Summer Reading | 9th Grade English | 10th Grade English | Creative Writing 

ETHAN FROME ACTIVITIES

Creative projects:

1. Portray Ethan Frome's house in pen and ink or pencil.

2. Portray Zeena's cat, with special attention to facial expression. You may choose to draw a caricature, or write a satirical essay or poem.

3. Draw a picture of Ethan, Mattie, or Zeena before the "smash-up" (no stick figures please), or compose a small collage of the three characters using magazine pictures.

4. Imagine that you are Ethan and that you have been keeping a secret diary since the day Mattie arrived. Write four entries - one shortly after Mattie's arrival, one the night you spent in the retreat, one just after the smash-up, and one 24 years later. Design a simple cover for the diary.

Examples: (Click on image to enlarge).

The numbers below represent the grade received on the project.
The scores range from 1-4 with 4 being the highest.

Frome House

3	4	4
1	2	4

Zeena's Cat

4	4	3
	2	4

Ethan's Diary

	4	3

Written assignments:

1. Invent a typical conversation between Zeena and Mattie twenty years after the smash-up. Write in script form.

2. Re-write the ending of Ethan Frome, beginning at the point when Ethan regains consciousness after the smash-up. (1-2 pages)

3. Read Robert Frost's poem, "The Death of the Hired Man." Analyze the poem and this novel in these areas: the attitude of the farm couple, the tone, and the effect of poverty on the individuals. Write an essay expressing your conclusions.

4. Recall a place that has special meaning for you, especially its sights and sounds. Write a poem or essay for the literary magazine. Give your readers a dominant impression of this place.