12 Angry Men EOQ Part Two

1. The play is essentially a story about the legal concept of "reasonable doubt". How is this theme
introduced and developed, and what part does "reasonable doubt" play in the final outcome?

2. This play has been used to teach students about group behavior and the role of individual
influence in group settings. What does the play have to offer as a representation of group
behavior and the influence that individuals can have in group settings?

3. The play "Twelve Angry Men" takes place almost exclusively in one setting - the jury room. What
are the limitations caused by this single setting, and what techniques does the writer use to
overcome such limitations?
4. Choose one of the twelve jurors and explain in detail how he changes during the play. Support
your analysis with details from the play. (I’m talking quotes.)

5. One of the problems with the American legal system is the problem of prejudice in the jury.
What examples of prejudice can be found in the play, and how do they affect the decisions of
the jurors?

6. Write a “missing” scene for the play. This is a scene that could have appeared in any of the
three acts. Your scene should involve either 2 or 3 jurors. You must show your thorough
understanding of each of the characters in your scene.

7. In earlier times, a jury was made up entirely of men. How does the fact that the jury is made up
entirely of men affect the play? How do you think the play would have been different is there
had been women present? Explain your reasoning.
 Of Mice And Men EOQ Part Two

1. What is the importance of dreams in Of Mice and Men? What role do they play in people’s
lives? How do people use dreams, and how to various characters’ dreams affect them? Give at
least two examples from the text.

2. Look at the various examples of discrimination in Of Mice and Men. How does discrimination
affect different characters? How do characters respond to discrimination, and how does it affect
their lives, and the outcome of the story? Give at least two examples from the text.

3. How does Steinbeck portray friendship in Of Mice and Men? How does its presence or absence
affect different characters, in their actions and in their relationships? What does it require of
people, and what does it offer them in return? Give at least three examples from the text.

4. Many of the characters in Of Mice and Men seem lonely. Why are various characters lonely, and
how does it affect them? Give at least two examples from the text.

5. Think about different characters in Of Mice and Men, and the power that they have. What
different kinds of power do different characters have? Where does it come from? What do they
do with it? How does it help them, or hurt them? Give at least three examples from the text.

6. Consider the many examples of foreshadowing in Of Mice and Men. What important actions and
plot points are forewhadowed? How do these important events differ from the events that
foreshadow them? How does foreshadowing help us understand the important turning points in
the novella? Give at least two examples from the text.

7. Show how John Steinbeck explores the complex relationship between George and Lennie. What
keeps them together, and the difficulties they each have. How they are different from other
people on the farm. Give at least two examples from the text.

8. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men echoes the following famous lines of poet Robert Burns: “The
best laid plans of mice and men often go astray, and leave us only grief and pain for promised
joy.” Write a response that explains how Steinbeck conveys the theme that that we have
identified in this poem.

6 Innocent characters suffer in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men. Write a response that
explains which innocent characters suffer in the novel.
 The Crucible EOQ Part Two

1. Who gets the blame for this entire horrific event? Does the majority of the blame rest on
just one character, or is the blame spread equally to multiple characters? Take a defined
stand on two villains and defend it.

2. Besides letting the trials get out of control, what other weaknesses characterize Reverend
Parris as a community leader? What are his overriding concerns, and how does he manage
them? To what degree is he responsible for the trials and the final setting of the play?

3. I enjoy looking closely at character development, especially by analyzing characters that are
foils. Pick one set of foils in the play and describe the importance of these characters to each
other and the plot of the play. For example, you could discuss Elizabeth and Abigail, and
describe how their relationship doomed John to certain disaster, etc.

4. Who is ultimately more central to this story: John Proctor or Abigail Williams? What did John
mean by his anguished cries of “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my
life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of
them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my
name!” Is John a “real” Puritan? Is Abigail?

5. What does the title mean? Is it the best title for this play? What parts of the play support
the literal and figurative definitions of “crucible”?

6. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible as an allegory to the 1950’s “Red Scare.” The message he
hoped to convey was that believing accusations without proof is dangerous, and can lead to
unjustified violence and misery. Do you think that message is successfully conveyed in the
play? If so, what specific scenes from the play are effective at communicating this message?
If not, what message did you take from the play? Provide specific examples of where the
play conveyed this message to you.

7. In our modern society’s social media environment, there is an act called “doxing,” or
publishing private or identifying information about a particular individual (or their families)
on the Internet, typically with malicious intent. This has been used as a way to attract
punishment from average people against the individual being doxed. In your opinion, is this
act similar to the events in “The Crucible?” Explain your reasoning.
 The Great Gatsby EOQ Part Two

1. How does Gatsby represent the American dream? What does the novel have to say about the
condition of the American dream in the 1920s? In what ways do the themes of dreams, wealth,
and time relate to each other in the novel’s exploration of the idea of America?

2. Compare and contrast Gatsby and Tom. How are they alike? How are they different? Given the
extremely negative light in which Tom is portrayed throughout the novel, why might Daisy
choose to remain with him instead of leaving him for Gatsby?

3. Fitzgerald's story shows the clear delineations between different strata of society: new money,
old money, some money, and no money. How are readers to interpret his comments on each of
these groups? Does he hold any one group above the other? Are there ways in which people of
all groups are alike?

4. Part of Fitzgerald's strength as a writer comes from his imagistic style. His writing is very
sensory-oriented. What examples of sensory-oriented imagery (sight, taste, touch, smell, sound)
can you find in the story? What kind of atmosphere do these details help create? How do they
affect you as a reader?

5. Although Gatsby professed to love Daisy, there is a sense that he was not in love with her as
much as he was in love with the idea of her. Where can you find evidence of Gatsby's devotion
to an ideal rather than an actual person?

6. Although Nick Carraway has his reservations about Gatsby, it is clear he thinks of him fondly;
after all, he titles the book The Great Gatsby. He leads a questionable existence and comes to a
tragic end, yet Nick (and by extension, the readers) feels empathetic toward him. Does Gatsby
deserve to be called "Great"? In what ways is he great? In what ways is he not?

7. Analyze the role of women in The Great Gatsby, as represented by Daisy, Jordan, and Myrtle.
What kind of influence or power do they wield? Consider their social positions and interactions.

8. Analyze the portrayal of wealth in the novel—the difference between “old money” and “new
money” as well as the things that money can and cannot buy. What is Fitzgerald ultimately
trying to say about money and materialism? What does Gatsby’s rise and fall say about the
pursuit of wealth and status in the world of the novel?

9. In retrospect, the reader often discovers that the first chapter of a book introduces some of the
major themes of the work. Analyze how the first chapter of The Great Gatsby sets forth the
major themes of the book.