Gr 12-English Home Language-Facilitator's Guide Literature 2 by Impaq

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ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE FACILITATOR’S GUIDE: LITERATURE Grade 12

A member of the FUTURELEARN group

English Home Language Facilitator’s guide: Literature

1812-E-EHL-FG02

Í2,È-E-EHL-FG024Î

Grade 12

CAPS aligned

H de Villiers

Facilitator’s Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

CONTENTS PREFACE............................................................................................................................ 3 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 3 ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS ...................................................................................... 6 LESSON ELEMENTS.......................................................................................................... 7 YEAR PLANNING ............................................................................................................... 8 UNIT 1: Poetry and Long Day’s Journey into Night ...................................................... 10 LESSON 1: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 1 ........................................................... 10 ACTIVITY 1: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................... 10 LESSON 2: Background to the play and the dramatist .................................................. 13 ACTIVITY 2: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................... 13 LESSON 3: “Edward, Edward” ....................................................................................... 16 ACTIVITY 3: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................... 16 LESSON 4: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 1 ........................................................... 18 ACTIVITY 4: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................... 18 LESSON 5: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 1 ........................................................... 19 ACTIVITY 5: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................... 19 UNIT 2: Poetry and Long Day’s Journey into Night ........................................................... 22 LESSON 6: “The Going”................................................................................................. 22 ACTIVITY 6: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................... 22 LESSON 7: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 2, Scene 1 ............................................ 24 ACTIVITY 7: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................... 24 LESSON 8: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 2, Scene 2 ............................................ 26 ACTIVITY 8: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................... 26 LESSON 9: “The Good-Morrow” .................................................................................... 27 ACTIVITY 9: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................... 27 LESSON 10: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 2, Scene 2 .......................................... 29 ACTIVITY 10: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 29 UNIT 3: Poetry and Long Day’s Journey into Night ...................................................... 31 LESSON 11: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 3 ......................................................... 31 ACTIVITY 11: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 31 LESSON 12: “And Death Shall Have No Dominion” ...................................................... 33 ACTIVITY 12: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 33 LESSON 13: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 3 ......................................................... 35 ACTIVITY 13: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 35 LESSON 14: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 4 ......................................................... 36 ACTIVITY 14: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 36 LESSON 15: “Toads” ..................................................................................................... 40 ACTIVITY 15: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 40 LESSON 16: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 4 ......................................................... 42 ACTIVITY 16: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 42 LESSON 17: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 4 ......................................................... 42 ACTIVITY 17: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 42 © Impaq

Facilitator’s Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

UNIT 4: Poetry and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry .......................................... 44 LESSON 18: “I Have My Father’s Voice” ....................................................................... 44 MID-LESSON ACTIVITY : MEMORANDUM .............................................................. 44 ACTIVITY 18: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 46 LESSON 19: “Sonnet 146: Poor soul, the centre of my sinful earth” .............................. 47 ACTIVITY 19: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 47 LESSON 20: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Chapters 1 – 8 .............................. 49 ACTIVITY 20: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 49 LESSON 21: “Naming of Parts” ...................................................................................... 53 ACTIVITY 21: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 53 LESSON 22: “The Child Dying” ...................................................................................... 54 ACTIVITY 22: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 54 LESSON 23: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Chapters 9 – 16 ............................ 56 ACTIVITY 23: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 56 LESSON 24: “The Loss of India” .................................................................................... 59 ACTIVITY 24: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 59 LESSON 25: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Chapters 17 – 24 .......................... 61 ACTIVITY 25: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 61 LESSON 26: “Visiting Room” ......................................................................................... 67 ACTIVITY 26: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 67 LESSON 27: “Remembrance” ........................................................................................ 67 ACTIVITY 27: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 67 LESSON 28: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Chapters 25 – 32 .......................... 70 ACTIVITY 28: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 70 UNIT 5: Poetry, Long Day’s Journey into Night and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry ......................................................................................................................... 76 LESSON 29: Novel/drama ............................................................................................. 76 ACTIVITY 29: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 76 EXERCISE 1: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 76 EXERCISE 2: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 78 LESSON 30: Essay question on Long Day’s Journey into Night .................................... 80 ACTIVITY 30: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 80 LESSON 31: Essay question on The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry ........................ 83 ACTIVITY 31: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 83 LESSON 32: REVISION – Poetry UNSEEN and PRESCRIBED: contextual questions and essay ....................................................................................................................... 86 ACTIVITY 32: MEMORANDUM .................................................................................. 86 ADDENDUM A .................................................................................................................. 89 ADDENDUM B .................................................................................................................. 90 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................... 91

Facilitator’s Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

YEAR PLANNING

UNIT

DATE STARTED

LESSON TERM 1 LESSON 1: Long Day’s Journey Act 1 LESSON 2: Long Day’s Journey Act 1 BACKGROUND LESSON 3: “Edward, Edward” LESSON 4: Long Day’s Journey Act 1 NOTES ON THEMES in Long Day’s Journey LESSON 5: Long Day’s Journey Act 1 LESSON 6: “The Going” LESSON 7: Long Day’s Journey Act 2 LESSON 8: Long Day’s Journey Act 2 LESSON 9: “The Good-Morrow” LESSON 10: Long Day’s Journey Act 2 LESSON 11: Long Day’s Journey Act 3 LESSON 12: “And Death Shall Have No Dominion” LESSON 13: Long Day’s Journey Act 3 LESSON 14: Long Day’s Journey Act 4 LESSON 15: “Toads” LESSON 16: Long Day’s Journey Act 4 LESSON 17: Long Day’s Journey Act 4 TERM 2 LESSON 18: “I Have My Father’s Voice” LESSON 19: “Sonnet 146: Poor Soul, the Centre…” LESSON 20: Harold Fry Chapters 1 – 8 LESSON 21: “Naming of Parts” LESSON 22: “The Child Dying” LESSON 23: Harold Fry Chapters 9 – 16 LESSON 24: “The Loss of India” LESSON 25: Harold Fry Chapters 17 – 24 LESSON 26: “Visiting Room” LESSON 27: “Remembrance” LESSON 28: Harold Fry Chapters 25 – 32 NOTES on CHARACTERS in Harold Fry NOTES on THEMES in Harold Fry

DATE COMPLETED

Facilitator’s Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

LESSON 29: Contextual Questions – The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Long Day’s Journey … LESSON 30: Essay Questions – Harold Fry LESSON 31: Essay Questions – Long Day’s Journey LESSON 32: UNSEEN and PRESCRIBED POETRY: Contextual and Essay Questions

Facilitator’s Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

Unit

UNIT 1: Poetry and Long Day’s Journey into Night LEARNING OBJECTIVES After you have completed this unit, you must: • •

Know and understand the poems. Have a working knowledge of the poets who have written the poems and their era as it relates to the material of the poems. Have a good understanding of the text of the first act of Long Day’s Journey into Night. You must have: o acquired the skills of critical analysis, synthesis, research and notetaking as well as the writing of coherent and articulate explanations; o accumulated knowledge of the writer in the context of his/her era, rhetorical techniques in poetry, poetry form and style conventions and themes; o explored attitudes and points of view reflected in the themes of the texts; o made value judgements about the aesthestic merits of the texts and about ethical concerns raised in the texts.

• •

LESSON 1: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 1

ACTIVITY 1: MEMORANDUM Candidates would have learnt a lot about the parents since jotting down their first impressions in their Character Journals. At this point, they must add insights to their journal entries, motivated by what was said about the parents in the stage directions. Following this, candidates must record their first impressions of the sons, Jamie and Edmund. 1.

• • •

The bookshelves packed with classical works. The unused parlour. The plain furnishings with the reading light plugged into the chandelier.

Reasons: These aspects allow us to draw what may be significant conclusions about the characters:

Facilitator’s Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

• •

•

Unit

We see that books play a large role in the lives of the family (or some of the family members). They don’t seem to entertain guests at home – are they content with their own company? Are they anti-social? Is there another reason – perhaps a “skeleton in the closet” 1 that the family guards carefully? Does this elicit your curiosity? What is your opinion on the matter? Why is the place so plain and even a bit scruffy (having a light plugged into a ceiling fitment instead of a wall socket would be irritating to many)? Are they poor? Fallen on hard times? Just careful with money (miserly)?

08:30 in the morning – just after breakfast.

3.1 E.g. nervous/anxious/over-stressed/highly strung; beautiful; youthfully built; middle-aged, fragile. ° All of the above are appropriate according to the stage directions. Mary’s nervousness or stress is clear and is important – you should not have missed this one. The others would depend on what struck you more forcibly. ° It seems unfair to call her middle-aged (which she is) without drawing attention to her beauty, and the fact that she still has a youthful figure! ° The last adjective – fragile – is based on the fact that she seems to be rather a pitiful figure, and one tends to feel sorry for her. 3.2 Some are positive (beautiful), others are negative (over-stressed). List your adjectives and their values (positive, negative, both). 4.1. Healthy, handsome, strong, likeable, hearty, unpretentious, touchy, etc. Again, all are appropriate, and you would have picked according to your response towards him. There is something likeable about him, but we see that he becomes touchy when he feels that his male pride is being attacked, especially by his sons. 4.2. Nearly all positive. List your adjectives and their values. 5.

• • •

James has his arm around Mary’s waist; he gives her a playful hug as they come into the living room. Mary smiles affectionately and teases him in a flattering way about his healthy appetite and strong constitution. They can talk openly about her putting on weight without her taking offense, showing a good understanding of each other.

“A skeleton in the closet” – idiomatic expression indicating that there is something that the family wants to hide; that they don’t want other people to know.

Facilitator’s Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

Unit

“JAMIE’s and EDMUND’s voices are heard.” As soon as their attention turns to the boys James shows some resentment about what they might be saying to each other, and Mary does not respond, but keeps her attention on their voices and becomes anxious, hands playing restlessly. [You may have chosen a different quote, but your answer should still indicate that it is the intrusion of the boys (even before they appear) that introduces some tension.] Refer to the text that follows after: “The boys’ voices are heard again and one of them has a fit of coughing.”

They have been talking about Edmund’s state of health, and as soon as James expresses concern about Mary herself, telling her not to worry or get upset, Mary becomes very agitated – answering too quickly, forcing a smile, becoming tense, turning away from James, going to the window and changing the subject.

Own opinion: there is not much evidence at this stage (although when Edward enters and is described in the stage directions, there is an indication that his ill-health is not a passing cold, but something more chronic/long-term). However, one gets the idea that Mary is somewhat in denial at this stage about whatever is wrong with Edmund. She worries, says it’s just a bad summer cold, convinces herself that he’ll be better in a few days, but can’t get her mind off the subject.

“His voice is suddenly moved by deep feeling.” OR his words: “I can’t tell you the deep happiness it gives me, darling, to see you as you’ve been since you came back to us, your dear old self again.”

10. Dissipated. All evidence points to his living it up too much for too long, which is having its effect on his looks. I would not agree with “Mephistophelian”, if you chose to use that: although his aquiline (hooked) nose and cynical attitude give that impression. There’s too much indication of the Irish charm, the romantic, and someone who is (was) popular to support the view that he could be devilish.

Facilitator’s Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

Unit

LESSON 2: Background to the play and the dramatist Essential background ACTIVITY 2: MEMORANDUM Most of the questions require candidates’ insights and opinion, so there may be no right or wrong answer. This activity is to provide candidates with a better understanding of how literature may be written or evaluated. 1.

What is your opinion? It’s worth noting, though (and this applies to Q.1.2 as well), that the origin of the story isn’t as important as what you do with it. Rather like the fact that two people could tell the same joke and one would be screamingly funny while the other one would get blank faces in return. It’s more about what you make of the story’s material. And the reception of performances of Long Day’s Journey into Night has been convincing proof that the play moves its audience in a big way! It has received 30-minute ovations, for example, and been described as “a stunning theatrical experience”. (Quoted in Christine Dymkowoski’s “Introduction to the Play” in Nick Hern’s edition of the play.) Literature is said to hold a mirror up to life (Shakespeare was the origin of that thought), and that’s what this play does very successfully. The fact that Eugene O’Neill would see his own face in the mirror in this case is irrelevant; the point is that thousands of others would feel that the mirror reflects their lives or situations.

1.2 See suggested answer to Q.1.1. Again, it’s what Shakespeare did with his plays that counted. Romeo and Juliet was an old story – originally a few stories, one of which was a novella, Giulietta a Romeo. The poem “Romeus and Juliet” followed, as did a popular story, “The Palace of Pleasure”, and several others. Several poets, playwrights and writers unearthed the story and wrote something new. But those are all unknown today because they just didn’t strike the chord with the audience over centuries that Shakespeare’s version did – because it is true to life, so believable; a mirror of life in any age, in fact. Think about it: there are millions of Romeos and Juliets popping up all over the world at different times: young couples who die because their love is taboo in their opposing cultures and families. An example is the young Bosko and Admira who died in each other’s arms after being shot by snipers in the no-man’s land between their warring nations. They loved each other even though one was a Christian Serb and the other a Muslim Bosniak. Information retrieved from: http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sources/romeosources.html

Facilitator’s Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

Unit

2. O’Neill’s life

Characteristics in the drama

Eugene O’Neill’s life in 1912

Long Day’s Journey into Night set in 1912

Eugene, the youngest son of three.

Edmund, the youngest son of three.

The middle son (Edmund) died after being infected with measles by his older brother.

The middle son (Eugene) died after being infected with measles by his older brother.

Father James, a fine actor who threw away a promising career by getting involved in a mediocre play. Family moves around a lot because of the father’s touring acting schedule.

Eldest brother Jamie, a wastrel who doesn’t work, drinks too much and visits brothels.

Mother, Ella, became addicted to morphine after the difficult birth of her third child (Eugene).

Mother, Mary, became addicted to morphine after the difficult birth of her third child (Edmund).

James snr speculates with property, not very successfully.

James and Jamie have a troubled relationship.

Youngest son Eugene contracts an illness in 1912.

Youngest son Edmund contracts an illness in 1912.

To put more in at this stage would give away too much of the plot! You can add to it as you progress. 3.1 Suggestion: James O’Neill was reasonably careful with money (having grown up poor), but not a miser: he spent generously on his sons’ education and financed Eugene’s trips abroad, for instance. 3.2 A possibility is that he probably blamed his father for his mother’s situation – needing to blame someone as he needed to get over the feeling of guilt that it was his birth that led to the morphine in the first place. He wanted his father to be a more involved, caring father, and because he wasn’t, © Impaq

Facilitator’s Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

Unit

Eugene is rather unforgiving about it. (Incidentally, James snr was deserted by his father who left the family in the US and returned to Ireland when James was a young boy. He had to go out to work in the poorhouse for 12 hours a day at the age of 10 to keep his family!) Perhaps he uses the play to get back at his father in a way he could not do at home? This may not necessarily be correct because the boys in the play often tell their father off and criticise him to his face; also he seems to have used the play to reconcile the problems that beset all of them, and all three men are joined in a bond to look after Mary, as the real O’Neill men possibly did in real life. 3.3 You may like Mary and admire the way that she stands up for her sons and tries to deflect (turn away) James’s anger towards Jamie. You may feel sorry for her, particularly after reading that her morphine addiction began when she had a child almost against her will. You may be annoyed by her refusal to face facts and talk about them (Edmund’s illness, her recovery from addiction). Keep an open mind, and test your feelings against evidence that comes up in the text as the play develops. 3.4 It is very likely that you do. It must be very difficult to overcome the feeling of guilt at being responsible for your brother’s death (even though Jamie was probably too young to realise the consequences of entering Edmund’s room while still carrying the measles infection). And then he may have felt responsible to some extent for his mother’s morphine addiction – she had the third child because she lost the second because he died of measles after being infected by Jamie – and then the third child’s difficult birth led to the morphine addiction. These are difficult and complicated emotions for a child or adult to deal with! 3.5 We don’t know – your opinion again! Of course, it may be difficult to watch how your play is received when your name is splattered all over it as one of the characters in such a dysfunctional family. The rest of the family had all died by then. But we also know that O’Neill had instructed his wife NOT to publish the play until 20 years after his death when that wouldn’t really have mattered anyway (she did not wait that long, in fact, before publishing it). It also may be a way of giving life to his brother Edmund. Rather than having him “killed off” again (both in reality and in the play), he is given the role of one of the more likeable and less problematic characters. 3.6 Give your own opinion.

Facilitator’s Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

Unit

LESSON 3: “Edward, Edward”

ACTIVITY 3: MEMORANDUM 1.

This is an open-ended question, depending on the candidate’s interpretation. The reader may believe the mother to be guilty of plotting to have her husband killed, and the tone would probably be a pretence of ignorance and affected concern that her son has been involved in a battle of some sort and may be hurt.

He speaks of killing his hawk “so good” (it did not deserve to die), and that he has no other hawk, nor one as good as he was.

3.1 “was ne’er so red” – She does not believe the blood on the sword to be the blood of the hawk. 3.2 “Now say what may it be” – He must tell her what it really is that he has killed. 4.

He bemoans his state using “Alas” and declares, “woe is me” – both expressions of anguish and significant grief.

5.1 She seems to take it in her stride, and instead of reacting in shock and, dumbfounded, asking him how he could have done such a thing, without missing a beat she simply asks what HE intends to do to atone for his action.

5.2

She fails to express her shock and distress – or disbelief – at losing her husband, and also fails to express horror at her son’s actions.

Edward’s mother shows no emotion for the fact that her son will be leaving her (newly widowed to boot!) and everything that he knows and loves. There is no fear for his safety and emotional well-being, or anger that he is not staying to face the music for killing his father. Instead, she wonders what he will do with his property – would he perhaps be leaving it all to her, she seems to wonder. The woman clearly lacks any feeling and empathy and seems to be completely self-centred and materialistic – greedy beyond belief. It could also reveal the motive behind Edward’s mother wanting his father to be killed; what’s in it for her if he’s gone?

He seems to have such a sense of despair that it doesn’t really matter what happens to his “towers and hall” (his property) – they can just stand there

Facilitator’s Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

Unit

until they crumble because he cannot ever return home; such is the immensity of his crime. 8.

Give your opinion. He sounds rather callous, suggesting that they will have to beg through life, without his making any provision for them; but he probably feels incapable of looking them in the eye again, and will not be able to provide for them anyway. It is even possible that “begging through life” may be kinder to them than being associated with a murderer for a husband/father. You may argue that – rather like Macbeth, who decided to rather go on “wading” through blood than “turning back”, which would entail confession and facing the consequences – Edward is cowardly and is not prepared to stay and face the consequences of his action.

9.1 She addresses Edward as “my dear son” and calls herself Edward’s “own mother dear” – this, despite the fact that he has just killed her husband. It suggests that she is “cosying up” to Edward, because he has done what she asked, and she can now continue with her evil schemes. Edward reveals her involvement by saying in line 56: “such counsel [advice] ye gave to me, O!” 9.2 She probably wants his money and land – she has shown more interest in Edward’s property than in his welfare; she makes no comment on his wife and children being left to beg or starve; and wants to know what he is going to leave her when he goes. Presumably that’s why she wanted her husband out of the way – to inherit everything he had. 10

It allows the poet/narrator/minstrel who is performing the ballad to extend the story as long as he chooses, to suit the taste/response of the audience, sustaining their interest and the suspense until he deems it time to get to the revelation. It allows the listener to build up a picture of the characters of Edward and his mother as we match their words against our predictions of what may have happened, and our expectations of normal behaviour in such circumstances. It also draws attention to the blood on the sword, which we discover is such significant blood – Edward has shed the blood of his own father, which is against nature.

11. There is a regularity to the poem that makes it easy to remember; so too do the use of repetition, rhythm, and the structure of lines and stanzas throughout the entire ballad. The basic story as it unfolds is intriguing while also allowing room for improvisation.

Facilitator’s Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

Unit

LESSON 4: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 1

ACTIVITY 4: MEMORANDUM

1.1 She stops talking abruptly, her smile vanishes and she becomes selfconscious, fiddling with her hair as if everyone is looking at it/her. 1.2 Provide your own opinion, depending on whether you have put two and two together after reading the background to the play. Mary is very conscious of her family’s suspicions and concerns about her morphine abuse. 1.3 After his probing look that causes Mary’s nervous reaction, Jamie “looks away guiltily”. He doesn’t want his mother to think he is suspicious of her – it may well be that she is not taking morphine. 1.4 James speaks “heartily”. He is putting on a show of nothing being wrong to allay Mary’s anxiety.

Mary has inadvertently (unintentionally) referred to doctors giving medication (i.e. morphine) “to keep you coming back to them” as if they deliberately cause addiction in their patients so that they can make money out of them. She suddenly realises that the others will know that she is referring to her morphine addiction.

Provide your opinion. There are indications that he is less alert. Whereas Jamie picks up signs of his mother’s behaviour being “hyped-up” and James pretends that nothing is wrong, Edmund seems more natural when he tells his mother she looks “grand”. He doesn’t seem to be saying it to reassure her, so much as saying it innocently and out of love.

He is probably tired because of his illness. And, because he is ill, he may be more emotionally exhausted by his father’s constant picking on Jamie.

He is fiercely patriotic towards the Irish and is proud that a fellow Irishman could get the better of an arrogant rich American.

Edmund has liberal, socialist ideas and is critical of wealthy capitalists like Harker. His father does not share his views and doesn’t want to hear them: he tells Edmund to cut the “Socialist gabble”, to keep his “anarchist ideas” to himself.

Facilitator’s Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

Unit

There are several. Make sure you have one for each of the three men, e.g. • Edmund: “you certainly look grand, Mama.” • Jamie: “there is an old boyish charm as he looks lovingly at his mother”. • James: “he puts his arm round her… gives her a kiss”… says: “The most beautiful in the world!”… “And that made it prettier than ever.”

Provide your opinion. There is an argument for both sides: If you agree, you support the view that the best way to deal with a problem is to have it out in the open and face up to it so that you can (a) have moral support in your battle, (b) find coping skills and overcome the problem, (c) understand the problem and recognise that it has limits/solutions, rather than allowing it to be the unknown, which is always more frightening. The other point of view is that Mary’s psychological condition is so fragile that it is better to keep her relatively calm and free from fear and worry about Edmund’s health, because there is a danger that worry will cause her to revert to the morphine.

Provide your opinion. Jamie is a strong likelihood. We have read of his risky lifestyle and possibly judged him for his immorality, but in this scene we possibly sympathise with him because his father picks on him unmercifully and constantly reminds him that he is a failure. We also see that he sometimes criticises or even hates himself for being such a failure. We see Jamie’s softer and better side – his love for his mother, his genuine concern for his brother, and the work he puts in at home, not shirking or expecting free handouts.

10. We will have a recap later on and discuss the characters in some detail, but only after you have had the opportunity to form an informed opinion of your own.

LESSON 5: Long Day’s Journey into Night Act 1

ACTIVITY 5: MEMORANDUM 1.

Identify examples of Jamie’s contradictory attitudes towards Edmund at the beginning of this section and explore possible reasons for them. On the one hand, Jamie loves his brother: “you know how much the Kid means to me” – they have always been very close. He admits that some of the poems Edmund has written are very good. On the negative side,

Facilitator’s Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

Unit

Jamie shows envy towards Edmund, e.g. he claims that Edmund has always returned home broke – he has not been successful (just like himself, in fact). He says that he is a poor reporter. Note that each time Jamie says something negative he immediately counters it. For example, his going away has brought him nothing (but a serious disease) and is followed by “That’s a lousy thing to say.” His dismissal of Edmund as a reporter causes him to be ashamed and he says the newspaper is “glad to have him”.

It seems that he may not be a very good reporter, but writes very good poetry and parodies – the “special stuff”.

If he is diagnosed with TB and his condition is serious, he will have to go to a sanatorium. Then the truth will be undeniable.

James is terrified that Mary will again be thrown into morphine addiction by something to do with Edmund. Because her previous addiction also arose as a result of factors relating to Edmund, he irrationally (superstitiously) fears that it may be like a curse.

Jamie is convinced that James has been so obsessed with saving money that he has called in a poor, underqualified doctor to the family – for Mary at Edmund’s birth, and for Edmund in his present illness. Jamie assumes that his father appointed a similar “quack” to tend the birth of Edmund and that this is partly the cause of Mary’s morphine addiction. James defends himself by saying that Dr Hardy (tending to Edmund) knows Edmund well, having treated him since childhood, and is the best doctor to treat him now.

If one walks in fog, visibility is poor and it is easy to get lost. One can also feel lonely and uncertain because of the poor visibility, which gives a contorted view of what are normally familiar objects. Mary has lost her way in life – or trying to find her way back to the security and happiness she felt before her morphine addiction. She feels afraid, isolated and her “vision” of who she once was is blurred. The old familiar things that gave her happiness are somehow not the same.

Other people in the town “have friends who entertain them and whom they entertain” (“they” are not “cut off” – implying that “we” are). She hates the town and everyone in it. Is this not because of her attitude, rather than there being anything wrong with “everyone”? “I’d be ashamed to have [our friends] step in the door.” Could she not do something about the state of the house if she sees it as unfit for entertaining friends in? Most significantly, she conveniently ignores the fact that it had been very difficult to entertain friends during her 20

Facilitator’s Guide G12 ~ English Home Language: Literature

Unit

time as a morphine addict, particularly as she cannot bear even the slightest reference to it, even among her direct family. If she were able to take some responsibility for her actions, surely she would realise that her adamant refusal to discuss the subject and possible solutions hurts the people she loves most! We have seen both Jamie and Edmund put on a guilt trip this morning when they tried to help her. Here she actually accuses Edmund of spying on her. 8.

It is difficult not to agree with the observation. She looks resentfully at Jamie and claims not to know what he could mean by warning her to “be careful”. He backs down, “rebuffed and hurt”. She does the same to Edmund, in almost the same words, accuses him of not trusting her and insists on an explanation. She accuses him of spying on her and really plays on his emotions by saying it would serve him right if his suspicions were true.

Own opinion.

10. Possible reasons for the family’s trait of being dysfunctional: • Father’s touring schedule – frequent absence of father and mother due to his theatre tours. • Mother a morphine addict for much of their young lives: Jamie was 10 when Edmund was born, which is when the morphine started. • Lack of socialising between parents and friends at home (several reasons for this), with some consequences being: o Father socialised at the pub instead o Boys met few functional families in a family setting o Boys possibly met fewer adults who could be role models • Father a heavy drinker. • Mother very fragile psychologically. • Add to all of this the tragedy that befell the family when baby Eugene died from an attack of measles contracted when young Jamie went into his room while still infectious (measles is a nasty childhood disease, largely under control today because children are vaccinated against it). This caused possible blaming and certainly caused feelings of guilt (Mary and Jamie). • Edmund’s feelings of guilt that his birth was the cause of his mother’s morphine addiction.