The Revolt of “Mother” Realism

Lesson Focus Identify and define unknown vocabulary from the text through context Explore direct and indirect characterization Discover that diction contributes to tone Note that character development contributes to theme

Literary Terms Local Color - The use of specific details describing the speech, dress, customs, and scenery associated with a particular region or section of a country

Characterization – The methods used to present the personality of a character in a work of literature Direct – The writer tells us explicitly what kind of person the character is Indirect – The writer makes us evaluate the character ourselves

Theme – The main idea expressed in a literary work; the central insight that the work gives us about human life Diction – A writer’s choice of words which are usually distinctive when reflecting on their body of work Allusion – A reference in a literary work to another event, place, person, or literary work that the reader is expected to recognize

Mary E. Wilkins Freeman 1852 - 1930

Her Life Freeman was born in Randolph, Massachusetts Her father, Warren Wilkins, was a carpenter His business ventures were usually unsuccessful

Mary attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, a private girls’ college She moved to her parents’ new home, writing children’s stories and poetry Her parents died, and in 1883, Mary returned to Randolph

In Randolph, Mary published her first stories for adults She became a popular contributor to Harper’s Bazaar and other women’s magazines

In 1902, she married Dr. Charles M. Freeman They lived in New Jersey Although she lived in New Jersey for the rest of her life, her stories always reflected the life she knew in her youth

In 1925, Mary received the first Wilber Dean Howells Medal for fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters She was elected a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters the following year

Her Work Freeman was known as one of the most realistic of the “local color” writers Her work shows a deep concern for New England women of the period She often addressed the complicated relationships women had with the men in their lives

The Revolt of “Mother”, page 111 The story’s theme is “revolt” The story takes place during a time in history when women were fighting for the right to vote – although this is not directly addressed in the story

Class Work Read “The Revolt of ‘Mother’,” page 111 View DVD and complete worksheet Complete worksheets: Vocabulary through Context Direct/Indirect Characterization Theme through Character Development Diction Contributes to Tone Literary Critique, pages 123-124