Ethan Frome
Day 1
An Introduction
Before class, be sure to…

Have books on hand to distribute to students.

Write the five themes on the blackboard.

Print out quote slips for small group activity.

Prearrange “Eyewitness Report” activity with a colleague (Liz, Eric, or Nancy).
Procedure for class:
Tell students that we will be beginning a unit of study for a new novel, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton.
Today, we will be introducing and working with five major themes of the novel.
Homework for tonight will be to read the prologue of the novel and respond to a variety of questions on the online
discussion board. In addition, students should mark up their text using multi-colored Post-its.
Post the following five themes on the board and have students copy them down in their notebooks:
1. Conflicts existing between personal inclinations and group obligations.
2. How much control do we have over the choices we make?
3. Is suicide a solution or a “cop out”?
4. People need people.
5. How do we know what is true or real?
(Plan to spend about ten minutes of class addressing each of these themes.)
Theme #1: Conflicts existing between personal inclinations and group obligations.
Journal Opener: Have students think about a movie, television show, or work of literature that deals with the theme of
sacrificing individual wishes for the benefit of someone else. (My example: Star Trek – “The needs of the many
outweigh the needs of the few…or the one, Jim.”)
In their journal, have students respond to the following questions:

What dilemma does the protagonist face?

Who is asking him or her to make the choice?
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Does this person have that right?
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What, ultimately, influences the protagonist’s decision?
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Was the decision the “right” one for him/her as well as the other person involved?
(Journal along with students for 5-7 minutes)
Briefly discuss similarities and differences among students’ responses.
Theme #2: How much control do we have over the choices we make?
Crystal Ball Exercise: Split students into six groups. Assign each group a different quote from the list below:

“The doctor don’t want I should be left without anybody to do for me.” – Zeena, p. 28

“I know I ain’t anything like as smart as I ought to be…but if she’d only let me I’d try.” – Mattie, p. 37

“She needn’t know anything about it if you keep quiet. I’ll get another just like it tomorrow.” – Ethan, p. 63
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“Oh no – don’t let’s think about it…” – Ethan, p. 69
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“I’m the one to blame for its getting broken.” – Mattie, p. 94

“Yes, and my folks told me at the time you couldn’t do less than marry me after…” – Zeena, p. 83
Ask the students to predict the following:
1. What will this person probably be like?
2. How will this attitude affect the way he/she deals with the difficulties in life?
After allowing students about five minutes to confer in groups, have them briefly present their quotes to the group.
Theme #3: Is suicide a solution or a “cop out”?
This topic might be pretty sensitive with students, so tread lightly.
Perhaps just open a brief forum for discussion to introduce this theme.
Theme #4: People need people
Create a role-play situation in which a communication gap exists between a young person and an authority figure.

A student is trying to tell a parent about a success (or a problem) but the adult is too busy or too preoccupied to
listen.

A teen is trying to break up with his/her boyfriend/girlfriend, but the other refuses to admit anything is wrong.
Have fun! Get into character and make it entertaining!
Discuss: How does this make you feel? How do you handle the feelings?
Theme #5: How do we know what is true or real?
Brainstorm definitions of truth and reality, jotting responses on the chalkboard. About five minutes into the exercise,
engage in the following “Eyewitness Report” exercise you have prearranged with a colleague (Liz, Eric, Nancy):

Colleague enters the classroom.

He/she walks up to a students, asks to be accompanied out into the hall, hinting that the student has done
something wrong.

When you intervene on the student’s behalf, you are brusquely told to stay out of it.

The student and the colleague leave.

You then ask the rest of the class to write up what they saw in case the administration needs a report.
Have students share their reports. After hearing a few accounts (which may or may not feature bias), explain to the
class that you arranged the entire situation to show that while something may seem real to you, it might not be actual
truth.
In life, the truth is subjective, and, as we’ve seen in As I lay Dying, narration can be as well.
Ticket out the Door:
Which theme introduction activity did you like the best, and why?
As you read tonight, try to look for this theme in the reading.
Tonight’s Homework:
Read the prologue (pp. 1-17) in Ethan Frome.
Respond to at least 2 of the following discussion threads on the online discussion board, in addition to starting or
responding to student-generated threads:
1. What does the name Starkfield suggest about the setting? How does Herman Gow corroborate this later?
2. What is the stereotype of an engineer? How is the narrator/engineer atypical? Can the reader therefore trust
what he tells us? Why did Wharton have the narrator say that he “…began to piece together this vision” (rather
than “version”) of Frome’s story?
3. What is significant about the missing “L”-structure on the farm?
4. What places do Herman Gow and Mrs. Ned Hale occupy in the story?
 “The doctor don’t want I should be left without anybody to
do for me.” – Zeena, p. 28
 “I know I ain’t anything like as smart as I ought to be…but if
she’d only let me I’d try.” – Mattie, p. 37
 “She needn’t know anything about it if you keep quiet. I’ll get
another just like it tomorrow.” – Ethan, p. 63
 “Oh no – don’t let’s think about it…” – Ethan, p. 69
 “I’m the one to blame for its getting broken.” – Mattie, p. 94
 “Yes, and my folks told me at the time you couldn’t do less
than marry me after…” – Zeena, p. 83