This is the lesson to accompany the story "Miss Brill" by Katherine Mansfield and may include extra excerpts from songs and poems as comprehension questions and language development. The actual story in not included here; this lesson is for after reading the story. Created by Coleman’s Classroom.

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Miss Brill

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Katherine Mansfield
Risk! Risk anything!
Care no more for the
opinions of others, for
those voices. Do the
hardest thing on earth
for you. Act for
yourself. Face the
truth.

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Miss Brill’s World Our World
Few professions
other than nursing
and teaching are
deemed socially
acceptable for
women who must
support
themselves.
College graduates
are as likely to be
female as male.
Women are
employed in the
workforce and in
virtually every
profession.

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Miss Brill’s World Our World
One’s social rank can
be determined from
one’s clothing.
Gentlemen wear hats,
ladies gloves, and fur
denotes a position of
some social standing.
Women, with few
exceptions, always
wear dresses or
skirts.
Social conventions
regarding dress are
relaxed. Hats and
gloves are uncommon
and pants are a
staple of most
women’s wardrobes.
Many believe fur to
be a symbol not of
status but rather an
indication of cruelty
and conspicuous
consumption.

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Miss Brill’s World Our World
Common forms of
recreation include
reading, going to
the theater, and
gathering in public
places such as
parks or pubs.
People often dress
up to appear in
public.
98 % of
households in the
USA own
televisions.
Personal computers
have infringed on
the time spent
socializing with
others in a public
sphere. The most
crowded space is
often the mall.

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Eleanor Rigby
The Beatles

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Song Excerpt
I look at all
the lonely
people

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Eleanor Rigby picks up the
rice in the church where a
wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window,
wearing the face that she
keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for?

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Father Mckenzie writing
the words of a sermon that
no one will hear.
No one comes near.
Look at him working.
Darning his socks in the
night when there's nobody
there.
What does he care?

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All the lonely people
Where do they all come
from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all
belong?

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Eleanor Rigby died in the
church and was buried along
with her name.
Nobody came.
Father Mckenzie wiping the
dirt from his hands as he
walks from the grave.
No one was saved.

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All the lonely people
Where do they all come
from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all
belong?

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Loneliness
• Solitary
• Desolate
• Alone
• Depressed
• Sad

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The Basic Plot
When?
Anytime
Where?
A Park

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The Basic Plot
Who?
Miss Brill
Various Strangers
Her fur

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The Basic Plot
What?
woman spends a Sunday in the
park and it changes her
perception of life

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The Basic Plot
Why?
Habit
Enjoyment
Meaning in life

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Plot Comprehension Questions
What is unusual about the way
Miss Brill regards her fur?

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Plot Comprehension Questions
How does Miss Brill see
herself?
Why does that view
change?

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Plot Comprehension Questions
What is Miss Brill’s $
situation?
What is her job?
What is different this
Sunday when Miss Brill
returns from the park?

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