Free Verse/American Classic PS 88:10-12 Do you show your wonders to the dead? Do those who are
dead rise up and praise you? Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction? Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
1. The American
myth of the moral superiority of small-town life is dispelled in this collection of dramatic monologues spoken by Spoon River's dead citizens. In 1915, when this work was published, what would have been the myth of the
small town, and do you think it still exists today?
2. Per capita, there seem to be more churches in small towns than in larger cities. Do you think this plays into the myth of small town moral superiority? How do you
think this effects the way we see the need for evangelism in rural areas?
3. By 1915 the movement known as Realism was dominating the literary scene, which was a reaction to the Romantics, who depicted life more as we
wished it to be, more picturesque, more adventurous, and more heroic. The Realists tried to present a more accurate imitation of life as it is. However, sometimes Realists set out to present the illusion that their
fiction reflected life and the social world as it seemed to the common reader. As you read Spoon River Anthology
did you feel as though its author was accurately depicting lives of small town people? Which monologue most reminded you of someone that you know, or know of? Which one did you feel most represented your life? Whose did you feel was the most tragic? The most despicable?
4. There exist two conflicting theories about the nature of man. One insists that man is basically good, the other argues that man is basically evil. Which theory do you believe fiction most often reflects? Which
type of fiction are you most drawn to, the kind that in the end makes you feel like everyone is basically good, or the kind that says, no, man is evil? What is the danger of buying into the "man is good"
theory? Or vice versa? Discuss this in terms of small town moral superiority. (Compare Spoon River to Mitford.)
5. Spoon River Anthology
is written in such a dramatic form that readers might feel like they are being let in on secrets, because the lives of the townspeople only unfold as each one tells on himself, or on someone else. The reader is able to gather information about individual people, about families, and about the economic, political, and social structure of the town. Several times someone's story undercuts someone else's. Many times there are confessions, or naive or devious expressions; there is irony, and there are pleas. How many different scandals and tragedies, or good deeds, can you recall being revealed in this work? How many citizens from different walks of life can you recall being depicted? Finally, discuss what you learned about this town, and how did this type of storytelling differ from the single-narrated, plot driven form you are used to reading? Did you find this an enjoyable format?
6. Lots of people probably have a shameful secret they hope to take to the grave, yet, many human tragedies are taken to the grave as well. Discuss what you think God sees when He looks down on our town, or on the
world, as opposed to what we "saw" when we read about the people of Spoon River?
