Graduating Class story
Laura Siddons, a teacher at a girl's college, is fond of her brightest student, Gloria Barnes. While out with her neighbor Ben Prowdy, Siddons sees Barnes with a man and assumes that they are having an affair. Siddons later learns that Barnes is actually secretly married to the man and plans to tell her parents at the right time, but Prowdy blackmails Barnes' parents, causing her mother to collapse. Prowdy is arrested, and accuses Siddons of masterminding the blackmail. Directed by: Herschel Daugherty. Story by: Edouard Sandoz, Stirling Silliphant.
13 total · 1 choice · 4 major · 8 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| mentor and protégé | choice | The story concerned Laura's interactions with her star pupil, Gloria. |
| sexual norms in society | major | The story concerned Laura's old fashioned outrage at premarital sex, in which she believed Gloria had engaged. |
| teaching occupation | major | Laura was hired to teach European literature at a girl's college. |
| what if I was accused of a crime that I didn't commit | major | The story ended with Laura anticipating being charged with orchestrating the blackmail that Prowdy had carried out. |
| what it is like in university | major | The story presents a contemporary view of what life might have been like at a girl's college. |
| blackmail | minor | Prowdy blackmailed Barne's parents. |
| coma | minor | After falling asleep in class, Gloria said she had stayed up worrying about her mother who was ill. Later we heard that Gloria's mother was in a coma. |
| coping with a loved one being gravely ill | minor | After falling asleep in class, Gloria said she had stayed up worrying about her mother who was ill. Later we heard that Gloria's mother was in a coma. |
| desperation | minor | Julia explained that Laura had been desperate when sending a letter to ask for a job. |
| literature appreciation | minor | Laura struggled to instill a passion for Mary Shelley in her apathetic pupils. |