Dead Reckoning

In Dead Man Walking, Joseph De Rocher is a convicted murderer facing the death penalty. Sister Helen Prejean, however, invites us to see him for more than the crime he has committed. Through her, we come to know De Rocher as a flawed person with undeniable dignity in the wake of all he’s done and all that’s being done to him—that is, as a person worthy of spiritual care. As a result, the audience, who is privy to his final reckoning, is compelled to wonder whether this man’s death offers ways to find healing after a heinous crime and for whom this healing is valuable.

This activity introduces and connects two crucial concepts: five-point plot structures and the five stages of grief. By looking at these concepts together, students will be able to develop a greater appreciation for the opera’s dramatic and emotional unfolding while questioning whether complex works of art can ever by fully explained by conventional interpretive models.

STEP 1. REVIEW

Because this activity requires that students have a firm grasp of the opera’s plot, you should begin class by distributing copies of the synopsis and the “Who’s Who in Dead Man Walking” chart, both included in this guide. You may choose to have students read them silently, have volunteers alternate in reading them aloud, or cover the plot material in an interactive game.

STEP 2. CHART

Using the included handout outlining five-part plot structures (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution), have students create a plot graph for the opera by deciding the placement of moments, events, or scenes. You may choose to have students complete this activity individually, in small groups, or as a whole class on a whiteboard or chart paper. If there are any disagreements or discrepancies among the students’ charts, feel free to discuss them as a class. Be sure to keep the plot charts handy to revisit later.

There are several ways to proceed with this part of the activity:

• If you are introducing students to Dead Man Walking before attending a screening in theaters, their work will be largely speculative. They can complete charts based on the included synopsis, but they will not yet know how the events of the opera are treated musically or in terms of staging. Students can even bring their charts with them to the screening to examine how closely they align with the production itself. This exercise could thus be an excellent opportunity to discuss how music and text together contribute to the work’s dramatic structure.
• You are also welcome to use one of the two commercially available live production recordings of Dead Man Walking by Houston Grand Opera (Virgin Classics, 2012) and San Francisco Opera (Erato, 2001). Students could listen to the opera or key scenes before or while they make their charts.
• Alternatively, this activity could be completed after students have attended a screening in theaters. If so, they will have a firmer grasp of both the plot structure of the opera and its musical setting. Students could also create charts before and after attending the screening—this strategy would allow them to consider whether their expectations were met or subverted, setting the stage for a broader discussion of specific creative choices made in the work and production.

STEP 3. REFLECT

Using the included handout, introduce the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance). Bring the discussion back to focus on Joseph De Rocher. Since his eventual death is largely a foregone conclusion, he also moves through each of these stages as the opera progresses and he tries to come to terms with the consequences of his actions. You might also prompt your students to consider that, just as Joseph is making his way through the stages of grief to come to terms with his own impending death, Owen Hart and the other victims’ family members are also moving through those same stages as they process what happened to their loved ones, as are Sister Helen and Joseph’s mother.

Using the same handout, ask students to create a chart indicating how Joseph De Rocher passes through the five stages of grief. If you have time, you can have students complete additional charts for other characters in the opera, or you can also divide students into groups and have each group make a chart for a different character.

As with the previous step, this part of the activity can either be done in preparation for the screening in theaters, after the screening, or both.

STEP 4. COMPARE

Have students compare the two charts, one on grief and the other on plot structure, that they have created for Dead Man Walking and discuss whether they reflect each other. Ask students:

• What do they notice about the two charts?
• How do the five stages of grief map onto the five stages of plot? Where are the convergences or divergences?
• If they rearranged certain plot elements, how would that affect the work’s treatment of grief? And vice versa?
• If students completed charts for multiple characters, how do they relate to each other? Do some characters have similar movements through grief, or are they all distinct?
• Is there any connection between the depiction of grief and/or catharsis in the opera and the audience’s hypothetical path toward acceptance?

As a homework assignment or additional class project, you can have students explore some alternative ways to draw, chart, or map the narrative structure and stages of grief in Dead Man Walking. They can use digital visualization tools, multimedia programs, or crafting materials to produce an original interpretation of the opera. You might also ask students to include a written component with this assignment that explains how their new method of visualizing Dead Man Walking addresses aspects of the work that the conventional, five-point charts do not.