Teachers' Outlines for Studies in English Part 2

To what extent does the author use dialogue?

STYLE.--Is there any attempt to use dialect?

Do the characters talk as we should expect them to talk, or do they all talk like the author?

Note a few pa.s.sages that express humor; some that express pathos. Find a few descriptions that present vividly a scene of beauty. Are the sentences easy and natural, or formal and dignified?

THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE AUTHOR.--What do we know of Goldsmith's childhood? his family? his education? his professional training? his travels? his friends in London? his literary enterprises?

What can you find in the experiences and character of Dr. Primrose, of Mr. Burch.e.l.l, or of George Primrose to suggest Goldsmith's own experiences and character, or those of his father?

What characteristics of Goldsmith do you think you have a right to infer from this story? Give reasons.

COMPARISON.--Does the charm of this novel lie in the setting? in the plot? in the characters? in the style? in the lesson it teaches? or in all of these factors together?

Compare this book, topic by topic, with _Ivanhoe_ or with some other novel recently studied.

OUTLINE FOR THE STUDY OF CRANFORD

I. Preparation

It is important that a young student before he begins to study _Cranford_ should have some idea of the kind of story that it is.

Otherwise he is likely to be disappointed and to fail to appreciate its charm. Several ways are suggested for approaching the first reading. Let the teacher, or if possible one of the cla.s.s, give an account of a small English village, using photographs, if they are available, to show some characteristic features. Let the cla.s.s write an account of some country place that they know well with definite details of the houses, the people, and the customs. Have the best accounts read in cla.s.s. Present to the cla.s.s, or have them study from the introduction, the brief facts of the history of this story: who Mrs. Gaskell was; her connection with Knutsford; the original purpose of the _Cranford_ sketches.

II. Reading and Study

Oral reading is more than usually important in a book like _Cranford_, for much of the enjoyment of the story comes from an appreciation of its wit and humor, and these qualities can best be brought out by oral reading. Some part of each day's recitation period might well be devoted to the reading of choice pa.s.sages. Of special value in securing appreciation of the story is the preparation of compositions based on the students' own knowledge of country life. They may be descriptions, both real and imaginative, of some country village; accounts of small social gatherings or card parties; dialogues to show the characteristics of the people, etc.

In addition to these exercises there will, of course, be need for cross-questioning to make sure that the important facts relating to the scene, the characters, and the events are clearly understood. Some care will be necessary to see that students understand the virtues as well as the foibles of the characters.

III. Study of the Book as a Whole

SETTING AND SITUATION.--Does Cranford seem like a real place? Give reasons for your answer.

When are the events related supposed to have taken place?

Why does Mrs. Gaskell pay so little attention to the details of time and place?

Could the scene of this story be changed to some other place and time without difficulty? Give reasons. Compare Cranford with some place that you know in respect to the poverty, aristocracy, social etiquette, employments, and peculiar ways of the people.

PLOT.--What relation does Chapter I bear to the rest of the book? Are there suggestions in it that make you expectant of what is to come in the ensuing chapters?

What connection has Chapter II with the preceding chapter? with the following?

Are Chapters III and IV connected? Are they connected with what follows?

Group the remaining chapters to show which belong together.

How many separate stories do you find with no connection except for the presence of the same characters?

We are told that a good story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

What seems to be lacking in _Cranford_?

If we were to consider as complete stories the incident of Miss Matty's love affair or of Poor Peter, should we find the same lack?

CHARACTERS.--What are the chief motives that prompted the Cranford ladies to do the things that they did, and to do them in the way they did?

How did Captain Brown differ from them in the motives that prompted his actions?

Show how the incident of Miss Jenkins's argument with Captain Brown on the relative merits of Mr. Boz and Dr. Johnson, ill.u.s.trates one side of Miss Jenkins's character. What is her other side? Ill.u.s.trate. Compare Miss Matty and her sister to show the strength and weakness of each.

What was there in Miss Matty that made the other ladies help her so generously in her trouble?

What sort of woman was Mrs. Jamieson? Were her neighbors blind to her faults? Why did they treat her as they did? Do you think they were insincere?

What other characters in the story have a distinct personality?

INTERPRETATION.--What purpose do you think the author had in writing this book?

From this story, what would you judge were her ideas on sincerity? on the treatment of one's neighbors? on conformity to custom? on social rank? and on other matters of everyday life?

METHOD OF NARRATION.--Who tells the story?

Does the narrator tell us only of the things that she sees and hears, or of other things as well? How is it in _Ivanhoe_? Would the story have to be changed essentially if it were told by Miss Matty, Miss Pole, or some other of the characters? Give your reasons.

Has Mrs. Gaskell succeeded in avoiding the awkwardness in the use of "I"

so common in stories told in the first person? If so, how? Compare it in this respect with one of your own narratives in the first person.

Point out, if you can, some ways in which the author has made her dialogues smooth and natural. Compare with one of your own.

STYLE.--Note a few of the most humorous pa.s.sages; of the most pathetic.

In the humorous pa.s.sages is the author laughing _at_ her characters, or laughing _with_ them? Compare in this respect her treatment of Mrs.

Jamieson, Miss Barker, and Miss Pole with Scott's treatment of Prior Aymer, Friar Tuck, and Athelstane.

THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE AUTHOR.--What facts do we know of Mrs.

Gaskell's girlhood? her education? her married life? her great sorrow?

her first literary success? her acquaintance with the literary men of her day? the regard of her neighbors for her?

COMPARISON.--Does the value of this book lie in its setting? in its plot? in its characters? in its style? in its teaching? or in all of these factors?

Compare _Cranford_ in respect to each of the above topics with the other novels that you have studied.

OUTLINE FOR THE STUDY OF SILAS MARNER