Creating Questions for a Harkness Discussion (Literature Based)

Ask three questions about the text (three per level). These need to be questions that you want to discuss or hear your classmates
discuss. Do not ask questions that you know the answer to just to have something down on paper to turn in.
Level One Question: - What evidence does the author use to express his
indecisiveness about talking to the woman?
For the seminar student, these are not mere recall questions;
rather, they establish evidence of basic facts presented in the - What words does Prufrock include within the poem to create
author’s proof paragraph. a mood that resembles weakness and despair?
Examples: - What thought or action does the author consider the most
 What evidence does the author use to support his argument throughout the poem?
that it is man’s responsibility to care for the land?
 To what does the author compare his boyhood experience
on the family farm in order to further his argument that
man is forever attached to the land?
Level Two Question: - Why does the author resemble the fog and smoke as a living
thing throughout stanza 4?
These questions are textually implicit, requiring analysis and
interpretation of specific parts of the text, pointing out what a
specific part of the text actually means, or what language was - In stanza 4, what effect does the frequent use of repeition have
used to create the meaning. It’s not about what happened on page on the poem and it’s meaning?
47 of the novel; it’s more like, “How does the author’s
description of the dying horse on page 47 of the novel create a
tone?” - What descriptions does Prufrock include in stanza 16 to hint
that he is having thoughts about death?
Examples:
 Why do you think the author relies heavily upon visual
imagery in this passage to convey his love of the land?
 How does the heavy use of repetition contribute to the
effectiveness of the author’s argument that ___________?
 What do you think the author means when he says: _____?
Level Three Question: - How would society today react to someone who has thoughts
similar to those of Prufrock?
These questions are more open-ended and go beyond the text.
They are intended to provoke a discussion of an abstract idea or - How does the authors varied thoughts in the poem compare to
issue, to connect events/themes in the anchor text to other texts, the economic, social, and cultural change that was occuring
other arguments, or to universal issues of life/society/mankind during the early 1900’s?
itself.
- Gossip influenced Prufrock’s thoughts and actions throughout
Examples: the poem. How does gossip effect the mindset of people today?
 How has man’s attitude toward nature changed over the
last 100 years?
 How has society’s changing perception toward nature been
advantageous? Detrimental?
In one complete sentence, write what the text is about (a summary The poem is about a man who has very different thoughts than
of the purpose, message, plot, theme, etc.). others during his time period, ranging from love and gossip to
death. For instance, Prufrock had many ideas about what others
were saying. He thinks that “they will say: ‘How his hair is
growing thin!’” And how “his arms and legs are thin!”. Due to
his thoughts about what others believed, he didn’t talk to the girl
Create a textual analysis. This analysis should take into account he wanted to be with. Even though people weren’t directly saying
your previous questions and explore possible answers of your anything to Prufrock, he let his ideas get to him and influence his
level two and three questions. (500 words or more) decisions. His lack of confidence and action leads me to believe
that he felt weak and he was in despair. The mood transfers over
to the audience as well making the tone seem melancholy and
gloomy. Adding to this, the author repeats phrases that add on to
 the saddening mood like “I grow old” and “that is not it at all”.
Later on, Prufrock speaks of death in situations when he asks
“would it have been worth while?”. This phrase is repeated
throughout the last few stanzas of the poem to express the
emotions that the author is feeling. His ideas of gossip lead him
to ask himself questions as if he is debating whether or not death
is the better option. At this point, Prufrock seems depressed and
filled with sadness. On the other hand, thoughts of gossip didn’t
only influence people during the 1900’s, but it effects people to
this day as well. Like Prufrock, gossip is something that impacts
a big percentage of people today. It’s something that occurs in
schools, social media, and amongst friend groups. Gossip can
create people even today to feel as Prufrock did. There are many
that have thoughts of death just as he did due to rumors or what
some believe has been said. This can be created due to
relationships, feelings, false comments, etc. Others may hear
gossip and be influenced to say or do something they don’t mean.
Although the poem was written many years ago, the message is
still impactful to this day.
On a different note, Prufock includes personification and imagery
all throughout the first couple of stanzas in the poem. A majority
of it is to describe and give importance to the fog and he does
this by giving it human like characteristics and explaining the
movement of it. The description of the fog is a big impact to the
setting. It gives the setting a darker and more gloomy mood. In
addition, within stanza 8 of the poem, Prufrock also describes his
looks in a very negative way. He is describing himself as he
thinks others do. Prufrock claims to be very old with a thin body
structure and a balding head. He has a very pessimistic view on
himself because he chooses to put himself down due to others.
Prufrock’s use of imagery supports the tone and emotions of the
poem because it allows the audience to imagine the background
and how he is feeling as he explains his life. His description
through figurative language and serious topics allows the reader
to feel his emotions and relate to him. Prufock also gets his
message across through his diction and emotions in a very
thorough and impactful way.
Remember: This assignment is due at the beginning of the period in which we will discuss a text —not mid-way through. These
responses will serve as the basis for our class discussion.