Good evening :)
Today we finished our unit on drama/theater. I was glad that we were able to watch some scenes from Death of a Salesman. Here they are in case you'd like to watch them again.
We'll start with the Oberlin production starring Avery Brooks as Willy and Justin Emeka as Biff.
This video sounds much clearer on my new laptop!
Next is the clip of Willy and his sons at the restaurant. This is the 1980s TV movie with Dustin Hoffman and John Malkovich.
The clip below shows Willy's flashbacks where he sees his sons when they were young.
I do want you to see the end of the play, Willy's funeral:
I wish that our textbook still included Death of a Salesman!
Now that we are moving on to fiction, I would like you to read chapters 4 and 5 as well as the following folktales:
"Godfather Death" http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/
"Coyote and Eagle Visit the Land of the Dead" http://www.native-languages.
Here are a few questions for your journal:
-- Apply some of our terminology to discuss the clips from Death of a Salesman. How do the actors bring the scenes to life? How does the dialogue help you make up for not having read the play?
-- Which version do you prefer? The one starring Avery Brooks or the one starring Dustin Hoffman? Why? Feel free to compare plays and films.
-- How do the clips from Death of a Salesman shed light on the plays we've read (Fences, Crossing the Border)? By the way, do you remember that the film of A Doll House showed Krogstad as a father?
-- How is your paper coming along?
-- How is fiction different from/similar to drama? (Consider that fiction is meant to be read whereas drama is meant to be performed.)
-- How do the stories you've read so far (including "Godfather Death" and "Coyote and Eagle") handle plot? How does this compare to the way that drama/theater handles plot?
-- Discuss the role of description and exposition in fiction. How do they compare to stage directions in drama?
-- Discuss the role of conflict in fiction. How would you map the stories' plot onto a narrative arc?
-- Of the types of conflict our editors mention on pages 117 and 118, which seem more interesting to you? Why?
-- Compare how our plays and our short stories begin.
-- Discuss dialogue in fiction. How does its role compare to its role in drama?
-- How do we enter characters' minds in fiction?
-- Compare the shorter and longer stories. Does length matter in fiction? Why?
-- How are "Godfather Death" and "Coyote and Eagle" different from/similar to the literary fiction we read?
I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing what you have to say!
Dr. Szlyk
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