A Tear for a Drink of Water

Class date: Wednesday, Jan. 20th

One of my favorite parts of teaching literature is reading aloud the final chapter of a book to the students. But that's only the final chapter, and they read the rest at home. I wish I could partake more in their experience!

That was the case, especially for last night’s reading. At the end of yesterday’s class, I told the students that they would be reading the most dramatic scene, so far, in the novel...

“I cried last night,” said one of the students before today’s class started.

But he was not the only one to get emotional during last night’s reading. Along with the tears, the students expressed outrage, compassion, and adoration.

So, what did we do in class? We reread parts of the chapter, of course :-)

Quasimodo is placed on a pillory to be lashed publicly, then displayed ignominiously for the attempted kidnapping of Esmeralda. The crowd in the Place de Greve, who had paraded him through the very same square the previous day, was, now, vengefully yelling insults and throwing stones at the hunchback. Confused and angered, Quasimodo first struggles helplessly against his bonds, then resigns himself to his suffering. “I feel bad for him,” said several students with hurt looks on their faces.

Suddenly, a ray of hope! His protector and father, Claude Frollo, appears in the crowd. But, just as suddenly, he lowers his head, turns around, and leaves. Daly was particularly indignant and agreed whole-heartedly that Frollo, to whom Quasimodo was so devoted, was a jerk.

After nearly being stoned to death, Quasimodo cries out one desperate word—“Water!” The response: his suffering is mocked even more, and a pitcher is thrown at him, breaking over his deformed back. Then, in this atmosphere of anger and hatred, suddenly, calm--but not a ray of hope. To the hunchback’s horror, Esmeralda is walking up the pillory stairs—he thinks she comes for revenge. Coming near him, she opens a gourd, and, to his shock, she holds the water to his mouth—an act of compassion the persecuted Quasimodo has never experienced before and which his adoptive father was incapable of. He sheds a tear for the first time in his life. He wasn't the only one to tear up.

Part of the purpose of rereading dramatic scenes as a class is to discuss and understand explicitly what makes the scene so powerful—to understand the reasons for our emotional responses.

And, another part... well, that's my ulterior motive--to relish in the students' reactions.