, what kind of leader is the narrator's father?
c. (^) What kind of leader will the narrator become? Use evidence from the story to explain your answer.
"BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON" 11
- Review the list of words on the reading guide so that students will clearly understand how these terms function in the story and what they mean to John.
- (^) List the following terms on the board or on a hand-out. Ask students to identify What is referred to in each case. How does an understand- ing of these terms add to an understanding of the story?
a. (^) Ou-dis-sun f. (^) enchanted boxes or jars b. (^) Bitter Water g. (^) the mighty temple c. UBTREAS h. the drink of the gods d. ASHING i. the bronze door that could be e. carved stones with numbers (^) opened or words j. (^) Destruction
- (^) From the reading guide, identify the three things which were forbidden. Guide discussion by using the following questions:
a. What was John's response to each of these warnings?
b. (^) What did he expect to happen as a result of his actions? (^) What did happen?
C. What did John learn as a result of this experience?
- (^) Ask students to find the question that John asked regarding the gods while he was in the Place of the Gods.
a. What was his question?
b. (^) What seems to be his answer? Explain.
c. What does this indicate about John's growing maturity?
- Ask students to consider the following questions. (^) Give them time to write down their responses, then discuss orally.
a. (^) If our civilization were destroyed, what kinds of evidence would we leave?
b. How might our evidence be interpreted?
- (^) In order to discuss civilizations that hay,: been destroyed, have stu- dents list objects that have been uncovered from remnants of such aestruction that remain enigmas to modern man. (^) Include accomplishments that are difficult to understand or that amaze us. (^) (An example would be the art of embalming as thP Egyptians practiced it.)
- (^) Discuss the story as science fiction that is predictable or that could be considered as prophecy. (^) Relate this to other science fiction stories such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne.
"BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON" 12
- The^ Hill^ People^ were^ guided^ and^ protected^ from^ danger^ by^ their^ customs and by the wisdom of the priest. John,^ the^ narrator,^ went^ into^ places where none of his ancestors had ever been. He^ was^ prepared^ by^ advanced learning, rigorous discipline, special treatment in his family and tribe, and rituals. Ask^ students^ to^ compare^ his^ preparation^ with^ that of the astronauts (or other such special groups). Write^ responses^ on the board and discuss.
- Discuss^ with^ students^ what^ it^ means^ to^ "eat^ knowledge^ too^ fast."^ Ask them to cite instances in today's world when it has seemed that knowl- edge was gained too quickly. They^ should^ explain^ the^ consequences^ of such gain. An example might be the development of the mechanical heart.
- Discuss the prophetic meaning of the story. Divide^ the^ class^ into groups to encourage more individual participation. Suggest^ that^ they consider the title of the story as a propnecy.
- Divide^ the^ class^ into^ five^ groups. Assign^ each^ group^ one^ of^ the^ five senses: sight,^ hearing,^ touch,^ taste,^ smell. Ask^ each^ group^ to^ look for the sensory images in the story that pertain to that particular sense. When students reassemble, list the images that each group nas named on the board. Use the lists to show how Benet's use of imagery helps to crcate the tone of the story.
- Lead a discussion concerning the fulfillment of a "dream." Ask^ stu- dents the following questions, giving them time to write down brief responses. After you have finished the questions, have students ex- change papers and comment on the papers that they read.
a. What is your dream?
b. What will be important in seeking to fulfill your dream?
c. What sacrifices or risks may be involved?
d. Who will help or impede the achievement of your dream?
e. Who will understand/misunderstand your dream?
- Read aloud Carl Sanaburg's poem, "Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind." Allow students time to contemplate what they have heard before asking them to respond to the poem in relation to the story. Some lines could be reread for emphasis, or the students could be g4ven copies of the poem. (The poem is attached.)
- Ask students to select one of the following activities: story (a picture showing a scene from the story), draw a man John's journey to the Place of the Gods, complete a char (either a verbal description cr a drawing) or write a journey.
2
! the ,ing :etch t John's
