Lesson Overview 

The Quiz ("Now I Lay Me")

The quiz today is not on "Big Two-Hearted River" - that quiz  can be found in the previous lesson and covers both parts.  Instead. at the end of the last class, the students were given a copy of Hemingway's story, "Now I Lay Me" to read for today's class - and the quiz is on that.

The Vertext - Theory #1 (Shell-Shocked veteran trying to return to the life he knew0.

The majority of the Power Point (found below) is a Vertext (quotes verbatim) from both parts of the story.  As with all Vertexts, a student reads the quote (just go down each row, giving each student a chance) and the class responds to the quote through discussion.  I have included below a version of that Vertext with my notes on what should (though anything can) come up in discussion - and possible areas for the teacher to make sure get covered.  After having done their exhilarating Group Work in the previous class - the students will have a lot to say about these quotes, and that will probably go far beyond what I've included in my notes.  The discussion for this part (the Vertext) will present theory #1 - the one that they did in their Group Work, that "Big Two-Hearted River" is about Hemingway (Nick) after he returns from the war.  It is a struggle but by taking it in "small bites" he can do it.

Handout #1A  (found below - "Big Two-Hearted River / The Great War")  Theory #1 (again)

Have a student read the first part of this handout aloud (from James R. Mellows's Hemingway - A Life without Consequences).  This reiterates the idea of Nick's fishing trip as rehabilitation after the war.

Handout #1B  (found below - 2nd half of the same handout)  Theory #2  - "Now I Lay Me"

On the Power Point and on this handout are found parts of the text of Hemingway's story, "Now I Lay Me".  In that story, the entire fishing trip is just a way for the wounded, disturbed soldier (Hemingway/Nick) to keep from falling asleep by creating a river and its surroundings with such detail that the creation of it - keeps him from falling asleep because he believes that if he does fall asleep he will lose his soul and go mad.

Handout #2  (found below - from A Movable Feast)  Theory #3  - Write like Cezanne paints.

Have students read the paragraphs of this handout aloud.  Here they will find a very different backstory (or lack of it) for "Big Two-Hearted River".  In his recounting of his years in Paris, Hemingway writes that he wanted to write a story - in the same way that Cezanne painted landscapes - and he found himself doing a pretty good job of it!   This is also a good time to bring up the fact that the idea for "Big Two-Hearted River" being the story of a soldier's attempt to return to normalcy only came many years after "In Our Time" was published an in absolutely none of his contemporaneous letters did he even hint that was the kind of story he was writing.  The Power Point includes a number of Cezanne landscapes to give the students an idea of what Hemingway may have been aiming for.

Coming Soon:  Theory #4 - Hemingway's mother kicked him out and "Big Two-Hearted River" is a recounting of that monumental and scarring incident in his life.

The students will be given this theory when they hear the two day lecture on Hemingway's life.

What is the Purpose of this Lesson?

That's a great question.  The students came up with a theory to explain the unique nature of "Big Two-Hearted River" in their previous class - the Group Work - and now this lesson undermines (though it doesn't negate) what they came up with.  Well - to fully understand that, the best explanation is to show them that nothing is simple in literature and that putting too much stock into the history and biography surrounding a text - may turn out to be a waste of time.  For a deeper dive into that idea please see my lesson on Stephen Booth and his lens of literary criticism.