Assignments

1. Read the following works:

a. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
b. Our Town by Thornton Wilder
c. "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner
d. "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemmingway
e. Short Story of your choice by F. Scott Fitzgerald
f. Five poems of your choice written by Langston Hughes

2. The last lines of The Bridge of San Luis Rey are:

a. "But soon we shall die and all memory of those five will have left the earth, and we ourselves shall be loved for a while and forgotten. But the love will have been enough; all those impulses of love return to the love that made them. Even memory is not necessary for love. There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning."
b. In a 1-2 page essay, explain how this theme is developed in the novel.

3. Pick one of the following essay prompts to write a 1-2-page essay for each prompt about The Bridge of San Luis Rey.

a. Thornton Wilder said that he wrote the novel to ask the follow question, "Is there a direction and meaning in lives beyond the individual's own will?" According to the novel, what conclusion if any does Wilder reach? If he does not reach a conclusion, then why not?
b. Choose a character from the novel and discuss the nuances that contribute to the character's development.
c. Was Brother Juniper an objective researcher? Explain your answer.
d. Consider the following quote:

i. Now he discovered that secret from which one never quite recovers, that even in the most perfect love one person loves less profoundly than the other. There may be two equally good, equally gifted, equally beautiful, but there may never be two that love one another equally well.
ii. Use examples from the book to defend, qualify or challenge this assertion.

4. Write one 4-5-page essay on the following topic: These works deal with the issues of disillusionment with old ideas and ideals. How do we see this disillusionment in these works?

5. Watch the movie The Crucible (I have a copy that you can borrow - please note this movie is PG-13, and it does have some very brief nudity in it). Then write a 2-3 page essay comparing and contrasting the movies with the play. This essay should address some of the following questions:

a. How are the themes of the book represented in the movies? How does this enhance, change, or diminish the meaning of the book?
b. How does the director interpret the book? How do these interpretations enhance, change, or diminish the meaning of the book?
c. What stylistic choices (lighting, cinematography, music and sound effects, and/or other special effects) did the director make? How do these choices enhance, change, or diminish the meaning of the book?
d. How were the characters similar to/different from how you interpreted them in the book? How does this enhance, change, or diminish the meaning of the book?
e. What was added to the movie that was not in the book? What was in the book but not in the movie? How does this enhance, change, or diminish the meaning of the book?

6. Pick one of the following essay prompts to write a 1-2-page essay for each prompt based on the play The Crucible.

a. Critics disagree about whether John Proctor or Abigail is the protagonist of this play. Adhering to the definition of the term, argue and support your choice of John Proctor or Abigail as the true protagonist.
b. A foil is a character in literature who highlights certain traits of the main character by contrasting them. For example, a coward helps show the hero's bravery in a stronger light. Choose two characters who are foils and explain what character traits they reveal about each other and why that is important to plot/themes of the play.
c. Pick one of the characters and analyze his/her motivation throughout the story. Why does he/she do the things he/she does? How does this motivation change throughout the story?

7. Pick one of the following essay prompts to write a 1-2-page essay for each prompt based on the play The Crucible.

a. At the end of the play, Proctor begs, "I have given you my soul; leave me my name." When Judge Danforth refuses, Proctor rips his confession, knowing that he will be hanged. Was this the right decision? Defend, qualify, or challenge the morality of Proctor's actions using examples from the play to support your thesis.
b. At the end of the play, when Hale begs Elizabeth to convince Proctor to confess, Elizabeth says, "He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!" Was this the right decision? Defend, qualify, or challenge the morality of her actions using examples from the play to support your thesis.