A Beautiful Child by Truman Capote

For Tuesday class: here we have some questions that will help us to discuse the text we. Sara and Tatiana, chose "A Beaituful Child" By Truman Capote

• What kind of person do you admire the most: one who has a lot of talent or the one who has not talent, but works a lot to reach the fineness?

• Do you know someone who has to be called “a beautiful child”

• Do you think Marilyn seemed herself as a beautiful child?

• Do you think that Truman Capote was being hypocrite with Marilyn or he was a transparent friend with her?

•  Miss Collier said to Truman Capote: “Somehow I don’t think she’ll make old bones. Absurd of me to say, but somehow I feel she’ll go young. I hope, I really pray that she survives long enough to free the strange lovely talent that’ wandering through her like a jailed spirit.” Actually, Marilyn died at the age of 38. What do you reflect of this coincidence?
•  Have you thought about this personal and not famous side of Marilyn Monroe?

A beautiful child

Pre-discussion task:
Would you like to be remembered as "a beautiful child"?
If not, how would you like people to remember you?
What would you like them to say about you when you are gone?

Some questions for our discussion on Tuesday

Dear students.
For our discussion on Tuesday I would like you to think about the following questions.

Did you feel identified with Miss Brill or with Prue in any aspect?
Do you know anyone who shares any feature with these two characters?
Is there a climax in each of these stories? How is it resolved?
What is the purpose of the fur piece in Miss Brill and the tobacco tin in Prue?
Compare the way the two stories end.
What is the function of the other characters in each story? How do they contribute to reveal the main characters' personalities?
See you on Tuesday!

Dialogue: Sara and Miss Brill

Oh, how fascinating it was! How they enjoyed it! How they loved sitting there, watching it all!

Sara: There is an afro woman... she tries to dissimulate what she is doing… she looks at right and left to ensure no body is looking at her. She started scratching her armpit and after that she did like a dance in order to covertly bring the same hand until her nose… the band did an according sound in this moment… like an Arabic dance.-

But there was something weird in another woman Sara often used to see in that park. That strange woman in a fur coat, who did not say anything for hours and staying just observing everything around her, except those four times a week she reads the newspaper to an old invalid gentleman.

Miss Brill went towards Sara, who did not understand why the stranger was doing that, sat down next to her and said:

Miss Brill: We are all on a stage. We are not only the audience, not only looking on; we are acting.

Hardly had she listened what Miss Brill said Sara understood and said:

Sara: No doubt somebody would have noticed if we had not been here… We are part of the performance, after all.

Dialogue: Pru and Tatiana

Dialogue

Preu: (She is reflexing) I know me, I know that I'm a relaxed woman... -she started to have doubts- ...but, I never have thought it, but maybe I'm becoming in a thief!. How it could be? Oh my! It could be worth maybe I'm changing into a bitch or maybe a nymphomania, I have to look for help.

In the clinic:

Tatiana: Everyone has a different reason to be here. That is curious how problems catch you like if you were in a little bubble where hardly you can breathe.

 

Prue: Problem don't exist, the truth is that you create them and put them in your mind all the time.

 

Tatiana:You have not had problems in your life?

 

Prue: I don't know, I just make the most of any kind of event, important or not, but why are you complaining about you, you have a lovely name. 

 

Tatiana look at her with a particular expression in her face like saying "what the hell are you talking about, surely she is here because she is crazy, anyway. "so why are you here" Tatiana says. 

 

Prue: I'm here not for a problem, is just a question, or maye two, and I want to know if this doctor is going to resolve them for me. And you, why are you here?

 

Tatiana:I'm here because I'm afraid Tommy has another woman, everyday somebody call him when we are together and he is not so kind with me and now his kisses are not so loving and... -Tatiana stops talking and think for a moment with a very worried appereance and says: "I'm afraid I'm being so jelous with him and he is going to leave me, Oh my gosh!" she starts crying.

 

Prue: Laughing at her she says: I think you must hurry up to get this date with Dr. Smith  

 

Doctor Smith: Mrs. Tatiana come with me please. 

 

Prue: Ok, I'm not that crazy, I'm not that stupid, I don't have to be here. I'm not neither a thief nor a bitch, I'm just enjoying my life and this my way to do it, I'm very well and now I have this pretty golden purse to put in my never mind tin. -And finally she leaves the psychological clinic thinking on what she was thinking about when she decided to go to this full-of-crazy-stuff-clinic.

 

 

 

 

 

Dialogue !!

Prue: oh my gosh, look at her Evelyn…that’s Miss Brill I can’t believe this!!! She must have been watching us since we met here.

Evelyn: mmm I don't know who she is.

Prue: she is an English teacher but she also was the central character in a short story written by Katherine Mansfield, a story that happened in 1922. Gordon would die if he sees her; he loved this character’s personality.

Evelyn: Ok. but this is so weird, why is she still alive?

Prue: ohhh…what a good question! You know what, I’m gonna ask her….ummm, ehh…do you think it is ghost of her?

Evelyn: hahahaha…ehh…of course she’s not! But look at her clothes, that fur is completely ugly and uncommon…but anyway, it’s late and I have to be at home in fifteen minutes, go talk with her and I’ll see you tomorrow, ok?

Prue: Ok, thank you for everything, I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye

Evelyn: bye

Prue: Pardon madam; are you Miss Brill, the one in the story by Katherine Mansfield?

Miss Brill: yes, I am.

Prue: ohhhhhh my goodness!! This must be a dream! I just can’t believe it!...oh ..ehh…but wait a minute we are now in 1983 but your story happened in 1922…mmm…you should be at least a little bit older, shouldn’t you?

Miss Brill:  aha!

Prue: ehhh (giggle) you are of few words.

Miss Brill: I'm so shy and I am not used to talk with people I don't know, I just watch them. I just decided to come from the past for watching people from this decade…I find people are so different, they dress a little weird but at the same time they behave in a crazy way and that’s what I like…ehh…I would say that’s magnificent!.

Prue: Cool!!. Ok but you are a teacher, you’re not supposed to be shy!...ehh…umm.. But it doesn’t matter now…Would you like to take a picture with me? I’d like to show it to a friend.

Miss Brill: excuse me, I might not be accustomed to this, I prefer to refuse but thank you!

Prue: ok Miss. But just a last question, why do you like to watch people on the street? What is so interesting on that?

Miss Brill: I feel so alone and nobody loves me I like to imagine those people are part of my life and that I in their lives… and I live in theirs indeed.

Prue: oh!, sorry to hear that but that’s life, everyone has problems to deal with but you have to be happy and to face the bad circumstances, I haven’t been the most fortunate one but I try not to complain…that’s the meaning of life…

Miss. Brill: much obliged ! it’s wonderful what you say…

Prue: ok…I have to go now and thank you for sharing your time with me. Good bye madam…I hope to see you again someday!

Miss.Brill: good bye Mss.

Task, April 5

Dear students:
This is today's task for the blog. Choose one option:

Write a dialogue between you and Miss Brill.
Write a dialogue between you and Prue
Write a dialogue between Miss Brill and Prue.

This activity shall help us to analyze the characters of the two short stories.

PRUE AND MISS BRILL

PRUE AND MISS BRILL

Prue: I think you should get out of that little box where you have been living in to.

Miss Brill: What do you mean by that?

Prue: I think you have wasted plenty time of your life by taking yourself too seriously. Every single thing is so calculated and expected. In fact, let me ask you a question: do you find yourself being constantly let down?

Miss Brill: How do you know that?

Prue: Ha ha!, I love it when people answer a question with other question. Is not that I know you enough to ask you something like that, is just that people like you find themselves in those kinds of situations… You expect so much from people, from stuff, from your plans and even from you.

Miss Brill: Why is that so bad?

Prue: Because things rarely work as we planned. You should’ve known that already…

Miss Brill: I won’t apologize for being a good person.

Prue: I’m not saying you’re not a good person, in fact I think there may be a few things that I could learn from you. What I meant is that you really need to relax and let yourself go.

Miss Brill: Oh! You mean that I have to be more like you.

Prue: If you want to…

Miss Brill: Well I don’t want to. Not offense but, who would want to be like you?

Prue: Why people always have to say: ‘not offense’ before saying something totally offensive?

Miss Brill: Maybe because is true and you don’t want to accept that.

Prue: So I have to accept the fact that nobody would like to be like me? And I have to take that from an old, sad, lonely and not offense, probably still a virgin woman?

Miss Brill: None take it. But let me tell you dear, that you had described quite the essence of what I think about you… except for the virgin thing. Why would you have to let yourself go if you’re not being push or expected to do something?

(There was a long silence after that)

Prue: I guess we’re not that different…

Miss Brill: Indeed.

Reading clubs

I think the purpose of a reading club is to read and enjoy literature, so it becomes a space where the readers can enjoy a discussion whether it is about one part of the story, a character or the book in general.

As I tried to get to know more about this subject, I found these really useful videos/tutorials -made by an English teacher- where she clarifies many subjects about book clubs. So here they are (they have subtitles):

* As I think the main purpose of a book club is to discuss a book, these tips may be helpful:

 

 

*About the policies, this one is definetely the most important

 

 

 * And last but not least, how to choose the books that are going to be written: