Year 12–13 / Grades 11–12
Ruined — Two-Lesson Scheme of Work
Lesson 1 begins with a close reading of Mama Nadi's bar as a space for survival, showcasing how Nottage employs stage directions and Mama's interaction with Christian in Act One to shape a morally complex female lead. Students then examine Salima's death speech in Act Two, focusing on themes of trauma and agency. Lesson 2 shifts to extended writing, where students craft an exam-style essay paragraph that compares how Nottage depicts female resilience in Sophie's final scene with Christian's confession of love to Mama Nadi in Act Two. They will incorporate context regarding the Second Congo War and Nottage's Brechtian influences. By the end, students will be able to write well-supported analytical paragraphs addressing gender, power, and survival.
Objectives
- Analyse how Nottage constructs Mama Nadi as a morally complex survivor through her language and stage directions in Act One's opening transaction with Christian.
- Explain how Salima's Act Two death scene dramatises the intersection of trauma, agency, and communal rejection.
- Evaluate how Nottage uses Sophie's singing and secret savings as symbols of resilience and self-determination across both acts.
- Write a fully evidenced analytical paragraph that connects Nottage's dramatic techniques to the historical context of wartime sexual violence in the DRC.
- Compare how two female characters — Mama Nadi and Sophie — negotiate power and vulnerability in the final scene of Act Two.
The sequence
Lesson 1: Survival as Performance: Close Reading Mama Nadi and Salima in Acts One and Two
60 min · ch. 1, 2- Do now
The word 'ruined' in everyday English generally means something that has been damaged or destroyed beyond repair. For a woman in a war zone, 'ruined' could refer to her safety and sense of normalcy being shattered, or it might describe the loss of her home and community amidst the chaos. Keep your answers — you will return to them at the end of the lesson.
- Teacher input
Model close reading on the Act One opening transaction: Christian introduces Sophie to Mama Nadi, labeling her as 'damaged goods' and 'ruined'. Read aloud Mama's response — 'She's not going to be any good to me' — and then highlight her change of heart upon discovering that Sophie can sing. Illustrate how Nottage's stage direction ('Mama examines Sophie like a horse at auction') portrays Mama as both an exploiter and a protector. Discuss how the verb 'examines' reflects colonial commodity language, while the singing pivot indicates that Mama finds value where patriarchal society overlooks it. On the board, annotate: word choice, stage direction, dramatic irony.
- Independent task
Students should re-read Salima's Act Two speech that begins with "I was ruined… my husband will never forgive me" and continues until her collapse. After this, they need to write an annotated close-reading paragraph of at least 150 words. In their paragraphs, they must: (1) identify a specific word or phrase that Nottage gives Salima, illustrating her awareness that her community's rejection is permanent; (2) explain how the syntax of Salima's sentences — starting with short, declarative statements and then fragmenting — reflects her psychological breakdown; and (3) conclude with an argument about whether Salima's death represents an act of defeat or a form of radical agency. Students will submit their annotated paragraph either on paper or through a shared document.
- Exit ticket
In one sentence, explain what Mama Nadi's reversal over Sophie in Act One — choosing to keep her because she can sing — reveals about how survival works in Nottage's DRC.
Lesson 2: Writing About Power and Vulnerability: Sophie, Mama Nadi, and the Final Scene of Act Two
55 min · ch. 2- Do now
- Vulnerability and intimacy between Mama Nadi and Christian
- The impact of war and trauma on personal identity
- The contrast between beauty and scars, highlighting resilience
- Teacher input
Model the construction of a comparative exam paragraph using the final scene of Act Two. On the board, write the question stem: 'How does Nottage present female vulnerability as a form of power in the final scene of Act Two?' Annotate Christian's line 'You are not alone, Mama' alongside the stage direction that shows Mama's scars being revealed for the first time. Demonstrate how to embed a quotation, identify the technique (the stage direction as dramatic revelation), connect it to context (Nottage's interviews with Congolese refugees—women who survived by hiding their trauma), and then broaden the discussion to a conceptual claim: that Nottage redefines 'ruined' as a point of connection instead of shame.
- Independent task
Students will write a comparative essay paragraph of 200–250 words within a 25-minute time limit, addressing the question: "How does Nottage portray Sophie and Mama Nadi as survivors in Act Two of Ruined?" They need to include at least two quotations: one from Sophie's singing scene in Act Two, where she performs for Osembenga's soldiers while hiding information, and another from the final dance scene. Additionally, students should reference Nottage's intention to humanize women often reduced to mere statistics in news reports about the Second Congo War. At the end of the lesson, students will submit their paragraphs for written feedback.
- Exit ticket
Write one sentence explaining why Nottage ends the play with a dance rather than with a speech — what does the choice of a non-verbal, physical image achieve that dialogue could not?
Activities
Commodity Language Audit — Act One Transaction Scene 15 min · pairs
Each pair gets a printed excerpt from Act One, where Christian introduces Sophie and Salima to Mama Nadi. They underline every word or phrase that objectifies the women (such as 'damaged goods' or 'she'll do'). Next, they annotate in a different color every instance where a woman expresses her own agency. Pairs return a color-coded annotated excerpt along with a one-sentence summary explaining what the color distribution indicates about power dynamics in this scene.
Fortune and Salima — Staging the Impossible Return 20 min · groups
Groups of four receive Fortune's Act Two plea for Salima to return home, along with Salima's refusal. Each group focuses on one lens — gender, class, trauma, or community — and must create a 60-second frozen tableau depicting the climactic moment of the scene. They then submit their written explanation, consisting of three sentences, detailing how their chosen lens alters the audience's perspective, along with a photograph or sketch of their tableau.
Sophie's Song as Dramatic Device — Close Listening 15 min · individual
Students listen to or read aloud Sophie's performance in Act Two for Osembenga's soldiers. They fill out a structured grid with three columns: the first column captures what Sophie seems to be doing (her surface performance); the second column reflects what she is truly doing (gathering intelligence and protecting herself); and the third column notes what the audience knows that the soldiers do not. Once completed, they submit the grid, which will serve as the evidence base for a later paragraph.
Mama Nadi's Neutrality — Hot-Seat Debate 20 min · whole class
One student takes on the role of Mama Nadi while Osembenga's forces attack the bar in Act Two. The other students are split into Osembenga's soldiers and Kisembe's rebels, pressing her about her loyalties. The teacher halts the activity at the peak of tension and prompts the class to vote: does Mama's neutrality represent a moral failure or a survival strategy? Students submit a written verdict of two sentences explaining their choice.
Brecht and Nottage — Context Comparison Card Sort 15 min · pairs
Pairs receive twelve cards: six that describe Mother Courage (focusing on her pragmatism, complicity, and losses) and six that depict Mama Nadi. They organize the cards into three columns — 'same', 'different', and 'complicated' — and add a quotation from Ruined to one card in the 'different' column to illustrate the distinction. Finally, they return their sorted and annotated card set.
Redefining 'Ruined' — Semantic Shift Tracker 20 min · individual
Students are given a timeline that highlights six important moments from Acts One and Two where the word 'ruined' or the idea of being ruined comes up — starting with Christian's initial use of the term and ending with Mama's poignant unveiling of her scars. For each moment, they write a sentence that captures what 'ruined' signifies for the character speaking or being described, followed by a final sentence that explores how Nottage evolves the meaning of the word throughout the play. They return their finished timeline with notes and comments.
Assessment
- Act One annotation check: does the student's colour-coded commodity language audit identify both objectifying language and moments of female subjectivity, showing they can distinguish surface from subtext?
- Salima paragraph (Lesson 1 independent task): does the student name a specific word or phrase, comment on syntax, and commit to an argument about agency versus defeat — not merely summarise what happens?
- Do-now bullet points at the start of Lesson 2: do students move beyond plot description to interpret the symbolic weight of the final dance and Mama's revealed scars?
- Lesson 2 timed paragraph: does the student embed at least two quotations from Act Two, name a dramatic technique for each, and connect one quotation to the Second Congo War context Nottage described in interviews?
- Exit ticket Lesson 2: does the student's sentence articulate a specific dramatic effect of the non-verbal ending — silence, image, audience implication — rather than restating what the dance 'shows'?
Summative task
Write a comparative essay paragraph of 200–250 words in response to the following question: 'How does Nottage present Sophie and Mama Nadi as survivors in Act Two of Ruined?' You must quote at least twice — once from Sophie's performance for Osembenga's soldiers and once from the final dance scene — name the dramatic technique Nottage uses in each quotation, and include at least one reference to the historical or authorial context of the play. Your paragraph should end with a conceptual claim about what Nottage's presentation of survival asks the audience to reconsider.
Marking notes
Top-band responses will seamlessly transition between direct quotations and conceptual arguments, identifying specific dramatic techniques used by Nottage, such as stage direction, dramatic irony, and non-verbal imagery, rather than focusing solely on character descriptions. They will link at least one technique to the context of the Second Congo War or Nottage's Brechtian influences without simplifying the play to a mere documentary. Mid-band responses will provide accurate quotes but will explain the techniques in a mechanical manner. Lower-band responses will simply paraphrase the plot. Markers should particularly acknowledge any student who explores the semantic shift in the word 'ruined' as it appears in Sophie's and Mama's narratives.
Standards covered
- Common Core 11 12
- RL.11-12.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- RL.11-12.3 — Analyse the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama, including where a story is set and how the action is ordered.
- RL.11-12.5 — Analyse how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.
- W.11-12.9 — Draw evidence from literary texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
- AP Literature
- Literary Argumentation — Develop a thesis that interprets a literary text and defend it with specific textual evidence.
- Figurative Language and Imagery — Analyse how Nottage's use of stage directions and symbolic objects (Sophie's singing, Mama's scars) contributes to meaning.
- Character and Motivation — Evaluate how characters' choices in extreme circumstances reveal the play's thematic concerns about gender and survival.
- Contextual and Intertextual Reading — Connect Nottage's dramatic choices to the Brechtian tradition and to the documented context of the Second Congo War.
- AQA
- AO1 — Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated concepts and terminology, and coherent, accurate written expression.
- AO2 — Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in literary texts, including Nottage's use of stage directions, dialogue, and dramatic structure.
- AO3 — Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received, specifically the Second Congo War and the Pulitzer Prize reception.
- AO5 — Explore literary texts informed by different interpretations, including feminist and postcolonial readings of Mama Nadi's complicity and agency.
- Edexcel
- AO1 — Articulate informed responses to literary texts using relevant concepts and terminology.
- AO2 — Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped, including Nottage's structural choice to end the play with a non-verbal image rather than dialogue.
- AO3 — Demonstrate understanding of contexts and their influence on literary texts, including wartime sexual violence in the DRC as documented context.
- AO4 — Explore connections across literary texts, specifically the comparison between Mama Nadi and Brecht's Mother Courage.
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