Lesson Overview 

The Vertext

After the quiz - we begin by going through the Vertext that I prepared.   See my page on class discussions for more on Vertexts.  I probably also ask the students before we begin, "What is out of season, exactly?"  That's a great question to get things going - because there are at least 4 answers (fishing, buying alcohol, Peduzzi's life, the couple's relationship)

As with all Vertexts - I begin on one end of the room (I try to alternate) and a student reads the quote aloud.  The  page number is given so that the students can find where we are.  I also expect them to - and remind them to take notes.  The student reads the quote aloud and a discussion ensues from that quote.  The quotes are are chosen carefully to evoke emotions and help a discussion along.

The Discussion (after reading the story aloud) 

If there are separate Lesson Notes for this story - I have not  yet located them.  I believe in recent years that I relied on my very heavily noted text to conduct the story.  That notated text can be found below. This kind of a discussion is especially doable when you have read the story aloud in class.  I will leave it up to you to see how these quotes fit in - anything is good, as long as it's based on the text - but if you really want to see why I chose them - look at my lesson notes (found below).  But I will give a few highlights of the quotes that I chose.

Vertext Highlights 

Slide 3 - There is a lot of imagery regarding "mystery" or things hidden (including people in their doorways).  This echoes Hemingway's choice to hide the biggest plot point of the story.

Slide 4 - "A wonderful day for trout fishing".  I do not doubt that J.D. Salinger is paying homage to Hemingway (whom he knew) with the title to his incredible short story: "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" - especially given the ending of that story and the untold ending of this one)

Slide 13 - "I'm sorry you feel so rotten..."   Once students are given the biographical material that goes with this story - and they see the underlying plot points ("Tiny" or Hadley is pregnant) these lines make incredible sense - and the students always felt that yes - Hemingway was right - by not telling us it added to the story.

Slide 19 - "They turned sharp down the bank and..."  They find the fishing spot and of course it is terrible.  Like so much in this story it had been built up and turns out to be "empty".  I then - in the slide - compare this to a line from All Quiet - "A man dreams of a miracle and wakes up to a loaf of bread".

Slide 24 - Such beautiful prose.  "After another short drink the young gentleman handed the bottle over."  Really the climax.  Peduzzi drinks the bottles and it holds the promise of new worlds - a better life for him.  Like so much in this story, it points to him expecting a big change coming out of today - a big change from a very glum life.  And it is not to be.

The Big Reveal(s)

As either the Vertext (Slide 27 and the handout) or a teacher-led discussion - the students are given a handout that shows what Hemingway left out of this story.  I usually ask a student to read it aloud as the class follows along.  It turns out that this story is based on a trip that Hemingway and his first wife Hadley took together - and she was pregnant at the time.  This is pretty cool because it allows the class and you to speculate that perhaps "Cat in the Rain" and "Hills Like White Elephants" are part of this story that came before.  

A Group Work

I really believe that the best way to do this lesson is as a discussion - specifically as a Vertext.  However, it is also kind of cool to see students putting the pieces together even more so by themselves.  There is a group work that gives them all of the evidence found in the story about Tiny's pregnancy and Peduzzi's suicide.  Again - use caution given the content of the Group Work.