- •Home-reading guide the moon and sixpence Unit 1: Chapters I — VI
- •Vocabulary Notes
- •Unit 2: Chapters VIII—XI
- •Vocabulary Notes
- •III. Find the following allusions in the text and say what you know about them:
- •IV. Answer the following questions:
- •V. Give a summary of the chapters under study. Unit3: Chapters XII—XVI
- •Vocabulary Notes
- •III. Learn by heart and reproduce with a partner the talk between Mrs Strickland and the narrator (Ch. XV).
- •IV. Answer the following questions:
- •V. Give Ch. Strickland's character-sketch. Do you justify his motives for abandoning everything for the sake of painting?
- •VI. Fill in the character-sketch pages.
- •VII. Give a summary of the chapters under study. Unit 4: Chapters XVII—XXVI
- •Vocabulary Notes
- •V. What do you consider is the most typical feature of:
- •VI. Points for discussion:
- •VII. A) Sum up what you've learned about Dirk Stroeve. Give his charac-
- •VIII. Give a summary of the chapters under study. Unit 5: Chapters XXVII—XXXII
- •Vocabulary Notes
- •V. Suggest words or word combinations from the vocabulary list:
- •VI. Paraphrase the underlined word-groups, supply their Russian equivalents and use them in sentences of your own:
- •I. Use the words and phrases from the vocabulary list in situations of your own.
- •II. Comment on what the author or the character says or thinks:
- •III. Answer the following questions:
- •IV. Discuss the chapters you've read along the following lines:
- •V. Fill in the character-sketch pages.
- •VI. Give a summary of the chapters under discussion. Unit 6: Chapters XXXIV—XXXIX
- •Vocabulary Notes
- •VII. Reproduce the situations in which the words from the word list occur.
- •I. In the chapters you've read find reference to the following places and names and say what you know about them:
- •II. Paraphrase the following sentences:
- •III. Bear out or refute the following statements. Prove your point of view:
- •IV. Answer the following questions:
- •V. Discuss the following:
- •VI. Fill in the character-sketch pages.
- •VII. Give a summary of the chapters under study. Unit 7: Chapters xl—xliv
- •Vocabulary Notes
- •IV. Look up some material about the famous schools and trends in painting touched upon in the novel and prepare a talk about:
- •V. Fill in the character-sketch pages.
- •VI. Give a summary of the chapters under study. Unit 8: Chapters xlv—li
- •Vocabulary Notes
- •VI. Give the context in which the following words and word combinations occur:
- •VII. Learn the following idioms with do used both as a noun and as a verb:
- •VIII. Translate the following sentences into Russian. Make up a few sentences of your own using the given idioms:
- •I. Explain what is meant by the following sentences and comment on them:
- •III. Pick out a passage describing nature in Tahiti and prepare It for recital in class.
- •IV. Answer the following questions:
- •V. Points for discussion:
- •VI. Fill in the character-sketch pages.
- •VII. Give a summary of the chapters under study. Unit 9: Chapters liii—lv
- •Vocabulary Notes
- •IV. Paraphrase the italicized parts of the sentences:
- •I. Compose sentences of your own with the following words and phrases:
- •II. Explain the use of the idiom a square peg in a round hole in the text; give its Russian equivalent and illustrate its meaning with a situation or story.
- •III. Comment on the following statements:
- •IV. What do you know about the life of Paul Gauguin in Tahiti? Compare his life and the circumstances of his death there with those of Strickland's.
- •V. Could you name other men of art equally possessed by the desire to create so that they were "deaf and blind to everything else in the world" like Strickland?
- •VI. Answer the following questions:
- •VII. Points for discussion:
- •VIII. Fill in the character-sketch pages.
- •IX. Give a summary of the chapters under study. Unit 10: Chapters lvi—lviii
- •Vocabulary Notes
- •I. Find in the text sentences containing the following words and phrases and translate them into Russian:
- •II. Give synonyms for:
- •III. Paraphrase the following sentences and explain them:
- •VI. Answer the following questions:
- •VIII. Fill in the character-sketch pages.
- •IX. Give a summary of the chapters under study.
- •Reference List
VI. Answer the following questions:
1. How did Dr Coutras get the message about Strickland's critical state? When and how did he get to his house?
2. Why were the impressions he got from that visit wonderful and horrible at once?
3. What kind of painting adorned the walls of Strickland's house? Why did the doctor call it mysterious?
4. Why was he seized with terror when he saw Strickland's body?
5. What was his will that Ata promised to fulfil and did fulfil after his death? Was she right to destroy Strickland's best work? Do you agree with Dr Coutras that they had no right to deprive the world of this masterpiece?
6. How do you account for the fact that Strickland didn't want to leave his crowning picture to people? Was it pride, indifference, arrogance or malice that prompted this will?
7. What is the ultimate aim of the work and life of any artist? Does he create for people or is his only goal to find medium for the expression of his ideas, feelings and passions and get free of his obsession? Is this search always a torture?
8. When and how did the author meet Mrs Strickland and her children after he returned from Tahiti? Did they change?
9. How had Mrs Strickland moved with the times? Do you think she was a connoisseur of art?
10. What was Mrs Strickland's contribution to the public image of Charles Strickland, a recognized genius? Did she and the children have a grudge against him for the ill-treatment they received in the earlier years?
11. Why does the author describe the atmosphere of the meeting with a touch of irony?
12. Do you justify such artists as Strickland in their neglect of the relatives, other people and society in general?
13. Do you think that a really great artist is always ahead of his times and can be understood and estimated only by the posterity? Can you give other examples to illustrate this view?
VIII. Fill in the character-sketch pages.
IX. Give a summary of the chapters under study.
Suggested Topics for the Panel Discussion of the Book (or a Written Composition)
1. W. S. Maugham, his life and literary career.
2. The style and composition of the novel. Point out its merits or faults.
3. Comment on the title connecting it with the contents of the novel.
4. The problem of artist and his creative work in "The Moon and Sixpence" by S. Maugham.
5. Moral and artistic problems raised in the book. S. Maugham's treatment of them.
6. The autobiographical element in the novel.
7. The author's views on fame and artistic personality.
8. Give a character sketch of Charles Strickland:
a) Ch. Strickland and his family;
b) Strickland's way to public recognition;
c) Strickland and Blanche Stroeve;
d) Strickland and his art;
e) Strickland as an artist and as a person.
9. Give a character sketch of Mrs Strickland.
10. Give a character sketch of Dirk Stroeve.
11. The narrator's character sketch.
12. Speak about the minor characters of the novel: Blanche Stroeve, Mrs MacAndrew, Mrs Tiare Johnson, Ata. What is the role of these characters in the novel? What is the author's attitude to them?
13. The literary circles of London as presented by the author.
14. Paul Gauguin as the prototype of Charles Strickland, the points of similarity and difference.