Teaching The Hour of the Star

Instructions for You

Objective: In the shock of the week, Macabéa dies at the end of the novel. We thought Lispector might have a heart and spare her, but no. In either case, everything's a bit up in the air as the novel comes to an end. And that's before those crazy last three chapters. It all sounds a bit…existential to us.

In this hour and a half activity, which can take place at the end of the novel, the students will divide into groups and hold an existential book club. They've got to introduce each chapter and give their take on it from an existential viewpoint, before the rest of the group discusses the philosophical viewpoint in further detail. Someone's got to figure out what it's all about.

Materials needed: Webster University's article "What Is Existentialism?"and a copy of the text and/or our Shmoop summary page and take on existentialism in The Hour of the Star for reference

Step 1: Get the class to split into groups of three to form their very own existential book clubs. Each person will be introducing one of the final three chapters of the book and then facilitating discussion among the other members and the class, so each member of the group should pick which they're going to look at now.

Give the groups the lowdown on how to prepare for the book club the day before. Each group will get a discussion going about existentialism in the book's last three chapters for around 20 minutes, so they need to do the prep work the evening before. They'll need to read the article from Webster University on Existentialism.

Here's what each person has to talk about for their specific chapter:

• Summarize the chapter.
• Analyze the chapter and present it from an existential viewpoint.
• Support this analysis with reference to Webster University's article "What Is Existentialism?"

Here are some guidelines for introducing the chapter as effectively as possible:

• Each group has to introduce and analyze their three chapters for around ten minutes total, with each student presenting their individual chapter for about three minutes.
• The analysis must present the chapter from an existential viewpoint.
• Ideas have to be supported by reference to the text.
• Students should include at least one quotation to support their ideas.

Step 2: The students should spend around 45 minutes preparing their notes for their in-class presentation. The first 20 should be spent reading Webster University's article and summarizing their chapter: this'll help them start thinking about the section in greater detail and make the analyzing part of the task a lot easier.

The next ten minutes can be spent planning how to analyze the chapter from an existentialist viewpoint. Then the students can take 15 minutes to write out their part of the presentation, including quotes and direct textual references.

Step 3: Flash forward. We're back in class, so the students can split into their groups to begin.

The first student can introduce the sixth chapter and give their existential take on what's going down. Another student will then summarize and analyze the seventh chapter: the fun can start all over, before the same happens for the final chapter. When they're all done, they should open it up for discussion among themselves and with the rest of the class to see whether there are any lingering questions about the existential nature of these chapters.

Once the first group is finished presenting, the next group will go, and so on.

Step 4: What luck! Lispector has agreed to be interviewed by the book club. Based on the presentations they just heard, the students will go back to their groups to imagine they're meeting Lispector to talk to her about how existentialism contributes to the end of the novel. As a group, they should write down at least five questions they'd ask her, along with Lispector's answers. For example:

Q: Clarice, how do the very last lines of the book relate to mortality and existence?

A: The last sentence brings the reader back to the first sentence in the book, showing how life and death are a cycle and we must continue living as if death is not lingering around the corner.

Real fun-lover, that Clarice.

Instructions for Your Students

In the shock of the week, Macabéa dies at the end of the book. We thought Lispector might have a heart and spare her, but no such luck. In either case, everything's a bit up in the air as the novel comes to an end. And that's before those crazy last three chapters. It all sounds a bit…existential to us.

Today, you're going to divide into groups and hold an existential book club. Your group will introduce each chapter and give your take on it from an existential viewpoint. Someone has to figure out what these final pages are all about, and it may as well be you.

Step 1: Split into groups of three to form your very own existential book club. Each person is going to have to introduce one of the final three chapters from an existential viewpoint, so pick which chapter you want to work on.

Here's what you have to focus on when introducing your chapter:

• Summarize the chapter.
• Analyze the chapter and present it from an existential viewpoint.
• Support this analysis with reference to Webster University's article "What Is Existentialism?"

Here are some guidelines for introducing the chapter as effectively as possible:

• Each group has to introduce and analyze their three chapters for around ten minutes, so each member will speak about their specific chapter for about three minutes total.
• The analysis must present the chapter from an existential viewpoint.
• Ideas have to be supported by reference to the text.
• Students should include at least one quotation to support their ideas.

Step 2: You'll spend around 45 minutes preparing your in-class presentation at home. The first 20 should be spent reading Webster University's article and summarizing your chapter: this'll help you start thinking about the section in greater detail and make the analyzing part of the task a lot easier.

The next ten minutes can be spent planning how to analyze the chapter from an existentialist viewpoint. Then you can take 15 minutes to write out your part of the presentation, including quotes and direct textual references.

Step 3: Flash forward. We're back in class, so split into your groups to begin the book club discussion.

The first student will introduce the sixth chapter and give their existential take on what's going down. Another student will then summarize and analyze the seventh chapter: the fun can start all over, before the same happens for the final section. This should take about ten minutes total, so everyone will speak for around three minutes. When you're all done, you'll open it up for discussion with your group and the rest of the class to see whether there are any lingering questions.

Step 4: What luck! Lispector has agreed to be interviewed by the book club. Based on the presentations you just heard, you'll go back to your group to imagine you're meeting Lispector to talk to her about how existentialism contributes to the end of the novel. As a group, you'll write down at least five questions you'd ask her, along with Lispector's answers. For example:

Q: Clarice, how do the very last lines of the book relate to mortality and existence?

A: The last sentence brings the reader back to the first sentence in the book, showing how life and death are a cycle and we must continue living as if death is not lingering around the corner.

Real fun-lover, that Clarice.