British Literature from 1800, "The Mythmakers"

Try to at least get to Part Two of the book, and if possible, read to around Chapter 2. You'll have time to catch up on the weekend if you fall behind. The questions below will cover the entire book up until Part Two, Chapter 2, since we only touched on a few ideas in class today (Tuesday).  Don't forget that I'll accept the Time Machine/Klee papers as late as Thursday, but after that we have to press on!  Answer two of the following: Q1: Winston's 'friend,' Syme, is ecstatic about the evolution of Newspeak, since it's "the only language in the world whose vocabulary gets smaller every year" (Chapter V). Why is Newspeak obsessed with reducing the words and the range of expression available to its speakers? How does this show the relationship between language and culture in a devious way? Q2: One of Big Brother's greatest slogan's is, "Who controls the past...controls the future" (Chapter III). They call this "reality control,...

  Since we're a bit behind, I want you to go ahead and start 1984  for Tuesday's class, reading the first 7 or so chapters (or as much as you can). We will still write about a new work of art, but we'll do so in tandem with the novel, so as not to waste any more time! (only 4 days are left of the semester!!) But I won't give you any questions so you can just enjoy reading for a change.  Remember that your H.G. Wells & Klee Art & Lit papers are due on Tuesday if you want to (or have to) do them.  Also, I'll be giving you the Final Exam assignment on Thursday, so you'll definitely want to tune in for that!  More soon! 

Klee, Fugue in Red (1921) NOTE: Sadly, I have to CANCEL TUESDAY'S CLASS AS WELL, since my wife has to go to Norman for a minor procedure which will render her unable to drive home. So we'll have to pick this up NEXT Thursday. Sorry about this...but it gives you extra time to read and finish the questions! Don't forget, too, about the Art and Literature paper for Wells if you need to do it. Answer two of the following: Q1: Is the Time Traveler a reliable narrator? How might his own biases and beliefs color his narrative, particularly when describing the Eloi and the Morlocks? Is there anywhere we can tell that Wells might be critiquing the Traveler himself? Q2: In Marina Warner’s Introduction to the Penguin version of The Time Machine, she notes that in many of Wells’ fictions, “He show an almost anorexic fascination with feeding, hunger, and abstemiousness.” Why do you think Wells (and the Time Traveler), as a late Victorian, is so drawn to the idea of eating in the novel...

NOTE: This is a short work, so feel free to read as much as you like for Tuesday's class. But we can probably only tackle the first 6 chapters in class, so that's a comfortable place to get to for Tuesday's class.  Answer TWO of the following: Q1: Though this is a science fiction story about time travel, it also shares a lot in common with our first two works: Frankenstein and Sherlock Holmes . Where might we see the Victor or Holmes influence in these opening chapters? Also, what aspects of the storytelling might Wells have borrowed from his famous predecessors? Q2: In the future, the Time Traveller is constantly forming theories as to what created such a strange, forbidding world. As he notes, “For the first time I began to realize an odd consequence of the social effort in which we are at present engaged. And yet, come to think, it is a logical consequence enough…Things that are now mere dreams had become projects deliberately put in hand and carried forward. And the...

Sargent, Garden Study of the Vickers Children (1884)  Answer two of the following: Q1: In author and fairy-tale expert Jack Zipes' Introduction to the Penguin Classics edition of Peter Pan and Wendy , he writes that the work is "an anti-fairy tale that seeks to explicate mystery, whereas fairy tales simply display magic and mystery. It is a self-help book written by a doctoring author for those adults who have lost touch with their imagination and need to regain it through a re-introduction to children's imaginative play" (xxiii). Do you agree with this? Is it meant for the "Wendys" of the world who have grown up and forgotten Peter Pan and their long-lost days of flying? Though kids can like this book, can only adults love it? Q2: Why does Barrie try to humanize Cook and make him (almost) less of a villain in the late chapters of the book? Why is he so obsessed with "good form," and why does this make his life--and his death--somewhat tragic, at l...

Try to read through Chapter 13, "Do You Believe in Fairies?" for Thursday's class. And don't forget to think about your Art & Literature paper if you need to do it. The Sargent painting above, of The Pallieron Children, looks a lot like Peter and Wendy, don't you think?? The boy, especially, has that calculating, impressed-with-himself look of Peter Pan.  Answer two of the following: Q1: What do you find interesting in how Wendy, her brothers, and the Lost Boys play at being mothers and children? How might this be Barrie's own parody of the conventions of the Victorian family? Is it meant to satirize the children's unquestioning belief in these values, or the very values themselves?  Q2: Throughout the book, Barrie calls children "heartless," which might mean something different to him than to us. He says also that "Off we skip like the most heartless things in the world, which is what children are, but so attractive" (Chapter 11, 9...

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose by John Singer Sargent  No questions over Break, but do start reading Peter Pan and get to at least around Chapter 6 for next-next Tuesday's class. We'll do an easy in-class writing over some aspect of the book. Here are some small ideas to look out for: * How does Barrie continue to long tradition of satirizing British society and its domestic rituals in this book?  * Like Alice, how does he also take a few digs at the traditional manner of educating the young in this book?  * How does Peter and Tinker Bell in particular differ from the many popular culture accounts of their character? Why might this be surprising to us? * What passages or characters have not dated as well as others? Would any parts be seen as racist or unacceptable today?  * Why is there more than a little touch of Alice in Wonderland in this book? How do we know that that Barrie definitely had Carroll's book in the back of his mind? * Though a relativley light-hearted b...