Realism Unit
Over the next week, we will be reading four Realist short stories. By the end of this unit, you will be able to:
1.) Understand and recognize the conventions of Realism
2.) Understand the contributing factors which caused Realism to flourish in America
3.) Formulate a hypothesis in response to the essential question:
*What can realism help us understand about the limitations of ourselves as individuals and as a society?
You will be reading “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” “Editha,” and “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County independently and answering guiding questions for each story. In class, we will spend one on each of the three selections and perform a group activity.
During the course of the week, you will be reading Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat.” On the last day of our Realism unit, you will take the knowledge you gathered while reading the three previous selections, and in small groups, answer a question about “The Open Boat” and its relation to society.
By the end of the unit, you will have gained enough information to meet the three expectations set forth for the unit and to answer the essential question given above.
Selection 1- “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce
Please answer the following questions:
1.) As the story opens, what is about to happen to the man?
2.) Describe the bridge scene.
3.) Why is Peyton Farquhar not named as the condemned man until the second chapter of the story? What effect does this have on our perceptions of him and his importance?
4.) What was Peyton Farquhar’s crime?
5.) Describe Farquhar’s experience after he falls from the bridge. In how realistic of a manner is it portrayed?
6.) What is the shock we receive at the end of the story? Looking back, how was this foreshadowed?
*Activity: In a group of no more than four, answer one of the following questions:
1.) Why is the ending of the story so shocking? Think beyond the obvious, examine the role of realism in the story and how it contributes to the shocking ending.
2.) What does the story suggest about Peyton Farquhar’s ability to change his life, or his ability to have any power over the outside world?
Selection 2-“Editha” by William Dean Howells
Please answer the following questions:
1. In what ways does this story exemplify or embody ideas of realism?
2. What’s the nature of the relationship between George Gearson and Editha Balcom? In what ways can their relationship itself be characterized as a struggle for power over ideals?
3. What tactics does Editha use to make George believe as she does about the war?
4. Was George brought up to want to go to war? What are his mother’s and father’s beliefs? What profession did he wish to follow before becoming a lawyer?
5. Howells gives ample evidence that Editha is as much interested in “reading” herself as the heroine of a sentimental story as she is in George. What evidence in the story shows this?
6. Why does she give him a “clouded” liquid to drink? Note the language in that section: George gulps the liquid but refuses to drink hers as well. What might the liquid signify?
7. Editha is described as having a “throaty” voice. What does this suggest about her appeal for George?
8. Howells is careful to distinguish between women’s and men’s motives when he describes Editha’s and George’s response to the war. In what ways is this a story about gender as well as about idealism?
9. What is her father’s response to war?
10. Why does Howells specify that her mother sits in a “Shaker” chair? Who were the Shakers, and how do their beliefs reflect on the story’s themes?
11. What is the purpose of Editha’s letter? She hopes to accomplish her objective, but what does the reader see in this note?
13. How has George’s attitude toward the war changed when he comes to visit after being elected Captain? Why does he demand lots of clear ice-water this time? What does her father understand about George’s condition that Editha doesn't? Why is he now so brave? Compare the “ice-water” here with the clouded liquid mentioned earlier.
14. Note the description George gives of Editha: her red hair, blue eyes, and white skin in the moonlight. What is the significance of this description?
15. George’s speech in this second meeting is humorous: he teases Editha and mocks himself (“you've had a long row to hoe”), quotes from old popular songs (“When this cruel war is over” was a popular song during the Civil War), and otherwise says what he really thinks. How does this contribute to the depiction of his character?
16. Editha sees herself as being religious. Note the many references to God in this story; is she right about her religious beliefs? In what ways does the narrative voice undercut them? What place does God play in the conduct of war, according to this story?
17. When George is killed, why does Editha expect that shell have a fever?
18. Does George’s mother greet Editha with the respect and sympathy that she believes is her due? Why or why not?
19. What sort of comfort does the “lady” artist give Editha? What does this suggest about “ideal” artists generally?
20. Comment on the meaning of this sentence: “The mystery that had bewildered her was solved by the word [the artist had called George’s mother’s conduct “vulgar”] ; and from that moment she rose from groveling in shame and self-pity, and began to live again in the ideal.” Is there ever a time in which Editha truly understands what she has done? Does she ever experience an epiphany?
*Activity: In a group of no more than four, use the answers to the above questions to formulate a hypothesis in response to the following question which will be presented for class discussion:
How does Howells create a truly realistic piece by undercutting the concept of idealism with harsh realities?
Selection 3- “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain
Please answer the following questions:
1.) Where can we infer the narrator is from?
2.) What seems to be the difference between the narrator and Simon Wheeler? What is the narrator’s attitude toward Simon Wheeler?
3.) What is the importance of vernacular in this story?
4.) What is the irony in the story?
5.) Investigate and discuss the political undertones in the story (in relation to Andrew Jackson and Daniel Webster).
6.) Why do you think Wheeler is so interested in getting people to listen to his tall tales? Does he just like to hear himself talk, or does he think they can learn something from him?
7.) Why is it significant that Smiley’s animals all seem to have no use or value until Smiley finds one? What conclusions can you draw from the fact that despite clear limitations, they almost always win?
8.) What’s the deal with Smiley’s constant gambling? Is he an addict? If not, what satisfaction does it give him? Why do we tend to associate gambling with westerners?
Activity: In a group of no more than four, please put together an argument either for or against the following statement:
Although the narrator is more educated and apparently has more advantages than Simon Wheeler, the lesson of the tall tale shows us that even people who have been highly trained can be defeated when removed from their proper environment.
Please cite specific sections of the story to back up your argument. You will be given a brief time to formulate this argument, and will then present it to the class.
*Selection 4-“The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane
*You will have been independently reading this selection during our Realism unit.
Please answer the following questions:
1.) What does The Open Boat say about the perceptions and observations of men in a crisis (men facing death)? Why are the men enraged at being near the shore?
2.) What is the effect of us being told early in the story that the men in the boat are not near a rescue station?
3.) Why does Crane deliberately place the dinghy’s crew in sight of land in the story? What does the serenity of the scene on land emphasize about their situation and humanity’s relation to nature?
4.) How does the realism in this story compare to the realism in the previous stories in this unit?
5.) The Open Boat, according to one critic, represents Crane’s vision of “a universe essentially indifferent to man.” Do you agree? Why or why not?
6.) How does the indifference of nature affect the correspondent’s view of life and the relationships of the men?
7.) What moral effect on the reader does this story have that an objective newspaper article about the story would not have?
Activity: In a group of no more than four, please answer the following question.
*Please view the link titled “Naturalism Information” on the wikispace before answering the question. Pay careful attention to #3 in the “themes” section.
What elements of naturalistic writing are evident in this story? How does Crane’s view of the human community arise out of his view of the nature forces surrounding and working upon men?
In summary, make some notes on the essential question for the unit (in preparation for a test essay):
*What can realism help us understand about the limitations of ourselves as individuals and as a society?