4H3 - The Man from the South II

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 4

The Man from the South    

A Roald Dahl short story    

Lesson 2      

Lesson plan    

• Check knowledge plot    
• Check homework
• Themes in "The Man from the South"

Resolution

Climax

Initial action

Falling action

Exposition

Rising action

The Man from the South

Introduction / Exposition

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Initial action

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The Man from the South

Introduction / Exposition

Narrator sits by the pool (drinking a beer, smoking a cigarette), observing some young men and women playing in the pool. 

Initial action

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The Man from the South

Introduction / Exposition

Narrator sits by the pool (drinking a beer, smoking a cigarette), observing some young men and women playing in the pool. 

Initial action

A South-American man enters the scene and strikes up a conversation with the narrator.

The Man from the South

Rising action

• A young American man joins them, and the South-American men bets him his Cadillac that he cannot light his lighter ten times in a row.​
• The terms of the bet are established​
• They go up to the room of the South-American man, who sends the maid for some supplies. 

Climax

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The Man from the South

Climax

 The old man ties the American boy's hand to the table. The boy lights the lighter eight times, and is then interrupted by the entrance of a woman. 

Falling action

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The Man from the South

Climax

 The old man ties the American boy's hand to the table. The boy lights the lighter eight times, and is then interrupted by the entrance of a woman. 

Falling action

The woman prevents the men from completing the game and tells them the old man has nothing to bet with, calling everything off. 

The Man from the South

Resolution

• It is revealed that the old man has nothing to bet with because she won it all from him, over some period of time. ​
• It is revealed that this has cost her some fingers.​
• It is revealed that the old man has mental problems and that the woman has taken him out of their country to avoid institutionalization. 

Theme

The theme is the main idea, lesson or message in the novel.  It often represents universal and timeless ideas that are relevant in most people’s lives.

A theme can often be summed in a single word: love, death, loneliness, etc.

 

What theme do you think fits "The Man from the South" best?

1. Trust
2. Greed
3. Taking risks
4. Misleading appearances

Theme

A story can have multiple themes! Usually they're interconnected: one idea flows from another. 

When asked to describe a theme in a story, make sure to include the following elements:

• How do the different (relevant) characters deal with the theme?
• How is the theme developed / evaluated in the story?

Assignment: Pick one of the themes and describe (in detail!) how it is explored in "The Man from the South"