October 16th Written Test
Pigeons at Daybreak
The Accompanist
The Devoted Son
Scholar and Gypsy
8 oct 2009
The Crucible
The Crucible – Arthur Miller
Main Aims:
· What are the relationships between the characters of TheCrucible?
· What contributed to the events leading up to the real witch trials of 1692?
· How do the political events of the 1950s contribute to our understanding of The Crucible?
Context
E arly in the year 1692, in the small Massachusetts village of Salem, a collection of girls fell ill, falling victim to hallucinations and seizures. In extremely religious Puritan New England, frightening or surprising occurrences were often attributed to the devil or his cohorts. The unfathomable sickness spurred fears of witchcraft, and it was not long before the girls, and then many other residents of Salem, began to accuse other villagers of consorting with devils and casting spells. Old grudges and jealousies spilled out into the open, fueling the atmosphere of hysteria. The Massachusetts government and judicial system, heavily influenced by religion, rolled into action. Within a few weeks, dozens of people were in jail on charges of witchcraft. By the time the fever had run its course, in late August 1692, nineteen people (and two dogs) had been convicted and hanged for witchcraft.
More than two centuries later, Arthur Miller was born in New York City on October 17, 1915. His career as a playwright began while he was a student at the University of Michigan. Several of his early works won prizes, and during his senior year, the Federal Theatre Project in Detroit performed one of his works. He produced his first great success, All My Sons, in 1947. Two years later, in 1949, Miller wrote Death of a Salesman, which won the Pulitzer Prize and transformed Miller into a national sensation. Many critics described Death of a Salesman as the first great American tragedy, and Miller gained an associated eminence as a man who understood the deep essence of the United States.
Drawing on research on the witch trials he had conducted while an undergraduate, Miller composed The Crucible in the early 1950s. Miller wrote the play during the brief ascendancy of Senator Joseph McCarthy, a demagogue whose vitriolic anti-Communism proved the spark needed to propel the United States into a dramatic and fractious anti-Communist fervor during these first tense years of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Led by McCarthy, special congressional committees conducted highly controversial investigations intended to root out Communist sympathizers in the United States. As with the alleged witches of Salem, suspected Communists were encouraged to confess and to identify other Red sympathizers as means of escaping punishment. The policy resulted in a whirlwind of accusations. As people began to realize that they might be condemned as Communists regardless of their innocence, many “cooperated,” attempting to save themselves through false confessions, creating the image that the United States was overrun with Communists and perpetuating the hysteria. The liberal entertainment industry, in which Miller worked, was one of the chief targets of these “witch hunts,” as their opponents termed them. Some cooperated; others, like Miller, refused to give in to questioning. Those who were revealed, falsely or legitimately, as Communists, and those who refused to incriminate their friends, saw their careers suffer, as they were blacklisted from potential jobs for many years afterward.
At the time of its first performance, in January of 1953, critics and cast alike perceived The Crucible as a direct attack on McCarthyism (the policy of sniffing out Communists). Its comparatively short run, compared with those of Miller’s other works, was blamed on anti-Communist fervor. When Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were accused of spying for the Soviets and executed, the cast and audience of Miller’s play observed a moment of silence. Still, there are difficulties with interpreting The Crucible as a strict allegorical treatment of 1950s McCarthyism. For one thing, there were, as far as one can tell, no actual witches or devil-worshipers in Salem. However, there were certainly Communists in 1950s America, and many of those who were lionized as victims of McCarthyism at the time, such as the Rosenbergs and Alger Hiss (a former State Department official), were later found to have been in the pay of the Soviet Union. Miller’s Communist friends, then, were often less innocent than the victims of the Salem witch trials, like the stalwart Rebecca Nurse or the tragic John Proctor.
If Miller took unknowing liberties with the facts of his own era, he also played fast and loose with the historical record. The general outline of events in The Crucible corresponds to what happened in Salem of 1692, but Miller’s characters are often composites. Furthermore, his central plot device—the affair between Abigail Williams and John Proctor—has no grounding in fact (Proctor was over sixty at the time of the trials, while Abigail was only eleven). Thus, Miller’s decision to set sexual jealousy at the root of the hysteria constitutes a dramatic contrivance.
In an odd way, then, The Crucible is best read outside its historical context—not as a perfect allegory for anti-Communism, or as a faithful account of the Salem trials, but as a powerful and timeless depiction of how intolerance and hysteria can intersect and tear a community apart. In John Proctor, Miller gives the reader a marvelous tragic hero for any time—a flawed figure who finds his moral center just as everything is falling to pieces around him.
· Read the play CAREFULLY.
When you finish each act, read the Summaries and Analysis at http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/crucible/
· Vocabulary study: Glossary: these words are defined for you.
1. theocracy: governed by religion
2. providence: God’s will; God’s intervention in human affairs
3. Puritanical: strict in morality and religion; this term has come about since the reign of the Puritans
4. inculcation: impress with insistent urging; convince
5. propitiation: win good will
6. ameliorate: improve
7. theology: the study of a religious doctrine; what a particular sect believes
8. vestry: the room in the church where robes are kept
9. apparition: ghost
10. trafficked: have dealings with
11. blink: tolerate
· Study Questions: Answer each fully
Act I
1. What was Samuel Parris’s attitude toward children?
2. Why do you think Rev. Parris has many enemies?
3. After Parris begins to believe his daughter to be afflicted by witchcraft, what is Thomas Putnam’s advice to him?
4. What truths come out when the adults leave the girls alone?
5. What’s going on between Abigail and John Proctor?
6. Why does Betty start screaming?
7. Why are some people, including John Proctor, inclined to stay away from Sabbath meeting?
8. Why does Hale believe the Devil would strike Rev. Parris’s house?
9. Though Rev. Hale is trying to get Tituba to name her accomplices, who is the first person to actually mention names?
10. Why isn’t it difficult for Ann Putnam to believe that Goody Osburn is a witch?
Act II
11. What do you know about the relationship between John and Elizabeth Proctor from the stage action and opening dialogue of Act II?
12. Describe the power Abigail has in the court room.
13. What’s going on between the Proctors on pages 52-53 (________)?
14. Though Mary Warren cannot say who accused Elizabeth Proctor, who do you believe accused her and why?
15. Ironically, which commandment can John not remember?
16. John Proctor seems to be the only voice of reason in the confusing end of Act II. What are some examples to support this idea?
17. Why is Mary Warren afraid of telling the truth about Abigail, for herself and for John?
Act III
18. Over and over, Danforth says that the good have nothing to fear. What evidence can you give to show that the opposite is true?
19. On pages 95-96 (_______) Danforth gives the premise for judging a witch. Summarize his guidelines.
20. Mary Warren's testimony is destroyed in the end because she cannot do something. What? How does she explain the problem?
21. Finally, Proctor admits that he and Abigail have been lovers. This truth could be the end of Abigail’s control. Why isn’t it?
22. What is the importance of John Proctor’s last speech (in Act III)?
Act IV
23. What is Hale’s mission in Act IV?
24. Parris tells Danforth, “You cannot hang this sort” (123). What does he mean?
25. Why won’t Danforth pardon the prisoners?
26. Do you think Elizabeth Proctor would confess if she were in her husband’s place? Explain.
27. In the end, what is it that is of utmost importance to John Proctor?
· When you finish the Play read and study about Themes, Motifs and Symbols and Analysis of Major Characters at http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/crucible/
· Character study: For each of the following characters, write who she/he is, what relationship to other characters, any important character or personality traits and any other important information.
Who is he/she?
Relationship to whom?
Problem? Acts of courage/cowardice?
Reverend Samuel Parris
Betty Parris
Abigail Williams
Tituba
Mrs. Ann Putnam
Thomas Putnam
John Proctor
Elizabeth Proctor
Rebecca Nurse
Reverend John Hale
· Think of what you mean when you use the words “honor,” “truth,” “justice,” or “courage.” Choose one character that exemplifies your idea of one of these ideals and explain how he/she lives up to your standards (or do the reverse: fails to live up to your standards).
Main Aims:
· What are the relationships between the characters of TheCrucible?
· What contributed to the events leading up to the real witch trials of 1692?
· How do the political events of the 1950s contribute to our understanding of The Crucible?
Context
E arly in the year 1692, in the small Massachusetts village of Salem, a collection of girls fell ill, falling victim to hallucinations and seizures. In extremely religious Puritan New England, frightening or surprising occurrences were often attributed to the devil or his cohorts. The unfathomable sickness spurred fears of witchcraft, and it was not long before the girls, and then many other residents of Salem, began to accuse other villagers of consorting with devils and casting spells. Old grudges and jealousies spilled out into the open, fueling the atmosphere of hysteria. The Massachusetts government and judicial system, heavily influenced by religion, rolled into action. Within a few weeks, dozens of people were in jail on charges of witchcraft. By the time the fever had run its course, in late August 1692, nineteen people (and two dogs) had been convicted and hanged for witchcraft.
More than two centuries later, Arthur Miller was born in New York City on October 17, 1915. His career as a playwright began while he was a student at the University of Michigan. Several of his early works won prizes, and during his senior year, the Federal Theatre Project in Detroit performed one of his works. He produced his first great success, All My Sons, in 1947. Two years later, in 1949, Miller wrote Death of a Salesman, which won the Pulitzer Prize and transformed Miller into a national sensation. Many critics described Death of a Salesman as the first great American tragedy, and Miller gained an associated eminence as a man who understood the deep essence of the United States.
Drawing on research on the witch trials he had conducted while an undergraduate, Miller composed The Crucible in the early 1950s. Miller wrote the play during the brief ascendancy of Senator Joseph McCarthy, a demagogue whose vitriolic anti-Communism proved the spark needed to propel the United States into a dramatic and fractious anti-Communist fervor during these first tense years of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Led by McCarthy, special congressional committees conducted highly controversial investigations intended to root out Communist sympathizers in the United States. As with the alleged witches of Salem, suspected Communists were encouraged to confess and to identify other Red sympathizers as means of escaping punishment. The policy resulted in a whirlwind of accusations. As people began to realize that they might be condemned as Communists regardless of their innocence, many “cooperated,” attempting to save themselves through false confessions, creating the image that the United States was overrun with Communists and perpetuating the hysteria. The liberal entertainment industry, in which Miller worked, was one of the chief targets of these “witch hunts,” as their opponents termed them. Some cooperated; others, like Miller, refused to give in to questioning. Those who were revealed, falsely or legitimately, as Communists, and those who refused to incriminate their friends, saw their careers suffer, as they were blacklisted from potential jobs for many years afterward.
At the time of its first performance, in January of 1953, critics and cast alike perceived The Crucible as a direct attack on McCarthyism (the policy of sniffing out Communists). Its comparatively short run, compared with those of Miller’s other works, was blamed on anti-Communist fervor. When Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were accused of spying for the Soviets and executed, the cast and audience of Miller’s play observed a moment of silence. Still, there are difficulties with interpreting The Crucible as a strict allegorical treatment of 1950s McCarthyism. For one thing, there were, as far as one can tell, no actual witches or devil-worshipers in Salem. However, there were certainly Communists in 1950s America, and many of those who were lionized as victims of McCarthyism at the time, such as the Rosenbergs and Alger Hiss (a former State Department official), were later found to have been in the pay of the Soviet Union. Miller’s Communist friends, then, were often less innocent than the victims of the Salem witch trials, like the stalwart Rebecca Nurse or the tragic John Proctor.
If Miller took unknowing liberties with the facts of his own era, he also played fast and loose with the historical record. The general outline of events in The Crucible corresponds to what happened in Salem of 1692, but Miller’s characters are often composites. Furthermore, his central plot device—the affair between Abigail Williams and John Proctor—has no grounding in fact (Proctor was over sixty at the time of the trials, while Abigail was only eleven). Thus, Miller’s decision to set sexual jealousy at the root of the hysteria constitutes a dramatic contrivance.
In an odd way, then, The Crucible is best read outside its historical context—not as a perfect allegory for anti-Communism, or as a faithful account of the Salem trials, but as a powerful and timeless depiction of how intolerance and hysteria can intersect and tear a community apart. In John Proctor, Miller gives the reader a marvelous tragic hero for any time—a flawed figure who finds his moral center just as everything is falling to pieces around him.
· Read the play CAREFULLY.
When you finish each act, read the Summaries and Analysis at http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/crucible/
· Vocabulary study: Glossary: these words are defined for you.
1. theocracy: governed by religion
2. providence: God’s will; God’s intervention in human affairs
3. Puritanical: strict in morality and religion; this term has come about since the reign of the Puritans
4. inculcation: impress with insistent urging; convince
5. propitiation: win good will
6. ameliorate: improve
7. theology: the study of a religious doctrine; what a particular sect believes
8. vestry: the room in the church where robes are kept
9. apparition: ghost
10. trafficked: have dealings with
11. blink: tolerate
· Study Questions: Answer each fully
Act I
1. What was Samuel Parris’s attitude toward children?
2. Why do you think Rev. Parris has many enemies?
3. After Parris begins to believe his daughter to be afflicted by witchcraft, what is Thomas Putnam’s advice to him?
4. What truths come out when the adults leave the girls alone?
5. What’s going on between Abigail and John Proctor?
6. Why does Betty start screaming?
7. Why are some people, including John Proctor, inclined to stay away from Sabbath meeting?
8. Why does Hale believe the Devil would strike Rev. Parris’s house?
9. Though Rev. Hale is trying to get Tituba to name her accomplices, who is the first person to actually mention names?
10. Why isn’t it difficult for Ann Putnam to believe that Goody Osburn is a witch?
Act II
11. What do you know about the relationship between John and Elizabeth Proctor from the stage action and opening dialogue of Act II?
12. Describe the power Abigail has in the court room.
13. What’s going on between the Proctors on pages 52-53 (________)?
14. Though Mary Warren cannot say who accused Elizabeth Proctor, who do you believe accused her and why?
15. Ironically, which commandment can John not remember?
16. John Proctor seems to be the only voice of reason in the confusing end of Act II. What are some examples to support this idea?
17. Why is Mary Warren afraid of telling the truth about Abigail, for herself and for John?
Act III
18. Over and over, Danforth says that the good have nothing to fear. What evidence can you give to show that the opposite is true?
19. On pages 95-96 (_______) Danforth gives the premise for judging a witch. Summarize his guidelines.
20. Mary Warren's testimony is destroyed in the end because she cannot do something. What? How does she explain the problem?
21. Finally, Proctor admits that he and Abigail have been lovers. This truth could be the end of Abigail’s control. Why isn’t it?
22. What is the importance of John Proctor’s last speech (in Act III)?
Act IV
23. What is Hale’s mission in Act IV?
24. Parris tells Danforth, “You cannot hang this sort” (123). What does he mean?
25. Why won’t Danforth pardon the prisoners?
26. Do you think Elizabeth Proctor would confess if she were in her husband’s place? Explain.
27. In the end, what is it that is of utmost importance to John Proctor?
· When you finish the Play read and study about Themes, Motifs and Symbols and Analysis of Major Characters at http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/crucible/
· Character study: For each of the following characters, write who she/he is, what relationship to other characters, any important character or personality traits and any other important information.
Who is he/she?
Relationship to whom?
Problem? Acts of courage/cowardice?
Reverend Samuel Parris
Betty Parris
Abigail Williams
Tituba
Mrs. Ann Putnam
Thomas Putnam
John Proctor
Elizabeth Proctor
Rebecca Nurse
Reverend John Hale
· Think of what you mean when you use the words “honor,” “truth,” “justice,” or “courage.” Choose one character that exemplifies your idea of one of these ideals and explain how he/she lives up to your standards (or do the reverse: fails to live up to your standards).
1 oct 2009
The Accompanist
1) Read the beginning up to “…I followed”.
Who do you thing the “He” mentioned here is?
What does the narrator complain about?
2) Read from “For fifteen years now…” up to “ No marriage was closer”.
Narrate how the narrator first met Ustad Rahim Khan.
Describe what kind of relationship developed between them. Illustrate this relationship with quotations.
3) Read from “ When I was a boy….” Up to “ ..after the late show, not now”
What kind of childhood did he have? Which were his interests?
What do we learn about his father and mother? Support this with quotations from the story.
4) Read “But all fell away from me…” up to “ …will convey this to him”
Explore the narrator´s feelings towards his relationship
with Ustad Rahim Khan
Support your views by close reference to Desai’s writing
5) Read from ‘Only once was I shaken.’ Up to ‘I talked to myself.’
How does Desai vividly convey how dreadful this
moment is in the life of the accompanist?
6) Finish reading the story.
Comment on the following quotation “ .. But he did not take anyone else, he chose me. He gave me my destiny, my life. Could I have refused it? Does a mortal refuse God?”
What is your personal response to the decisions in life made by Bhaiyya,” the tanpura player”? Consider everything you have analysed so far.
Who do you thing the “He” mentioned here is?
What does the narrator complain about?
2) Read from “For fifteen years now…” up to “ No marriage was closer”.
Narrate how the narrator first met Ustad Rahim Khan.
Describe what kind of relationship developed between them. Illustrate this relationship with quotations.
3) Read from “ When I was a boy….” Up to “ ..after the late show, not now”
What kind of childhood did he have? Which were his interests?
What do we learn about his father and mother? Support this with quotations from the story.
4) Read “But all fell away from me…” up to “ …will convey this to him”
Explore the narrator´s feelings towards his relationship
with Ustad Rahim Khan
Support your views by close reference to Desai’s writing
5) Read from ‘Only once was I shaken.’ Up to ‘I talked to myself.’
How does Desai vividly convey how dreadful this
moment is in the life of the accompanist?
6) Finish reading the story.
Comment on the following quotation “ .. But he did not take anyone else, he chose me. He gave me my destiny, my life. Could I have refused it? Does a mortal refuse God?”
What is your personal response to the decisions in life made by Bhaiyya,” the tanpura player”? Consider everything you have analysed so far.
Studies in the Park
- Enrich this summary with appropriate quotations from this short story. Re-write the whole essay.
"Studies in the Park" is Anita Desai's short story about the choice of a young Indian man, named Suno, who rejects his family's scholarly objective for his life in favor of a life of exploration and studies of human nature.
As the story begins, Suno bemoans the constant noise in his home, where he is confined to study for his university entrance exam. ( Quotations)
The pressure continues to build on Suno, who cannot concentrate in this environment surrounded by people who do not understand the need to be quiet. (Quotations)
Suno escapes from the house and tries to study in a local cafy. ( Quotations)
Suno tentatively enters the park and wonders why he has not thought of the park as a solution to his problem before. At first, (Quotations)
Eventually, Suno becomes comfortable with studying in the park. ( Quotations)
He resents some of the park's visitors, ( Quotations)
Suno's family continues to prod him to study late into the night. ( Quotations)
There is only one month left before the exams. ( Quotations)
Now, everything in the park seems as lifeless as Suno's mood. ( Quotations)
One evening, on his way out of the park, Suno sees a tender scene that changes his world forever. ( Quotations)
From this moment on, Suno's books are dead to him, because he has had a glimpse of real life. ( Quotations)
Suno's parents continue to plead with him to continue his studies, but he has no interest in academic achievements any longer. ( Quotations)
Suno returns to the park. Now, he's not a student, but a lover of life. He takes the time to interact with the people whom he thought unworthy before. As he engages with his new acquaintances, Suno is always on the lookout for the couple that served as the basis for his metamorphosis. However, they never appear again.
Sale
- The profound theme in Games at Twilight in general, and in Sale in particular is the tension between convention and exploration.
- Re-read the story, analyze the characters´s actions and words and establish all the different contrasts that Desai depicts in this story.Classify these contrasts into “ convention” or “ exploration
Surface Textures
Essay Writing
Explore the ways by which Anita Desai manages to create a fantasy story with a happy ending set in the poor background of an Indian town. Support your ideas with well-chosen quotations from the story.
Pre-writing Activities.
Re-read this short story carefully and look for the following information
1) Who is the narrator of the story? What special devices does Desai use in connection to this narrator?
2) Where does the story take place? What information about its social background do you get from the story?
3) Semantic fields include vocabulary thematically related. Look for specific words and expressions related to “Surface textures”. Write them down.
4) What kind of story is this? Contrast and compare it to the other ones you have read by Anita Desai. What would you say was the author’s intention when she wrote it?
5) Explore the use of irony in the story.
Organizing your ideas
Use the information you have collected above and organize your ideas using useful graphic organizers.
Write your essay, proofread and revise it .Finally, write a clean copy.
Explore the ways by which Anita Desai manages to create a fantasy story with a happy ending set in the poor background of an Indian town. Support your ideas with well-chosen quotations from the story.
Pre-writing Activities.
Re-read this short story carefully and look for the following information
1) Who is the narrator of the story? What special devices does Desai use in connection to this narrator?
2) Where does the story take place? What information about its social background do you get from the story?
3) Semantic fields include vocabulary thematically related. Look for specific words and expressions related to “Surface textures”. Write them down.
4) What kind of story is this? Contrast and compare it to the other ones you have read by Anita Desai. What would you say was the author’s intention when she wrote it?
5) Explore the use of irony in the story.
Organizing your ideas
Use the information you have collected above and organize your ideas using useful graphic organizers.
Write your essay, proofread and revise it .Finally, write a clean copy.
Games at Twilight
Games at Twilight
At a glance:
· Author: Anita Desai
· First Published: 1978
· Type of Plot: Psychological
· Time of Work: The 1970's
· Setting: A large city in India
· Principal Characters: Ravi, Raghu
· Genres: Short fiction
· Subjects: 1970’s, Children, Twentieth century, Alienation, Jealousy, envy, or resentment, Asia or Asians, Brothers, Reality, Fantasy, India or East Indian people, Boys, Games, Summer, Heat
The Story
This title story in Anita Desai's acclaimed collection Games at Twilight, and Other Stories (1978) deals with a universal theme of children at play and their fantasies and disillusionment. Desai begins the story objectively from the third-person vantage, but as the action progresses and the tension mounts, she skillfully shifts the narrative focus to the consciousness of the central character, Ravi. The story is remarkable for its insights into child psychology, powerful evocation of atmosphere, vivid imagery, and symbolic use of setting.
'Games at Twilight' is a book of short stories by Anita Desai (an Indian writer who is well respected in Western literary circles - not quite of Salman Rushdie's calibre though): 'Games at Twilight' is also the name of one of the stories within it: if you haven't read the story, then a lot of the discussion below won't be of much use to you. If you have, however, then there are some interesting ideas.
'Games at Twilight' is, as I see it, a story of contrasting emotions, with the protagonist Ravi, entering a phase in his growth that involves learning through experience, and the realisation of some bleak facts of life.
Desai opens the story with imagery that mirrors the contrasting sentiments. Elements of *pathetic fallacy are used, with the humid, hot climate reflecting the simultaneous captivity and latency of the children. We are told, 'Their faces were red and bloated with the effort, but their mother would not open the door ... their lungs were stuffed with cotton wool.' Immediately we realise their actions are controlled, and they have very little freedom at this stage. Through the dulled metallic colours Anita Desai uses, the enforced captivity does not appear as malign as it normally would, since there are always underlying images of energy and growth: 'the birds still drooped, like dead fruit ... a band of parrots suddenly fell out of the eucalyptus tree, tumbled frantically in the still, sizzling air.'
The images of stasis are broken by the streak of colours, and this mirrors the moment afterwards, as the children are released; yet the morbid imagery – 'The outdoor dog lay stretched as if dead ... some squirrels lay limp.' – runs throughout the story, perhaps as a pre-echo to Ravi's metaphorical death at the end. This adds a distinctly malign streak in the story. Furthermore, as Ravi enters the garage we are told, 'It had a muffled smell, as of graves,' and, 'Except for the white-hot cracks along the floor, there was no light.' The reference to the cracks appears to be a reference to hell, and the continuing morbid imagers leads me to believe that the garage functions as a memento mori; the death occurring metaphorically, of course. In addition to this, Desai uses the game of hide-and-seek to compare the children to predatory animals hunting for prey that raises a sinister aspect to these games. She's almost tring to signify that all childhood games have an underlying motive, and represent a part of human instinct. In the case of hide-and-seek, the game reveals humans' natural desire for survival.
All this contrasts sharply with the transformation of the garden into an idyllic scene, with the use of Edenic imagery: 'It would be evening soon ... water would fall lavishly through the air to the ground, soaking the dry yellow grass and the red gravel and arousing the sweet, intoxicating scent of water on dry earth.' This imagery also has a nostalgic tint to it, and perhaps this is designed to show the manner in which many look at heir own childhood; regardless of low-points, it seems like a peaceful, enjoyable time, when one is free from responsibilities. However, we see the same situation from the children's point of view, and they see the very opposite, feeling cooped up and trapped. However, even while this scene is being describes, we are told, 'Ravi wondered if it would not be better to be captured by Raghu and be returned to the milling crowd as long as he could be in the sun, the light ... and the familiarity of his brothers, sisters and cousins.' - he's always drawn back. It's like Freud's death-drive and life-drive - always torn to the opposite side.
Here is where the emotional conflict begins in earnest, with Ravi questioning the value of exerting his own identity, something he later decides outweighs being part of a group. He willingly undergoes the isolation in expectation of lone victory, and the suffering he takes illustrates the degree to which humans will suffer in return for glory. However, the imagery turns far bleaker as the evening progresses. 'It grew darker in the shed,' we are told, 'as the light grew softer.' Desai again using pathetic fallacy shows us this as the moment when the truth begins to set in for Ravi, and I find the situation very bleak; the underlying malign streak in the story finally rises, and ironically Ravi has indeed singled himself out, yet discovers the truth that the world moves on without him.
*Pathetic fallacy:The tendency to attribute human characteristics to nature, inanimate objects, or animals, but not quite as formally giving the thing a human identity as in personification. Also called the emotional fallacy.
http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1440845
By
Philippe Horak
Anita Desai's short stories reflect the kaleidoscope of modern Indian life. They are set in contemporary Bombay and other cities and they evoke the colours, sounds, smells and white-hot heat of Indian cities. The stories are peopled with intensely individual characters: there is a painter living in a slum who fills his paintings with landscapes, birds and flowers he has never seen. There is an American woman who turns to the hippies in the Indian hills because she is unhappy with her life in the verdant countryside of Vermont. There is a man spiritually transformed by the surface texture of a melon. And many more. It is a finely written, atmospheric, memorable collection of short stories. As always with Anita Desai, her work is warm, perceptive, both funny and touched with sadness.
http://www.amazon.com/review/R1CVZD6KRF4VMG/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R1CVZD6KRF4VMG
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/cgibin/splitwindow.cgi?top=http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/top2.html&link=http://www.gameskidsplay.net/frame_alphabetical_listing.htm games
Making Meanings Games at Twilight First Thoughts
1. How much empathy for Ravi did you feel at the end of the story? Did his experience remind you of any of your childhood experiences? Shaping Interpretations
2. What specific words and images in this story are most vivid to you? If you had to draw one picture to illustrate the story, what would you draw?
3. Which images suggest loss and death to you? How do these images make you feel?
4. Why is everyone so surprised to see Ravi when he finally comes out of his hiding place?
5. What kind of game are the children playing at twilight?
6. What has Ravi discovered by the end of the story? Find a passage of the text that supports your answer.
7. How would you state the theme of this story—what revelation about human life does it make to you? As you think about the theme, think also about how the story’s title reinforces its theme. (Think of the layers of meanings you can give to the word games.)
8. How do Ravi’s experiences in the shed contribute to the mood of the story? Extending the Text
9. Are the children in this story (and childhood itself) more realistically portrayed than the children in television situation comedies, or less so? Give examples to support your view.
----
At a glance:
· Author: Anita Desai
· First Published: 1978
· Type of Plot: Psychological
· Time of Work: The 1970's
· Setting: A large city in India
· Principal Characters: Ravi, Raghu
· Genres: Short fiction
· Subjects: 1970’s, Children, Twentieth century, Alienation, Jealousy, envy, or resentment, Asia or Asians, Brothers, Reality, Fantasy, India or East Indian people, Boys, Games, Summer, Heat
The Story
This title story in Anita Desai's acclaimed collection Games at Twilight, and Other Stories (1978) deals with a universal theme of children at play and their fantasies and disillusionment. Desai begins the story objectively from the third-person vantage, but as the action progresses and the tension mounts, she skillfully shifts the narrative focus to the consciousness of the central character, Ravi. The story is remarkable for its insights into child psychology, powerful evocation of atmosphere, vivid imagery, and symbolic use of setting.
'Games at Twilight' is a book of short stories by Anita Desai (an Indian writer who is well respected in Western literary circles - not quite of Salman Rushdie's calibre though): 'Games at Twilight' is also the name of one of the stories within it: if you haven't read the story, then a lot of the discussion below won't be of much use to you. If you have, however, then there are some interesting ideas.
'Games at Twilight' is, as I see it, a story of contrasting emotions, with the protagonist Ravi, entering a phase in his growth that involves learning through experience, and the realisation of some bleak facts of life.
Desai opens the story with imagery that mirrors the contrasting sentiments. Elements of *pathetic fallacy are used, with the humid, hot climate reflecting the simultaneous captivity and latency of the children. We are told, 'Their faces were red and bloated with the effort, but their mother would not open the door ... their lungs were stuffed with cotton wool.' Immediately we realise their actions are controlled, and they have very little freedom at this stage. Through the dulled metallic colours Anita Desai uses, the enforced captivity does not appear as malign as it normally would, since there are always underlying images of energy and growth: 'the birds still drooped, like dead fruit ... a band of parrots suddenly fell out of the eucalyptus tree, tumbled frantically in the still, sizzling air.'
The images of stasis are broken by the streak of colours, and this mirrors the moment afterwards, as the children are released; yet the morbid imagery – 'The outdoor dog lay stretched as if dead ... some squirrels lay limp.' – runs throughout the story, perhaps as a pre-echo to Ravi's metaphorical death at the end. This adds a distinctly malign streak in the story. Furthermore, as Ravi enters the garage we are told, 'It had a muffled smell, as of graves,' and, 'Except for the white-hot cracks along the floor, there was no light.' The reference to the cracks appears to be a reference to hell, and the continuing morbid imagers leads me to believe that the garage functions as a memento mori; the death occurring metaphorically, of course. In addition to this, Desai uses the game of hide-and-seek to compare the children to predatory animals hunting for prey that raises a sinister aspect to these games. She's almost tring to signify that all childhood games have an underlying motive, and represent a part of human instinct. In the case of hide-and-seek, the game reveals humans' natural desire for survival.
All this contrasts sharply with the transformation of the garden into an idyllic scene, with the use of Edenic imagery: 'It would be evening soon ... water would fall lavishly through the air to the ground, soaking the dry yellow grass and the red gravel and arousing the sweet, intoxicating scent of water on dry earth.' This imagery also has a nostalgic tint to it, and perhaps this is designed to show the manner in which many look at heir own childhood; regardless of low-points, it seems like a peaceful, enjoyable time, when one is free from responsibilities. However, we see the same situation from the children's point of view, and they see the very opposite, feeling cooped up and trapped. However, even while this scene is being describes, we are told, 'Ravi wondered if it would not be better to be captured by Raghu and be returned to the milling crowd as long as he could be in the sun, the light ... and the familiarity of his brothers, sisters and cousins.' - he's always drawn back. It's like Freud's death-drive and life-drive - always torn to the opposite side.
Here is where the emotional conflict begins in earnest, with Ravi questioning the value of exerting his own identity, something he later decides outweighs being part of a group. He willingly undergoes the isolation in expectation of lone victory, and the suffering he takes illustrates the degree to which humans will suffer in return for glory. However, the imagery turns far bleaker as the evening progresses. 'It grew darker in the shed,' we are told, 'as the light grew softer.' Desai again using pathetic fallacy shows us this as the moment when the truth begins to set in for Ravi, and I find the situation very bleak; the underlying malign streak in the story finally rises, and ironically Ravi has indeed singled himself out, yet discovers the truth that the world moves on without him.
*Pathetic fallacy:The tendency to attribute human characteristics to nature, inanimate objects, or animals, but not quite as formally giving the thing a human identity as in personification. Also called the emotional fallacy.
http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1440845
By
Philippe Horak
Anita Desai's short stories reflect the kaleidoscope of modern Indian life. They are set in contemporary Bombay and other cities and they evoke the colours, sounds, smells and white-hot heat of Indian cities. The stories are peopled with intensely individual characters: there is a painter living in a slum who fills his paintings with landscapes, birds and flowers he has never seen. There is an American woman who turns to the hippies in the Indian hills because she is unhappy with her life in the verdant countryside of Vermont. There is a man spiritually transformed by the surface texture of a melon. And many more. It is a finely written, atmospheric, memorable collection of short stories. As always with Anita Desai, her work is warm, perceptive, both funny and touched with sadness.
http://www.amazon.com/review/R1CVZD6KRF4VMG/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R1CVZD6KRF4VMG
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/cgibin/splitwindow.cgi?top=http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/top2.html&link=http://www.gameskidsplay.net/frame_alphabetical_listing.htm games
Making Meanings Games at Twilight First Thoughts
1. How much empathy for Ravi did you feel at the end of the story? Did his experience remind you of any of your childhood experiences? Shaping Interpretations
2. What specific words and images in this story are most vivid to you? If you had to draw one picture to illustrate the story, what would you draw?
3. Which images suggest loss and death to you? How do these images make you feel?
4. Why is everyone so surprised to see Ravi when he finally comes out of his hiding place?
5. What kind of game are the children playing at twilight?
6. What has Ravi discovered by the end of the story? Find a passage of the text that supports your answer.
7. How would you state the theme of this story—what revelation about human life does it make to you? As you think about the theme, think also about how the story’s title reinforces its theme. (Think of the layers of meanings you can give to the word games.)
8. How do Ravi’s experiences in the shed contribute to the mood of the story? Extending the Text
9. Are the children in this story (and childhood itself) more realistically portrayed than the children in television situation comedies, or less so? Give examples to support your view.
----
Mocks
CHARLOTTE KEATLEY: My Mother Said I Never Should
EITHER *7 Re-read the beginning of Scene 2 from ‘Cheadle Hulme, Christmas 1940 ’ (p. 8 Methuen) to ‘Doris: We’ll have less passion and more perseverance, please.’ (p. 10) In what ways does Keatley vividly convey the reactions of mother and daughter in this extract?
OR 8 In what ways does Keatley strikingly convey the influence of Jack Bradley and Ken Metcalfe even though they are not seen in the play? Support your ideas with details from the play.
OR 9 You are Rosie after having discovered who your natural mother is. Write your thoughts.
ARTHUR MILLER: The Crucible
EITHER *10 Re-read in Act 3 from ‘Giles: Say nothin’ more, John.’ (p. 79 Heinemann) to ‘Presently Danforth lifts his eyes, stands up, takes out a kerchief and blows his nose. The others stand aside as he moves in thought toward the window.’ (p. 81)
To what extent do you think Miller suggests in this extract that justice and common sense may now return to Salem?
OR 11 In your opinion, how does Miller make John Proctor such a vividly dramatic character? Support your ideas with details from the play.
OR 12 You are Hale at the end of the play. Write your thoughts.
ARTHUR MILLER: The Crucible
EITHER *7 Re-read in Act 2 from ‘Proctor (wide-eyed): Oh, it is a black mischief.’ (p. 44 Heinemann) to ‘Proctor (laughing bitterly): Oh, Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer!’ How does Miller make you sympathise here with these two unhappily married people? Support your ideas with details from the writing.
OR 8 How does Miller make vivid the triumph of superstition over reason and common sense in Salem? Support your ideas with details from the play.
OR 9 You are Abigail as you make your escape from Salem. Write your thoughts.
ARTHUR MILLER: The Crucible
Either * 7 Re-read in Act 3 from ‘Abigail (in an open threat ): Let you beware, Mr Danforth …’ (p. 87 Heinemann) to ‘Danforth … : Mr Cheever, report this testimony in all exactness. Are you ready?’ (p. 90)
How does Miller make this such a powerfully dramatic moment in the play? Support your ideas with details from the writing.
Or 8 Elizabeth Proctor is clearly a good woman, but how far do you think Miller wishes us to sympathise with her? Support your ideas with details from the dialogue and action of the play.
Or 9 You are Reverend Parris. Betty has come round from her trance, the girls have accused some citizens of witchcraft, and the marshal has been sent for. Write your thoughts.
Songs of Ourselves: from Part 3
EITHER *19 Re-read Caged Bird (by Maya Angelou).
How do the words of this poem express suffering and oppression so powerfully?
OR 20 What do you find moving about the ways in which the poets in Muliebrity (by Sujata
Bhatt) and She dwelt among the untrodden ways (by William Wordsworth) portray the
two women?
OR 21 Explore moments in two of the following poems in which the poets manage to surprise the reader with the unexpected. Support your ideas with details from the poems.
Plenty (by Isobel Dixon)
Storyteller (by Liz Lochhead)
Mid-Term Break (by Seamus Heaney)
Songs of Ourselves: from Section 3
Either * 19 Re-read Rising Five (by Norman Nicholson).
Explore how Nicholson vividly portrays in this poem the way we live our lives and the way time passes quickly.
Or 20 Explore the ways in which the poet makes memories of family life come vividly alive in either Mid-Term Break (by Seamus Heaney) or Plenty (by Isobel Dixon).
Or 21 Explore some of the ways in which poets use simple language in a powerful way in two of the following poems:
Spectator Ab Extra (by Arthur Clough)
Monologue (by Hone Tuwhare)
She dwelt among the untrodden ways (by William Wordsworth).
Songs of Ourselves: Section 3
EITHER *19 Re-read Farmhand (by James K. Baxter).
How do you think the poet’s words make this man such a moving figure?
OR 20 Explore the ways in which the poet vividly conveys a child’s experiences in either Rising Five (by Norman Nicholson) or Little Boy Crying (by Mervyn Morris).
OR 21 Explore some of the descriptions which you find particularly effective in Carpet Weavers,
Morocco (by Carol Rumens) and Muliebrity (by Sujata Bhatt).
CHINUA ACHEBE: Things Fall Apart
EITHER *25 Re-read the opening of Chapter 22 from ‘Mr Brown’s successor was the Reverend James Smith,’ (p. 150 Picador) to ‘It was Enoch who touched off the great conflict between church and clan in Umuofia which had been gathering since Mr. Brown left.’ (p. 151)
What does Achebe’s writing here make you feel about the Reverend Smith, his beliefs
and their likely result? Support your ideas with details from the extract.
OR 26 Choose one episode where Achebe causes you to feel sympathy with Okonkwo and one where he makes you dislike him. Justify your choice by referring in detail to the way Achebe presents the character in each episode.
OR 27 You are Obierika after Okonkwo has killed the court messenger. You are waiting for the inevitable arrival of the District Commissioner and soldiers. Write your thoughts.
CHINUA ACHEBE: Things Fall Apart
Either * 25 Re-read the opening of Chapter 4 from ‘ “Looking at a king’s mouth”, said an old man’ to ‘To show affection was a sign of weakness;’ (pp. 34–35 Faber).
What do you find most significant about Achebe’s description of Okonkwo’s actions and
thoughts in this passage? Support your answer with details from the writing.
Or 26 The coming of the Christian missionaries was one of the things which caused the old way of life to ‘fall apart’. Do you think Achebe presents their coming as a good or a bad thing? Support your ideas with details from the novel.
Or 27 You are Ekwefi the day after Okonkwo’s medicine has brought about your daughter Ezinma’s recovery from illness. Write your thoughts.
CHINUA ACHEBE: Things Fall Apart
EITHER *25 Re-read to the end of chapter 13, from ‘It was a great funeral, such as befitted a noble warrior’ to ‘As the elders said, if one finger brought oil it soiled the others.’ (p. 104 Faber).
Explore how in this passage Achebe strikingly portrays the power which the spirit world
has over the lives of the Ibo people.
OR 26 What does Achebe make you feel about the customs of family life in the clan? Support your ideas with details from the novel.
OR 27 You are Okonkwo, the night after Ikemefuna has been killed. Write your thoughts.
ANITA DESAI : Games at Twilight
EITHER *34 Re-read in The Accompanist from ‘Then Bhola leaned towards me.’ (p. 66 Vintage) to ‘I talked to myself.’ (p. 67)
How does Desai vividly convey how dreadful this moment is in the life of the
accompanist?
OR 35 Explore how Desai vividly portrays a child’s disappointment in either Games at Twilight
or Pineapple Cake. Support your ideas with details from your chosen story.
OR 36 You are Rakesh after your father has refused your medicine at the end of A Devoted Son. Write your thoughts.
WILLIAM GOLDING: Lord of the Flies
EITHER *37 Re-read in Painted Faces and Long Hair from ‘The fire was dead. They saw that straight away’ (Faber, p. 85) to ‘ “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.” ’ (p. 86)
Explore the ways in which Golding’s writing makes this a particularly powerful moment in the novel.
OR 38 Which character do you find the more frightening, Jack or Roger? Support your view by close reference to Golding’s writing.
OR 39 You are Simon on your way up the mountain just after the meeting when Ralph claims that he and Jack have seen the beast. Write your thoughts.
WILLIAM GOLDING: Lord of the Flies
Either * 37 Re-read in Chapter 9 (Faber pp. 180–181) ‘Presently the creepers festooned the trees less frequently …’ to ‘Even with great care the best he could do was a stagger.’ How does Golding make this a particularly powerful and significant moment in the novel?
Or 38 What are the most vivid impressions of the island itself that Golding creates for you?
Support your answer with details from the novel.
Or 39 You are Ralph. You are hiding from Jack and the others after Piggy’s death. Write your thoughts.
WILLIAM GOLDING: Lord of the Flies
EITHER *37 Re-read the ending of the novel from ‘The officer grinned cheerfully at Ralph’ to the end, ‘He turned away to give them time to pull themselves together; and waited, allowing his eyes to rest on the trim cruiser in the distance.’
What, for you, makes this a powerful ending to the novel?
OR 38 Explore in detail how Golding makes the violence and brutality that the boys are capable of particularly frightening in any one incident in the novel.
OR 39 You are Jack. You have just heard the littluns describing the ‘twisty things in the trees’ and talking about their fears of the beast. Write your thoughts.
HARPER LEE: To Kill a Mockingbird
EITHER *43 Re-read in Chapter 23 from ‘According to Miss Stephanie Crawford, however, Atticus was leaving the post office when Mr Ewell approached him …’ (p. 221 Pan) to ‘After that, we were not afraid.’ (p. 223)
Explore how Lee vividly portrays the behaviour of Bob Ewell and Atticus in this extract.
OR 44 In what ways do you think Scout develops and matures in the course of this novel?
Support your ideas with details from Lee’s writing.
OR 45 You are Reverend Sykes just after the trial, thinking about what has taken place in the courtroom. Write your thoughts.
HARPER LEE: To Kill a Mockingbird
Either * 43 Re-read from ‘ “Robinson, you’re pretty good at busting up ...” ’ (Chapter 19, p. 214 Vintage) to ‘ “... just like I am now.” ’ (p. 215) Explore how Lee’s writing here vividly conveys to you the drama in the courtroom.
Or 44 What does Lee make you feel about Robert Ewell? Refer to details in the novel in your answer.
Or 45 You are Dill, having just returned home after the first summer in Maycomb, thinking about your childhood games and adventures with Scout and Jem. Write your thoughts.
HARPER LEE: To Kill a Mockingbird
EITHER *43 Re-read in chapter 5 (p. 48 Vintage Classics) from ‘Miss Maudie settled her bridgework.’ to ‘… you can look down the street and see the results.’ (p. 49)
What does Lee make you think about Miss Maudie in this extract?
OR 44 Explore the relationship between Calpurnia and the two children, showing why Atticus has such confidence in her. Refer to details in the novel in your answer.
OR 45 You are Atticus, on your way to the opening day of the trial of Tom Robinson. Write your thoughts.
BARRIE WADE, ed. Into the Wind: Contemporary Stories in English
EITHER *46 Re-read in Flight from ‘ “Waiting for Steven, hey?” he said’ (p. 161 Nelson) to ‘His daughter rose swiftly, brought him a cup, set him a plate.’ (p. 162)
Explore how Lessing in this passage vividly portrays the different characters and their
relationships with one another.
OR 47 Choose two moments, each from a different short story, where you are amused by a character’s misunderstanding of a situation, and show how the writing makes you amused.
OR 48 You are a Man Called Horse at the end of the story. You are on your way home to Boston. Write your thoughts.
BARRIE WADE, ed. Into the Wind: Contemporary Stories in English
EITHER *46 Re-read in The Hitch-hiker from ‘Like an executioner approaching his victim, the policeman came strolling slowly towards us.’ (p. 145 Nelson) to ‘Then he kicked the starter and roared off up the road out of sight.’ (p. 147)
Explore Dahl’s portrayal of the policeman in this passage.
OR 47 Explore how the writers create a vivid setting for two short stories from the collection.
OR 48 You are the mostly silent victim in The Lemon Orchard. Write your thoughts as the store progresses.
BARRIE WADE (ed.): Into the Wind: Contemporary Stories in English
Either * 46 Re-read in Feet (by Jan Mark) from ‘And then everybody is there to watch …’ (p. 104 Nelson) to ‘I know I was wrong but he didn’t have to yell.’ (p. 105)
Explore the ways in which Mark vividly conveys Jane Turner’s feelings of humiliation andher growing resentment of Collier.
Or 47 The ability to surprise the reader with the unexpected is often the sign of a good short story writer. Explore in detail how either The Hitch-hiker (by Roald Dahl) or Dumb Martian (by John Wyndham) achieves this surprise.
Or 48 You are the father in My Oedipus Complex (by Frank O’Connor). You have smacked Larry that morning. Write your thoughts.
EITHER *7 Re-read the beginning of Scene 2 from ‘Cheadle Hulme, Christmas 1940 ’ (p. 8 Methuen) to ‘Doris: We’ll have less passion and more perseverance, please.’ (p. 10) In what ways does Keatley vividly convey the reactions of mother and daughter in this extract?
OR 8 In what ways does Keatley strikingly convey the influence of Jack Bradley and Ken Metcalfe even though they are not seen in the play? Support your ideas with details from the play.
OR 9 You are Rosie after having discovered who your natural mother is. Write your thoughts.
ARTHUR MILLER: The Crucible
EITHER *10 Re-read in Act 3 from ‘Giles: Say nothin’ more, John.’ (p. 79 Heinemann) to ‘Presently Danforth lifts his eyes, stands up, takes out a kerchief and blows his nose. The others stand aside as he moves in thought toward the window.’ (p. 81)
To what extent do you think Miller suggests in this extract that justice and common sense may now return to Salem?
OR 11 In your opinion, how does Miller make John Proctor such a vividly dramatic character? Support your ideas with details from the play.
OR 12 You are Hale at the end of the play. Write your thoughts.
ARTHUR MILLER: The Crucible
EITHER *7 Re-read in Act 2 from ‘Proctor (wide-eyed): Oh, it is a black mischief.’ (p. 44 Heinemann) to ‘Proctor (laughing bitterly): Oh, Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer!’ How does Miller make you sympathise here with these two unhappily married people? Support your ideas with details from the writing.
OR 8 How does Miller make vivid the triumph of superstition over reason and common sense in Salem? Support your ideas with details from the play.
OR 9 You are Abigail as you make your escape from Salem. Write your thoughts.
ARTHUR MILLER: The Crucible
Either * 7 Re-read in Act 3 from ‘Abigail (in an open threat ): Let you beware, Mr Danforth …’ (p. 87 Heinemann) to ‘Danforth … : Mr Cheever, report this testimony in all exactness. Are you ready?’ (p. 90)
How does Miller make this such a powerfully dramatic moment in the play? Support your ideas with details from the writing.
Or 8 Elizabeth Proctor is clearly a good woman, but how far do you think Miller wishes us to sympathise with her? Support your ideas with details from the dialogue and action of the play.
Or 9 You are Reverend Parris. Betty has come round from her trance, the girls have accused some citizens of witchcraft, and the marshal has been sent for. Write your thoughts.
Songs of Ourselves: from Part 3
EITHER *19 Re-read Caged Bird (by Maya Angelou).
How do the words of this poem express suffering and oppression so powerfully?
OR 20 What do you find moving about the ways in which the poets in Muliebrity (by Sujata
Bhatt) and She dwelt among the untrodden ways (by William Wordsworth) portray the
two women?
OR 21 Explore moments in two of the following poems in which the poets manage to surprise the reader with the unexpected. Support your ideas with details from the poems.
Plenty (by Isobel Dixon)
Storyteller (by Liz Lochhead)
Mid-Term Break (by Seamus Heaney)
Songs of Ourselves: from Section 3
Either * 19 Re-read Rising Five (by Norman Nicholson).
Explore how Nicholson vividly portrays in this poem the way we live our lives and the way time passes quickly.
Or 20 Explore the ways in which the poet makes memories of family life come vividly alive in either Mid-Term Break (by Seamus Heaney) or Plenty (by Isobel Dixon).
Or 21 Explore some of the ways in which poets use simple language in a powerful way in two of the following poems:
Spectator Ab Extra (by Arthur Clough)
Monologue (by Hone Tuwhare)
She dwelt among the untrodden ways (by William Wordsworth).
Songs of Ourselves: Section 3
EITHER *19 Re-read Farmhand (by James K. Baxter).
How do you think the poet’s words make this man such a moving figure?
OR 20 Explore the ways in which the poet vividly conveys a child’s experiences in either Rising Five (by Norman Nicholson) or Little Boy Crying (by Mervyn Morris).
OR 21 Explore some of the descriptions which you find particularly effective in Carpet Weavers,
Morocco (by Carol Rumens) and Muliebrity (by Sujata Bhatt).
CHINUA ACHEBE: Things Fall Apart
EITHER *25 Re-read the opening of Chapter 22 from ‘Mr Brown’s successor was the Reverend James Smith,’ (p. 150 Picador) to ‘It was Enoch who touched off the great conflict between church and clan in Umuofia which had been gathering since Mr. Brown left.’ (p. 151)
What does Achebe’s writing here make you feel about the Reverend Smith, his beliefs
and their likely result? Support your ideas with details from the extract.
OR 26 Choose one episode where Achebe causes you to feel sympathy with Okonkwo and one where he makes you dislike him. Justify your choice by referring in detail to the way Achebe presents the character in each episode.
OR 27 You are Obierika after Okonkwo has killed the court messenger. You are waiting for the inevitable arrival of the District Commissioner and soldiers. Write your thoughts.
CHINUA ACHEBE: Things Fall Apart
Either * 25 Re-read the opening of Chapter 4 from ‘ “Looking at a king’s mouth”, said an old man’ to ‘To show affection was a sign of weakness;’ (pp. 34–35 Faber).
What do you find most significant about Achebe’s description of Okonkwo’s actions and
thoughts in this passage? Support your answer with details from the writing.
Or 26 The coming of the Christian missionaries was one of the things which caused the old way of life to ‘fall apart’. Do you think Achebe presents their coming as a good or a bad thing? Support your ideas with details from the novel.
Or 27 You are Ekwefi the day after Okonkwo’s medicine has brought about your daughter Ezinma’s recovery from illness. Write your thoughts.
CHINUA ACHEBE: Things Fall Apart
EITHER *25 Re-read to the end of chapter 13, from ‘It was a great funeral, such as befitted a noble warrior’ to ‘As the elders said, if one finger brought oil it soiled the others.’ (p. 104 Faber).
Explore how in this passage Achebe strikingly portrays the power which the spirit world
has over the lives of the Ibo people.
OR 26 What does Achebe make you feel about the customs of family life in the clan? Support your ideas with details from the novel.
OR 27 You are Okonkwo, the night after Ikemefuna has been killed. Write your thoughts.
ANITA DESAI : Games at Twilight
EITHER *34 Re-read in The Accompanist from ‘Then Bhola leaned towards me.’ (p. 66 Vintage) to ‘I talked to myself.’ (p. 67)
How does Desai vividly convey how dreadful this moment is in the life of the
accompanist?
OR 35 Explore how Desai vividly portrays a child’s disappointment in either Games at Twilight
or Pineapple Cake. Support your ideas with details from your chosen story.
OR 36 You are Rakesh after your father has refused your medicine at the end of A Devoted Son. Write your thoughts.
WILLIAM GOLDING: Lord of the Flies
EITHER *37 Re-read in Painted Faces and Long Hair from ‘The fire was dead. They saw that straight away’ (Faber, p. 85) to ‘ “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.” ’ (p. 86)
Explore the ways in which Golding’s writing makes this a particularly powerful moment in the novel.
OR 38 Which character do you find the more frightening, Jack or Roger? Support your view by close reference to Golding’s writing.
OR 39 You are Simon on your way up the mountain just after the meeting when Ralph claims that he and Jack have seen the beast. Write your thoughts.
WILLIAM GOLDING: Lord of the Flies
Either * 37 Re-read in Chapter 9 (Faber pp. 180–181) ‘Presently the creepers festooned the trees less frequently …’ to ‘Even with great care the best he could do was a stagger.’ How does Golding make this a particularly powerful and significant moment in the novel?
Or 38 What are the most vivid impressions of the island itself that Golding creates for you?
Support your answer with details from the novel.
Or 39 You are Ralph. You are hiding from Jack and the others after Piggy’s death. Write your thoughts.
WILLIAM GOLDING: Lord of the Flies
EITHER *37 Re-read the ending of the novel from ‘The officer grinned cheerfully at Ralph’ to the end, ‘He turned away to give them time to pull themselves together; and waited, allowing his eyes to rest on the trim cruiser in the distance.’
What, for you, makes this a powerful ending to the novel?
OR 38 Explore in detail how Golding makes the violence and brutality that the boys are capable of particularly frightening in any one incident in the novel.
OR 39 You are Jack. You have just heard the littluns describing the ‘twisty things in the trees’ and talking about their fears of the beast. Write your thoughts.
HARPER LEE: To Kill a Mockingbird
EITHER *43 Re-read in Chapter 23 from ‘According to Miss Stephanie Crawford, however, Atticus was leaving the post office when Mr Ewell approached him …’ (p. 221 Pan) to ‘After that, we were not afraid.’ (p. 223)
Explore how Lee vividly portrays the behaviour of Bob Ewell and Atticus in this extract.
OR 44 In what ways do you think Scout develops and matures in the course of this novel?
Support your ideas with details from Lee’s writing.
OR 45 You are Reverend Sykes just after the trial, thinking about what has taken place in the courtroom. Write your thoughts.
HARPER LEE: To Kill a Mockingbird
Either * 43 Re-read from ‘ “Robinson, you’re pretty good at busting up ...” ’ (Chapter 19, p. 214 Vintage) to ‘ “... just like I am now.” ’ (p. 215) Explore how Lee’s writing here vividly conveys to you the drama in the courtroom.
Or 44 What does Lee make you feel about Robert Ewell? Refer to details in the novel in your answer.
Or 45 You are Dill, having just returned home after the first summer in Maycomb, thinking about your childhood games and adventures with Scout and Jem. Write your thoughts.
HARPER LEE: To Kill a Mockingbird
EITHER *43 Re-read in chapter 5 (p. 48 Vintage Classics) from ‘Miss Maudie settled her bridgework.’ to ‘… you can look down the street and see the results.’ (p. 49)
What does Lee make you think about Miss Maudie in this extract?
OR 44 Explore the relationship between Calpurnia and the two children, showing why Atticus has such confidence in her. Refer to details in the novel in your answer.
OR 45 You are Atticus, on your way to the opening day of the trial of Tom Robinson. Write your thoughts.
BARRIE WADE, ed. Into the Wind: Contemporary Stories in English
EITHER *46 Re-read in Flight from ‘ “Waiting for Steven, hey?” he said’ (p. 161 Nelson) to ‘His daughter rose swiftly, brought him a cup, set him a plate.’ (p. 162)
Explore how Lessing in this passage vividly portrays the different characters and their
relationships with one another.
OR 47 Choose two moments, each from a different short story, where you are amused by a character’s misunderstanding of a situation, and show how the writing makes you amused.
OR 48 You are a Man Called Horse at the end of the story. You are on your way home to Boston. Write your thoughts.
BARRIE WADE, ed. Into the Wind: Contemporary Stories in English
EITHER *46 Re-read in The Hitch-hiker from ‘Like an executioner approaching his victim, the policeman came strolling slowly towards us.’ (p. 145 Nelson) to ‘Then he kicked the starter and roared off up the road out of sight.’ (p. 147)
Explore Dahl’s portrayal of the policeman in this passage.
OR 47 Explore how the writers create a vivid setting for two short stories from the collection.
OR 48 You are the mostly silent victim in The Lemon Orchard. Write your thoughts as the store progresses.
BARRIE WADE (ed.): Into the Wind: Contemporary Stories in English
Either * 46 Re-read in Feet (by Jan Mark) from ‘And then everybody is there to watch …’ (p. 104 Nelson) to ‘I know I was wrong but he didn’t have to yell.’ (p. 105)
Explore the ways in which Mark vividly conveys Jane Turner’s feelings of humiliation andher growing resentment of Collier.
Or 47 The ability to surprise the reader with the unexpected is often the sign of a good short story writer. Explore in detail how either The Hitch-hiker (by Roald Dahl) or Dumb Martian (by John Wyndham) achieves this surprise.
Or 48 You are the father in My Oedipus Complex (by Frank O’Connor). You have smacked Larry that morning. Write your thoughts.
IGCSE Literature - Syllabus
HARPER LEE: To Kill a Mockingbird
WILLIAM GOLDING: Lord of the Flies
CHINUA ACHEBE: Things Fall Apart
BARRIE WADE, ed. Into the Wind: Contemporary Stories in English
ANITA DESAI : Games at Twilight
Songs of Ourselves: from Part 3
CHARLOTTE KEATLEY: My Mother Said I Never Should
ARTHUR MILLER: The Crucible
WILLIAM GOLDING: Lord of the Flies
CHINUA ACHEBE: Things Fall Apart
BARRIE WADE, ed. Into the Wind: Contemporary Stories in English
ANITA DESAI : Games at Twilight
Songs of Ourselves: from Part 3
CHARLOTTE KEATLEY: My Mother Said I Never Should
ARTHUR MILLER: The Crucible
Pigeons at Daybreak
Explore the ways in which Anita Desai manages to write a beautiful and humorous story from an experience of sickness and lack of communication. Support your ideas with details from Desai´s writing.
Consider the following.
1) Descriptions of Mr Basu and his wife Otima.
2) Their ways of communication or lack of communication.
3) Social background
4) Use of dialogue.
5) Short and precise descriptions.
Consider the following.
1) Descriptions of Mr Basu and his wife Otima.
2) Their ways of communication or lack of communication.
3) Social background
4) Use of dialogue.
5) Short and precise descriptions.
Chonogramme October
IGCSE Literature - 2009
September 25th Pigeons at Daybreak
October 2nd The Accompanist
October 9th The Devoted Son
October 16th Mocks
October 23rd Mocks
October 30th Paper 1
November 6th Mocks
November 9th Paper 3
September 25th Pigeons at Daybreak
October 2nd The Accompanist
October 9th The Devoted Son
October 16th Mocks
October 23rd Mocks
October 30th Paper 1
November 6th Mocks
November 9th Paper 3
20 ago 2009
Putting all Together
Main Aim: To respond to Lord of the Flies through a variety of written and creative tasks that reveal your knowledge of the novel, your analysis of literary devices and your deep understanding of its themes.
Deadline: September 4th
Grade10
Two short papers (250 words) and one long paper (500 words).
Five steps of writing process: pre-writing using graphic organizers, writing of rough copy, proof-reading, revising and publishing (in computer).
Maximum of 5 % language mistakes. Appropriate, rich vocabulary.
Evident unity, coherence and originality.( Introduction, body and conclusion)
Clear evidence of research done (Quote your sources!). Ideas clearly supported by examples and quotations.
One creative activity.
Grade 7
One short paper (250 words) and one long paper (500 words).
Five steps of writing process: pre-writing using graphic organizers, writing of rough copy, proof-reading, revising and publishing (in computer).
Maximum of 15 % language mistakes. Appropriate vocabulary.
Evident unity and coherence (Introduction, body and conclusion)
Clear evidence of research done. (Quote your sources). Ideas clearly supported by examples and quotations.
One creative activity.
Topics
1) What does it mean to say that Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel? What are its important symbols?
2) Compare and contrast Ralph and Simon. Both seem to be “good” characters. Is there a difference in their goodness?
3) Of all the characters, it is Piggy who most often has useful ideas and sees the correct way for the boys to organize themselves. Yet the other boys rarely listen to him and frequently abuse him. Why do you think this is the case? In what ways does Golding use Piggy to advance the novel’s themes?
4) The sow’s head and the conch shell each wield a certain kind of power over the boys. In what ways do these objects’ powers differ? In what way is Lord of the Flies a novel about power? About the power of symbols? About the power of a person to use symbols to control a group?
5) How does Jack use the beast to control the other boys?
6) The characters’ loss of identity is a predominant theme of the book. Discuss each of the main characters’ loss of identity as the book progresses, and how this brings about the devastation that occurs in the book.
7) Contrast and compare Ralph, the builder to Jack, the hunter. Which of the two do you believe is the most appropriate leader for the boys? Make sure that you support your ideas with detail from the book.
Creative Activities
1) Analyze the lyrics of the song “Lord of the Flies” by Iron Maiden and relate it to the novel.
2) Choose one of the symbolic elements in the novel, draw it and explain its symbolism.
3) Select five key scenes and record the appropriate musical background for each.
4) Write down a set of rules for the boys to maintain social order on the island.
Deadline: September 4th
Grade10
Two short papers (250 words) and one long paper (500 words).
Five steps of writing process: pre-writing using graphic organizers, writing of rough copy, proof-reading, revising and publishing (in computer).
Maximum of 5 % language mistakes. Appropriate, rich vocabulary.
Evident unity, coherence and originality.( Introduction, body and conclusion)
Clear evidence of research done (Quote your sources!). Ideas clearly supported by examples and quotations.
One creative activity.
Grade 7
One short paper (250 words) and one long paper (500 words).
Five steps of writing process: pre-writing using graphic organizers, writing of rough copy, proof-reading, revising and publishing (in computer).
Maximum of 15 % language mistakes. Appropriate vocabulary.
Evident unity and coherence (Introduction, body and conclusion)
Clear evidence of research done. (Quote your sources). Ideas clearly supported by examples and quotations.
One creative activity.
Topics
1) What does it mean to say that Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel? What are its important symbols?
2) Compare and contrast Ralph and Simon. Both seem to be “good” characters. Is there a difference in their goodness?
3) Of all the characters, it is Piggy who most often has useful ideas and sees the correct way for the boys to organize themselves. Yet the other boys rarely listen to him and frequently abuse him. Why do you think this is the case? In what ways does Golding use Piggy to advance the novel’s themes?
4) The sow’s head and the conch shell each wield a certain kind of power over the boys. In what ways do these objects’ powers differ? In what way is Lord of the Flies a novel about power? About the power of symbols? About the power of a person to use symbols to control a group?
5) How does Jack use the beast to control the other boys?
6) The characters’ loss of identity is a predominant theme of the book. Discuss each of the main characters’ loss of identity as the book progresses, and how this brings about the devastation that occurs in the book.
7) Contrast and compare Ralph, the builder to Jack, the hunter. Which of the two do you believe is the most appropriate leader for the boys? Make sure that you support your ideas with detail from the book.
Creative Activities
1) Analyze the lyrics of the song “Lord of the Flies” by Iron Maiden and relate it to the novel.
2) Choose one of the symbolic elements in the novel, draw it and explain its symbolism.
3) Select five key scenes and record the appropriate musical background for each.
4) Write down a set of rules for the boys to maintain social order on the island.
Final Chronogramme
August 21st
Make sure you have read the whole novel very carefully.
Read the analyses in : http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/context.html
http://www.homework-online.com/lotf/index.html
http://www.gradesaver.com/lord-of-the-flies/study-guide/major-themes/
Play the game in: http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/literature/golding/lof.html
Study the map in: http://www.homework-online.com/lotf/setting.html
August 28th
General revision
September 4th
Term test
Portfolio: past homework with corrections + Essays
Make sure you have read the whole novel very carefully.
Read the analyses in : http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/context.html
http://www.homework-online.com/lotf/index.html
http://www.gradesaver.com/lord-of-the-flies/study-guide/major-themes/
Play the game in: http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/literature/golding/lof.html
Study the map in: http://www.homework-online.com/lotf/setting.html
August 28th
General revision
September 4th
Term test
Portfolio: past homework with corrections + Essays
Final Chronogramme
August 20th
Make sure you have read the whole novel very carefully.
Read the analyses in : http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/context.html
http://www.homework-online.com/lotf/index.html
http://www.gradesaver.com/lord-of-the-flies/study-guide/major-themes/
Play the game in: http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/literature/golding/lof.html
Study the map in: http://www.homework-online.com/lotf/setting.html
August 28th
General revision
September 4th
Term test
Portfolio: past homework with corrections + Essays
Make sure you have read the whole novel very carefully.
Read the analyses in : http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/context.html
http://www.homework-online.com/lotf/index.html
http://www.gradesaver.com/lord-of-the-flies/study-guide/major-themes/
Play the game in: http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/literature/golding/lof.html
Study the map in: http://www.homework-online.com/lotf/setting.html
August 28th
General revision
September 4th
Term test
Portfolio: past homework with corrections + Essays
17 jul 2009
Written Test - August 7th
You are going to be tested on chapters 1 to 8 on August 7th. Make sure you have read each chapter carefully. Summaries and analysis may be useful but they do not replace your reading.
For that date, you should print all the work that was required on these chapters with corrections and hand them in in a plastic folio with a front page with your personal data.
Happy Holidays! See you all in August!
For that date, you should print all the work that was required on these chapters with corrections and hand them in in a plastic folio with a front page with your personal data.
Happy Holidays! See you all in August!
Chapter 8
Deadline August 7th
Read this important chapter very carefully.
Study the analysis in the following link http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/section8.rhtml
Read this important chapter very carefully.
Study the analysis in the following link http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/section8.rhtml
13 jul 2009
Chapter 7
Deadline July 16th
Answer
In this chapter Ralph for the first time enters the world of the hunter. This, and their common danger, ought to bring him closer to Jack. Instead their antagonism becomes more and more open Why? Why does Jack hates Ralph? Illustrate your answers with well-chosen quotations.
Answer
In this chapter Ralph for the first time enters the world of the hunter. This, and their common danger, ought to bring him closer to Jack. Instead their antagonism becomes more and more open Why? Why does Jack hates Ralph? Illustrate your answers with well-chosen quotations.
Chapter 6
Deadline July 16th
Read and study
As the boys sleep, military airplanes battle fiercely above the island. None of the boys sees the explosions and flashes in the clouds because the twins Sam and Eric, who were supposed to watch the signal fire, have fallen asleep. During the battle, a parachutist drifts down from the sky onto the island, dead. His chute becomes tangled in some rocks and flaps in the wind, while his shape casts fearful shadows on the ground. His head seems to rise and fall as the wind blows.
Answer
Piggy and Ralph prayed for a “sign” from the grown-up world and have been given one. What sign do they receive? What does it mean?
As the boys sleep, military airplanes battle fiercely above the island. None of the boys sees the explosions and flashes in the clouds because the twins Sam and Eric, who were supposed to watch the signal fire, have fallen asleep. During the battle, a parachutist drifts down from the sky onto the island, dead. His chute becomes tangled in some rocks and flaps in the wind, while his shape casts fearful shadows on the ground. His head seems to rise and fall as the wind blows.
Answer
Piggy and Ralph prayed for a “sign” from the grown-up world and have been given one. What sign do they receive? What does it mean?
Chapter 5
Deadline July 16th
Read and Study!
The boys' fear of the beast becomes an increasingly important aspect of their lives, especially at night, from the moment the first littlun claims to have seen a snake-monster in Chapter 2. In this chapter, the fear of the beast finally explodes, ruining Ralph's attempt to restore order to the island and precipitating the final split between Ralph and Jack. At this point, it remains uncertain whether or not the beast actually exists. In any case, the beast serves as one of the most important symbols in the novel, representing both the terror and the allure of the primordial desires for violence, power, and savagery that lurk within every human soul. In keeping with the overall allegorical nature of Lord of the Flies, the beast can be interpreted in a number of different lights. In a religious reading, for instance, the beast recalls the devil; in a Freudian reading, it can represent the id, the instinctual urges and desires of the human unconscious mind. However we interpret the beast, the littlun's idea of the monster rising from the sea terrifies the boys because it represents the beast's emergence from their own unconscious minds. As Simon realizes later in the novel, the beast is not necessarily something that exists outside in the jungle. Rather, it already exists inside each boy's mind and soul, the capacity for savagery and evil that slowly overwhelms them.
As the idea of the beast increasingly fills the boys with dread, Jack and the hunters manipulate the boys' fear of the beast to their own advantage. Jack continues to hint that the beast exists when he knows that it probably does not—a manipulation that leaves the rest of the group fearful and more willing to cede power to Jack and his hunters, more willing to overlook barbarism on Jack's part for the sake of maintaining the “safety” of the group. In this way, the beast indirectly becomes one of Jack's primary sources of power. At the same time, Jack effectively enables the boys themselves to act as the beast—to express the instinct for savagery that civilization has previously held in check. Because that instinct is natural and present within each human being, Golding asserts that we are all capable of becoming the beast.
“Thinking, as Ralph realizes, really begins when one discovers that there is more than one way of looking at things, and has to find the truest way”
Answer:
1) What, exactly, are the attitudes of Ralph, Jack, Piggy and Simon to the “beast”?
2) What attitudes to life as a whole do they imply?
3) What does “mankind´s essential illness” mean to Simon?
The boys' fear of the beast becomes an increasingly important aspect of their lives, especially at night, from the moment the first littlun claims to have seen a snake-monster in Chapter 2. In this chapter, the fear of the beast finally explodes, ruining Ralph's attempt to restore order to the island and precipitating the final split between Ralph and Jack. At this point, it remains uncertain whether or not the beast actually exists. In any case, the beast serves as one of the most important symbols in the novel, representing both the terror and the allure of the primordial desires for violence, power, and savagery that lurk within every human soul. In keeping with the overall allegorical nature of Lord of the Flies, the beast can be interpreted in a number of different lights. In a religious reading, for instance, the beast recalls the devil; in a Freudian reading, it can represent the id, the instinctual urges and desires of the human unconscious mind. However we interpret the beast, the littlun's idea of the monster rising from the sea terrifies the boys because it represents the beast's emergence from their own unconscious minds. As Simon realizes later in the novel, the beast is not necessarily something that exists outside in the jungle. Rather, it already exists inside each boy's mind and soul, the capacity for savagery and evil that slowly overwhelms them.
As the idea of the beast increasingly fills the boys with dread, Jack and the hunters manipulate the boys' fear of the beast to their own advantage. Jack continues to hint that the beast exists when he knows that it probably does not—a manipulation that leaves the rest of the group fearful and more willing to cede power to Jack and his hunters, more willing to overlook barbarism on Jack's part for the sake of maintaining the “safety” of the group. In this way, the beast indirectly becomes one of Jack's primary sources of power. At the same time, Jack effectively enables the boys themselves to act as the beast—to express the instinct for savagery that civilization has previously held in check. Because that instinct is natural and present within each human being, Golding asserts that we are all capable of becoming the beast.
“Thinking, as Ralph realizes, really begins when one discovers that there is more than one way of looking at things, and has to find the truest way”
Answer:
1) What, exactly, are the attitudes of Ralph, Jack, Piggy and Simon to the “beast”?
2) What attitudes to life as a whole do they imply?
3) What does “mankind´s essential illness” mean to Simon?
7 jul 2009
Chapter 4 – Painted Faces and Long Hair
Chapter 4 – Painted Faces and Long Hair.
Deadline July 8th
Deadline July 8th
- By this chapter, the boys' community mirrors a political society, with the faceless and frightened littluns resembling the masses of common people and the various older boys filling positions of power and importance with regard to these underlings( littluns). In short, two conceptions of power emerge on the island, corresponding to the novel's philosophical poles—civilization and savagery.
Look for quotations that support the following statements ( at least three for each one):
1) Some of the older boys, including Ralph and especially Simon, are kind to the littluns.
2) Others, including Roger and Jack, are cruel to them.
3) Since the beginning, the boys have bullied the whiny, intellectual Piggy whenever they needed to feel powerful and important. Now, however, their harassment of Piggy intensifies.
4) Ralph and Jack´s failure to understand each other's points of view creates a gulf between them—one that widens as resentment and open hostility set in.
Chapter 3- Simon
Chapter 3 – Simon
Deadline July 8th
- Re-read the end of this chapter from “ Simon, whom they expectes to find there, was not in the bathing-pool......” till the end of the chapter.
- Study the following analysis to help you understand Simon´s role in the novel.
Simon, meanwhile, seems to exist outside the conflict between Ralph and Jack, between civilization and savagery. We see Simon's kind and generous nature through his actions in this chapter. He helps Ralph build the huts when the other boys would rather play, indicating his helpfulness, discipline, and dedication to the common good. Simon helps the littluns reach a high branch of fruit, indicating his kindness and sympathy—a sharp contrast to many of the older boys, who would rather torment the littluns than help them. When Simon sits alone in the jungle glade marveling at the beauty of nature, we see that he feels a basic connection with the natural world. On the whole, Simon seems to have a basic goodness and kindness that comes from within him and is tied to his connection with nature. All the other boys, meanwhile, seem to have inherited their ideas of goodness and morality from the external forces of civilization, so that the longer they are away from human society, the more their moral sense erodes. In this regard, Simon emerges as an important figure to contrast with Ralph and Jack. Where Ralph represents the orderly forces of civilization and Jack the primal, instinctual urges that react against such order, Simon represents a third quality—a kind of goodness that is natural or innate rather than taught by human society. In this way, Simon, who cannot be categorized with the other boys, complicates the symbolic structure of Lord of the Flies.
29 jun 2009
Useful Data
Useful Data
Film adaptations
There have been two film adaptations:
Lord of the Flies (1963), directed by Peter Brook
Lord of the Flies (1990), directed by Harry Hook
Audiobooks
Lord of the Flies (1999), read by Tim Pigott-Smith
Lord of the Flies (Listening Library, 2005), read by the author
References to other works
Lord of the Flies borrows key elements from R. M. Ballantyne's The Coral Island (1857). Ballantyne's book, a simple adventure without any deep social themes, portrays three boys, Ralph, Peterkin and Jack, who land on an island. Golding used two of the names in his book, and replaced Peterkin with Simon. Lord of the Flies has been regarded as Golding's response showing what he believed would happen if children (or generally, people) were left to form a society in isolation.[5]
Golding read 'The Coral Island' as he was growing up, and thought of Ballantyne as racist, since the book teaches that evil is associated with black skin and is external] In Chapter 11 of the original Lord of the Flies, Piggy calls Jack's tribe "a pack of painted niggers."[6] This was changed to "savages" in some editions and "Indians" in the mass media publication.
Influence
Many writers have borrowed plot elements from Lord of the Flies.
Printed works
Robert A. Heinlein's Tunnel in the Sky, published in 1955, can be seen as a rebuttal to Lord of the Flies as it concerns a group of teenagers stranded on an uninhabited planet who manage to create a functional tribal society.[7]
Stephen King has stated that the Castle Rock in Lord of the Flies was the inspiration for the town of the same name that has appeared in a number of his novels. The book itself also appears prominently in his novels Hearts in Atlantis and Cujo.[8] King's fictional town in turn inspired the name of Rob Reiner's production company, Castle Rock Entertainment.
The young adult novel Gone, by Michael Grant, is closely related, with all of the adults and teens above 14 disappearing, leaving the rest to fend for and attempt to govern themselves.
Television
Lord of the Flies inspired Sunrise Animation's classic anime series Infinite Ryvius, which follows the lives of nearly 500 teenagers stranded aboard a space battleship.
Also the "Das Bus" episode of The Simpsons is based on this book. The episode Kamp Krusty also has several elements from Lord of the Flies as well (a pig's head on a spear, kids using primitive weapons and wearing war paint and a burning effigy).
The ABC television show Lost has also shown loose similarities to the book.
The South Park episode The Wacky Molestation Adventure parodies Lord of the Flies, in which Eric Cartman represents Ralph, while Stan Marsh and Kyle Broflovski both represent Jack. In a twist of irony, the civilised tribe in the episode (Cartman's tribe) is more evil than the savage tribe. Kenny McCormick may have represented Simon, because he was seen dead by a couple trying to discover what went wrong.
In the Two and a Half Men episode "The Salmon Under My Sweater" in Two and a Half Men (Season 2), Jake has to read Lord of the Flies for a book report.
Music
The English heavy metal band Iron Maiden composed a song about the novel, with the title "Lord of the Flies".
The American hard rock band Aerosmith composed a song about a pimp and his stable of women, with the title "Lord of the Thighs" which was a take off and play on Lord of the Flies.
The debut studio album, Boy, by Irish rock band U2 was loosely based on the novel's theme of childhood corruption, and the final song on the album, "Shadows and Tall Trees," takes its title from the novel's chapter of the same name. Additionally, some printings of the book's cover are similar to the cover of the album.[9]
American punk rock band Bad Religion referenced the novel in the song "1000 More Fools", from their 1988 album Suffer: "I've seen the rapture in a starving baby's eyes, Inchoate beatitude, the Lord of the Flies".
American punk rock group The Offspring referenced the title of the book on their song "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" off their latest studio effort, Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
References
^ "The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1900–2000". American Library Association. 2007. http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.cfm. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
^ "The Complete List: TIME Magazine – ALL-TIME 100 Novels". TIME. 2005. http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
^ Fenlon, John Francis. (1907). "Beelzebub" - Catholic Encyclopedia. - Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company. - Retrieved: May 29, 2008
^ http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/themes.html
^ Johnson, Arnold (1980). Of Earth and Darkness. The Novels of William Golding. Missouri: University of Missouri Press. pp. 132.
^ Green Paint: Mysteries of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies « Great War Fiction
^ Wagner, Thomas M. (2006). "Robert A. Heinlein: Tunnel in the Sky". SF Reviews.net. http://www.sfreviews.net/tunnel_in_the_sky.html. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
^ "Stephen King (1947-)". Authors' Calendar. 2003. http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/sking.htm. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
^ Bailie, Stuart (1992-06-13). "Rock and Roll Should Be This Big!". NME. http://www.atu2.com/news/article.src?ID=1625. Retrieved on 2007-11-28.
External links
The Lord of the Flies: A Study Guide
Criterion Collection essay by Peter Brook
Slashdoc: Lord of the Flies Literary analysis of the novel
Nobelprize.org: Play the Lord of the Flies Game
Lord of the Flies characters and plot
Lord of the Flies Reviews
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Flies
Film adaptations
There have been two film adaptations:
Lord of the Flies (1963), directed by Peter Brook
Lord of the Flies (1990), directed by Harry Hook
Audiobooks
Lord of the Flies (1999), read by Tim Pigott-Smith
Lord of the Flies (Listening Library, 2005), read by the author
References to other works
Lord of the Flies borrows key elements from R. M. Ballantyne's The Coral Island (1857). Ballantyne's book, a simple adventure without any deep social themes, portrays three boys, Ralph, Peterkin and Jack, who land on an island. Golding used two of the names in his book, and replaced Peterkin with Simon. Lord of the Flies has been regarded as Golding's response showing what he believed would happen if children (or generally, people) were left to form a society in isolation.[5]
Golding read 'The Coral Island' as he was growing up, and thought of Ballantyne as racist, since the book teaches that evil is associated with black skin and is external] In Chapter 11 of the original Lord of the Flies, Piggy calls Jack's tribe "a pack of painted niggers."[6] This was changed to "savages" in some editions and "Indians" in the mass media publication.
Influence
Many writers have borrowed plot elements from Lord of the Flies.
Printed works
Robert A. Heinlein's Tunnel in the Sky, published in 1955, can be seen as a rebuttal to Lord of the Flies as it concerns a group of teenagers stranded on an uninhabited planet who manage to create a functional tribal society.[7]
Stephen King has stated that the Castle Rock in Lord of the Flies was the inspiration for the town of the same name that has appeared in a number of his novels. The book itself also appears prominently in his novels Hearts in Atlantis and Cujo.[8] King's fictional town in turn inspired the name of Rob Reiner's production company, Castle Rock Entertainment.
The young adult novel Gone, by Michael Grant, is closely related, with all of the adults and teens above 14 disappearing, leaving the rest to fend for and attempt to govern themselves.
Television
Lord of the Flies inspired Sunrise Animation's classic anime series Infinite Ryvius, which follows the lives of nearly 500 teenagers stranded aboard a space battleship.
Also the "Das Bus" episode of The Simpsons is based on this book. The episode Kamp Krusty also has several elements from Lord of the Flies as well (a pig's head on a spear, kids using primitive weapons and wearing war paint and a burning effigy).
The ABC television show Lost has also shown loose similarities to the book.
The South Park episode The Wacky Molestation Adventure parodies Lord of the Flies, in which Eric Cartman represents Ralph, while Stan Marsh and Kyle Broflovski both represent Jack. In a twist of irony, the civilised tribe in the episode (Cartman's tribe) is more evil than the savage tribe. Kenny McCormick may have represented Simon, because he was seen dead by a couple trying to discover what went wrong.
In the Two and a Half Men episode "The Salmon Under My Sweater" in Two and a Half Men (Season 2), Jake has to read Lord of the Flies for a book report.
Music
The English heavy metal band Iron Maiden composed a song about the novel, with the title "Lord of the Flies".
The American hard rock band Aerosmith composed a song about a pimp and his stable of women, with the title "Lord of the Thighs" which was a take off and play on Lord of the Flies.
The debut studio album, Boy, by Irish rock band U2 was loosely based on the novel's theme of childhood corruption, and the final song on the album, "Shadows and Tall Trees," takes its title from the novel's chapter of the same name. Additionally, some printings of the book's cover are similar to the cover of the album.[9]
American punk rock band Bad Religion referenced the novel in the song "1000 More Fools", from their 1988 album Suffer: "I've seen the rapture in a starving baby's eyes, Inchoate beatitude, the Lord of the Flies".
American punk rock group The Offspring referenced the title of the book on their song "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" off their latest studio effort, Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
References
^ "The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1900–2000". American Library Association. 2007. http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.cfm. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
^ "The Complete List: TIME Magazine – ALL-TIME 100 Novels". TIME. 2005. http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
^ Fenlon, John Francis. (1907). "Beelzebub" - Catholic Encyclopedia. - Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company. - Retrieved: May 29, 2008
^ http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/themes.html
^ Johnson, Arnold (1980). Of Earth and Darkness. The Novels of William Golding. Missouri: University of Missouri Press. pp. 132.
^ Green Paint: Mysteries of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies « Great War Fiction
^ Wagner, Thomas M. (2006). "Robert A. Heinlein: Tunnel in the Sky". SF Reviews.net. http://www.sfreviews.net/tunnel_in_the_sky.html. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
^ "Stephen King (1947-)". Authors' Calendar. 2003. http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/sking.htm. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
^ Bailie, Stuart (1992-06-13). "Rock and Roll Should Be This Big!". NME. http://www.atu2.com/news/article.src?ID=1625. Retrieved on 2007-11-28.
External links
The Lord of the Flies: A Study Guide
Criterion Collection essay by Peter Brook
Slashdoc: Lord of the Flies Literary analysis of the novel
Nobelprize.org: Play the Lord of the Flies Game
Lord of the Flies characters and plot
Lord of the Flies Reviews
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Flies
Chapters 2 & 3
Chapter 2
Deadline July 8th
Golding's portrayals of the main characters among the group of boys contributes to the allegorical quality of Lord of the Flies, as several of the boys stand for larger concepts.
Illustrate with at least three examples ( quotations) the descriptions of these three characters.
Ralph, the protagonist of the novel, stands for civilization, morality, and leadership,
Jack, the antagonist, stands for the desire for power, selfishness, and amorality.
Piggy represents the scientific and intellectual aspects of civilization
“Their (the boys´) instinctive drive to play and gratify their immediate desires undermines their ability to act collectively” Describe what consequences this causes.
Chapter 3
In this chapter the different attitudes to life on the island of Ralph, Jack and Simon are clarified much more deeply. How exactly would you describe the nature of the conflict between Jack and Ralph- “two continents of experience and feeling, unable to communicate”? What is the nature of Simon´s experience and feeling?
Reading Schedule - Chapter 1
Lord of the Flies
Ch 1 The Sound of the Shell June 19th
Ch 2 Fire on the Mountain
Ch 3 Huts on the Beach June 26th
Ch 4 Painted Faces and Long Hair July 3rd
Ch 5 Beast from Water July 10th
WRITTEN TEST July 17th
Ch 6 Beast from Air
Ch 7 Shadows and Tall Trees
Ch 8 Gift from the Darkness
Ch 9 A View to a Death
ORAL TEST August 7th
Ch 10 The Shell and the Glasses
Ch 11 Castle Rock August 14th
Ch 12 Cry of the Hunters August 21st
TERM TEST - PORTFOLIO August 28th
The Sound of the Shell
1) In R.M Ballantyne´s Coral Island the marooned boys create a civilization in the wilderness. In this first chapter, how is the Coral Island glamour of this island conveyed?
2) What suggestions are there that the glamour may be an illusion?
3) In the conch and the election lie the beginnings of government. How successful is it likely to be and why?
4) How much do you already know about Ralph, Piggy, Jack, Simon and Roger?
5) *Re-read from “He jumped down from the terrace” to “ Ralph stood up and trotted along to the right”.
How would you say Golding manages to establish the characters of these two boys in this passage and hint at the problems that lie ahead for both of them on this island?
Ch 1 The Sound of the Shell June 19th
Ch 2 Fire on the Mountain
Ch 3 Huts on the Beach June 26th
Ch 4 Painted Faces and Long Hair July 3rd
Ch 5 Beast from Water July 10th
WRITTEN TEST July 17th
Ch 6 Beast from Air
Ch 7 Shadows and Tall Trees
Ch 8 Gift from the Darkness
Ch 9 A View to a Death
ORAL TEST August 7th
Ch 10 The Shell and the Glasses
Ch 11 Castle Rock August 14th
Ch 12 Cry of the Hunters August 21st
TERM TEST - PORTFOLIO August 28th
The Sound of the Shell
1) In R.M Ballantyne´s Coral Island the marooned boys create a civilization in the wilderness. In this first chapter, how is the Coral Island glamour of this island conveyed?
2) What suggestions are there that the glamour may be an illusion?
3) In the conch and the election lie the beginnings of government. How successful is it likely to be and why?
4) How much do you already know about Ralph, Piggy, Jack, Simon and Roger?
5) *Re-read from “He jumped down from the terrace” to “ Ralph stood up and trotted along to the right”.
How would you say Golding manages to establish the characters of these two boys in this passage and hint at the problems that lie ahead for both of them on this island?
Introduction -
BIOGRAPHY
William golding was born on September 19, 1911, in Cornwall, England. Although he tried to write a novel as early as age twelve, his parents urged him to study the natural sciences. Golding followed his parents' wishes until his second year at Oxford, when he changed his focus to English literature. After graduating from Oxford, he worked briefly as a theater actor and director, wrote poetry, and then became a schoolteacher. In 1940, a year after England entered World War II, Golding joined the Royal Navy, where he served in command of a rocket-launcher and participated in the invasion of Normandy.
Golding's experience in World War II had a profound effect on his view of humanity and the evils of which it was capable. After the war, Golding resumed teaching and started to write novels. His first and greatest success came with Lord of the Flies (1954), which ultimately became a bestseller in both Britain and the United States after more than twenty publishers rejected it. The novel's sales enabled Golding to retire from teaching and devote himself fully to writing. Golding wrote several more novels, notably Pincher Martin (1956), and a play, The Brass Butterfly (1958). Although he never matched the popular and critical success he enjoyed with Lord of the Flies, he remained a respected and distinguished author for the rest of his life and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983. Golding died in 1993, one of the most acclaimed writers of the second half of the twentieth century.
CONTEXT
Ø Read the following information on the context of this great novel. Underline the most important ideas.
Lord of the Flies tells the story of a group of English schoolboys marooned on a tropical island after their plane is shot down during a war. Though the novel is fictional, its exploration of the idea of human evil is at least partly based on Golding's experience with the real-life violence and brutality of World War II. Free from the rules and structures of civilization and society, the boys on the island in Lord of the Flies descend into savagery. As the boys splinter into factions, some behave peacefully and work together to maintain order and achieve common goals, while others rebel and seek only anarchy and violence. In his portrayal of the small world of the island, Golding paints a broader portrait of the fundamental human struggle between the civilizing instinct—the impulse to obey rules, behave morally, and act lawfully—and the savage instinct—the impulse to seek brute power over others, act selfishly, scorn moral rules, and indulge in violence.
Golding employs a relatively straightforward writing style in Lord of the Flies, one that avoids highly poetic language, lengthy description, and philosophical interludes. Much of the novel is allegorical, meaning that the characters and objects in the novel are infused with symbolic significance that conveys the novel's central themes and ideas. In portraying the various ways in which the boys on the island adapt to their new surroundings and react to their new freedom, Golding explores the broad spectrum of ways in which humans respond to stress, change, and tension.
Readers and critics have interpreted Lord of the Flies in widely varying ways over the years since its publication. During the 1950s and 1960s, many readings of the novel claimed that Lord of the Flies dramatizes the history of civilization. Some believed that the novel explores fundamental religious issues, such as original sin and the nature of good and evil. Others approached Lord of the Flies through the theories of the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who taught that the human mind was the site of a constant battle among different impulses—the id (instinctual needs and desires), the ego (the conscious, rational mind), and the superego (the sense of conscience and morality). Still others maintained that Golding wrote the novel as a criticism of the political and social institutions of the West. Ultimately, there is some validity to each of these different readings and interpretations of Lord of the Flies. Although Golding's story is confined to the microcosm of a group of boys, it resounds with implications far beyond the bounds of the small island and explores problems and questions universal to the human experience.
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/context.html
William golding was born on September 19, 1911, in Cornwall, England. Although he tried to write a novel as early as age twelve, his parents urged him to study the natural sciences. Golding followed his parents' wishes until his second year at Oxford, when he changed his focus to English literature. After graduating from Oxford, he worked briefly as a theater actor and director, wrote poetry, and then became a schoolteacher. In 1940, a year after England entered World War II, Golding joined the Royal Navy, where he served in command of a rocket-launcher and participated in the invasion of Normandy.
Golding's experience in World War II had a profound effect on his view of humanity and the evils of which it was capable. After the war, Golding resumed teaching and started to write novels. His first and greatest success came with Lord of the Flies (1954), which ultimately became a bestseller in both Britain and the United States after more than twenty publishers rejected it. The novel's sales enabled Golding to retire from teaching and devote himself fully to writing. Golding wrote several more novels, notably Pincher Martin (1956), and a play, The Brass Butterfly (1958). Although he never matched the popular and critical success he enjoyed with Lord of the Flies, he remained a respected and distinguished author for the rest of his life and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983. Golding died in 1993, one of the most acclaimed writers of the second half of the twentieth century.
CONTEXT
Ø Read the following information on the context of this great novel. Underline the most important ideas.
Lord of the Flies tells the story of a group of English schoolboys marooned on a tropical island after their plane is shot down during a war. Though the novel is fictional, its exploration of the idea of human evil is at least partly based on Golding's experience with the real-life violence and brutality of World War II. Free from the rules and structures of civilization and society, the boys on the island in Lord of the Flies descend into savagery. As the boys splinter into factions, some behave peacefully and work together to maintain order and achieve common goals, while others rebel and seek only anarchy and violence. In his portrayal of the small world of the island, Golding paints a broader portrait of the fundamental human struggle between the civilizing instinct—the impulse to obey rules, behave morally, and act lawfully—and the savage instinct—the impulse to seek brute power over others, act selfishly, scorn moral rules, and indulge in violence.
Golding employs a relatively straightforward writing style in Lord of the Flies, one that avoids highly poetic language, lengthy description, and philosophical interludes. Much of the novel is allegorical, meaning that the characters and objects in the novel are infused with symbolic significance that conveys the novel's central themes and ideas. In portraying the various ways in which the boys on the island adapt to their new surroundings and react to their new freedom, Golding explores the broad spectrum of ways in which humans respond to stress, change, and tension.
Readers and critics have interpreted Lord of the Flies in widely varying ways over the years since its publication. During the 1950s and 1960s, many readings of the novel claimed that Lord of the Flies dramatizes the history of civilization. Some believed that the novel explores fundamental religious issues, such as original sin and the nature of good and evil. Others approached Lord of the Flies through the theories of the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who taught that the human mind was the site of a constant battle among different impulses—the id (instinctual needs and desires), the ego (the conscious, rational mind), and the superego (the sense of conscience and morality). Still others maintained that Golding wrote the novel as a criticism of the political and social institutions of the West. Ultimately, there is some validity to each of these different readings and interpretations of Lord of the Flies. Although Golding's story is confined to the microcosm of a group of boys, it resounds with implications far beyond the bounds of the small island and explores problems and questions universal to the human experience.
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/context.html
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