March 28

AGENDA:

1) There are many lenses through which to read a literary work. Once you generate a central idea (what becomes a thesis) about a work (what you believe to be true), you set about forming an argument. A substantive argument might use external evidence, "A Letter from a Nineteeth Century Husband," "Girl," internal evidence or both. Regardless of the approach, it is essential that you be thoroughly familiar with the text before examining it under a particular lens.

Things to consider:
        Is "A Doll's House" a window or a mirror? Consider your answer.
        What is it's relevancy today?

2) The back cover of the Signet Classic edition says this about A Doll's House: "...brilliantly exemplifies Ibsen's landmark contributions to the theater: his probing of social problems, realistic dialogue, and depiction of his characters' inner lives as well as their actions. Rich in symbolism...deals convincingly and provocatively with the universal human emotions of greed, fear..., and confronts the eternal conflict between reality and illusion."

Defend these statements using examples from the text. Avoid plot summary.