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Lesson 1
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ELA

Unit 6

11th Grade

Lesson 1 of 30

Objective


Analyze how Chekhov develops the themes of love and fate in his short story.

Readings and Materials


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Target Task


Multiple Choice

The main purpose of the first paragraph is to 

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In the context of their time in Oreanda, Gurov’s thoughts about beauty on p. 8 (“everything is beautiful…higher aims of our existence.”) mainly serve to

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Writing Prompt

Is it fate that brought Anna and Gurov together? Or was it something else? Explain using evidence from the text.

Key Questions


  • Who is our protagonist and what is the setting according to the first paragraph?
  • Who has just arrived and what decision does Dmitri make about her?
  • What do we learn about Dmitri and his relationship with his wife and with women in general on pp. 1 and 2?
  • What is ironic about Dmitri’s relationship with women according to the narrator on p. 2? 
  • How does the narrator describe Dmitri Gurov’s opinion of “decent people”? How does the narrator develop this opinion?
  • How does the narrator characterize the relationship between Dmitri and “the woman with the dog”? Track how it develops on pp. 3–5.
  • What is the woman’s name and why might the author wait until p. 4 to tell us?
  • Gurov categorizes, in his mind, the women with whom he has had affairs in the past. What kinds of categories does he create and how is Anna different?
  • What does Anna reveal about her feelings on pp. 6 and 7?
  • How does Gurov feel about her reflections?
  • What is ironic about where they choose to sit on p. 8?
  • According to the narrator, how does the setting impact Gurov’s thinking about the world on p. 8?
  • Where does the couple always go in the evenings? (p. 9)
  • How does the phrase “as though everything had conspired together to end as quickly as possible that sweet delirium” help to develop the idea of fate? What seems to be the lovers’ fate?
  • What does Anna say when she boards the train? How does this develop the idea of fate?
  • Are the two in love? Explain.

Notes


What is fate? This is a question that the teacher may wish to have students consider before beginning to read the short story.

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Lesson 2

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