"God forgives those who invent what they need." - Rebecca from Lillian Hellman's play The Little Foxes.
by Richelle Kamper
Introduction | The Task | Process and Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion
"God forgives those who invent what they need." - Rebecca from Lillian Hellman's play The Little Foxes.
Though we typically do not believe this to be true of history, it appears author and playwright Lillian Hellman saw all things this way. Considered to be the first major American female playwright, many believe that she "invented" most of the biographical information compiled about her. So, who was this enigma? Considered by many to be an unattractive woman, she beguiled men throughout her life. It is known that she lived with author Dashiell Hammett without the constraints of a marriage license. She was also a staunch Socialist that was investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee and escaped without being blacklisted. Your job will be to discover the true history of this complex woman.
Your task will be to find out who Lillian Hellman was and present your version of Ms. Hellman's history to the class through an original monologue. You will create a historical profile of a ten year period during her life by:
You will then:
To discover the true history of Madame Hellman, you are going to need to know some information. You are going to have to find out what was written about her, what she wrote about and what happened during her life time. Perhaps by examining these things, you can create a get a clearer picture of who this woman was.
This search for the true Lillian Hellman will take quite a bit of time and effort. To make the explanations of what you must accomplish simpler, I created web sites that contain brief descriptions of the information that you will be searching through on the world wide web. Click on the pink underlined words for descriptions of web sites you will be travelling to and links to those sites.
To accomplish the task set before you, each of you must complete the following steps.:
Class Work (Day One):
1. Read three simple biographies of Lillian Hellman's life.
Class Work Days Two and Three:
2. Break into pairs and decide which ten years of Lillian Hellman's life your group wants to study.3. Select a nonfiction book written by or about Lillian Hellman. (Click on the * to see nonfiction books by and about Lillian Hellman available through the Scottsdale Public Library and Arcadia High School.)
4. Select one of the plays written by Lillian Hellman (Click on the * to see plays written Lillian Hellman available through the Scottsdale Public Library and Arcadia High School.)
Class Work Days Four to Twenty-five:
5. As a group, complete an in-depth study of the historic events which may have impacted Lillian Hellman's life through the ten year span your group has selected. Your study should include, but is not limited to: major political, economic, and historic events. Your group must also investigate cultural norms of the ten year period you have selected (i.e., fashion, music). This will facilitate your monologue performance. You will be given time in class to work on-line through the historic event site that has been established. You will also be given class time at the library to utilize the books there. In addition, you must also research the biographical information available regarding Lillian Hellman.
Homework Days Four to Thirteen:
6. Read the nonfiction book that you have selected
Homework Days Fourteen to Twenty-five:
7. Read the play by Lillian Hellman that you have selected.
Class Work Days Twenty-six to Thirty:
8. Compile the information that you have gathered and as a group write a paper at least three pages in length. This paper may report on the historic events impacting Ms. Hellman's life or it may discuss how historic events impacted Ms. Hellman's writing.
Class Work Days Thirty-One to Thirty-five:
9. Write a one-minute monologue from Ms. Hellman's point of view. This monologue must be set during the ten year period your group selected. The topic of the monologue is up to you. It may include but is not limited to: her relationship with Dashiell Hammett, her involvement in World War II, her involvement with the New York Intellectuals, her dealings with HUAC, or her views on Socialism.
Class Work Days Thirty-six to Thirty-eight:
10. Memorize and block the monologue that you have written, in preparation for performance.11. Compile the technical elements that you need for your performance from the items available in the classroom or from your home. Your performance will need to including opening and closing music, an appropriate costume, make-up and hair, lighting cues, and props.
Class Work Days Thirty-nine to Forty-one:
12. Perform your monologue utilizing the technical elements that you gathered. Turn in your script before your performance. Imbedded in the script should be all light and sound cues. Attached to the script should be a costuming, make-up and prop list.
Your monologue performances will be graded using a performance rubric. This rubric will assess your monologue performance for performance and technical elements.
Your study of Lillian Hellman poses an awsome question. Can we change the way the world views our personal history, if we acheive enough status and power? I believe that the research conducted and monologues presented will bring you as close to the truth as anyone. No one can truly hide from their past. Or can they? Can you think of any other people who have altered their identity enough to change what others know of them? How and why would they do that? Check out this site on Adolf Eichmann. He hid for over ten years in Argentina before being caught. History has shown us that if you are interested in hiding your past you may do it for a while. But in the end, the truth will come out.
Based on a template from The Webquest Page.