"The dead cats were Roland and Georgia O'Keeffe, their cremains in elaborate colorful urns on the mantelpiece" (p. 212). |
"In this pretty room, this formal room with the silk shades, the portraits of ancestors, and the lark beneath the bell jar" (p. 221). |
By looking at the short story's death motif through the lens of the characters' differing reactions to the death-related events in the text, this lesson explores the concept of foil characters and the interdisciplinary unit theme of individual worth Death crops up in many scenes and in many forms throughout the story: urns, dead mockingbirds, a vehicular manslaughter, a deceased lover, etc. Father Snow and the girls were explicitly cast as foils on page 214 - "He was the furthest thing from ice they could imagine, the furthest from their admiration of ice, the lacy sheaths, the glare, the brilliance and hardness of ice. There had never been enough of it in their lives" - but the contrast is made clearer by mapping out their opposite personalities through one area in which it definitely shines: their reaction to death. Interestingly, their reactions to death also provide insight into their beliefs about individual worth. However, in contrast to both of their clear-cut, consistent, and one-note reactions and beliefs, Mommy and Daddy present a more complex case that we also explored through the lesson's main Jigsaw activity.
Death Motif: Jigsaw Activity Characters' Reactions to Death We explored the short story's death motif through several characters' reactions to the death-related events in the text. We also looked into what their reactions to death said about their beliefs about individual worth (i.e. If you brush off a death as insignificant, do you believe the person or bird had individual worth?). Organizing into Jigsaw groups of three, each member selected a character to study - Father Snow, Mommy/Daddy, or the girls - and split up into expert groups. After they found text details to illustrate the character's reaction to death and inferred their beliefs about individual worth from them, the expert groups met back with their home groups to report their findings to their peers. A short response question for each expert group followed-up the charts. Be sure to identify text details that showcase a character's reaction and not just one that describes a death-related event. With Father Snow and the girls consistent in their reactions to death - but also opposite in their reactions to death - they are cast as foil characters. Father Snow's overemotional state emphasizes the lack of empathy evident in the girls. However, with their reactions to death revolving around a past car accident, Mommy and Daddy are trickier to pinpoint. |
Motif: a distinctive feature or a dominant, reoccurring idea in a literary or artistic composition. Foil Characters: A character who contrasts with another (usually the protagonist) in order to highlight/emphasize particular qualities of the other. The juxtaposition of two opposite characters in a work of literature.
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Example Text Details:
FATHER SNOW "She had arrived with the city's pastor, an Episcopal priest, who had been in a depression for a number of months because his lover had died" (p. 212).
"Father Ice was talking with his eyes shut, tears streaming down his face" (p. 214).
"Father Ice had broken down at dinner the previous night over a plate of barbecued butterflied lamb, recalling, it could only be assumed, the manner in which Donny had once prepared this dish" (p. 214-215).
"'A toast,' Father Snow said,' a toast to those not with us tonight. He looked at them unhappily" (p. 219).
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MOMMY / DADDY "Daddy ran over that man that winter night...but Daddy didn't stop even though he knew he'd very likely killed him because you were going to a concert, it was the night Daddy was going to propose to you, and Daddy didn't want your life together comprised" (p. 220).
"...Arleen appeared again and spoke the words as they appeared on the first page: 'Headaches. . . Palpitations. . Isolated. . .Guilt...Your mother thinks of her heart as a speeding car" (p. 218).
"'Do you think we could do something about it?' Mommy said tentatively. 'Is it possible after all these years? I do feel sorry,' she said, 'We do.'" (p. 221).
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THE GIRLS "The girls grimaced at [the birds' nest], knowing it contained two rotting eggs, having investigated it some days before. They had not informed Mommy of the nest's pulpy contents and they never would, of course" (p. 218).
"...the cats had slaughtered no less than a dozen songbirds by visible count, that they were efficient and ruthless and that the way in which they so naturally expressed their essential nature was something the girls admired very much" (p. 217).
"They loved the story - the night, the waves of snow descending, the elegant evening clothes, the nonexistent girls, some stranger sacrificed" (p. 220).
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Father Snow's Dual Definition for Repentance: Heart or Mind: Categorizing Mommy/Daddy's Reactions Father Snow and the girls are clear-cut foils, being straightforward, consistent, and one-note in terms of their reactions to death. They never deviate from their characterizations: Father Snow as emotional and the girls as cold and insensitive. However, Mommy and Daddy are more complicated. Therefore, we looked at Father Snow's repentance speech to evaluate whether Mommy and Daddy are genuine in their reactions. Similar to a List-Group-Label activity, go back to the text details you or your peers identified for Mommy / Daddy. Think about whether their new reactions to the hit-and-run indicate a change in mind or a change in heart. Think about how each internal change would manifest itself externally. Go back to the text to categorize Mommy and Daddy's other reactions, as well. Is there an imbalance? Do they really see the individual worth in their victim now and wish to rectify that night or do they merely want forgiveness for their own clean conscience? |
TEXT EXCERPT:
"But the word is misunderstood!" Father Snow said. "The word translated throughout the New Testament as repentance is, in the Greek, meta-noia, which means change of mind. Meta means transference, as in metaphor - transference of meaning. Transformation."
"The English word repentance is derived from the Latin poenitare, which merely means to feel sorry, suggesting a change in the heart rather than in the mind. Poenitare is a most inadequate word, which doesn't reflect the challenge involved," Father Snow said excitedly.
"Very difficult. Another way of thinking, a different approach to everything in life..." he said uncertainly.
"The English word repentance is derived from the Latin poenitare, which merely means to feel sorry, suggesting a change in the heart rather than in the mind. Poenitare is a most inadequate word, which doesn't reflect the challenge involved," Father Snow said excitedly.
"Very difficult. Another way of thinking, a different approach to everything in life..." he said uncertainly.