Does
the drowned man create conflict in the village, or bring the village together?
(Your answer might change depending on which part of the story you're
examining.)
1)
Flowers are mentioned in the
beginning of the story and at the very end; what do the flowers represent to
the people of the village? How has that changed since the arrival of the
drowned man?
2)
How does the drowned man give the
villagers a stronger sense of identity? Why is this important to people?
This week we will look at “The
Handsomest Drowned Man in the World”, “The Temp” and Edward Scissorhands in class.
All three of these stories contain individuals that become part of a community
in some way and have profound effects of the people. In “The Handsomest
Drowned Man in the World” it is a corpse that washes ashore that gives the
townspeople a new way of looking at their lives, in “The Temp” it is a temp
hired in an office that changes the atmosphere of the work environment and
in Edward Scissorhands it
is a unique young man that forces a rather boring town to see how boring and
judgmental they really are. This week pay attention to what these “magical
strangers” force the people in the stories to look at it in their lives.
The Importance of Appearance
“In traditional
societies, clothing reflected ones rank and place in society, and identified
one. Its function was not merely to clothe a naked person but also to
beautify him or her. While it always reflected ones outward place it also
reveals something on ones internal character. Thus clothing was both protection
from the elements and an expression of spiritual and cultural identity”
“Just like one can
determine the ripeness or rottenness of a fruit based on its appearance, one
can usually draw conclusions on one’s inner character from how they present
themselves” Agree?
“But recent research suggests that we may need
to adopt a more cynical attitude. It turns out that a candidate’s appearance —
not beauty, but a look of competence — can generate a far greater vote swing
than we previously thought. Furthermore, this effect is not only powerful but
also subliminal. Few of us believe that appearance determines our vote, yet for
a significant number of us, it may” (Mlondinow).
