Pride and Prejudice is like a Tootsie Pop

I am currently teaching my last units of the year. While the juniors muddle through The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn my seniors are reading Pride and Prejudice. The students fight me every year but most end up enjoying it. That might be that I bribe them with popcorn, movies, pancakes, and candy throughout--whatever works.

This week we did my favorite activity with the unit- The Tootsie Pop comparison. I wish I could say I came up with this idea, but it was the idea of my mentor Amy Cowin. It is a favorite and I wanted to share some of the responses with you-

This Tootsie Pop is like Pride and Prejudice:

--because there are so many versions like flavors, unfortunately Tootsie Pops don't have Kiera Knightly.

--It is hard when you begin, but gets easier as you finish.

--Some of the characters are covered up and reserved, but when you take the wrapper off everyone has their own personalities.

--You want to bite it and get it over with.

--You're excited to start eating it and then you get bored so you take a big bite of your sucker and you're sad it is over.

--The wrapper is like people's first judgment about you. The flavor is like the hard shell people have to protect them from hurt. The Tootsie inside is the real person underneath all the layers.

-- On the outside it is colorful and sweet. You can't see through the outer core until you crack through it and find the real truth and substance in the center.

--It has a hard press cover and soft flexible inside pages.

--Jane and Mr. Bingley are "tootsies". Elizabeth is on a "roll." Mrs Bennet always acts like she's going to "pop".

--It's been opened once and I really don't want to open it again.

--Mrs. Bennet because if you put a little pressure on her she cracks. (her nerves)

--It is hard to understand but after a while of licking and trying to understand Mrs Bradley tell us and it's nice and soft and easy.

--When I was really little at first I didn't think I would like Tootsie Pops but then I tried it and it turned out that I really like them a lot. The same is true for this book at first I thought I wouldn't like it but now I do.

--You lick a Tootsie Pop thousands of times but like the characters of Pride and Prejudice you can't ever seem to get past that hard shell of manners and propriety and self-righteousness.