Summer; Edith Wharton
Introduction Summer is a book that will require you patience. It is written at a summer pace, when little needs to be done and the sun makes everyone lazy. After a while, you find Charity and her summer love and things start to change......
Table of Contents The following sections are part of the unit on Summer.
Topic See Page
Thought Questions B-2
Teenage Pregnancy B-3
Summer: Preview Questions
Introduction To enjoy this book, you need to adjust some of your thinking. This worksheet will help you think of this.
The World As a group, you need to write the following responses out fully.
1. Describe a summer day for you on Nantucket if....
o There are no televisions, radios or CD players.
o There are a total of five pick-up trucks on the island and no other cars.
o There are no tourists and only about 100 people living in town.
o There is one boat a week and no flights.
2. Imagine one September that you find out that you are pregnant (of course you must be female). The father is a rich, summer guy who you like a lot, but who is engaged to an 24 year old. Parents are not a problem.
o Do you tell him and her?
o Do you keep the child?
o Would you marry someone else, just to support the child.
o Explain what happens when (and if) the child is born
The Lives of Teenage Mothers
Instructions Read the introduction and the article, then answer the following questions.
You will find your task easier if you use a separate sheet of paper.
Knowledge Questions Answer the following question with a full sentence.
1. What happens at the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center on Thursday afternoons?
Teenage pregnancies make up what percentage of all pregnancies in NY?
2. Why is the author there?
3. What does Janelle do with the baby in the morning?
How is her background unusual?
The author implies a reason for Janelle to become a mother. What is it?
4. Why do the father’s blame the mothers?
5. Why does the social worker think that teenagers have babies?
6. Describe April.
Why does the author believe she is the least equipped for a baby?
7. When did most of the mothers know they were pregnant?
Do you suppose they knew earlier?
Why might they not admit it now?
8. How did the boyfriends deal with the babies?
Continued on next page
Teenage Mothers, Continued
9. Why did Eron want the baby?
How does April react to that?
10. April says "So what makes us having a baby be an adult?" What does that sentence mean?
Why is that a scary sentence?
What point does that seem to prove?
11. Why didn’t the girls use birth control?
What is the "chance method"?
12. What don’t these girls seem to have?
Why might becoming pregnant be "inevitable"
What makes Eron and Janelle so different?
13. Why won’t April think about leaving the baby?
14. The article ends with the author going "downtown." How is this true in a metaphoric sense
Possible Essay For added challenge points (or to fulfill your essay requirement), you may answer one of these questions. Try to use modern or literary examples to answer these questions.
o Knowing what you know about teenage pregnancy, what might you suggest a school do to prevent it?
Can a school do anything to prevent it
o Write a first person story from April’s point of view?
o Explain why these girls exert so little control over their lives.
Summer; 1-20
Introduction This first chapter sets up the entire book in microcosm.
Quetions Answer the following questions fully after you read the first chapter. Use another sheet of paper.
1. Wharton is famous for creating a situation where people are in a trap; their passions are locked against societies conventions. The people are locked into a pattern forever. How is this true of the first 20 pages of Summer?
2. Wharton uses names of people and places to evoke corresponding emotions. How does she do this in Summer?
3. Draw and Describe this town accurately.
4. Charity Royall is a reasonably timeless character. Put her on modern Nantucket and write a brief one page conversation with her.
5. Is Charity and Lawyer's unhappiness thir fault or does nature take a part of it? Explain.
Summer; 21-57
Introduction The story gets a bit slow in this section. Be patient.
Questions Answer the following numbered questions as you read the section.
1. How did Charity come to be in the lawyer's care?
2. What has the lawyer done that is "unacceptable"
3. What season does the story start in?
Why is that important?
4. How did she get her job?
5. How is she acting like Holden or any other adolescent?
6. What shocks her about the Mountain?
7. What is important about the quote "You can trust me, you know--you really can."
8. Why does the lawyer like Lucius?
9. Look at Page 33-4 and the first three paragraphs of chapter 5. What do you notice about Wharton's description of nature?
Summer; 57- 81
Introductions Lucius and Charity start to develop the relationship.
Questions Answer the following questions
1. Charity constantly worries about her relationshipwith Lucius. What are some of the little things that Charity worries about?
Does she love Lucius? Do lovers worry about things the way that Charity does?
How does her attitude towards Lucius similar or different to other literary or movie lovers that you know?
2. Why does Charity worry about Annabel Balch?
Why does Charity think Annabel would be a much better match than Charity is?
Has anything that Lucius has done that supports Charity's thinking? Explain.
3. When she sees Lucius lying on his bed and doing work, why doesn't she go in?
What other reasons, that she doesn't say, prevent her from going in?
What happenned to Julia Hawes?
Later, when Lawyer confronts her about this, What does he and the rest of the town think happenned?
Continued on next page
Summer, Continued
4. On page 75, Lawyer has a little speech that he says to Charity. Summarize it in three sentences.
Does Charity deny what the lawyer is saying? Why or why not?
Why hasn't Lucius done anything "the right way"?
How could the Lawyer force him to do the right thing?
Do you think Lucius loves her? Do you think she loves Lucius?
5. "Things don't change at North Dormer. People just get used to them." What does that sentence mean?
Why don't things change in North Dormer?
Is Nantucket like North Dormer? Explain.
Summer; 81-102
Introduction Charity goes to Nettleton, just as she always wanted to. so does someone else.
Questions Answer the following questions fully. Use another sheet of paper.
1. Why doesn't Ally like to go to Nettleton?
The author doesn't tell you, but what do you suppose happenned to Julia at the Dr.'s office?
2. Lucius never gets physical with Charity. How does Charity interpret this restraint?
How else could it be interpreted?
3. On page 85, Charity sees all these people waiting to get on the train. What do all of these people hold in common?
4. In Nettleton, Charity is overwhelmed by the confusion and abundance that the "city" has for her. How does her confusion show in the text?
Hyperbole is a deliberate exaggeration for effect. Where does Wharton use hyperbole?
Why is she exaggerating things?
Continued on next page
Summer 81-105, Continued
5. The first bit of jewelry Charity looks at is a "gold lily of the valley with white flowers." These white flowers show up three times earlier in the book. Where?
The flowers are a symbol. What are they symbolic of?
If the flowers are symbolic of ___________________, what other things that you know of are also symbolic of __________________.
Why might their color be important?
Lucius gets her the other pin. What does that signify?
6. Is Harney behaving like someone who loves Charity? Explain.
7. This chapter ends as it began. How?
What is being foreshadowed?
8. She sees Julia out with the fellas. What is Julia doing? (Be blunt)
9. The fireworks are meant to suggest something else besides fireworks. What might that be?
Why does Lucius kiss her at the climax of the show?
10. At the end of the chapter, Charity is sobbing desperatly. Why?
Writing Define Whore. Lawyer calls her one, is he correct?
Earlier, Lawyer says that Charity is the proudest woman he has ever known. How does this incident show this?
Summer; 102-124
Introduction Charity and Lucius start to get more serious and a rival enters the picture.
Questions Answer the following questions fully. Use another sheet of paper.
1. Who does Charity think Ally embodies?
What "mean curiosities" does she think North Dormer has?
Why does she have to run away?
Is this a mature behavior?
What might a more mature person do here?
2. Where does Charity say she is going to go?
Why does she say she wants to go there?
Why else might she want to go there?
Why does the revival tent cause such a strong reaction on Charities part?
Is Charity self-centered or is she just guilty?
Why?
3. What is the house like?
How does the house reflect Charity and Lucius' relationship right now?
Why does Charity tell Lucius about Lawyer?
If he loved her, would he react similiar to the way that he does? Explain.
Continued on next page
Summer 101-124, Continued
4. When does this chapter take place?
How does this time differ from June?
How is Charity different?
What has been going on between her and Harney since June?
5. What were the two arguments Harney used to lure her back to North Dormer?
Which one convinced her to go back?
Which one really is the most powerful?
What does this show about Charity?
6. Over the course of this book, what has Charity spent her money on?
What did she want to spend her money on?
Why did she spend her money instead of saving it?
What is she more concerned with: getting out of town or imprressing the town?
Continued on next page
Summer, Continued
7. How is the Mountain described?
Considering what the mountain symbolizes, why is it emphasized at that point?
The symbol for their love has changed. What is it now?
How does Wharton show Charity's stronger connection with nature?
Considering the strong natural connection in this novel, what is going to happen come harvest time, in October?
8. Annabel Balch gets mentioned again at the end. What were once Annabel Balch's?
Why might the author remind us of Annabel at that point?
Writing How do you know that Annabel’s and Lucius’ relationship is coming to an end?
Summer; 125-140
Introduction While these are intriguing pages, I have done a colorful thing with the homework. With this homework, please explain why these excepts are important. Don’t rely just on plot answers. Think about symbolism.
Questions Identify the following questions fully. Use another sheet of paper.
1. "It was a joy for Charity to sing: it seemed as though, for the first time, her secret rapture mightburst from her and flash its defiance at the world. All the glow in her blood, the beat of the summer earth, the rustle of the forest, the fresh call of birds at sunrise, and the brooding midday languors, seemed to pass into her untrained voice, lifted and led by the sustaining chorus."
2. "They may come back for good...."
3. "Believe me, ladies and gentlemen, the best way to help the places wi live in is to be glad we live there."
4. "They gave all they had, but their all was not enough; it could not buy more than a few moments."
5. Charity stared straight ahead of her and then, dropping her flowers, fell face downward at Mr. Royall's feet.
6. "The Mountain was turning purple against a fiery sunset from which it seemed divided by a knife edge of quivering light..."
7. "Is this the home you propose to bring her when you get married."
Continued on next page
Summer, Continued
8. "You darsn't."
9. The last glow was gone from the mountain, Everything in the room had turned grey and indistinct, and an autumnal dampness crept up from the hollow..."
10. "...and we'll get married."
Summer; 140-158
Introduction Charity finds herself changed and older. The Mountain seems to beckon...
Question Answer the following questions fully. Use another sheet of paper.
1. How does Charity feel about Lucius now?
What are some examples of the figurative language Wharton uses?
Charity's listlessness could be explained by heartache-Or something else? What else?
2. Where has Lawyer gone?
What might he really be doing?
3. What is Ally making?
How does Charity initially react?
Why?
Later, how does nature reflect Charity's emotions?
Why is this quote important: "The nights were cold, with a dry glitter of stars so high up that they seemed smaller and more vivid."
4. What does Charity's letter say?
Why does she send it?
Why doesn't she get a reaction?
Continued on next page
Summer, Continued
5. Why does she get nauseous?
Does she know why?
How does Dr. Merkle scare the beejeezus out of her?
When Dr. Merkle ofers to send her to Boston, what is she really offering?
When she says "she would never again know what it meant to be alone." What does she mean?
6. What does Harney's letter say?
Why doesn't he say it directly?
Why does he try and offer her a little hope?
7. How does the town and money affect Charity's decision to not write Lucius?
How were Julia's actions brave?
8. How is the Mountain described?
What is forcing her to go to the mountain?
Summer; 158-181
Introduction This brief novel comes to a brief end. Charity moves on in her life and looks to other things for satisfaction. Yipes
Questions Answer the following questions fully. Use another sheet of paper.
1. Where is she walking to?
What is she most afraid of?
If she were not afraid of this, what might she do?
Would she be better off?
2. Who is she looking for?
Why?
3. What news does Mr. Miles have?
How does Charity react to seeing him?
Why do you suppose she reacts that way?
Why does he think he is taking her to her mother?
4. What do the houses look like?
What must life be like inside them?
How do you think Charity envisioned life up there?
Why does she keep saying (to herself) "This is where I belong."
Why are they described as being in "dark autumn twilight."
Continued on next page
Summer, Continued
5. Describe Charity's mother.
What simile does Wharton use to describe the mother on page 167.
Why is that appropriate?
What is the effect of the squalor on Charity?
Do you believe this description of the mountain is accurate or exaggerated?
6. What does Charity think of while she is lying on top of the mountain?
Is she more or less mature now?
Define mature.
Why does she eat the bread?
Why might she have eaten the bread a month ago?
7. Read the following quote:
"Only one sensation had the weight of reality. it was the bodily burden of her child. But for it, she would have felt as rootless as the whiffs of thistledown the wind blew past her. Her child was the load that held her down, and yet the hand that pulled her to her feet."
How does the child hold her down?
How does it pull her to her feet?
How has the child made her grow up?
Continued on next page
Summer, Continued
8. Who comes to pick her up?
Why does she feel tenderness towards him?
Why is it important that it was "spitting snow" when she waspicked
up?
How has her attitude towards Lawyer changed?
When Mrs. Hobart says Charity looks "pretty mean" what does she mean?
How does that relate to the "mean curiosities" she said North Dormer had?
9. Where does Lawyer plan on taking her?
What does Charity want (according to Lawyer)?
What does Lawyer want?
What other choices does Charity have?
Is this the best thing she could do?
10. Charity has suddennly gone from being active to being passive. Why?
Summer 181-end
Introduction Summer ends with a glimmer of positive hope. Not much, mind you, but...
Questions Answer the following questions fully. Use another sheet of paper.
1. How is Charity acting?
Why is she so passive?
How has Lawyer changed for her?
Why has Lawyer become so important to her (see page 185)?
2. What does the bedroom look like?
What is painted on the headboard?
Why can't she look at it?
What other activity might she do right now?
3. What does she stare at out the window?
Why does that make the marriage feel more final?
When she thinks about leaving, the author comapares it to "the flap of a broken wing." Explain.
4. How does Charity feel when she is in bed?
Why is she afraid of every footfall?
When she wakes up, where is Lawyer?
Why does that give them both relief?
What is Lawyer looking for in the marriage? What is Charity?
Is this a bad marriage?
In the long run, has Charity done well or poorly with this? (Think 20 years)
Continued on next page
Summer end, Continued
5. Why does she go to Merkle the next day?
Why does she want the brooch back?
How has she cut herself off from Lucius now?
Is she being brave about this or cowardly? Explain.
6. What is happening in the last sentence of the novel?
How does that compare to the action in the first sentence of the novel?
Time of day:
Time of year
Action
subject of the sentence
Just from those two sentences, what has happenned in the novel?
Summer Ending Question
Introduction The novel requires some looking back and evaluation. This sheet aims to do that.
Questions Answer the following questions fully. Use another sheet of paper.
1. Write one sentence that could come after the last one.
Explain why the novel needs your sentence.
2. When next summer comes, what will Charity be doing?
3. Do you agree with this statement: The single most important event in Charity's life was her pregnancy.
Explain.
4. Wharton, in one of her letters, says that Lawyer Royall "is the novel." Trace the main events of the novel from his point of view.
Write a fictional one page journal entry for Lawyer on one of the important days in the novel.
5. Should Charity have had the abortion? Explain.
Summer Group Test
Introduction The following questions are designed to be done with a group. Youmay use your homeworks and the book. Please take one period. Make sure you use the entire group.
Questions The following are questions for the group exam.
A. Find five excerpts from all over the book where Wharton compares Charity to nature.
-Explain the importance of each of those quotes
B. Write a one page journal entry that Lawyer wrote while he was in Portland in August.
C. Annabel finds the last letter Charity wrote to Lucius. Write a section of dialogue or a letter where he explains the letter to his wife?
D. Write a Nantucket description of a modern Charity and Lucius.
oDescribe them physically
oDescribe their attitudes towards life
oDescribe either their first meeting or their last one
Summer Essays
Introduction The following are the assigned topics for an essay on the book Summer.
Make sure you use a freewrite, an outline and the essay.
Questions Use one of the following topics for your essay.
1. Compare Lucius to Lawyer. Think of both of them as possible husbands to Charity.
2. Define Lust.
3. Describe the Royall's house in five years.
4. Compare Charity in October to Charity in August
Summer Independent Test
Introduction The following is designed to test your knowledge of the book and your ability to think critically.
Character Matching I, Character Matching:
__Charity a. Married Charity
__Lucius b. Married Lucius
__Lawyer c. Made Annabel's wedding dress
__Annabel Balch d. Fathered Charity's child
__Liff Hyatt e. Became a prostitute
__Mr. Miles f. Buried Chr. Mom
__Dr. Merkle g. Lawyer's housekeeper
__Julia Hawes h. Married Lawyer
__Ally Hawes i. Lived on Mountain
__Verena Marsh j. Abortionist
Location Joke: Why were the following locations important to the novel? Try to use their symbolic importance as well as structural (plot) significance
1. Mountain
2. Lawyer's porch
3. Abandoned House
4. Nettleton Lake
5. Room in Miss Hatchard's
Continued on next page
Summer Test, Continued
Objects Identify the following objects. Why are they important to the book? Pick 10.
1. A blue pin
2. A bunch of white flowers
3. a stale half-loaf of bread
4. a bunch of letters
5. $40.00
6. A decorated hat
7. White shoes
8. Hatchard Memorial Libarary
9. A drawing board
10. A surprise rainstorm
11. A ripped blouse
12. A painting on the headboard.
Continued on next page
Summer, Continued
Quotes Pick ten. Who said it and why is it important?
1. "Charity, let me in. I don't want the key. I'm a lonesome man."
2. "I guess you're good too."
3. "I want to earn money enough to get away."
4. "If he wanted you the right way, he's have said so."
5. "My, you do look pretty mean."
6. "Oh, very well. Five dolars please."
7. "Then I'll come back...we'll get married."
8. "They may come back for good...for good."
9. "Things don't change in north Dormer. People just get used to them."
10."This is where I belong-This is where I belong."
11."What, her too?"
12."You darsn't!!"
13."You whore-you damned, bare headed whore."
Extra Credit