The Chairs Lesson Plan

This question refers to the following excerpts: “Colonel, journalism is a profession too, like a fighting man’s…”; “One doesn’t bring little children to a scientific lecture…the poor little thing is going to be bored…if he begins to cry or to peepee on the ladies’ dresses, that’ll be a fine state of affairs!” What do these two excerpts have in common, if anything? What do they point to about the Old Man?

Details to pay attention to might include who the Old Man is speaking to, his relationship to them, and the tone he uses (i.e., whining, proving, scolding, etc.) in each excerpt. In these details, students might find clues that the Old Man is mentally slipping back into...