New Format.

I was thinking about it this weekend, and also discussed it with Mom, and I've decided that the format I've been using for this blog is too formal and is obviously not conducive to discussions or the sharing of our shared love of reading.

I'd like to change it from being me asking too-scholarly questions to more of a review/what are you reading/did you like it kind of atmosphere.

I am brainstorming a bit more about what the details of the new format will be and would be glad to take suggestions, but would like to start this transition by inviting you to become an author. With more authors, hopefully this will become less student-teacher and more "we all enjoy reading, let's enjoy it together."

So for the first step, please comment on this post and let me know if you'd like to be an author. Hopefully I'll have my brainstorming done and the new format ready for tomorrow's post.

Also, if you aren't already receiving posts by e-mail and would like to, let me know that too.

A Break... UPDATED

2/17 UPDATE: Break will be a little longer. Maybe through next Monday, the 23rd.

I'm going to take a break from the Top 100 List for the weekend. I will start back up with Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster on Tuesday the 17th.

#99: Main Street (32-29)

Discussion Questions (TeacherVision)
Chapter 32:
1. Whose version of the story do you believe - Mrs. Bogart's or Fern's? Why?

Chapter 33:
1. What is the word old Mr. Valborg says to Carol before he leaves? Give reasons for your answer.

Chapter 34:
1. What is different in what Carol notices about Main Street and what Will notices? (after returning from their trip)

Chapter 35:
1. How does Carol try to keep herself content? Why is she obsessed with the idea of contentment?

Chapter 36:
1. What does Kennicott think would make Carol contented? Would it? Explain.

Chapter 37:
1. How has Gopher Prairie changed Carol?

Chapter 38:
1. What influences Carol's decision to return to Gopher Prairie?

Chapter 39:
1. What concessions does she decide to make for Kennicott? Why is this unnecessary?

Vocabulary
Chapter 32:
1. cuspidor (503): spittoon

Chapter 36:
1. seditious (440): arousing to action or rebellion

Chapter 37:
1. enmities (445): hostilities; hate relationships

#99: Main Street (28-31)

Discussion Questions (TeacherVision)
Chapter 28:
1. What is Carol's first reaction to Erik Valborg? When she discovers who he is, why does her reaction change? How is this ironic?

Chapter 29:
1. What kind of child is Hugh? How do his observations color Carol's world and her views?

Chapter 30:
1. Why does Carol get jealous of Maud and Erik talking?
2. Why does she call Erik "Will" by mistake?

Chapter 31:
1. What is Vida's advice to Carol? What is Carol's response?

Vocabulary
Chapter 28:
1. rakish (345): dashingly or sportingly stylish

Chapter 29:
1. discursively (361): in a rambling manner

Chapter 30:
1. damascened (377): damascening is the art of inlaying different metals into one another

Chapter 31:
1. scrupulously (393): in a careful manner; with extreme conscientiousness

#99: Main Street (24-27)

Discussion Questions (TeacherVision)
Chapter 24:
1. Why does Carol move into her own room? How does this affect others around her? Who supports her decision? Why?
2. Why did Carol not notice the bad accommodations for their servants earlier?

Chapter 25:
1. What attracts Will to Maud Dyer? How is she different from Carol?
2. Why does Carol find it inconceivable that Will would be unfaithful to her?

Chapter 26:
1. How is Miles a better father figure to Hugh than Kennicott?

Chapter 27:
1. How are Mrs. Flickerbaugh and Mrs. Westlake like Carol? How do they cope with their dislike of the town?
2. How do we know Kennicott is continuing his affair with Maud Dyer?

Vocabulary
Chapter 24:
1. epicure (311): a person devoted to sensual pleasures & sensuous living
2. puerile (315): adolescent

Chapter 26:
1. pariah (337 and prior): outcast, a person who is rejected
2. flaccid (340): flabby; soft; floppy

Chapter 27:
1. seditious (342): in opposition to a civil authority or government; defiant; rebellious

#99: Main Street (21-23)

Discussion Questions (TeacherVision)
Chapter 21:
1. What happened to other women from "the Outside" when they came to Gopher Prairie?

Chapter 22:
1. What, according to Lewis, is the main characteristic of a town like Gopher Prairie that keeps it from becoming as great as Rome or Paris?
2. Why is change scary to the settled Gopher Prairians, according to Vida? Why is it necessary, according to Carol?

Chapter 23:
1. Is Carol a socialist? Explain your answer.
2. Is Vida patriotic? Explain your answer.

Vocabulary:
Chapter 21:
1. astral self (272): a body positioned between the intelligent soul and the physical body; a projection of herself through space
2. traducers (275): defamers; someone who slanders or speaks maliciously of another

Chapter 22:
1. diaphanous (291): semitransparent; clear

Chapter 23:
1. neophyte (305): newcomer; beginner

#99: Main Street (18-20)

Discussion Questions (TeacherVision)
Chapter 18:
1. What does the Gopher Prairie Dauntless write about the performance (play)? Which opinion is correct, the paper's or Carol's? Explain your answer.

Chapter 19:
1. How is Miles's transformation into respectability similar to Carol's? How is he still looked on as "trash"?
2. How does Carol's perception of the town change at the library board meeting?

Chapter 20:
1. Now that Carol is in the midst of change, how is she reacting to it? Why is this surprising?
2. What do all the older married women of town think the child will do for Carol? How does their attitude towards her change? Give examples.

Vocabulary
Chapter 18:
1. scabrous (236): dealing with indecent material
2. intaglios (246): large ground drawings made by removing pebbles that make up desert pavement

Chapter 19:
1. decorous (258): marked by proper behavior

#99: Main Street (15-17)

Discussion Questions (TeacherVision):
Chapter 15:
1. How does Carol's reforming nature negate (contradict) her attempts at marital bliss?

Chapter 16:
1. Why doesn't Carol join Miles and Bea for lunch? What does she find of interest in their conversation?

Chapter 17:
1. How does being in Minneapolis affect the way Carol sees her husband?
2. Why does Will go to the plays with Carol? What is the quality of the plays? How do they affect Will? Carol?

Vocabulary:
Chapter 15:
1. deprecating (197): expressing strong disapproval of

Chapter 16:
1. nebulously (215): cloudy; lacking definite form or limits
2. diffidently (221): timidly or shyly

Chapter 17:
1. potentate(s) (232): dictator or ruler who is unconstrained by law

#99: Main Street (12-14)

Discussion Questions (TeacherVision):
Chapter 12:
1. Why do the problems of Gopher Prairie evaporate at the cottages? How is the routine different?

Chapter 13:
1. What, according to Guy Pollock, is the "Village Virus"? What are its symptoms? What does Pollock mean by the small town being a "social appendix"?

Chapter 14:
1. What is the turning point in the conversation (between Will and Carol)? When does it become an argument? What are the real issues?

Vocabulary:
Chapter 12:
1. jocosely (167): with humor; comically
2. daguerreotype(s) (171): early type of photograph; a plate of coppery lightly coated with silver

Chapter 13:
1. unctuousness (175): smug, self-serving earnestness

Chapter 14:
1. palavering (182): profuse and idle talking; chattering (TeacherVision definition)

Quote I liked:
"As they returned in late afternoon the low sun was a solemnity of radial bands, like a heavenly fan of beaten gold; the limitless circle of grain was a green see rimmed with fog, and the willow wind-breaks were palmy isles" (p. 165).

#99: Main Street (9-11)

Discussions Questions:
Chapter 9 (TeacherVision):
1. How does Kennicott's oblivion to the town's opinion of Carol affect her feelings toward him?
2. How does Will's mother restore Carol's confidence?

Chapter 10 (TeacherVision):
1. In what ways does the town exhibit prejudice? In what ways is Carol prejudiced?
2. Why is it important to Juanita (and Gopher Prairie) to have "cunning and original" ideas that are "not too queer or freaky or anything"?

Chapter 11:
1. Thanatopsis is defined as "an essay expressing a view on the subject of death" or as "the contemplation of death." What do you think about Lewis's use of this term as the name of the lady's club? Is he stating quite obviously that these ladies are "killing" the subjects (ie: English poets) through their focus on trivial facts and exclusion of deeper meaning?
Reference: On page 144, after the first essays of Carol's experience are finished being presented, Carol thinks to herself, "They think they're dong Burns a favor.... They're sure they have culture salted and hung up."

Vocabulary:
Chapter 9:
1. mollycoddles (119): persons who are over-pampered; weaklings
2. charivari (120): a noisy mock serenade

Chapter 10:
1. doggerel (128): clumsy verse, usually with a monotonous metre
2. sacerdotal (136): priestly; of or relating to priests or a high religious order

Chapter 11:
1. tattoo (148): a drumbeat or bugle call; rhythmic tapping

Quote:
"...overstimulated by the drug of thought" (p. 102). Aren't we all?