unit thirteen darkness at noon. teaching objectives students will be able to: 1. give an account...

Unit Thirteen

Darkness at noon

Teaching Objectives

Students will be able to:1. give an account of the life and achieveme

nt of Harold Krents.2. tell the three types of misconception con

cerning the disabled.3. express their views on the handicapped p

eople.4. understand the meaning hidden between

the lines of the first and last paragraphs of the text.

Lead-in questions

1. Do you know an acquaintance, a neighbor, a friend or a relative who is handicapped? Is there a school for the disabled in your place?

2. In your city or school, is there any special path built or set aside for the disabled? If yes, do you think such a path is properly put into use?

Lead-in questions

3. Name a few famous disabled people you know. What do you think we should learn from them?

4. From time to time it is reported that disabled people are rejected by some universities/ work units. What is your attitude toward it?

Lead-in questions

A survey of the current living condition of handicapped people （待补充）

About the author

Harold krents (1944-1987 ): Raised in New York, Harold Krents earned a B.A. at Harvard and a law degree at Oxford, worked as a partner in a Washington D.C. law firm, and was the subject of a long-running Broadway play – all despite the fact that he was born blind.

About the author

Harold krents: In 1972 Krents wrote To Race the Wind, which was made into a CBS-TV movie in 1980. During his career as a lawyer, Krents worked hard to expand legal protection for the handicapped and fought to secure their right to equal opportunity in the business world. He died in 1987 of a brain tumor.

About the author

Butterflies Are Free is a 1969 play that was loosely based on the life of Harold Krents. The play concerns a blind man named Don Baker, who lives in San Francisco and must deal with his controlling mother. Krents once explained that he was merely the “prototype” for the central character: “I gave the story its inspiration – the play’s plot is not my story, its spirit is.”

About the Main idea of the Text

What does the writer mainly tell us?Can you figure out the writer’s

feelings?How do you feel after reading the

writer’s experiences?Does the writer completely feel

hopeless for a better society where the disabled are treated as equals?

Sum up the main idea of the text.

About the Main idea of the Text

The writer, who is blind, relates his personal disillusioning experiences in an ascending order of annoyance & expresses his eager hope for a less-biased view and equal treatment of the disabled.

About the Main idea of the Text

The three types of misconception concerning the disabled refer to:

1. He who cannot see cannot hear.2. He who cannot see cannot talk.3. He who cannot see cannot work.

Text comprehension

Decide the writer’s purpose of writing 1. To display various misconceptions about

the handicapped in society. 2. To manifest the view that the

handicapped should be treated properly & equally.

3. To show that limitation on & exclusion of the handicapped have changed.

4. To describe how the author was turned down by over forty law firms.

Text comprehension

True or false statement 1. Although the writer is blind, he is neither

deaf nor dumb. 2. In the 2nd paragraph, the expression “a

76 here” the ticket agent whispers means “Here is a man born in 1976.”

3. The most disillusioning experience of the writer’s life is his blindness.

Structural analysis of the text

The text can be divided into ? parts according to your understanding.

Structural analysis of the text

Part I (1;beginning part) Part II (2-14;main body)

Para. 2; Paras. 3-13; Paras. 14

Part III (15-17;concluding part)

Theme of the text

What is the theme of the text?In which part of the text is the theme

implied?

Structural analysis of the text

Part I (1;beginning) points out the theme – ?

Structural analysis of the text

Part I points out the theme – disabled people are not treated properly & equally.

In the eye of the observer, he is a blind. They judge him according to his blindness (i.e. disability) instead of his intelligence and ability.

Being blind, the writer has always been looked down upon. He is deprived of any equal opportunity in his life.

Structural analysis of the text

Part II (2-14;main body) relates ? .Where?How?What?

Structural analysis of the text

Part II gives a vivid account of his personal disillusioning experiences at the airport, in the hospital and when he applied for a job in an ascending order of annoyance.

In this part, he successfully exposes the social prejudices against the handicapped and conveys his indignation at those who are biased against the disabled to their ability and dignity.

Structural analysis of the text

Part III (15-17;concluding part) tells ? .

Structural analysis of the text

Part III points out the change in the situation the disabled is faced with, and puts across the writer’s eager hope and expectation.

Detailed reading

1. Blind from birth, I have never had the opportunity to see myself and have been completely dependent on the image I create in the eye of the observer. To dateTo date it has not been narcissistic.

What kind of image have I created in the eye of observer?

How does the observer judge me? Do I like the image? Do you think the writer is intelligent and

capable?

Detailed reading

>>>”observer” means someone who sees and notices. The author, so far as we’re concerned, is an intelligent and capable man, but the “observers” simply ignored the fact owing to his blindness. They believe that since he is blind, he is disabled. They judge him according to his disability instead of his ability. Those “observers” may well be called “blind observers”. Up to now, he has no fondness for the negative image imposed upon him.

Detailed reading

>>>The author uses ironic device to express his indignation at such people.

Narcissistic is derived from narcissism, which describes the character trait of obsessive self-love.

The Greek mythology of “Narcissus”

Paragraph 2

In what way do people talk to the author?

Do you think that is the word “blind” is uttered, the speaker’s retina will really detach? What’s implies in the statement?

Explain the sentence “Hi, Jane, we’ve got a 76 here”. What’s the rhetorical device employed here?

Paragraph 2

>>>The mere utterance of the word “blind” itself can never cause such a heavy loss. There is no doubt that the author uses sarcasm to express his indignation.

>>>“76” is used here to refer to a handicapped person because of the regulations issued by the Department of Labor in 1976. (metonymy; euphemism)

Detailed reading

2.

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3.

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About the title – Darkness at Noon

What’s the symbolic meaning of the title?

About the title – Darkness at Noon

It’s common sense that noontime should be broad daytime, so the estrangement of common sense aims to produce a special effect on the reader.

For the author, it is darkness all the time no matter when; for the observer, he is blind to the author’s outstanding ability owing to his prejudice against the disables. (pun)

Stylistic features of the text

Narrative textWritten in the first personDeveloped on a point by point basis &

in a deductive method. The language is characterized by a

formal style, though some colloquial sentences are scattered here ad there.