Ladies and Tigers and Magi – Oh My…

1. Ladies and Tigers and Magi – Oh My… Feraco English 9 30 September 2009

2. Quiz Preparation • Your quiz will cover the three stories we’ve read thus far – “The Most Dangerous Game,” “The Gift of the Magi,” and “The Lady, or the Tiger?” • Elements from these stories include characters, plot elements, pacing and structure, setting, writing style, and themes/symbols • It will also feature the “bold word” concept definitions from the textbook and IR – diction, ambiguity, irony, etc.

3. The Most Dangerous Game • Holt Summary: While traveling by yacht, Sanger Rainsford, an expert American hunter, accidentally falls overboard. He swims to a mysterious island, where he discovers the medieval-style chateau of a cultured but sinister Russian, General Zaroff, who is attended by Ivan, a fearsome manservant, and guarded by a pack of fierce hounds. Zaroff confides to Rainsford that his love of hunting has been thwarted by the lack of challenging prey. He boasts that he has stocked his island with the most dangerous and clever game of all—humans. When Rainsford refuses to join Zaroff in such a hunt, the Russian forces his “guest” to become the hunted. Zaroff stalks Rainsford, who must rely on his wits to escape capture and death. After a suspenseful chase, Rainsford outsmarts Zaroff, surprising the general in his bedchamber. The resolution is not depicted, but it is implied that Zaroff is fed to his hounds.

4. The Most Dangerous Game • Elements from this story to watch for include plot, conflict, foreshadowing, chronology,and tension. • Standards include RS 1.1 (Identify and use the literal and figurative meanings of words and understand word derivations) and RS 3.6 (Analyze and trace an author’s development of time and sequence, including the use of complex literary devices [e.g., foreshadowing, flashbacks]).

5. The Most Dangerous Game • Some characteristics to note: physical descriptions (and the manner in which Connell makes them), personal philosophies (and the reason each man has his), past experiences, and comparisons/contrasts • Some details to note: the mechanics of the hunt (i.e., the rules of the game), the layout of Rainsford’s “escape routes” over the course of three days, and the specifics of his encounters with Zaroff (why his traps fail, for example)

6. The Most Dangerous Game • Some themes to consider: Compassion and Cruelty, Desire, Fear, Desperation, Survival, Morality, Humanity and Inhumanity, and Purpose in Life • How are some interrelated? • Finally, consider Connell’s writing style – his diction, his narrative perspective, his sentence construction, his pacing (exposition / complications / climax / resolution), his use of foreshadowing, etc.

7. The Gift of the Magi • Holt Summary: This O. Henry classic, famous for its characteristic surprise ending, is a tale of selfless love between a husband and a wife. At Christmas, Della sells her long, beautiful hair to buy her husband, Jim, a platinum fob chain for his prized watch. Ironically, Jim has sold his watch to buy an expensive set of combs for his wife’s hair. Their love for each other has compelled the two to sacrifice their most precious possessions.

8. The Gift of the Magi • Elements from this story to watch for include situational irony, diction, narrative perspective,and ambiguity. • Standards include RS 3.8 (Interpret and evaluate the impact of ambiguities, subtleties, contradictions, ironies, and incongruities in a text).

9. The Gift of the Magi • Some characteristics to note: physical descriptions (and the manner in which Henry makes them), motives (why do the lovers do what they do?), and the way the two speak with one another • Some details to note: the setting (and how it reinforces our characters), the moments before Jim returns home, and the specifics of Jim and Della’s final conversation

10. The Gift of the Magi • Some themes to consider: Sacrifice, Love, Poverty, Virtue, Desperation, Endurance, Wisdom, Youth, and Hope • How are some interrelated? • Finally, consider Henry’s writing style – his diction, his narrative perspective, his sentence construction, his pacing (exposition / complications / climax / resolution), his use of foreshadowing, etc.

11. The Lady, or the Tiger? • Summary: A princess and her impoverished lover are separated by the girl’s father, and the young man is placed on trial in the king’s arena. Once there, he must choose to open one of two doors. Behind one lies a tiger, which will devour him once freed. Behind the other stands a lady, who will marry him once revealed. While the crowd’s attention is diverted, the young man looks to the princess for a signal advising him as to which door to choose. Having possessed herself of the “secret of the doors” – the knowledge of which door houses which fate – she moves her hand to the right…and her lover obeys.

12. The Lady, or the Tiger? • Elements from this story to watch for include diction, narrative perspective,and ambiguity. • Standards include RS 3.8 (Interpret and evaluate the impact of ambiguities, subtleties, contradictions, ironies, and incongruities in a text).

13. The Lady, or the Tiger? • Some characteristics to note: motives (why do the lovers do what they do?) and temperaments (the king and the princess) • Some details to note: the setting (and its effects on our story), the princess’s inner thoughts, and the way in which she and her lover interact

14. The Lady, or the Tiger? • Some themes to consider: Selfishness, Sacrifice, Love, Virtue, Desperation, Jealousy, Wisdom, Youth, and Hope • How are some interrelated? • Finally, consider Stockton’s writing style – his diction, his narrative perspective, his sentence construction, his pacing (exposition / complications / climax / resolution), his use of foreshadowing, etc.