Discussion topics:

Students will:
Analyze texts using literary elements and genre characteristics.
Employ writing strategies to interpret literary texts.
Utilize critical reading strategies to interpret literary texts.
Examine cultural context presented by diverse textual perspectives.
In the characterization unit, you will read, analyze, and discuss three works of literature, Three plays: one from the late 20th century, one from the early 20th century, one from the late 19th century. Post-its and Trifles are American and Doll’s House is Norwegian.
The cultures may be different from what we see in the 21st century, especially when it comes to marriage roles and societal expectations in marriage. Be sure to consider the time and location of each work when reading and discussing.
Posting
Discussion Topics:
Here are some ideas to explore in your post. You need not answer all.
Keeping in mind the Shakespeare passage about life as a play and/or Dunbar’s poem about masquerade, consider any of the following questions:
How do the characters in both plays engage in a masquerade? What happens when the mask is removed?
Look at individual words used by different characters in different situations in comparing the following:
the change in how Nora speaks and how other characters speak to her as the play progresses
how Mrs. Wright is described before her marriage to Mr. Wright and how Mrs. Wright is perceived through Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter’s conversations.
With a play, stage directions, indeed, can help us better understand what is happening. Notice the brevity of the stage directions. Instead, it is largely the words spoken by which we interpret the characters.
Without a narrator, how do we know what a character is saying is true?
How do we get inside a character’s head?
Can we fully understand what motivates a character?
With these plays, knowing the characters proves difficult due to the masquerades the characters hide behind.
Who is the true character, the character behind the mask or the masked character?
What is a true character?
Quoting Requirements:
You are required to use quotes from Doll’s House and Trifles to back up your argument.
You must use quotes from either Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask” or Shakespeare’s As You Like It
Length Requirement:
I will leave off the length requirement as I am looking at quality, not quantity, of thought.
A doll’s house: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2542/2542-h/2542-h.htm?courseID=155684&assignmentID=4316158&skipModuleItemSequence=true
Trifles:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/10623/10623-h/10623-h.htm?courseID=155684&assignmentID=4316158&skipModuleItemSequence=true#TRIFLES