For Friday, February 21

Task #1:

Read through the following questions before reading the poem "The Hollow Men."

1. Is there any possibility for salvation for the Hollow Men? Are they capable of saving themselves? Does the poem contain any signs of hope?
2. Eliot once described the newspaper editors and politicians of his time in a way that made them sound like "Hollow Men." Does contemporary society have its Hollow Men? Would you associate them with a particular social group?
3. Do you find it offensive or arrogant of Eliot to judge other people so harshly? Does the fact that he does so with an imaginary group in a poem make a difference?
4. Where are the Hollow Men's eyes?
5. Do you think the Hollow Men will make it across the River Styx, or are they trapped forever in the desert?
6. Do you agree that people who are too timid to do bad things and who only look out for themselves are more despicable than people who actively commit evil? Do you see a difference between the two forms of badness?

Task #2:

Read and annotate the poem a section at a time. 

After reading each section, stop.  Go back and annotate the section for meaning, stop.

Write a sentence about the meaning or images of the section.  Do this for each of the five sections.

Task #3:

Go back to the questions above.  Read all 6 questions again.  Choose two of the questions to answer in writing.  Be detailed with your answers...write quotations sandwiches within your answer.  Some of the questions may feel like opinion; use the poem to back up or refute your opinion.