The End Of Something

First of all, I'm not really sure what I wrote last night.  I had fallen asleep, woke up randomly and typed a few words about how I should be Nappy because I want to nap all the time (not sure if it was super clear) and then went back to bed and slept through my alarm.  It was a pretty odd night.

But...I had an awesome day today, in my English classes at least.  We read the Hemingway short story "The End of Something."  First I had the students predict what it was that was ending.  We got some pretty good ideas - marriage, relationships, life, reality - and then we started reading.  It's only a few pages long and took us about 10 minutes to complete.  Then I had the kids outline the characters as a class (there were only 3) and then sum up the theme (love doesn't always last forever).  Finally it was time for the big debate...

For those of you who don't know, the story is about a couple (Nick and Marjorie) who are fishing together on a lake near an abandoned mill.  Halfway through their day, they stop and eat on the shore, which Nick chooses as the optimum time to dump Marjorie.  After she leaves in a huff, Bill appears and asks Nick how it went.  Nick is irritable and Bill eats a sandwich from the picnic basket.

The biggest mystery to me (and, fortunately, the students as well) was Bill's appearance.  Was he there simply to provide moral support for Nick's decision as a good buddy, or was he something a little more, shall we say, intimate?  The class got going, with a fair amount of people in both camps.  We talked about Hemingway's checkered history (marriage after marriage, perhaps covering something up?) and used context clues from the story.  In the end, we failed to come to a conclusion, and yet I couldn't be happier.  The kids finally went deeper, and on a story that I wasn't sure they'd even understand.  I had people participate who had never raised their hands before.  Students were involved and focused and actually seemed to enjoy the story.  I was pumped.  I still am in fact.  There's hope for these guys yet.  The goal is to keep them this excited (that may be too strong of a word, but it sort of fits) for the rest of the semester.  Let's go!