{"id":740,"date":"2016-10-06T14:07:20","date_gmt":"2016-10-06T14:07:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishlitvictorianmodern\/?post_type=chapter&p=740"},"modified":"2016-10-11T00:09:17","modified_gmt":"2016-10-11T00:09:17","slug":"study-questions-activities-and-resources-16","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-englishlitvictorianmodern\/chapter\/study-questions-activities-and-resources-16\/","title":{"raw":"Study Questions, Activities, and Resources: Sean O'Casey","rendered":"Study Questions, Activities, and Resources: Sean O’Casey"},"content":{"raw":"
\r\n

Study Questions and Activities<\/h3>\r\n

Act I\r\n<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. Why does Boyle call himself \u201cCaptain\u201d?<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Identify Jerry Devine.<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Why does Juno not want to leave for work before the captain begins his breakfast?<\/li>\r\n \t
  4. Why is Mary on strike?<\/li>\r\n \t
  5. What is the main difference between a \u201cdie-hard\u201d and a \u201cfree-stater\u201d?<\/li>\r\n \t
  6. What faction did Robbie Tancred side with in the Civil War?<\/li>\r\n \t
  7. What is the comic significance of the coal-vendor?<\/li>\r\n \t
  8. Why does Mary pay so little attention to Jerry?<\/li>\r\n \t
  9. Why is Joxer afraid to stick his head out of the window?<\/li>\r\n \t
  10. What plan do Joxer and the captain make in case they are surprised by Juno?<\/li>\r\n \t
  11. Why does the captain come to the conclusion that Devine is \"not like a Christian at all\"?<\/li>\r\n \t
  12. How does Boyle turn Father Farrell\u2019s offer of help into an attack on the clergy?<\/li>\r\n \t
  13. To what is Johnny referring when he boasts that \"Ireland only half free will never be at peace while she has a son left to pull the trigger\"?<\/li>\r\n \t
  14. What news does Bentham bring?<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    Act II\r\n<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n
      \r\n \t
    1. Does Boyle continue to attack the clergy?<\/li>\r\n \t
    2. What words of Mrs Tancred in Act II does Juno repeat in Act III?<\/li>\r\n \t
    3. What is the thematic role of Bentham\u2019s theosophy?<\/li>\r\n \t
    4. Why is the will a \u201cwashout\u201d?<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

      Act III\r\n<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n
        \r\n \t
      1. Find one of Mrs Madigan\u2019s malapropisms in Act III.<\/li>\r\n \t
      2. Comment on Devine\u2019s words, \u201cMary, humanity is above everything.\u201d<\/li>\r\n \t
      3. What does Boyle mean when near the end of the play he speaks of his \u201cVolunteer butties\u201d?<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

        Short Essay Questions<\/h2>\r\n
          \r\n \t
        1. Discuss irony in the play.<\/li>\r\n \t
        2. Show how Boyle is not the only person guilty of \u201cpeacockery\u201d in the play.<\/li>\r\n \t
        3. What are some uses O\u2019Casey makes of song in the play?<\/li>\r\n \t
        4. How is Capt. Boyle a miles gloriosus<\/em> figure?<\/li>\r\n \t
        5. Discuss Joxer Daly as a type of comic \u201cparasite\u201d as in Ben Jonson.<\/li>\r\n \t
        6. Compare Capt. Jack with Shakespeare\u2019s Falstaff.<\/li>\r\n \t
        7. Compare Maisie Madigan and Chaucer\u2019s Wyf of Bath or Shakespeare\u2019s Mistress Quickly.<\/li>\r\n \t
        8. The song \u201cYoung Cassidy\u201d is not sung in the play, but it is a tribute to Sean O\u2019Casey. Demonstrate why this is so. You will need to do a little biographical research.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=L8_dppISrf0<\/a>\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=L8_dppISrf0\r\n\r\n\"qrcode-young-cassidy\"\r\n

          Longer Essays<\/h2>\r\n1.\u00a0 \u201cMany characters invest all of their energy into words rather than deeds.\u201d (Christopher Murray, Sean O\u2019Casey<\/em>.) Do you agree?\r\n\r\n2.\u00a0 Discuss naturalism in Juno and Paycock.<\/em>\r\n\r\n3.\u00a0 \u201cThe play attacks all kinds of idealism.\u201d Discuss with reference to three or four characters.\r\n\r\n4.\u00a0 Discuss Juno<\/em> and the Paycock<\/em> as tragicomedy.\r\n\r\n5.\u00a0 Discuss illusion and reality in Juno and the Paycock<\/em>.\r\n\r\n6.\u00a0 Do you agree with critic James Agate\u2019s assessment in his review of a 1925 London production, that \u201cJuno and the Paycock<\/em> is as much a tragedy as Macbeth<\/em>, but it is a tragedy taking place in the porter\u2019s family\u201d?\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n7.\u00a0 Discuss Juno and the Paycock<\/em> as a feminist play.\r\n

          Activities<\/h2>\r\n
            \r\n \t
          1. Read Richard F. Dietrich\u2019s online chapter from his British Drama 1890-1950<\/em>, pp. 208-222. It provides useful biographical and textual information. http:\/\/www.rfd2.net\/britishdrama4.htm#O%27Casey<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t
          2. Read the program from a 1988 production of Juno and the Paycock<\/em> at the University of British Columbia. It contains some helpful biographical and contextual essays, especially on the Irish Civil War. http:\/\/www.library.ubc.ca\/archives\/pdfs\/theatre\/fw8801.pdf<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t
          3. Listen to a superb recording of Juno and the Paycock<\/em>, with an introduction by Sean O\u2019Casey.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=16ddT2HPSHc<\/a>\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=16ddT2HPSHc\r\n\r\n\"qrcode-juno-and-the-paycock-recording\"<\/a>\r\n\r\n4.\u00a0 An informative and easy-to-navigate resource pack from the Abbey Theater for their 2012 production of The Plough and the Stars<\/em>. \"Politics and History\" pp. 12-19 are particularly useful. http:\/\/www.abbeytheatre.ie\/images\/uploads\/user\/resources\/AT_Plough_ResourcePack_Oct2012.pdf<\/a>\r\n\r\n5.\u00a0 A useful website from W.W. Norton. Focus on the material on the The Easter Rebellion of 1916. https:\/\/www.wwnorton.com\/college\/english\/nael\/20century\/topic_3_05\/welcome.htm<\/a>\r\n\r\n6.\u00a0 The Story of Ireland<\/em>. A BBC\/RTE television documentary in 5 parts. Parts 4 and 5 are the most useful. Currently available on YouTube. Introduced by Fergal Keane.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
            \r\n

            Resources<\/h2>\r\n

            Song References: Juno and Paycock<\/em><\/h2>\r\n\u201cAre You There, Moriarity?\u201d\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/g_nh4wKKlhE\r\n
            <\/div>\r\n\"qrcode-are-you-there-moriarty\"<\/a>\r\n\r\n(Yes,) Let Me Like a Soldier Fall http:\/\/www.james-joyce-music.com\/song13_discussion.html<\/a>\r\n\r\nFull text Plough and the Stars<\/em> (in Twenty-five Modern Plays<\/em>, S. Marion Tucker, ed., pp. 721-65). https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/twentyfivemodern001705mbp<\/a>\r\n\r\nFull text Shadow of a Gunman<\/em> (in 1000 Years of Irish Prose<\/em>, V. Mercier and David H. Greene, eds. pp. 247-94). https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/1000yearsofirish00merc\/1000yearsofirish00merc_djvu.txt<\/a>\r\n\r\nSean O'Casey Early Plays as Larkinite Stage Parables by Mary Elizabeth Papke.<\/a>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

            Attributions<\/h2>\r\n<\/a>Figure 1:<\/a>\r\n<\/strong>Sean O'Casey by Reginald Gray by Reginald Gray (http:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Sean_O%27Casey_by_Reginald_Gray.jpg<\/a>) is in the Public Domain","rendered":"
            \n

            Study Questions and Activities<\/h3>\n

            Act I
            \n<\/strong><\/h2>\n
              \n
            1. Why does Boyle call himself \u201cCaptain\u201d?<\/li>\n
            2. Identify Jerry Devine.<\/li>\n
            3. Why does Juno not want to leave for work before the captain begins his breakfast?<\/li>\n
            4. Why is Mary on strike?<\/li>\n
            5. What is the main difference between a \u201cdie-hard\u201d and a \u201cfree-stater\u201d?<\/li>\n
            6. What faction did Robbie Tancred side with in the Civil War?<\/li>\n
            7. What is the comic significance of the coal-vendor?<\/li>\n
            8. Why does Mary pay so little attention to Jerry?<\/li>\n
            9. Why is Joxer afraid to stick his head out of the window?<\/li>\n
            10. What plan do Joxer and the captain make in case they are surprised by Juno?<\/li>\n
            11. Why does the captain come to the conclusion that Devine is “not like a Christian at all”?<\/li>\n
            12. How does Boyle turn Father Farrell\u2019s offer of help into an attack on the clergy?<\/li>\n
            13. To what is Johnny referring when he boasts that “Ireland only half free will never be at peace while she has a son left to pull the trigger”?<\/li>\n
            14. What news does Bentham bring?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              Act II
              \n<\/strong><\/h2>\n
                \n
              1. Does Boyle continue to attack the clergy?<\/li>\n
              2. What words of Mrs Tancred in Act II does Juno repeat in Act III?<\/li>\n
              3. What is the thematic role of Bentham\u2019s theosophy?<\/li>\n
              4. Why is the will a \u201cwashout\u201d?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                Act III
                \n<\/strong><\/h2>\n
                  \n
                1. Find one of Mrs Madigan\u2019s malapropisms in Act III.<\/li>\n
                2. Comment on Devine\u2019s words, \u201cMary, humanity is above everything.\u201d<\/li>\n
                3. What does Boyle mean when near the end of the play he speaks of his \u201cVolunteer butties\u201d?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  Short Essay Questions<\/h2>\n
                    \n
                  1. Discuss irony in the play.<\/li>\n
                  2. Show how Boyle is not the only person guilty of \u201cpeacockery\u201d in the play.<\/li>\n
                  3. What are some uses O\u2019Casey makes of song in the play?<\/li>\n
                  4. How is Capt. Boyle a miles gloriosus<\/em> figure?<\/li>\n
                  5. Discuss Joxer Daly as a type of comic \u201cparasite\u201d as in Ben Jonson.<\/li>\n
                  6. Compare Capt. Jack with Shakespeare\u2019s Falstaff.<\/li>\n
                  7. Compare Maisie Madigan and Chaucer\u2019s Wyf of Bath or Shakespeare\u2019s Mistress Quickly.<\/li>\n
                  8. The song \u201cYoung Cassidy\u201d is not sung in the play, but it is a tribute to Sean O\u2019Casey. Demonstrate why this is so. You will need to do a little biographical research.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=L8_dppISrf0<\/a><\/p>\n