Performing+the+Death+of+Mr.+Watts

p. 201-205. From the entrance of the redskin soldiers to the mother being taken away.

This is the most powerful scene and at the same time it is very understated. Students in groups of 6-8 should meet to discuss how to present the scene. Our experience with //Julius Caesar// suggests that the acting tends to become more physical and violent if they students prepare it as a pantomime first. If there is time dialogue can be added in for a second round, but it can all be communicated through action. In a way it is appropriate that Matilda is constantly re-enacting this scene in her mind, looking at the actions and trying to decide how else people could have played their parts.

I wouldn't suggest having students act out the rape of the mother, but they should certainly discuss it. What does it mean that the only thing that the mother has left to bargain with is her body and her life? The author has gone to some effort to reach this level of desperation, where the mother has only two choices. Do the students accept that the mother has no other choice, or is there some event along the way that leaves them unsatisfied? What is left of Matilda after everything else is stripped away?

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