Essential question
What is the difference between the Doctor saying Morris belongs to the wrong 'category' and Morris insisting Catherine marries an individual?
Marked passage
- Passage location
- Courtship confrontation - Sloper and Morris
- Start anchor
- The Doctor meditated a moment. My dear young man, he said at last, you must be very susceptible.
- End anchor
- I don’t want to believe in you! said the Doctor, smiling.
Category versus individual
Ways to teach it
Listening
Listen to the exact passage; visual following is optional. Same question and evidence demand.
Solo
Read the exact passage independently.
Supported
Use narration and sentence highlighting while reading the same passage.
Teacher guide
Close
Name the single detail that most changed or sharpened your interpretation, and explain why.
Evidence
Use the Doctor's category language and Morris's appeal to the individual person Catherine loves.
Mark
Underline the Doctor’s category-based reasons for rejecting Morris. Circle Morris’s language about individual choice. Create two margin labels: TYPE and PERSON, and place the evidence under each.
Instructional move
Compare two ways of evaluating a person
Notice
• What information does the Doctor believe a category can predict about Morris? • What does Morris claim category-based judgment misses? • Which method seems more protective of Catherine, and which seems more respectful of her autonomy?
Strong answer
The Doctor judges Morris by type—class, money, profession, family pattern—while Morris insists Catherine is choosing a particular individual. One method predicts character from category; the other claims individuality should outrank group classification.
Think
Answer provisionally: What is the difference between the Doctor saying Morris belongs to the wrong 'category' and Morris insisting Catherine marries an individual? Choose the strongest interpretation you can defend from this passage alone.
Watch for
Do not decide too quickly which man is morally right. Compare what each method can see and what each risks overlooking.
Why this passage
Doctor Sloper evaluates Morris by category—fortune, profession, family, type—while Morris argues that Catherine chooses an individual. The exchange sets two competing ways of judging a person against each other.
Write
Write a short evidence-based response to: What is the difference between the Doctor saying Morris belongs to the wrong 'category' and Morris insisting Catherine marries an individual? Use at least two details from the assigned passage and explain how they support your interpretation.
Student tasks
Mark
Underline the Doctor’s category-based reasons for rejecting Morris. Circle Morris’s language about individual choice. Create two margin labels: TYPE and PERSON, and place the evidence under each.
Notice
What information does the Doctor believe a category can predict about Morris? What does Morris claim category-based judgment misses? Which method seems more protective of Catherine, and which seems more respectful of her autonomy?
Think
Answer provisionally: What is the difference between the Doctor saying Morris belongs to the wrong 'category' and Morris insisting Catherine marries an individual?
Write
Write a short response using at least two pieces of evidence from this passage. Use evidence from the assigned passage. Show what you noticed and how the text supports your interpretation.