ENGL 362: British Victorian Writers Dr. Helen Bittel STUDY GUIDE #17: TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES Please submit a written copy of the notes you have prepared for our in-class debate. Guidelines for the debate are listed below. Those who have presented oral reports need not submit anything, though you still are expected, of course, to prepare for and contribute to the debate. 1) Each team will argue one side of the following question: To what degree is Tess responsible for the tragic events that befall her? Put another way, is she essentially a victim (of fate, of unscrupulous men, of irresponsible parents, of poverty, etc.)? Or do her own actions and inactions contribute significantly to her downfall? 2) Remember that you are not rendering a personal judgment of Tess but arguing about what HARDY, in the text of the novel, seems to be suggesting about her. Therefore, your reasoning should be rooted in specific examples from the text rather than in your own personal assumptions about human behavior and individual responsibility. 3) You are not required to use outside sources to develop your claims, but you may use them if you wish. The MLA database, Infotrac, and EBSCOHost are all good resources. If you do use outside sources in your study guide, be sure to cite them clearly in your written notes.   Contact the English Department at: 570-348-6219. E-mail: English@marywood.edu.

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