I really enjoyed reading "The Girl of the Golden West," just for something different. Being an art major, I appreciated the construction of the play. I liked how all the scenery and stage directions were given: descriptions of every little item in a room, and their placement. It was nice to read something other than an essay or short story.
I wish we would have watched a play or movie, or, if possible, taken a field trip to see it performed... I don't know if it is still being performed, but that would have been nice to break up the routine of read, discuss, quiz, read, discuss, quiz, read, discuss, quiz..... It would have been interesting to read it and make up our own characters and ideas, then see it performed and contrast those characters and ideas with our own. (I rented the Scarlett Letter the movie, after we read the book, and it was SO different.) Then we could discuss why the director may have made these changes. (For The Scarlett Letter I think it was to "spice things up" a little to make it more appealing to the general audience) This is just a suggestion for the future!