E Bell Due After Christmas

All the characters in “Ethan Frome are said to be flawed because it is apart of a Realism writing. Thus making you not feel sympathy for any particular character. This is due to a strict scientific lay out, that seems to just state facts. Find and describe a couple of these flaws or shortcomings in different characters that force you to draw your own conclusions of sympathy for or against someone.

F Bell Ethan Frome (Due

Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome is a powerful novella on the tragic tale of a lowly farmer, Ethan Frome. Throughout the novella it is apparent she uses the affects of naturalism and realism in the setting as well as development of character. As defined in our textbook realism is "a literary technique that attempts to create the appearance of life as it is actually experienced". Naturalism is described as a movement related to realism but which is more a "philosophical attitude" than a literary technique. As hinted by its name naturalism comes "from the idea that human beings are part of nature and subject to its laws". Using the following definitions and sites given below, give textual evidence of how Wharton the idea of naturalism and realism.

Here are the sites:

http://american-naturalism.blogspot.com/2008/07/ethan-frome.html

http:www.america.gov/st/peopleplace-english/2008/May/20080512222313eaifas0.993786.html

*For the second site you only need the information from the introduction and Edith Wharton (1862-1937) under Cosmopolitan Novelists

~Allison and Ciara

Ethan Frome, A Fractured Fairy Tale (G Bell, due 1/4/11)

“I wonder, among all the tangles of this mortal coil, which one contains tighter knots to undo, and consequently suggests more tugging, and pain, and diversified elements of misery, than the marriage tie.”

-Edith Wharton

Some critics may consider Ethan Frome a modified fairy tale. Fairytales like Snow White and Cinderella always have a happy ending, with the princess marrying a beautiful prince. If this is the trend, then why did Ethan not run off and marry Mattie? Incorporating a pertinent critical article (these are two good critical articles: http://www.fofweb.com/lit/default.asp?itemid=we54 and http://www.fofweb.com/lit/default.asp?itemid=we54) and Wharton’s quote listed above, differentiate between the classic fairytales, like Snow White shown above, and Edith Wharton’s fractured fairy tale, Ethan Frome.

For all who comment after 1/3/11, please use a critical article to write your own fairytale ending while differentiating between the classic fairytales, like Snow White shown above, and Edith Wharton’s fractured fairy tale, Ethan Frome.

Posted By: Lauren Plaine and Cassie Meakin

December 14, 2010 at 9:50 A.M.

Edith Wharton's novel, Ethan Frome, is unique in that the setting of Starkfield arguably provides more insight into the primary structural elements than the characters. It sets the tone and outcome for the rest of the novel, ultimately foreshadowing the bleak conclusion. The main characters, Ethan, Mattie, and Zeena are, in a sense, at the mercy of their surroundings. This develops a tone of entrapment, futility, and tragedy. Identify several setting components in Ethan Frome that define this depressed mood and relate them to the novel's central theme of failure and disappointment. As always, be sure support your assertions with quotations/evidence from the book. To jumpstart the brainstorming process, utilize the quotation and photo included.

Quote:"Guess he's been in Starkfield too many winters. Most of the smart ones get away" (5).

-Brennan and Jeff

F Bell Blog: Ethan Frome [due Tuesday, December 14th]

Ethan Frome is set in New England in the bleak town of Starkfield. This wintry weather is very common for the region, as witnessed in the video below. (Notice the "FREEZING" over New England)

Edith Wharton includes this recurring idea of dreary, harsh winter weather through vivid imagery and the characters' words throughout the work to reiterate man's struggles and hardships. The psychologically and physically brutal nature of the winter weather also proves to be a seemingly unbearable force on everyday life. Use textual evidence and find examples of this tumultuous relationship between man and nature in the novella, then discuss the ultimate effect left on the human mind and body by nature.

Posted by Dan, Haley, & Erin

Ethan Frome: A Darkness Without Dawn. (G Bell, due Dec. 14)

Consider this line from Florence + The Machine's "Cosmic Love": 'I was in the darkness, so darkness I became'. Is this true? Do one's environs merely reflect the inner soul, or do they dictate emotions and sentiments?

Using the work Ethan Frome, defend the thesis that surroundings and circumstances can alter a character's feelings and expressions. First, take into account the 'darkness' in Wharton's own life that led her to create a triumvirate of sallow and anemic characters caught in a triangle of frustrated love. Use a biography located on Bloom's Literary Reference (a good example: http://www.fofweb.com/Lit/default.asp?ItemID=WE54). Next, focus on a single character and examine how the harsh New England landscape has also worked to drag him or her into a abyss of darkness.

Posted by Bracey and Alexander Saturday, December 4th 2010