Week Two:
Read "The Bet" by Anton Chekhov
Discussion of:
Theme
How to determine theme
Find several phrases from story that might reveal theme.
Does the character change?
How does the character change?
Why does the character change?
Characters:
Flat or Round
Vocabulary Notebook:
Using the vocabulary words from the story, write your own short story. Create a plot in which at a certain point in the story, the verb tense changes from active voice to passive voice to express the characters' mood or change in situation.
Round Table Discussion:
Divide into groups of four
Round-Robin discussion of the attorney's views
Prepare a brief summary of the group's response to the lawyer's philosophy
Dramatize the Story:
Write a scene in which the lawyer has escaped and finds himself in a lodge some distance away. He hasn't spoken to anyone in fifteen years but decides to confide in a stranger. Write a dialogue in which he speaks for the first time as a "free man". The partner will develop his/her own character and respond to the lawyer's story.
Grammar:
Active/Passive Voice
Find a paragraph in which Chekhov uses verbs in the passive voice. Make a list of the subjects and their passive verbs. How would you rephrase each sentence so that it uses an active verb?
WRITING AND READING SKILLS HANDBOOK
Grammar Handout:
Worksheet #5
Page 39
Examples A and B
HOLT HANDBOOK
Active/Passive Voice
Pages 199 - 203
Exercises 15 and 16
Discussion Questions for
"The Bet"
Printable Version (opens in new window).
Please read about these questions here.
Possible Questions for Students to Answer While Reading the Text:
Answer the Banker's question: "Which executioner is the more humane, he who kills you in a few minutes or he who drags the life out of you in the course of many years?
What is meant by "The State is not God"?
Do you think the lawyer is right that the "death sentence and the life sentence are equally immoral"? Why or why not.
Do you agree with the lawyer that "To live anyhow is better than not at all?"
Why do you think the lawyer takes the bet? What do you think this says about this life?
Why does the narrator call the bet "wild" and "senseless"?
Why does the narrator call the lawyer an "unhappy man"? Do you think the lawyer is unhappy? Why or why not?
What does the lawyer mean when he says that "desires are the worst foes of the prisoner"? Is this true?
Why are the novels that the lawyer reads in the first year characterized as "light character"?
Why does the lawyer move from novels of "light character" to the "classics"? Is this a step up or a step down? Explain.
What are "classics"? How would they differ from novels of "light character"?
Why, after reading the classics for three years, does the lawyer act the way he does (angrily talking to himself, not reading books, throwing his writing away, crying)?
In the sixth year the lawyer devours over six hundred volumes of language, philosophy and history. Why do you think he is so motivated?
The lawyer writes in his letter, "The geniuses of all ages and of all lands speak different languages, but the same flame burns in them all." What does he mean by this? Is this true?
When the lawyer speaks of the "unearthly happiness" he feels what does he mean?
Why, after reading over six-hundred volumes in four years would the lawyer spend one year reading the Gospel (another translation renders it "New Testament")?
Why does the banker characterize the Gospel as "one think book easy of comprehension"? Is the Gospel easy to comprehend? Why or why not?
In the last two years the lawyer reads a little bit of everything. Why is this?
The narrator characterizes his reading as "a man swimming in the sea among the wreckage of his ship, and trying to save his life by greedily clutching first at one spar and then at another." What does this mean? Is this true?
Why does the banker call the bet "cursed"?
Why does the banker fear being pitied by the lawyer?
A paragraph in the second half of the story begins, "It was dark and cold in the garden. Rain was falling. A damp cutting wind was racing about the garden, howling and giving the trees no rest." How does this language and atmosphere relate to what is going on in the story?
The lawyer looks terrible, much older than his 40 years. Why?
Why does the lawyer write that he despises "freedom and life and health, and all that in your books is called the good things of the world"?
The lawyer writes that he has experienced all kinds of things in books: love, hunting, mountain climbing, storms, miracles, religions, wars, etc. Is reading about something the same as experiencing it? Which is better and why?
Is the lawyer proud? If so, is he too proud?
What does the lawyer mean by, "You have taken lies for truth"? Can you think of any examples of people doing this?
The lawyer marvels at those who "exchange heaven for earth"? What does he mean by this?
The lawyer once saw the two millions as "paradise," but now he despises the money. Why?
Wouldn't it have been better to take the money? Why or why not?
Why does the banker think of the lawyer as a "strange man"? Is he a "strange man"?
Why does the banker have contempt for himself after reading the lawyer's letter?
In what ways is the lawyer a different man?
In what ways is the banker a different man?
Would you take such a bet? For 5 years? For 1 year? Why or why not?
Did you like this story? Why or why not?
Lesson Plans for “The Bet” by Anton Chekhov
Define solitary confinement
Define criteria for lawyer’s imprisonment
Journal topic: Would you be willing to remain in solitary confinement for two million dollars?
What are qualities of a well rounded human being?
Real life experience vs. Book learning
As we read, note vocabulary and literary elements and devices
After the second flashback, pause to predict the story’s direction/conclusion
Question author’s purpose/point of view in reading log
Identify and explain story elements, including:
Author’s use of direct and indirect characterization
Use of plot development
Subplot
Parallel episodes
Climax
Revelation of character through:
Dialect
Dialogue
Dramatic monologues
Soliloquies
Identify and explain significance of literary devices:
Metaphors
Imagery
Symbolism
Flashback
Foreshadowing
Sarcasm/Irony
Oxymoron
Culminating Written Extension:
Alternate Ending
What Happens Next?
A Persuasive Paper arguing position of the young man
|
No comments:
Post a Comment