Hot Seat Discussion -- Seat 6

For our discussion today, 5 seats are put in front of the class. As questions are asked, students will come up to the seats to discuss. They will earn class points by their contributions. Listeners will take notes and type up a response, if they do not want to participate in the oral discussion.

A silent seat will also be available. Throughout our discussion, you may come up to my computer and add your thoughts, questions, disagreements, etc. We will be able to read these in class (projected on the screen) and hopefully, these too, will spark further discussion.

What is oppression?

Thinking over our scenes in class and our discussion, apply a definition to today's study. What is oppression? Who is being oppressed in Brave New World? By Whom? For what? How did the still scenes help you consider oppression?

Theater of the Oppressed

Students frozen in the following scenes:

Scene 1: Woman pulling a blanket up to her face, she's smiling while man is standing trying to pull it down.

Scene 2: Boy crouched with face buried under his arm, near Scene 1.

Scene 3: Boy reading Shakespeare with the following text on the page: "...smile and smile and be a villain...Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain...when he is drunk asleep, or in his rage/Or in the incestuous pleasure of his bed..."

Scene 4: Girl laying flat, eyes closed, sleeping in peace with empty bottle of pills next to her. Boy above her almost grabbing her zipper on her jacket, while covering his eyes in shame.

Figure out what THEME connects all these scenes together. Follow our discussions as Mrs. Davis acts as our scribe for our comments.