A Doll's House – Act 2
Page 980
Objective
Students will analyze the difference
between protagonists vs. antagonists
and heroes vs. villains in order to
identify the roles of the characters in
Act 2 of A Doll's House and formulate
a selection summary.
Relevancy
When we first started reading A Doll's House,
we talked about how it was a modern realistic
drama. However, we have only identified the
“hero” in our stories. We will analyze what
qualities make a character an antagonist or
protagonist in order to better draw connections
to conflicts in our own lives. We will analyze
the human condition to find redeeming
qualities in those who we labeled villains.
Protagonist versus Antagonist
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Video clip
Vocabulary
First, repeat after me: Protagonist, Antagonist
Protagonist: the main character, in a literary work,
that the reader/audience empathizes with
Antagonist: is the opposing force that causes
conflict for the protagonist
1. Does a protagonist always prevail and defeat the
antagonist?
2. Does a hero always prevail and defeat the villain?
3. Does a villain have any redeeming qualities?
Vocabulary
Pair Share – say the terms protagonist and
antagonist in the following sentence stem:
If I am the protagonist, _________________ would
be the antagonist in my life because
______________________________________.
-----------------------------------------------------------------Ex: If I am the protagonist, my ex-Walmart bosses
would be the antagonists in my life because they
always tell me I do everything wrong rather than
try to help me do things correctly.
Reading Strategy / Formative
(identifying characteristics)
Show the smiley face if you agree with the statement
and the sad face if you disagree.
1. Odysseus is a hero because he defeats every obstacle he faces
and grows as a person.
2. Poseidon is a villain because he did nothing for Odysseus
except try to kill him.
3. Ms. Lesniak is an antagonist because she fails some of her
students.
4. Ms. Lesniak is a villain because she fails some of her students.
5. Romeo is not a hero because he doesn't grow as a person.
Choral Reading
You have each received a card with one of the following characters:
Nora
Mrs. Linde (Kristine)
Helmer (Torvald)
Dr. Rank
Together, those of you who have the same character will
be reading aloud that character's lines.
As we begin today's reading, pay close attention to the
character's actions to see if they are multidimensional.
Selection Summary review – Act 2
(pages 978-980)
•What does Mrs. Linde do for Nora?
•What does Nora suggest about Torvald's personality?
•What is Nora hiding from Mrs. Linde? Does Mrs. Linde
suspect anything?
•Mrs. Linde is sewing Nora's dress for the tarantella dance.
Nora suggests that her husband is extremely territorial and
will get jealous if Nora speaks to even a friend, such as
Kristine. Nora is hiding that Krogstad plans to blackmail
her by revealing the forged bank loan to Torvald. Mrs.
Linde definitely suspects something and may still believe it
has to with Dr. Rank.
Selection Summary – Act 3
(pages 981 - 983)
•What decision of Torvald's does Nora try to challenge?
•How does Torvald handle Nora's request?
•What is Torvald's reasoning for his actions?
•Nora is trying to convince Torvald not to fire Krogstad.
Torvald is angered that Nora would try to persuade and
undermine him. Torvald decides he is still going to fire
Krogstad because he cannot let his employees think he is
indecisive or easily manipulated by his wife. Also, he does
not like the fact that Krogstad addresses him by his first
name. He feels that is very disrespectful for an employee to
address his boss in such a manner.
Selection Summary – Act 4
(pages 984 - 988)
•How does Dr. Rank feel about his current health situation?
•What does Dr. Rank claim he would give up for Nora? What
does this say about his character?
•What does Nora's refusal to ask Dr. Rank for money suggest
about her personality?
•Dr. Rank knows he is going to die soon and feels that nobody
will remember him once he's gone. Dr. Rank says he would give
up his life for Nora because he is in love with her. He isn't
holding anything back knowing he will die soon. After hearing
this, Nora decides not to ask Dr. Rank for money because it
would be taking advantage of him, which means he has caused
conflict for her.
Selection Summary – Act 5
(pages 989 - 993)
•What is Krogstad's initial thought upon receiving his
termination letter? What may this foreshadow?
•What does Krogstad mean by “something worse”?
•Do you agree that Torvald has forced Krogstad back to his old ways?
•Krogstad thinks Torvald must not love or respect Nora at all for
still sending the letter knowing her reputation will be ruined.
Nora has not yet told Torvald, which Krogstad learns after. But,
this could foreshadow Torvald's real reaction. Krogstad
insinuates that he has thought of suicide. Knowing more about
Krogstad, it's easier to sympathize with him, especially knowing
the real reason for his termination.
Selection Summary – Act 6
(pages 994 - 997)
What is problematic about Torvald carrying the mail key?
Why does Nora keep dancing like her life is at stake? How
does Torvald respond to this?
It is a problem that Torvald has the key because it shows he
is in control over Nora and that he will soon find out her
secret when he checks the mail. Nora cannot ask for it
because as a subordinate, it is not her place and looks
suspicious. Nora is dancing out of control to reflect how her
life is out of control. She is also dancing to distract Torvald.
She confirms to Torvald that she is dancing as if her life is at
stake and he ignores that she said anything at all.