Topics for Further Study
- Investigate the five stages of grief as outlined by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her book On Death and Dying. Did Vivian Bearing experience these five stages? Provide examples from her dialogue where each stage is evident.
- Gather reliable data from organizations like the National Cancer Society and the National Institutes of Health regarding ovarian cancer statistics. Write a paper summarizing the latest medical research on this subject. Include information on the number of diagnosed cases over the past five years, definitions of all four stages of the disease, the latest findings on chemical treatments, and the warning signs and recommended precautions for women concerned about this disease.
- Explore the concept of metatheater. Identify instances of metatheater in Shakespeare's plays. Can you find modern plays that also employ this technique? Additionally, look for examples in fiction where a character breaks the fourth wall and addresses the reader directly. Identify any novels that use this technique.
- Read John Donne's poem "Death Be Not Proud." Compare Donne's perspective on death in this poem to how Vivian Bearing perceives and ultimately confronts her own death.
- Patients' rights, especially regarding the right to die, is a significant issue in medical ethics and patient care. Find several lists of patients' rights and, after comparing them, create your own list. If you have trouble finding information under patients' rights, try searching for medical ethics instead.
- Research the Pulitzer Prize and then choose one of the following tasks: Write a paper on Joseph Pulitzer. Select another Pulitzer Prize-winning play from a different decade and compare it to Wit, focusing on how the cultural context of each time period influenced the main themes of the plays. Alternatively, research the Nobel Prize and compare the origins and philosophies of the two prizes.
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