The Picture of Dorian Gray: Claim Game During class today, you will play the Claim Game. This game invites you to experiment with argumentation. Before we play, however, we need to reacquaint ourselves with the following terms: Claim: any sentence that asserts something that may be true or false and so needs support Evidence: what we accept as fact. Evidence is “hard” reality Warrant: a common sense generalization about the world that everyone considers self-evident Acknowledgement-Response: to offer alternatives and objections to other’s argument Remember that this activity’s goal is to engage in authentic discussion so we will observe these ground rules: 1. There will be four teams. After thirty minutes into the game, you will have an opportunity to meet with other members of group and discuss strategy. 2. A player can only use two cards during his or her turn. The player must connect his or her comments to what has already been discussed. A player will need to use an Acknowledgment-Response Card if he or she wants to change the topic of discussion. 3. A player will raise his or her hand to enter the discussion. The player’s name will be put on a list. 4. The team with the least amount of cards at the end of the period wins. Topic, Issue Question Traditionally, critics have often focused on issues in Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray related to aestheticism (beauty) and the text as a commentary on the ethics and morays of Victorian society. A few obscure, but nonetheless brilliant, critics of 19th century British Literature have directed their focus on conventions of the story itself, namely the portrait of Dorian. Consider each critic’s position and how the text either supports or contradicts it. Then determine your own position and how this position illuminates the meaning of the text in preparation for the Claim Game. Position 1 “Of course Dorian Gray is all about beauty, but such aesthetic criticism is entirely overrated, in spite of what my contemporaries might say. In my humble opinion, the crux of this text rests in Basil’s portrait of Dorian; specifically in whether it actually changes or not? Of course, it does not change. That would simply be so messy, a veritable affront to the middle class. The art on Basil’s canvas cannot physically morph into another visage of Dorian altogether; that defies the very nature of matter and would make Wilde’s aesthetic philosophy a farce. Rather, the art is a mirror of its audience’s souls. And it’s a crystal clean mirror at that; it is not obscured by accidental coffee spills or spritzers of cranberry juice. Whoever looks at the painting and sees it change does so because he or she is corrupt, dirty, or guilty of a stained soul. They possess souls in need of a severe and absorbent wiping.” ---- Dame Madge H. Bounty, PhD, member British Royal Circle of Critics (in good standing), current patent holder of “the quicker picker upper,” a popular mass marketed paper towel.
Position 2 “Ya’ll need to stop lickin’ your fingers over this issue of the portrait actually changin’ or not. Please allow yourselves, my colleagues, to suspend disbelief for a moment. The portrait does, indeed, change. It is art, and it can express everything. As a fictional construct, it is simply an example of magical realism, which can happen, my friends. Take hold of your imaginations for a moment and see the possibilities. Why are you all so afraid of the portrait changin’? It is not an affront to our Southern Aristocratic sensibilities, but a testimony to the power of true art; much like the extra crispy version of my fried chicken. Many said it couldn’t possibly get any better…but it did! It got crispier! And as we all know, crispy is both real and, simultaneously, a metaphor through sound and texture of our conscience’s reluctant yet savage desire to get at that tasty bird! Hence, in a similar way that I changed chicken, the portrait of Dorian actually changes, too!” ---Colonel Mortimer Sanders, esteemed member of Parliament, literary critic emeritus, fowl baron
Preparation for Claim Game Claim:
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Evidence 1:
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Evidence 2:
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Warrant:
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Acknowledgement/ Response:
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