An Outpost Of Progress

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

ACTIVITY 1: “The Setting as a Character”

In this activity, students consider the impact of the jungle in “An Outpost of Progress” and write their own short narrative that features a setting that functions as a character.

The jungle in “An Outpost of Progress” acts both as a symbol and a character that slowly erodes Kayerts and Carlier’s civility.

• Share this passage with a classmate. Discuss how the jungle is described or how it impacts the characters. Be ready to share what you discussed with the whole class.
• Think about other settings that could act as a symbol and character in a story. For example, a school, a hospital, a haunted house, or the wilderness on a camping trip. Write a brief narrative that features characters in a setting that seems to interact with and affect them. Consider how you can write about the setting in a way that makes it seem more significant than just where the story takes place. In your narrative, setting should function as a character or symbol that influences plot developments and characters.