1、R einforcementT ext AnalysisB ackgroundW arming upA Dill PickleUnit 3Questions/ActivitiesCheck-on PreviewObjectivesUnit 3Warming upA Dill PickleWarming upQuestions/Activities Retelling Reconstruct the story by chronological orderhow they fell in love and then broke up, what might have happened to ea
2、ch of them during the time before they met again.2. Role play Dramatize the scene of their reencounterpay attention to the subtlety of tone, look, and action.3. Love counseling Imagine that you are a relationship counselor and give advice to the two lovers on what goes wrong in their relationship an
3、d how they can make up, if possible.Fill in the blanks.He closed his eyes an instant, but opening them his face _ up as though he had _ a match in a dark room. He _down the orange and _ on the table for the waitress.His thoughts _over the last meeting between them. And his memory _ as he listened to
4、 the familiar song.Warming upCheck-on PreviewlitstrucklingeredlaytappedunfoldedObjectivesUnderstand the story: theme & character.Appreciate literature:read between the lines; read the story from a particular perspective: feminism; interpret the symbols.3. Learn to describe a scene or object with acc
5、uracy: verbs.Warming upBackgroundHistoryAuthorUnit 3A Dill PickleAuthorBackgroundKatherine Mansfield (1888-1923) rebellious, dangerously witty, and lonely creative years burdened with loneliness, illness, jealousy and alienation: bitter depiction of marital and family relationships died of TBthe “ro
6、mantic disease”Her LifeAuthorBackgroundHer Works In a German Pension (1911) The Garden Party: and Other Stories (1922) The Doves Nest: and Other Stories (1923) Bliss: and Other Stories (1923) Stream of consciousness Characters psychological activities with detailed descriptions and symbolism AuthorB
7、ackgroundHer Influence Revolutionized the English short story; Marked the maturity of English short story; Was often compared to Dickens and Chekhov.1. Womens condition at the time: Women were advocated to cultivate such qualities as “tenderness of understanding, unworldliness and innocence, domesti
8、c affection, and above all, submissiveness in various degrees.” 2. “The Woman Question”: rising wave of feminist movement (late Victorian age to the early 20th century)HistoryBackgroundDetailedAnalysisCharacterAnalysis Style ThemeA Dill PickleText AnalysisStructure Unit 3Questions for thinking:Do yo
9、u think the character of the two lovers plays an important role in their relationship? What do you think results in the failure of their love and communication? 1.How would you describe the two characters relationship as presented in the story? Do you think this is a typical love story? If not, why
10、does the writer choose to tell it this way? Or what is her real purpose in writing such a story?Text AnalysisTheme1. Man-Woman relationship: sexual politics (ideas and activities that are concerned with how power is shared between men and women, and how this affects their relationships)2. Feminist c
11、oncern: What does a woman want? It was her “born duty to reckon everything subordinate to his comfort and pleasure, and to let him neither see nor feel anything coming from her, except what is agreeable to him.” J. S. Mill, The Subjection of WomenText AnalysisThemeSexual politicsThe man talks while
12、the woman listens.The man controls the conversation, demanding attention.The man is tantalizing, offering hopes that he withdraws at wish.The womans reaction: contradiction compromise rebellion5. The womans desire to be heard and understoodText AnalysisTheme1. Characteristics of modernist writing:sy
13、mbolic imagesfragmented plottrivial subjectspsychological insightinternal monologues, “stream of consciousness” Many of the images in the story are deliberately symbolic. For example, the flowers. Can you find out the implication of the flowers? Do they take on a second meaning in the story?Why is t
14、he story titled “A Dill Pickle”? How is it relevant to a love story? What might it represent symbolically, if it does?Text AnalysisStyle Character AnalysisVeraQuestions for thinking: How did Vera feel when she saw her former lover? Was she still attached to him?Why did Vera break up with the man six
15、 years earlier? Do you think Vera left the man again for the same reasons as the first time?1.What indeed did Vera want? Why had she been so lonely? Was it because, as the man said, she was an egoist?Text AnalysisCharacter AnalysisVera5. What does the “strange beast” stand for? Why does the author d
16、escribe it as a “strange beast”? Is this image conventionally associated with women?6. How do you understand that Vera was “born out of her time”?Text AnalysisCharacter AnalysisThe manQuestions for thinking: What is the mans name? Why isnt he given a name? Was the man still in love with Vera? If not
17、, why did he seem so happy talking to her and ask her to stay?Why did he “let it go at that” when Vera told him she had sold her piano?In what tone did he mention the break-up letter? Do you think he really understood now what Vera had written about him?1.Do you agree with what the man said about Ve
18、ra? Did he understand her to some extent?Text AnalysisText AnalysisQuestions for thinking: How does the story begin and end? How is it different from a traditional story? Why isnt the story told in the original time order? What kind of effect does it create on the readers mind?We know little of what
19、 really happened between the characters. Instead we are provided with only scattered memories and feelings. Why does the writer withhold the information? Do you find it more intriguing to work out the puzzle than to have a direct and full picture?StructureText AnalysisStructure1Paras. 1-12A chance r
20、eunion2Paras. 13-51His story and her story3Paras. 52-66The second breakupHow differently did Vera and the man react to their chance reencounter? Why? Do you think the man meant it when he said that Vera looked “so well”? Why did he say so?What details in this part have you noticed that might help us
21、 understand better the characters and the problem in their relationship? Text AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart I: DiscussionEpisode 1 (13-15): first date How did Veras memory differ from the mans recollection of their first date? Why did she later admit that “His was the truer.”?Episode 2 (16-21): on a
22、 lawnWhy did Vera at the moment think of this particular incident in their love affair? What might it tell of her feelings for the man?1.How did the mans words at that time contrast with his at the present? Do you find this contrast ironic? Why?Text AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart II: Discussion 23Roy
23、al Botanical Gardens (Kew Gardens), LondonText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisEpisode 3 (22-43): the Russian tripIn what way had the man changed in the six years? And the woman? What influence would it have on their relationship?Why did the man “let it go” when he knew that the woman had sold her piano? W
24、as it strange for him to do so?How did the man describe his experience of the river life? What picture did it provoke in Veras mind? Text AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart II: Discussion 25Russia: the Volga & the Black SeaText AnalysisDetailed Analysis26Boatmen on the Volga Text AnalysisDetailed Analysi
25、sEpisode 4 (44-51): the night of the Christmas tree What did the man suggest when he praised the woman as a “marvelous listener”? Why did Vera find “a hint of mockery” in his voice? What did it show that the man did not remember his dogs name whereas Vera did? What did it imply when the man “snapped
26、 the cigarette case to”? Text AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart II: Discussion Fill in the blanks.Many Chinese people are burdened with prices _their income. This door is narrow _ its height. He _a deep breath and dived into the pool.1.It has been 10 years since I was at the house. What has _ the old ga
27、rden? out of all proportion toin proportion todrew/tookText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart II: Exercise (1)become ofFill in the blanks.After that wonderful performance, the audience _ into a storm of applause. A sudden gust of cold wind and the ensuing thunder made me _. My mother was not quite satis
28、fied with the cow bought by my father but_. broke outshiverlet it go at thatText AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart II: Exercise (2)Why did Vera want to leave when the man mentioned their breakup six years ago? Why did she then change her mind and stayed?Do you think Vera and the man were lonely for the
29、same reasons? Was she an egoist as he was?Why did she leave again, and so abruptly?Text AnalysisDetailed AnalysisPart III: DiscussionUnit 3ReinforcementDiscussionA Dill PickleLanguageWe find Veras impression or memory very different from the mans. Why does the author present us with these contradict
30、ory stories? Whose version is probably more reliable?For most of the time, it was the man that spoke while Vera remained silent in her thought. Why is it so? Did she not want to speak? Or was it for any other reason?What did the man want from Vera by asking her to stay? What did Vera want from him?R
31、einforcementDiscussion5. What does this story tell of the womens condition in the beginning of the 20th century? In what way is Veras decision to leave uneasy and thus admirable?6. Do you enjoy reading this story? If so, what makes it so interesting or powerful?7. What important elements of the modernist short story have you learned about by studying this text? ReinforcementDiscussionUseful Words and Expressions decorate light up loathe moan manage (a word, smile) astounded linger unfold roll beyond words a hint of snap toReinforcementLanguage
