Does a gender, Marxist, or Post-colonial reading, still allow for Hesse's book to retain value?
Division of genders in the book. Given the time the book was written, have to move beyond clear bias and ask whether the life in Castilia is primarily meant to be asexual. That is, is the important part that the sexes are separated or particularly that women are absent from the establishment?
What are the values of Castilia actually? Although Knecht spends much of his school time defending the institution, only the pro-worldly arguments are clearly stated. How much of this is a factor of the type of audience the book is fictionally addressing and how much is it Hesse's assumption that the actual audience does not need the explanation? Is a Castilia possible and can it be morally defended?
The presentation of Duty in the novel. How is duty determined? Why are the characters completely accepting of the hierarchy of Castilia? Is Knecht's character a foil to the other observers of their Castilian duties, or is he the emblematic example? Can we make moral judgments about his behavior justified by 'duty'?
The characterization of Knecht by both the narrator and implicitly by Hesse. What makes Knecht different from the other representatives of Castilia? What aspects of his personality does the narrator miss through his implicit awe? How do the 'three lives' and poetry written by Knecht and attached to the end of the novel reveal more about who he is than the reports of the narrator?
What Hesse seems to be saying about biography and presentation of a subject in a purportedly objective narrative? Issues with the writing style of the novel, its apparent dryness, etc.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Hermann Hesse: The Glass Bead Game
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
W. Somerset Maugham: The Razor's Edge
Allusions to Christian mysticism. What are Maugham's attitudes toward philosophy and his mode of conveying it to the reader?
The characterization (or lack thereof) in the novel. Which character is the most sympathetic? Is there a difference between the character which we find personally most positive and which the narrator would like us to most admire? This seems related to Larry's book... who is truly “successful” out of the characters? Is Larry the main character?
Is Maugham is criticizing the upper classes? Where does he/the narrator see himself in relation to this class? How is the role of “author” represented in the society Maugham describes? Is there a figure in the novel most emblematic of what the “upper class” is? What it should be?
The religion present in the book: What is Maugham's commentary on Catholicism? How does he pin it against other faiths? How is religion it related to materialism?
The creation of dichotomies in the book: contemplation v. productivity; wealth v. “tough joints”; gentility v. uncouthness... among others. Is the division Maugham sets out black/white? How does he mix the divisions in his characters?
Maugham's philosophizing on passion, love, sex, and aesthetic beauty. How is each presented in context of the human relations in the novel? Where is the possibility of mixing?
Maugham's presentation of “national character.” Does he always remain “the Briton describing Americans,” or does he get at a truer definition of the difference between old and new worlds? Can he be excused for his portrayal of the "Far East" based on the type of culture he lived in?
The narrator: how much of Maugham is in the Maugham in the novel? Can we/are we meant to trust him? What is his sexual orientation? Does this matter?
The presentation of the self-discovery archetype and other archetypes present in the book. Is Maugham rooting for a certain type of worthwhile life?
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Nikolai Gogol: Dead Souls
Characterization of Chichikov: is he just the conduit for social commentary? Why does Gogol emphasize his physical characteristics and particular habits excessively? The reader cannot trust Chichikov to remain a positive/negative archetype – how is Chichikov universal?
The presentation of individual landowners: who is the best one? The combination of Greek and Russian Orthodoxy – in the figure of Kostanzhoglo – is presented in most positive light, and makes great impression on Chichikov. What does Gogol seem to be implying about the ideal peasant-landowner relationship?
What are the gender relations presented in Dead Souls? Why are the archetypes of males and females presented so starkly? Although Gogol seems to be re-affirming gender roles/stereotypes, how much of this is in jest/ironically?
Stylistic characteristics of the text: Does Gogol intentionally elicit a provincial feeling from the text? He repeatedly converses with the reader and “breaks the fourth wall” - what kind of attitude does this produce toward the narrator? Do we trust him more or less?
Dostoevsky has said he has learned all he knows from Gogol – how are the characteristics of Dead Souls the general characteristics of Russian greats? What are the similarities between Dostoevsky/Tolstoy/Gogol?
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Brian Friel: Translations
What are the main thematic aspects of play? (Language, ignorance, hegemony, misunderstanding, romance, real/unreal, etc. ) Which one is the most important and how are these ideas interrelated in the play? Does the real/unreal encompasses many of the other themes?
Jimmy's character: how does he fit into the play in general? How is his love for Athena and disconnection from the drama of the other characters really parallel what is happening in their lives? Is he an “oppositional” character or a passive one?
Greek/Roman mythology allusions in play: why is Athena Jimmy's choice for ideal goddess? Is simple fact that mythology is interwoven throughout the main point? The English officers' lack of Latin/Greek knowledge: symbolic when compared to the seeming erudition of Hugh/Jimmy/Manus.
Legitimacy of a hegemonic state: Is it legitimate to say that naming something means owning it? When might this be false – i.e. communism, dictatorships. Is the play implying this: examples of baptism, map-making.
Why is George killed at the end, why are there characters who are primary actors but never appear in the play, and why is the composition of the hedge school the way it is: What is the function of characters such as Donnelly or Bridget? How do they further the plot or present different perspectives?
Is there a “binary dichotomy” set up between state/British power/bad v. local/Irish tradition/good? Consider complexity of characters such as Owen, George and Mira. Is there a separation between the pragmatic and the mythical, which, again is connected to real/unreal ideas?
Monday, April 16, 2007
Salman Rushdie: Satanic Verses
What are the actual “satanic verses” in Islamic tradition? The story of the “verses”; how Rushdie changes the story generally told to fit his novel. The numerous allusions he makes to Muslim customs and traditions in his naming and descriptions.
How essential was the circular and convoluted style to the novel's main themes? What is Rushdie trying to achieve by dividing the novel into sections the way he does?
The role of the immigrant: How is religious exile like geographic exile? How do the two main protagonists in the novel reveal different pains of immigration? Is Rushdie right in his characterizations of the immigrant? How does he identify the differences between London and Bombay?
Rushdie as God: How does he insert himself into the novel? Is the novel a “religion” invented by Rushdie? What is Rushdie implying about religion by claiming the role of God for his characters? What does this mean for the “revelations” of the Angel Gabriel?
The good and evil elements of each of the characters: is no one is purely good or evil? The implications for religion and Rushdie's critique of it: are they agreeable?
Milan Kundera: The Unbearable Lightness of Being
What is the plot of the book? Is there really one? Does it matter? The non-linear progression of the novel; the organic development of characters and the self-consciousness of the author
How does Kundera's treatment of music, sex, misunderstanding, and love play into the lightness/heaviness paradigm? Is a life without the “heavy” bonds of attachment to others and presence of “kitsch” impossible? What is the literary and metaphorical meaning of “kitsch”?
Which characters are the “lightest”? Is Sabina the one to have true “unbearable lightness of being”? What brings the “heaviness” to Thomas,Tereza, and Franz's lives?
Soul v. Body: Why is Kundera's distinction so poignant? Are Tereza and her mother as different as Tereza would like to think they are? How does the distinction play into the light/heavy paradigm?
Why is “vertigo” an important motif? From where and where to are the characters falling? Is there a universal pull toward “kitsch” (i.e. ideals, love, “the grand march” of liberalism)? The concept of fortuitous actions bringing “heavy” consequences (e.g. Thomas falling in love with Tereza, Thomas's “Oedipus” article).
Dreams: Why are some of Tereza's dreams not decidedly differentiated from reality? How does animal symbolism function in these dreams and in the lives of the characters?
The worth of a philosophical lifestyle and the difference between “philosophical” writers of fiction, like Kundera, and philosophers who write treaties. Which is better?
Arundhati Roy: The God of Small Things
The style of the novel: why is it descriptive in particular way (i.e. creating new words, combining words, using adjectives without verbs)? What reaction does this elicit? Did the reaction change as the novel progressed?
The time structure in the novel: why did it end with the particular scene and not any other? Discussed the juxtaposition of the last two chapters: incest and sex with an “untouchable” as to prohibited things.
Why are the “Love Laws” set as they are? Should/Can they be different? Are they only portrayed as negative in this book? What are the particular “Love Laws” in our culture?
The “entrapment” of the characters: What particular passions/flaws make them stagnant? Is there any progression? Are any of the characters dynamic? Do the last scenes provide a conclusion to the story in any way?
The significance of “water” symbolism: it both purifies life and takes life away; people both defecate in the river and wash themselves at its banks.
The views of childhood: are they principally different from those of adults? How do they differ? Is there an obligation for children to be taken care of/spoken to carefully? Is the mother specifically responsible for the children?
The “tragic beauty” of the book and the amount of aesthetic pleasure to be drawn from the pain/suffering of others.
Who is “The God of Small Things”? Is everything ultimately trivial and insignificant? These lives were important to us while reading, but we cannot save any of the characters and their stories are just as insignificant as ours.
Virginia Wolf: To the Lighthouse
Virginia Woolf's writing style: Is she consistent with Mrs. Dalloway? The implications of this style, especially when revealing inherent separation between thinking beings.
Conflicted relationship between Mrs. and Mr. Ramsay. To the Lighthouse has been used to advocate against abuses of women in the household and the payment for domestic work in England. Was there rape imagery in the novel? Is Mrs. Ramsay submissive?
The character of Mrs. Ramsay: her manipulation of the other characters, the way others project themselves onto her. Her power as an individual, especially in contrast with the other female characters in the book?
The issue of marriage and the importance of female individuality: was Woolf making a statement about the importance of finding outlets for expression outside of marriage? Should we exonerate Mr. Ramsay for his tyranny?
The role of the children in the Ramsay household: descriptions often contrasted with the vivid forays into the minds of the other characters. Why are they only character “snapshots”? Why do they live and die so far away from the reader?
How is the lighthouse itself and water imagery connected to some of the main themes in the novel? The divisions of the novel and Woolf's particular use of time. How does the lighthouse change along with the characters? Is there a connection to Mrs. Dalloway?
Jose Saramago: Blindness
Saramago's writing style: His interesting use of aphorisms, provers, idiomatic phrases, etc. What is he trying to tell us by his focus on these linguistic devices? Is this related to the ultimate insignificance of language that needs to be supplemented by action? (note phrases emphasizing “seeing”)
Overarching qustion: How is this novel “unafraid to face all of the horrors of the century” as the Washington Post proclaims? At the end, the doctor's wife says “I think we are blind, Blind but seeing, Blind people who can see, but do not see” (126) – can we just write off the novel as a cliché reminder of this tragic human condition? Is there something more to the white blindness?
To answer that “overarching question”: dissect some of the crisis moments in the novel (e.g., the fire in the asylum, the doctor's wife choice to kill, the blinded statues in the church) to see whether there is a connecting thread reveal the “nature of humanity” - human shame/dignity is a major factor; hell imagery is an important aspect
The characters: why the particular group that Saramago assembled? The conflict of the doctor's wife's agency – did she actually do something good? The necessity of centering on one group of people to make an all-encompassing event meaningful for the reader.
The ending of the novel, when everyone regains their sight: Now that everyone can see, they will feel greater shame for the filth and “hellish” atmosphere they created when blind; the legitimacy of going to extremes because of an extenuating situation.
Novel too typically anti-governmental and preachy, while not maintaining a vibrant plot structure? Similar to "disaster” movies – i.e., Cube, 28 Months – and how does it take a different (or similar) spin on the situation?
Truman Capote: In Cold Blood
The complication between evil/good characters and any sort of moral implications: What kind of emotional reaction is Capote trying to produce? Why? We considered whether the way he interpreted his characters is different than the way his readers later see them.
The characterization of the killers in comparison to the victims. Capote's refusal to enliven the victims – why are they flat and static? Why does he so thoroughly focus on the killers? Perhaps this is essential in understanding that the victims were no longer alive – that their characters cannot be explored. Also, Capote may have thought that the killers are simply more interesting studies.
The link between journalism and novel writing: At what point does Capote manipulate his reader beyond a journalistic account? What are the connections between journalistic and novel writing and the merits of both?
The religious aspects of Capote's novel: is he implying something about the belief in God by emphasizing the spiritualities of his characters? The hypocrisy of Christianity and the dangers of a lack/extremisim of faith.
Homosexual themes? Other symbolism/metaphors? Was Capote's portrayal of Holcomb was fair and realistic? What is rural America like today? Has it changed?