Literature 4 Oscar Wilde A Model Millionaire

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Literature 1

Road Map

- Oscar Wilde  -  The Model Millionaire 

• Context of Oscar Wilde
• Language and vocabulary 
• Literary aspects
• Reader experience
  

Focus: The characters of the story!

Lesson goal

At the end of this class you are able to:

• recognise Oscar Wilde's context;
• place the work of Wilde in the greater context of English literature;
• describe the content and main characters of the short story discussed;
• describe the five stages of a short story and recognise them in a story;
• discuss the moral aspects of the story in class. 

Context

• Oscar Wilde 
• 1854 (Dublin) - 1900 (Paris)
• Trinity College Dublin and Oxford
• Reading Goal
• Other works: An Ideal Husband, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Periods of British Literature

Renaissance = also called 'Early Modern Period'

What do you know about ....

The Victorian Era?

Context

• Queen Victoria 
• Industrialised world
• The British Empire 
• Inventions
• Conservative morals 

Do - in twos

Describe the three main characters of the short story: 

Hughie Erskine, Alan Trevor, Baron Hausberg.

What kind of people are they? What makes them tick? Why do you think that? Use quotes from the story to support your ideas. 

Main characters

Hughie Erskine

'Intellectually, we must admit, he was not of much importance. He never said a brilliant or even an ill-natured thing in his life. But then he was wonderfully good-looking ...'

'He was as popular with men as he was with women and he had every accomplishment except that of making money

He is liked 'for his bright, buoyant spirits and his generous, reckless nature'.

Baron Hausberg

Main characters

Alan Trevor

Painter, also an artist

A strange, rough fellow  with freckles and a beard.

Uses French words in his speech

Baron Hausberg

'He could buy all London to-morrow without overdrawing his account. He has a house in every capital, dines off gold plate, and can prevent Russia going to war when he chooses'.

Rich and powerful, with a good heart.

‘Millionaire models,’ remarked Alan, ‘are rare enough; but, by Jove, model millionaires are rarer still!’

 

Questions:

To what extent are appearances important in today’s society?

Do appearances determine our first impression of somebody? Why/How?

Have you witnessed/experienced situations in which somebody turned out to be different from what you initially expected?

To what factors could we attribute this? Is it something we are born with or, rather, something we are conditioned to learn as we grow up?

Short story

'a relatively short work of prose fiction, approx. 500 to 10,000 words, that, according to Edgar Allan Poe, can be read in a single sitting of two hours or less'.

The short story works to create a single effect.

Short story

1. Introduction

2. Rising action

3. Climax

4. Falling action

5. Resolution 

Short story

1. Hughie is introduced. He's an upper class guy with no job, but good looks and charm. He is in love with Laura.

2. Colonel Merton does not allow Hughie to marry his daughter unless he has 10.000 pounds.

3. Hughie goes to the studio of his painter friend Alan, sees a beggar man there and gives him his last souvereign. The beggar turns out to be Baron Hausberg and Hughie feels quite stupid

4. The baron, however, appreciates Hughie's kindness and rewards him with 10.000 pounds so he and Laura can get married

3. Hughie and Laura get married.

Reading Diary

Write down your experiences with 'The Model Millionaire'

Test week

Two tests for English  - 120 mins. 

Reading skills and literature -  60 mins each. 

Oral tests

Hand in your reading list 

Sign up!

Slots are available on a first come - first choice principle!

Homework

Read 'The Model Millionaire' and 'The Shabbat' 

Study the literary definitions on the LessonUp slides!