what new insights do you think clark gains over the course of the story yahoo

by Tristian Lowe PhD 6 min read

Is Clark based on a true story?

Although Clark is a fictional series, it is based on Olofsson's autobiography where he wrote about the truths and lies he told to fool all of Sweden to fall in love with him, despite several counts of drug trafficking, attempted murder, assault, theft and dozens of bank robberies. The Swedish people loved Olofsson despite his crimes.

How does Clark feel about his aunt after seeing her again?

Seeing her again after so many years reinforces his understanding of the burden of such a hard life, and it is no great leap of Clark's imagination to assume that his quiet, uncomplaining aunt feels at least some regret over her decision to leave her city life as a music instructor to follow a man to the frontier.

How does Cather characterize Clark in the novel?

Clark, however, thrives in a city environment and is deeply appreciative of most things his senses perceive, from the color of a woman's dress to the sounds of a Wagner matinee. Cather's characterization of the two main characters is wrought primarily through the details Clark fixates on throughout the course of the story.

How do Clark's observations about Georgiana's condition appear to be precise?

Additionally, Clark's observations, while arguably condescending in tone at times, do come across as precise assessments of Georgiana's current debilitated condition. The details he chooses to convey are both stark and suggestive of Georgiana's suffering, as when Clark itemizes, for example, the deficiencies in Georgiana's physical appearance.

What do you think Clark understands at the end of the story?

Summarize (In your own words) what (you) think Clark "understands" at the end of the story. He understand that Aunt Georgiana made the poor decision to elope and go live in Nebraska with her love and ended up stuck in this rural country life she did not want away from her passion of classical music.

What lesson does Clark draw from Aunt Georgiana's final statement declaring I don't want to go?

What lesson does Clark draw from Aunt Georgiana's final statement declaring, "I don't want to go!" in "A Wagner Matinee"? Clark realizes that Aunt Georgiana is not satisfied, and does not want to go back to her plain life in the country, where she had to give up her dream, to live a much simpler life.

What did aunt Georgiana teach Clark?

Why did Clark have such a strong connection with Aunt Georgiana? -She taught him to speak Latin. -She gave him his first Shakespeare play.

What is the central idea in the short story A Wagner Matinee?

Lesson Summary A matinee symphony performance shows us the themes of regret and loss, while we see how hardships have impacted Aunt Georgiana's life.

Insights from your work

Your reflections and insights help you process, understand, and bring to light your child care experiences. By recalling events, you uncover what you might not have seen or what you might not have had time to think about—you become more thoughtful.

Reflections: Moving forward with new ideas

When you take time to reflect, you discover new ideas and begin planning for the ideas to be applied. The information is beneficial to the whole team: practitioner, child, parent, and program.

Important discoveries

Almost all providers use reflection, but what really enriches the reflection is making the effort to document the ideas and move forward with that information. Reflecting on our work brings the gift of discovery, encourages our growth as professionals, and brings valuable insights to our work with young children.

What is an example of insight?

Examples of Insight: Gaining Clear Understanding. Insight is being able to see or understand something clearly. It often includes having an understanding of a cause and effect relationship, namely if you do "A" then "B" will happen. Insight is sometimes called an epiphany, an "aha" moment or a "eureka' feeling when a solution to a problem presents ...

How many pieces of chain are there in insight learning?

Eventually the chimpanzee stacked boxes to climb on and reach the fruit. In this classic example of insight learning, you are given four pieces of chain, each having three links. The task is to join them all together into one big loop.

How does insight help animals?

Insight Helps Accomplish Tasks. Insight learning is a form of cognitive learning where animals use insight to accomplish something. Here are examples: A dog is in a room with a small gate to keep him from leaving. He pushes a box over to the gate in order to stand on it and jump over the gate.

Why is it important to read the history of an organization?

Reading the history of an organization can give a perspective on how they developed their opinions and how they choose their officers and members. Asking someone questions about why they did what they did will help you understand their motivation.

Introduction

Author Biography

Plot Summary

  • Cather's "A Wagner Matinee" opens with the narrator, Clark, receiving a letter from Nebraska, which the reader soon learns is from Clark's Uncle Howard. The letter informs Clark that his Aunt Georgiana will be visiting him in Boston when she comes to attend to the estate of a deceased relative. Uncle Howard's letter asks Clark to meet Georgiana at the station and aid her in whatev…
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Media Adaptations

  1. "A Wagner Matinee" is included in the Audio Bookshelf's 1997 cassette recording titled Willa Cather: Stories, read by Melissa Hughes.
  2. Sponsored by the Public Media Foundation at Northeastern University's College of Arts and Sciences, the "Scribbling Women" Web site at http://www.scribblingwomen.org/wcwagner.htm maintains a 2007 a...
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Characters

  • Georgiana Carpenter
    Georgiana Carpenter is the wife of Howard Carpenter and the maternal aunt of the narrator, Clark. From the beginning, the reader is offered a startling physical portrait of Georgiana, whom Clark initially describes as "pathetic and grotesque" in her appearance. Filthy from her travels, Georgia…
  • Howard Carpenter
    Howard Carpenter is the husband of Georgiana and the uncle of Clark. He sends Clark a letter informing him that Georgiana will be coming to Boston to attend to the estate of a bachelor relative who has died. Howard requests in his letter that Clark meet Georgiana at the train statio…
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Themes

  • Frontier Life
    Although "A Wagner Matinee" is set in Boston, the story is at its core about life on the western frontier. In particular, the harshness of frontier living is contrasted with the pleasantness of urban society in the Northeast. Through the observations of her narrator, Clark, Cather takes pains to d…
  • Regret
    The theme of regret in "A Wagner Matinee" is voiced through Clark, who contrasts his notions of who his aunt used to be with who she has become after thirty years of frontier living. He cannot help but see her as irreversibly diminished by her experiences. Personally, he appears to pity her…
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Topics For Further Study

  1. "A Wagner Matinee" deals in part with the hardships of homestead life, but Cather tells the story from the point of view of Clark, whose time on his aunt's homestead was rather limited. Research wh...
  2. Nebraskan farmers often faced harsh conditions, such as droughts, that hampered their abilities to produce the crops that they sold for profit and with which they fed their families. R…
  1. "A Wagner Matinee" deals in part with the hardships of homestead life, but Cather tells the story from the point of view of Clark, whose time on his aunt's homestead was rather limited. Research wh...
  2. Nebraskan farmers often faced harsh conditions, such as droughts, that hampered their abilities to produce the crops that they sold for profit and with which they fed their families. Research the t...
  3. In Cather's story, Clark and his aunt visit the Boston Symphony Orchestrato listen to a concert featuring the music of the German composer Richard Wagner. Research the music of Wagner and its impac...
  4. The settlement of the American frontier, which expanded the borders of the United States an…

Style

  • Realism
    Cather's style in "A Wagner Matinee" is characterized by the realism with which she describes the events of the story and the narrator's recollections of Nebraska. Cather does not make many generalizations or exaggerations during her narrative, nor are any aspects of the characters' live…
  • First-person Narrator
    Cather elected to tell this story in the first person, but from Clark's point of view rather than from Georgiana's. This allows the reader to glean not only information about Georgiana and her life but also Clark's opinion of it. Given that Clark provides a firsthand account of his own experiences o…
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Historical Context

  • The Politics of Homesteading
    In Cather's "A Wagner Matinee," the narrator reflects on the series of events that led his aunt to the Nebraskan frontier, and he notes that Georgiana has lived on her homestead there for roughly thirty years. Clark also mentions the way his aunt and her husband measured off their eighty-acr…
  • American Politics at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
    When Cather published "A Wagner Matinee" in 1904, Theodore Roosevelt was serving as president. He had served under William McKinley as vice president and succeeded to the presidency after McKinley's assassination in 1901. A naturalist, an outdoorsman, and an explore…
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Compare & Contrast

  1. Late 1800s and early 1900s: Land in America's central region and in the West that had previously been designated as frontier is becoming increasingly populated after years of homesteaders being ent...
  2. Late 1800s and early 1900s: America's land and natural resources are becoming jeopardized by increased settlement. The longtime outdoorsman, naturalist, and conservationist Theodor…
  1. Late 1800s and early 1900s: Land in America's central region and in the West that had previously been designated as frontier is becoming increasingly populated after years of homesteaders being ent...
  2. Late 1800s and early 1900s: America's land and natural resources are becoming jeopardized by increased settlement. The longtime outdoorsman, naturalist, and conservationist Theodore Roosevelt addre...
  3. Late 1800s and early 1900s: Women are just gaining regular employment in occupations other than those related to domestic chores. With the industrialization of America, factories offer a variety of...
  4. Late 1800s and early 1900s: Boston, the setting of Cather's "A Wagner Matinee," is a city kno…