Thursday, March 8, 2007

The students are going to read the short story from “Four Seasons” which was due today but they are confused. I am allowing time to talk to other students and debate their answers.

I am then going to hand out the questions for “Miss Brill”. These are due on Monday. I have pasted them below:

Miss Brill: Questions
Answer each of these questions fully. Be sure to use specific supporting evidence from the story, including quotations, as you respond to the questions below. You may do this in pairs, but keep in mind that if someone is not here on the day it is due and it can’t be handed in, you will both be considered late.
1. There is evidence in the story that Miss Brill might be experiencing some mental or emotional problems. What parts of the story support this interpretation?

2. On a related note, throughout most of the story, Miss Brill seems to experience reality not as it is but as she would prefer to see it. What parts of the story support this interpretation?

3. What do we know about Miss Brill's life? How might some of the facts of her life contribute to her problem with reality?

4. What details in the story suggest that Miss Brill might be having some health problems and might even be reaching the end of her life?

5. In what ways does Miss Brill change because of the comment from the young man near the end of the story? What realization does Miss Brill experience?

6. Create a character sketch for Miss Brill. Be sure to consult the “characterization” section of the short story handout I gave you.

7. What might be three or four good topics for the body paragraphs of an essay on "Miss Brill"? What might be the most logical order for those ideas in an essay?