1. The Revolt of “Mother”
Realism

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

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

8. 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

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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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