2. DAILY JOURNAL (21 May) “Nothing Gold Can Stay” – Robert Frost
Nature’s first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower, But only so an hour Then leaf subsides to leaf, So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.
How might you connect this poem to your reading of The Beach?

3. LITERATURE CIRCLE
In your group, share the notes you took for the 3rd part of The Beach Listen to others’ contributions & feel free to add ideas of your own
Add this question to your discussion:
How is the island society like a utopia? How is it like a real-world society?

4. THE BEACH: FILM CLIP
An allusion is when a well-known story or fact outside the story is referred to in a book/movie.
Examples.
Great Gatsby: Oxford Uni. (Gatsby’s being a ‘gentleman’); 1919 World Series (Gatsby’s connection to world of crime)
Dorian Gray: Myth of Narcissus (Gray’s obsession with youth & beauty); yellow book (Gray’s hedonism, encouraged by Lord Henry)
Watch the clip from The Beach. After viewing, discuss:
What do you think is being alluded to in this scene? For what reason?
Clip 4

5. The Beach: LOST PARADISE
The Beach presents a utopian society, but it’s an illusion – like all utopias
Early utopian story: Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden
Adam & Eve corrupted by serpent & kicked out of paradise
Other stories with Eden / ‘fall from grace’ motif
The Lord of the Flies (W. Golding)
Heart of Darkness (J. Conrad) / Apocalypse Now (F.F. Coppola)
Paradise Lost (J. Milton)
“The mind is its own place and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.”

6. THE BEACH: FILM CLIP
After viewing the clip from the end of The Beach, consider:
Did Richard cause the ‘fall from grace’ on the island or was it inevitable?
Clip 5

7. WRAP-UP Select a Lit Circle role from the following:
Summarizer
Discussion director
Connector
Word master
Character curator
Read Ch. 1-5 in Of Mice and Men & journal according to your role (Ch. 1-2 of full-length book) – for 28 May
Next week:
Project Prep day (23 May) – come to class to sign in and start the class, then you’re on your own for planning or filming
Project proposal due same day