The Ethan Frome Project.

Inarguably, Ethan Frome revolves around tragedy.  A key question for critics (and us) is what sort of tragedy is it--personal or social?  Check this website for a discussion about regional literature and Ethan Frome: Edsitement.  After reading through the site, ask yourself this question too: Is Ethan Frome another sort of personal tragedy all together?  Does Ethan need a change of personal perspective that does not depend upon circumstance?  How does perspective change with our circumstances?

Complete this project in addition to your critical analysis.  We will do the critical analysis with The Great Gatsby.  Here's the project:

1.  Note quotations in the book that address the environmental/personal tragedy question.  (2 Powerful Quotations)

2.  Deal with the "Personal/Social" tragedy question by looking at Bjorkman's thesis (in the Edsitement link above) about small rural communities.  Refute, support, or otherwise deal with his thesis with examples or "evidence" in these media: Audio, Video, and Visual Still Art (Photography or Painting).  Choose local evidence first.  Make sure all examples are appropriate!  Write a brief summary that explains the relationship of the evidence to Bjorkman's thesis.  Claim all work, comment on others' work, claim all comments.  (100 pts.)

3.  Specifics: Support your thesis with at least one powerful piece of art that you create.  "Answer" (Explore) this question: are TRAGEDY or JOY personal or enviromental or both? at least two Audio, Video, or   Visual Still Art examples.  You can create these or find them.  Mix and match.  You may work with others, if you so choose.  You may make references to other pieces of literature or works of art.  Think integratively.

Ask about successful projects from the past, if you don't have any ideas.

Here's an example of how one might deal with the question:

Thesis: Often, rural communities get plagued by an isolation that produces depression and loneliness.

Page 19 (Ethan speaking) "But after the trains begun running nobody ever come by here to speak of, and mother never could get it through her head what had happened, and it preyed on her right along till she died."

I could then draw a series of maps that show how a town or community begins, grows, and shrinks.  What if it eventually collapses?  What if I could relate it to my self-select reading of Jared Diamond's book Collapse, which describes how societies choose to succeed or fail.

Discover!