Jude the Obscure Lesson Plan

If all of the elements of this lesson plan are employed, students will develop the following powers, skills, and understanding:

1. 1

   Students will explore the stylistic and storytelling conventions of the Vitorian novel, and how Jude the Obscure subverts those conventions.

2. 2

   Students will discuss themes of marriage and commitment in 19th-century England, and through the text deduce Hardy's opinions on those institutions.

3. 3

   Students will learn about the rigid societal roles enforced in Victorian England, and discuss how social mobility has changed (or not) in the contemporary world.

4. 4

   Students will look at religion and the underlying motivations behind one's acceptance or...