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Objective

Objective: Much of the opening passages of Travesties is comprised of a long monologue spoken by Henry Carr. He attempts to explain how Lenin, Joyce, Tzara, and he became acquainted in 1917, and the plot of the play to come is his memory. The objective of this lesson is to understand the memory play.

1. For class discussion: Review Henry Carr's opening monologue as a class and on the board list five points that the class believes Stoppard intends us to take away for it. What does Carr believe is particularly important about the story we are about to watch? What weaknesses in storytelling afflict Carr?

2. Divide the class into several groups and have each think of a movie that is told in hindsight, as a memory: American Beauty, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, A Christmas Story. How does the personality of the storyteller and his or her place within...

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