Darkness at Noon Unit 13 Section One: Cultural Information Section Three: Text Understanding Section Four: Text Appreciation Section Five: Activities Section

Darkness at Noon Unit 13Section One:Cultural Information

Section Three:Text Understanding

Section Four:Text Appreciation

Section Five:Activities

Section Two:Word Study

Harold Kerns

Harold Kerns

Raised in New York city, Harold kerns earned a B.A and a law degree at

Harvard, studied at Oxford university, worked as a partner in a Washington

DC law firm, was the subject of a long –running Broadway play, and wrote a

popular television movie-all despite the fact that he was born blind. His “i-A”

classification by a local draft board, which doubted the severity of his

handicap, brought about the 1969 Broadway hit play Butterflies Are Free by

Leonard Gorse . Kerns once explained that he was merely the “prototype’ for

the central character.” I gave the story its inspiration-the play’s plot is not my

story; its spirits is. In 1972 Kerns wrote To Race the Wind, which was made

into a CBS-TV movie in 1980. During his career as a lawyer, Kerns worked

hard to expand legal protection for the handicapped and fought to secure

their right to equal opportunity in the business world. He died in 1987 of a

brain tumor. .

Butterflies are Free

Darkness at Noon Unit 13Section One:Cultural Information





Harold KernsButterflies Are Free

It is a 1969 play by Leonard Gorse that was produced on

Broadway at the Booth Theatre between 21 October 1969

and 2 July 1972. Gorse also wrote the screen adaptation for

the 1972 film with Eileen Hackers, Goldie Hawn and Edward

Albert .Loosely based on the life of Harold Kerns (1944-

1987), the play concerns a blind man named Don Baker

(Albert), who lives in San Francisco where he meets a hippy

girl named Jill (Hawn) and must deal with his controlling

mother (Hackett).

Butterflies are Free

Darkness at Noon Unit 13

1. observer: n. (a) one who watches carefully

e.g. she is a keen observer of nature.

(b) One who pays attention to rules .etc. one who

celebrates festivals, birthdays, anniversaries, etc?

e.g. Americans are observers of Christmas Day

observant adj.

Section One:Cultural Information






2. narcissistic: obsessively and exclusively interested in

one’s own self

e.g. Women were believed to be more narcissistic than

men.







3. to date : up to now

e.g. To date migrant workers have been still looked down

upon is spite of their contribution.







4. converse: vi.talk

e.g. My teacher conversed with me about my future

career

adj.(idea, statement which is ) opposite ( to another)

e.g. He always likes to put forward converse ideas in

class.







5. enunciate: vt.&vi.

(a) say or pronounce words clearly

e.g. He enunciates his words clearly.

(b) expresses a theory, etc clearly or definitely

e.g. She enunciated her feminist theory in this book.

enunciation n.







6. invariably: never changing constantly

e.g. Our love to our motherland is invariably rooted in our

hearts.







7. pick up:

(a) take hold of and lift

e.g. He picked up his hat on the table and left.

(b) gain; acquire

e.g. She picked up a livelihood by selling things from

door to door

(c) recover; regain

e.g. You’ll soon pick up health when you get to the

seaside.







8. dread: n. great fear and anxiety

e.g. She lives in constant dread of poverty.

vt.&vi. fear greatly

e.g. I dread having to visit he dentist.

dreadful adj.







9. retina: n. layer of membrane at the back of the eyeball,

sensitive to light

e.g. If one’s retina detaches, he or she’ll become blind at

once.







10. detach: vt. (a)unfasten and take apart; separate

e.g. He detached a link from a chain

(b) Armed forces) send (a party of men, ships, etc) away

from the main

e.g. A number of men was detached to guard the right

flank.

detached adj.







11. inform somebody of something: give knowledge to

e.g. Keep me informed of new developments in the field.

Have you informed them of your intended

departure?







12. previously: adv. before

e.g. We had know the power of nature previously

previous adj.







13. respond: vt.&vi.

(a) act in answer to

e.g. when jack insulted Jill, she responded with a kick.

(b). react to; be affected by

e.g. the illness quickly responded to treatment







14. graphically: adv. by writing ordiagrams, (fig) vividly

e.g. He illustrated his ideas graphically.

graphic adj.







15. drive something home: make something completely clear

e.g. He is the students’ favorite teacher, and one of his

strong points is that he excels in driving His lecture home to

his audience.







16. firm: adj. (a) solid hard

e.g. His position is as firm as a rock.

(b) Not easily changed or influenced

e.g. She has a firm faith in the future of the world.

(c) Of a person his body, its movements characteristics,

etc) steady stable

e.g. The baby is not very firm on its feet yet

He gave me a firm glance.

firmness n.







17. hospitalize: vt. send to hospital; admit into hospital

e.g. He was hospitalized with lung cancer.

hospitalization n.







18. orderly: adj.

(a) well arranged; in good order; tidy

e.g. She likes an orderly room

(b) ell-behaved; obedient to discipline

e.g. An orderly crowd was standing in the rain to pay tribute to

the hero.

orderliness n.







19. intone : vt. &vi.recite a prayer, psalm, etc in a singing

tone, speak with a particular tone

e.g. They are intoning a Christmas song in the church.







20. approximately: adv. about, nearly

e.g. The area of my land is half an acre approximately.

approximate adj. ; vt.& vi.







21. disposition: n. (a) arrangement; placing in order

e.g. The disposition of furniture in his room is wonderful

(b) Person’s natural qualities of mind and character

e.g. He is a man with a cheerful disposition

(c) inclination

e.g. There was a general disposition the leave early

(d) power of ordering and disposing

e.g. Who has the disposition of this property?

dispose vt.&vi.







22. desert: vt.&vi.

(a) leave; go away from

e.g. We sheltered from the storm in a deserted hut

(b) leave without help or support, esp. in a wrong or cruel

way

e.g. He deserted his wife and children and went abroad

(c) run away from; leave without authority or permission

e.g. A solider that deserts his post in time of war is

punished severely

(d) fail

e.g. His courage deserted him.

desertion n.

deserter n.







23. blurt out: tell something suddenly and often

thoughtlessly

e.g. she blurted out the secret of her boyfriend the other

day at the family union







24. misconception: n. misconceiving; instance of wrong

understanding

e.g. She has a misconception of love.

misconceive vt.







25. ridiculous: adj.deserving to be laughed at; absurd

e.g. You look ridiculous in those tight jeans.

What a ridiculous idea!

ridiculously adv.

ridicule n.&vt.







26. turn down:

(a) cause to fold down

e.g. He turned down his coat collar and left in a hurry.

(b) reduce by turning a wheel or tap

e.g. He turned down the lamps to make romantic air the

room.

(c) refuse to consider an offer, a proposal

e.g. He tried to join the army but was turned down

because of poor health.







27. qualification: n.

(a) act of qualifying, modifying of limiting; something

which modifies, restricts of limits

e.g. You can accept his statement without qualification.

(b) training, test, etc that qualifies a person, degree,

diploma, rewarded at the end of such training.

e.g. She got a doctor’s qualifications after training.

qualify vt.&vi







28. frustration: n. defeat of disappointment

e.g. She was embittered by numerous frustrations last

year.

frustrate vt.







29. exclusion: n. excluding or being excluded

e.g. Every is allowed to vote to the exclusion of racism

disillusionment n.







30. disillusion: n. set free from mistaken beliefs

e.g. They had thought that the new colony would be a

paradise, but them were soon disillusioned.







31. issue: vt.&vi. (a) come out; go out; flow out e.g. The blood was issuing from his wound. (b) Distribute for use or consumption e.g. They issued warm clothing to the poor people (c) publish books, etc; put stamps, banknotes, shares etc into circulation e.g. Her book was issued last year. n. (a). outgoing e.g. There was an issue blood from her nose. (b) Putting forth; sending out; publication e.g. I often buy new stamps on the day of issue. (c) question that arises for discussion e.g. They often argue political issues.







32. regulation: n. rule; order; authoritative direction

e.g. Everyone should obey traffic regulations

adj. as required by rules; correct.

e.g. You should fill in the application forms of the

regulation size.

regulate vt.







33. mandate: n. order from a superior; command given with

authority

e.g. We got the mandate to launch an attack tonight.

mandatory adj.







34. handicapped: adj. suffering from some disability

e.g. We should donate more money for handicapped

children.

handicap n. &vt.







35. by and large: on the whole; taking everything into

consideration

e.g. We should carry out the plan by and large.







36. procedure: n. the regular order of doing things, esp.

legal and political

e.g. we should stop arguing about questions of

procedure and get down to business.







37. be attached to: be bound to by love or affection

e.g. She is deeply attached to her younger brother

He is foolishly attached to old customs.

attach vt.&vi.

attachment n.







38. wander: vi.

(a) go from place to place without any special purpose or

destinations.

e.g. They are wandering over the countryside.

(b) leave the right path or direction

e.g. We wandered for miles and miles in the mist.

(c) be absent-minded

e.g. his mind wandered back to his college days.

wanderer n.







39. distinctly: adv .in a clear manner

e.g. He pronounced the word distinctly.







40. plant: vt.&vi.

(a) put plants, bushes, trees, etc in a garden, etc.

e.g. She planted the garden with rose bushes last year.

(b) cause an idea to take root in somebody’s mind

e.g. The teacher planted patriotism in her students’ mind

(c) take up a position or attitude

e.g. He planted himself in front of the fire.







41. foreman: n.

(a) workman in authority over others

e.g. Her brother is the fore man of the workers.

(b) chief member and spokesman in a jury

e.g. The foreman will read the verdict in the afternoon.







42. come upon:

(a) attack by surprise; strike

e.g. Fear came upon us

(b) come across

e.g. I came upon a fiend of mine on the street the other

day.







43. disabled: adj. unable to do something.

e.g. we should show more care for the disabled ex-

service men.

disable vt.

disablement n.







Questions Paragraph 1

Questions:

(1)Why does the author use the word “observer” instead

of “people”? What rhetorical device is employed

here?

(“Observer” means somebody who sees and notices.

The author, according to the text, was an intelligent

and capable man, but those “observers” simply

ignored this fact owing to his blindness. They may

well be called blind observers. The author uses ironic

device to express his indignation at such people.)

Sentence Highlights







Paragraphs 1

Questions:(2) What does the word “narcissistic” allude to? (This word is derived from “narcissism”, which describes the character trait of self-love. In Greek mythology, Narcissus was a handsome Greek youth who rejected the desperate advances of the nymph Echo. As a punishment, he was doomed to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Unable to consummate his love, Narcissus pined away and changed into the flower that bears his name, the narcissus. In the text, the author implies that he has never been in love with the image he creates in the eye of others, because it is imposed upon him.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Paragraphs 2

Questions:

(1) In what way do people talk to the author?

(They often talk to him in two ways: either converse with

him at the top of their lungs, with careful enunciation of

each word, or they whisper to each other, assuming that

since his eyes do not work, his ears do not, either.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Paragraphs 2

Questions:

(2) Do you think that if the word “blind” uttered, the

speaker’s retina will really detach? What is implied in the

statement?

(What the author assumes is certainly not true. If one is

retina detaches, he will become blind at once. The mere

utterance of the word itself can never cause such a

heavy loss. There is no doubt that the author uses

sarcasm to express his indignation.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Paragraph 2

Questions:

(3) Explain the sentence “Hi, Jane, we have got a 76

here” and point out the rhetorical device employed in it.

(This sentence means that: We have got a disabled man

here”. “76”is used here to refer to a handicapped person

because of the regulations issued by the department of

labor in 1976. The rhetorical device is metonymy. At the

same time, it can be treated as euphemism as well.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Paragraph 3-13

Questions:

(1) What is the main idea of this part?

(Because of his blindness, people think that he cannot

talk, though they think that he can hear.)

(2) What does “this point” refer to?

(It refers to the sentence: on the other hand, others know

that of course I can hear, but I believe that I cannot talk.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Paragraph 3-13

Questions:

(3) Please read the sentences in quotation marks,

imitating the way the orderly and the elderly woman

conversed with each other.

(4) Do you think that the author’s complaint works?

(No, it does not at all. The author became angry with

them and told them that he did not need an interpreter.

The orderly, ignoring his complaint and his ability, just

mechanically interpreted what he said to the elderly

woman.






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Paragraphs 14Questions:(1) Point out the topic sentence of this paragraph. (the first sentence)(2) Although the author is qualifications included a cum laude degree from Harvard College, he was turned down by over forty law firms. What does this imply and what rhetorical device is employed?(A cum laude degree from Harvard College suggests that the author was best qualified to practice law, yet he was rejected time and again just because of his disability. It best exposes people’s prejudices against the disabled. Contrast is employed here.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Paragraphs 15-17

Questions:

(1) Which is the word that indicates that the author’s

narration of his disillusioning experiences comes to an

end?

(Fortunately)

(2) Is the business community’s response to the

regulations issued by the department of labor positive or

negative?

(Generally speaking, it is positive. Many are willing to

offer the disabled equal employment opportunities.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Paragraphs 15-17

Questions:

(3) What does the last sentence imply?

(It implies that one should be judged according to his

ability. Both dad and I played basketball badly, so the

little friend asked:” which one is blind?” Similarly, if both a

handicapped person and a non-handicapped person do

their jobs equally well, the manager should judge them

by the same standard.)






Questions

Sentence Highlights


1. To date is has not been narcissistic. (Para. 1)

Paraphrase: Up to now I have no fondness for the image I

have created in the eye of others.

2. Very often people will converse with me at the top of their

lungs, enunciating each word very carefully. (Para. 2)

Paraphrase: Quite often people tend to talk with me at

the top of their voices, pronouncing each word carefully

and clearly.






Questions

Sentence Highlights


3.I have concluded that the word “blind” is not used for

one of two reasons: Either they fear that if the dread

word is spoken, the ticket agent’s retina will

immediately detach, or they are reluctant to inform

me of my condition of which I may not have been

previously aware. (Para. 2)

Paraphrase: I have come to understand why the word

“blind” is not used: Either they fear that if the terrible

word is uttered, the ticket agent will immediately

become blind, or they are not willing to let me know

my condition about which I may not have hand the

first idea.






Questions

Sentence Highlights


4.This point was graphically driven home to me while we were in England. (Para.4)

Paraphrase: This point was made completely clear to me during our stay in England.

5.This procedure continued for appomaximately five at which point even my saint-like disposition deserted me. (Para.1 2)

Paraphrase: This whole set of questions, responses and repetitions lasted for about five minutes at which point I because very impatient in spite of my good temper.

6.By and large, the business community’s response to offering employment to the disabled has been enthusiastic. (Para. 15)

Paraphrase: Generally speaking, companies and firms respond to the regulations of equal employment opportunities for the disabled in a positive way.






Questions

Sentence Highlights


Text Appreciation Text Appreciation

On a point by point basis and in a deductive method, the

author of this narrative text exposes the social prejudices

against the handicapped. He also expresses his indignation at

those who are biased against the disabled to their ability and

dignity. The language of the text is primarily characterized by a

formal style, though some colloquial sentences are scattered

here and there.

Language Appreciation







1. Darkness at Noon (Title)

Note the symbolic and metonymic meaning of the title. It is

common sense that noontime should be broad daytime,

so this estrangement of common sense aims to produce a

special effect on the reader. The reader can infer different

layers of meaning from it; for the author, it is darkness all

the time no matter when; for the observer, he is blind to

the author’s outstanding achievement and ability owing to

his prejudice against the disabled.






Text Appreciation



2. The opening sentences in paragraphs 2.3.14

These three opening sentences, with simple yet

forceful language, outlining the whole text in an

ascending order, expose the illogical foolishness of

those who are biased against the disabled, and

convey the author’s indignation at such practice.






Text Appreciation



3. A waiter or waitress will ask Kit if “ he would like a drink” to which I respond that” indeed he would”

Note the cynical tone of the sentence.4.The attempt to find employment, the continuous frustration

of being told that it was impossible for a blind person to practice law, the rejection letters, not based on my lack of ability but rather on my disability, will always remain one of the most disallowing experiences of my life.

Note the effect of the listing of the things the author has experienced. It emphasizes the frequent frustrations the author has met in his life. Also note the assonance device employed (between “ability” and “disability”.






Text Appreciation



Activity 1

Pair works

Have the students work in pairs and ask each if they wou

ld like to have a disabled student in their dormitory and why?

Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity 4






Activity 5


Role-play.

Two executives (a man and a woman) are trying to an ideal

person for a new job in their company. The best two

candidates have very similar qualifications for the job but

one has a physical disability. The two company directors

have different views on why the job should be given to one

or the other and discuss their possible views.






Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity 4

Activity 5


Oral activity:

Language Support

In an interview, interviews tend to ask questions, while inter

views are expected to

answer their questions. The following lowing questions may

be asked in an interview

to evaluate an applicant:






Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity 4

Activity 5


(1) Communication and coordination ability

What community activities have you ever got involved in?

have you ever been an organizer?

In organizing or attending such activities, what were your

gains, and what were your losses? In retrospect, what should

have been done to improve such activities?

(2) Academic achievements

Have you got a good ranking in your class/grade?

What are your favorite subjects? Why?

In what way can you apply your major to your applied job?






Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity 4

Activity 5


(3) Career path development

What kind career path have you designed for yourself?

What preparations have you made so far for your

career?

(4) Strengths and weaknesses

Would you please recommend to us your strengths?

What are the areas you believe you should get improved

in the future?






Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity 4

Activity 5


Oral activity: II on p.212

Information support

In defending and challenging the idea on people with disab

ilities, the following information may be of some use:

USA president Franklin Roosevelt (impaired movement as

the result of polio)

Classical composer Ludwig van Beethoven (deaf in later y

ears)






Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity 4

Activity 5



King Richard III of England (childhood sickness allowed bo

nes to malformed

resulting in severe curvature of the back and extremely unev

en legs)

Civil rights activist Helen Keller (deaf and blind)

Stephen Hawking (has motor neuron disease and uses a

wheelchair and speech synthesizer)

Christopher Reeve (USA actor famous for portraying Supe

rman who became quadriplegic after a horse-riding accident)






Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity 4

Activity 5



Vocabulary support

List of physical disabilities

(1) Mobility impairment

Clubfoot Paralysis Amputation Parkinson’s disease

Cerebral palsy Arthritis Stroke

(2) Visual impairment

Blindness Low vision Color blindness Cataract

(4) Hearing impairment

Deafness tinnitus






Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity 4

Activity 5


Report and discussion

Step1: Divide the students into of four or five, then have

each group report on one

famous handicapped person in class.

Step2: Have the students work in their group and discuss

the problems that the

disabled are faced with in China today and offer possible sol

utions to

them.






Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity 4

Activity 5

Documents

Darkness at Noon Unit 13 Section One: Cultural Information Section Three: Text Understanding Section Four: Text Appreciation Section Five: Activities Section