What makes old age so sad is not that our joys but our hopes cease.
— Jean Paul Richter
Who knows what true loneliness is — not the conventional word but the naked terror? To the lonely themselves it wears a mask.The most miserable outcast hugs some memory or some illusion.
— Joseph Conrad
Unit Goals
After learning the unit, students are expected to be able
·to know Katherine Mansfield as a prominent modernist writer of New Zealand,
·to know major features of modernist writing,
·to understand symbolism as a literary device,
·to explore the theme and the writing techniques of the story,
·to enlarge English vocabulary and reinforce grammatical knowledge, and
·to improve language proficiency and critical thinking through the content of this unit.
Before You Read
1.Form groups of three or four students.Try to find information about Katherine Mansfield.Prepare a presentation of 5 minutes to talk about her life and her major works.
2.Have you ever read any literary work written by a female writer? What are the names of these works and who wrote them? Select one of your favorites and report to the class what you’ve read.
3.What do you think are the differences between female writers and male writers? Please think of at least two differences between female and male writers and then share your ideas with your classmates.
Start to Read