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Age of Iron

Less Coet-zzz's and more Coetzees.

Activities: 13
Quiz Questions: 118

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Description
Sample

Here at Shmoop, we're all about the deep cuts—the books that maybe don't get as much facetime as they should. Age of Iron is a lesser known gem and an important part of Coetzee's larger body of work for which he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003 (go, Coetzee!). Like many of Coetzee's novels, it takes on the subject of South Africa under Apartheid; to read it is to remember the unimaginable struggles that people just like us had to live through not all that long ago.

But you and your students pick up a copy of Age of Iron and the first thing you read is that the book is about the life of an old woman in Cape Town who's dying of cancer.

Great selling point, publishers. Well, there's a downer.

So, is there anything to relate to in this novel? A resounding yes. There's plenty, and we're here to dig deeper into it all with you and your high schoolers.

In this guide, you'll find

a look at the theme of death in the novel through a Steve Jobs-inspired college commencement address activity.
a chance to analyze the behavior of the police in the novel and remedy some serious tensions.
an examination of Mrs. Curren's life from the people who knew her best, and an opportunity to send her off with a stirring eulogy.

The personal journey that Mrs. Curren goes through in Age of Iron is one that all of us undertake at some point or another. Let our Shmoop guide lead the way—it's time for a new age.

What's Inside Shmoop's Literature Teaching Guides

Shmoop is a labor of love from folks who love to teach. Our teaching guides will help you supplement in-classroom learning with fun, engaging, and relatable learning materials that bring literature to life.

Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:

13 – 18 Common Core-aligned activities to complete in class with your students, including detailed instructions for you and your students
Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students
Reading quizzes for every chapter, act, or part of the text
Resources to help make the book feel more relevant to your 21st-century students
A note from Shmoop’s teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the text and how you can overcome the hurdles

Want more help teaching Age of Iron?

Check out all the different parts of our corresponding learning guide.

Instructions for You

Objective: It all begins to really kick off in the second chapter. The police have arrived and seem to be up to no good in the neighborhood.

In this activity, which can take place at the end of the second chapter, your students will break into groups and imagine they're an independent authority investigating the police's behavior during the episode when Bheki's friend was chased and crashed.

First, they'll interview E.C., to get the lowdown on what happened. Then, the groups have to prepare a presentation, outlining how the police should have acted and what's happening as a result of their behavior. Plus, they'll mention how it's contributing to the chaos around E.C., who's really just trying to hang out in her house. In this way, they'll be investigating how justice works in the book (hint: not too well).

Materials Needed: a copy of the text, and/or our Shmoop summary page

Step 1: Get the students to split into groups of four and imagine they're an independent authority, examining and evaluating South African police's behavior. Spoiler alert: the authorities are tanking.

The groups first have to imagine interviewing E.C. about what happened in the episode when Bheki's friend was chased and crashed. They'll write out a dialogue between them and E.C. about the following four topics:

A description of what occurred
Description of how the police acted incorrectly
How and why Bheki wasn't in the wrong
How the police should have acted

Each question should be two sentences in length maximum, and E.C.'s answers should be three to four sentences. Answers should refer specifically to the event in question, with detailed descriptions from the text and a quote or two for good measure. The groups have 20 minutes to complete this section.

Here's a quick example:

Interviewer: And how do you think the police acted wrongly in this situation?
E.C.: They purposely chased the boys in an intimidating and threatening manner so as to have them crash. There was no intention to stop the boys and talk to them. That was obvious by the manner in which the police officers drove their van, coming alongside the boys as they started to pass another car, so as to cut off their route and have them hit another vehicle.

Step 2: Interview complete. E.C. had a lot to say, and it's given the independent authority food for thought. Next the groups will put together a presentation that analyzes the episode in question. Specifically, they're going to speak about:

What the episode reveals about police abusing their positions (five to six sentences written)
How there's a breakdown in the relationship between civilians and the police as a result (five to six sentences written)
What will happen as a result of this breakdown (five to six sentences written)
Suggestions about how to improve this issue (five to six sentences written)

Here's how the presentation should go down:

Each member of the group must present on one topic.
All ideas must be supported by references to the text.
At least one person should refer to the interview with E.C. and some of her answers.

The students have 20 minutes to write out the presentation.

Step 3: Once that's all set, each group will present on the episode, giving their take on what went wrong here.

When each group has finished, you can ask one or two students to respond, critiquing the analysis of the episode and the suggestions for improvement.

Instructions for Your Students

It all begins to really kick off in the second chapter. The police have arrived and seem to be up to no good in the neighborhood.

Today you're going to break into groups and imagine you're an independent authority investigating the police's behavior during the episode when Bheki's friend was chased and crashed.

First, you'll interview E.C., to get the lowdown on what happened. Then, you'll prepare a presentation, outlining how the police should have acted and what's happening as a result of their behavior. Plus, you'll mention how it's contributing to the chaos around E.C., who's really just trying to hang out in her house. In this way, you'll be investigating how justice works in the book (hint: not too well).

Step 1: Split into groups of four and imagine you're an independent authority, examining and evaluating the behavior and standards of the South African police. Spoiler alert: the authorities are tanking.

First, you have to interview E.C. about what happened in the episode when Bheki's friend was chased and crashed. You'll write out a dialogue between your group and E.C. about the following four topics:

A description of what occurred
Description of how the police acted wrongly
How Bheki wasn't in the wrong
How the police should have acted

Each question should be two sentences in length maximum, and E.C.'s answers should be three to four sentences in length max. Answers should refer specifically to the event in question, with detailed descriptions from the text and a quote or two for good measure. Your group has 20 minutes to complete this section.