Lesson 1: Thematic Pathway

Lesson Objective

In this unit, students will think about the theme and essential question as they focus on Modernist art and literature. They will explore examples of Modernist poetry such as “The Great Figure” and “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” They will also read the Modernist short stories “A Cup of Tea” and “The New Dress” and an excerpt from the play The Glass Menagerie. Poems “miss rosie,” “The Idler,” “Hurricane Season,” and “Pearl Divers’ Daughters” allow students to consider how feelings of alienation can result from a variety of situations. Furthermore, the nonfiction texts A Room of One’s Own, “Be Ye Men of Valour,” Killers of the Dream, and “Shooting an Elephant” encourage students to think about the power of the written word to reflect important historical events and the experience of alienation individuals experienced within them.