Teaching The Iceman Cometh

Instructions for You

Objective: Like so many of the writers we love here at Shmoop, Eugene O'Neill definitely didn't shy away from life's tougher stuff. He dealt with all kinds of taboo topics in his work: racism, depression, and alcoholism. What's even more interesting, at least to us, is that many of the topics he chose to write about reflected events from his own life. Perhaps writing was a way of dealing with the stress of being raised by a heroin-addicted mother, a brother who drank himself to death, and an absent father figure who died young.

Jeez. Remind us to RSVP "no" to that Thanksgiving invitation.

Maybe this is also why he had the courage to write about race, at a time when racism was pervasive yet pretty much way too taboo to write about. O'Neill went there.

In this lesson, students will write an essay exploring O'Neill's use of race in The Iceman Cometh. This lesson should take two days at the least, but could easily be extended to a weeklong project.

Materials Needed: Copies of The Iceman Cometh, Shmoop's summary of the play, and internet access

Step 1: Have students visit Shmoop's page on Progressive Era Politics so that they can get an idea of what was going on during the time period when the play is set. Ask students to find at least five events from Shmoop's website on Progressive Era Politics that match events in The Iceman Cometh.

More importantly, have students focus on the importance of race within the time period. How does this affect the way they see the character of Joe Mott? Does his behavior become understandable after reading about the beliefs that were prevalent in the world of the play?

Step 2: Next, point students toward the TED Talk "Color Blind or Color Brave?" by finance executive Mellody Hobson. In this talk, Mellody, a black woman, argues that we've strayed away from talking about race, and as a result, we neglect to talk about a very important subject. In other words, many people prefer to pretend that they live in a "color-blind" society when in reality race is still an extremely influential factor in people's lives.

Step 3: Pass the talking stick. Ask students to discuss the following questions (and any other questions that may come up) as a class:

• What's race?
• Does race mean something different now than when O'Neill's play takes place?
• What does it mean that the United States once believed in slavery?
• How does that fact affect or change the way we view racism?
• What would you say if someone told you that some races are smarter than others? Do you think that this might be something that people would believe in O'Neill's time? How does this affect or change the way we view Joe Mott's character?
• How do you think being a victim of racism affects Joe?

Step 4: Now, we'll put it all together. Have students gather evidence from the play that shows how Joe is (mis)treated both by society and by other characters. Then, ask students if they think O'Neill was trying to make a point about the devastating effects of racism on a man's psyche, or whether he was simply depicting things the way they were at the time.

Students will then write a two- to three-page essay (300 to 400 words) on what they think O'Neill was trying to accomplish through the character of Joe in terms of addressing how race affected people at the time the play was set. They should pull examples from the text to back up their points. They should also focus on the issue of race as it stands today. Using Joe's character as a starting point, ask students to discuss in their essays whether they believe that race is still a central issue today that should be addressed through works of art and literature.

Instructions for Your Students

Eugene O'Neill definitely didn't shy away from life's tougher stuff. He dealt with all kinds of taboo topics: racism, depression, and alcoholism. What's even more interesting, at least to us, is that many of the topics he chose to write about reflected events that had occurred in his own life. Perhaps writing was a way of dealing with the stress of being raised by a heroin-addicted mother, a brother who drank himself to death, and an absent father figure who died young.

Jeez. Remind us to RSVP "no" to that Thanksgiving invitation.

Maybe all this is what gave O'Neill the courage to write about race at a time when racism was everywhere, yet often went unchallenged. Joe Mott is a black character who seems to be proud of his "whiteness," as if he's internalized the idea that being black is inferior. What does this mean?

In this lesson, you'll explore O'Neill's use of race in The Iceman Cometh.

Step 1: We'll begin this lesson with some historical context. Go ahead and visit this Shmoop page to get an idea of what was going on during the time the play is set. While you're there, try and find at least five events that match events in The Iceman Cometh.

More importantly, focus on the importance of race within the time period. How does this affect the way you see Joe Mott? Does his behavior become understandable after reading about the beliefs that were prevalent during the world of the play?

Step 2: Now you're going to watch the TED Talk "Color Blind or Color Brave?" by finance executive Mellody Hobson. In this talk, Mellody, a black woman, argues that we've strayed away from talking about race, and as a result, neglect to talk about a very important subject that affects us every day. In other words, many people prefer to pretend that they live in a "color-blind" society, when in reality race is still an extremely influential factor in people's lives.

Step 3: Discuss the following questions as a class (and any other questions that may come up after watching the TED Talk):

• What's race?
• Does race mean something different now than when the play takes place?
• What does it mean that the United States once believed in slavery?
• How does that fact affect or change the way we view racism?
• What would you say if someone told you that some races are smarter than others? Do you think that this might be something that people would believe in O'Neill's time? How does this affect or change the way we view Joe Mott's character?
• How do you think being a victim of racism affected Joe?

Step 4: Now we'll put it all together. First, gather textual evidence from the play that shows how Joe is (mis)treated, both by society and by other characters. Then, think about whether this is simply O'Neill trying to make a point about the devastating effects of racism on a man's psyche, or whether he's simply depicting the way things were back in the 1900s.

Finally, you'll write a two- to three-page essay (300 to 400 words) on what you think O'Neill was trying to accomplish through the character of Joe in terms of addressing how race affected people at the time the play was set. You should pull specific examples from the text to back up your points. You should also touch on the issue of race as it stands today. Using Joe's character as a starting point, discuss whether you believe that race is still a central issue that should be addressed through works of art and literature.