Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys

Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys

Work collaboratively in groups and take down notes on the following:

1. What are your initial impressions on the characters in Wise Sargasso Sea? Do they develop through the novel or are they static? If they are developing characters, how do they change and why? Are there any similarities or differences between this set of characters and those of  Jane Eyre?

In your notes, include:

      Traits of personality

      Physical features

      Their philosophical outlooks ( how they see life, love, sex, etc), mannerisms, etc. 

      It’s important to read the descriptions of minor characters below to keep track of who is who in the book.

2.Setting:

    How well does the writer help you to visualise the setting? Make a note of any passages of description which you think are particularly effective in creating a vivid sense of place and time.

   Does the setting seem to be just a background against which the action takes place – for example because it is concerned with historical events or with the interrelationship between people and their environment?  

C   . Can you make any connections between these settings and the ones in Jane Eyre?

3.Themes: What themes seem to be emerging? Can you find a link with those themes in Brontë’s novel?

4.Style:

     Is the story told by a narrator who is also a character in the stories, referring to herself / himself as “I” (first person narrative) or is he/she anonymous and detached from the action (third person narrative)?

    Note down any interesting or striking uses of language, such as powerful words or images which evoke a sense of atmosphere. Compare and contrast them with Brontë’s use of language.

    How is this novel post-modern?

5.Your personal response: Have the novel made you think about or influenced your views on its themes and characters? What have you enjoyed or admired most about the stories ( or least) and why?

6. Length: You are expected to produce a summary of your findings, including all the items you have discussed with your partners in class: characters, setting, themes, style, and your personal responses. Your written production should not exceed 1,500 words.

7. References: As you are going to be using sources on the novel and Post-modernism, quote them properly. Write your References at the end of your production.

. Group members: this information should go at the very beginning of your post.

DEADLINE:  THU 8^TH, NOVEMBER, 2018 – 22.00 p.m.

III. KAZUO ISHIGURO’S The Remains of the Day – English Literature III

1. What are your initial impressions on the characters in The Remains of the Day? Do they develop through the novel or are they static? If they are developing characters, how do they change and why? Are there any similarities or differences between this set of characters and those of Ian McEwan’s Atonement and L.P. Hartley’s The Go-Between?

Characters: As you make progress through the pages of this novel, take down notes on all the characters you encounter. In your notes, include:

ü  Traits of personality

ü  Physical features

ü  Their philosophical outlooks, their own countrymen and relatives, love, sex, their place in the world, the place where they are living at the moment, etc.

ü  Gestures, speech, and mannerisms that characterise them.

2.Setting:

ü  How well does the writer help you to visualise the setting? Make a note of any passages of description which you think are particularly effective in creating a vivid sense of place and time.

ü  Does the setting seem to be just a background against which the action takes place – for example because it is concerned with historical events or with the interrelationship between people and their environment? Can you make any connections between these settings and the other two novels we’ve read this year?

3.Themes: What themes seem to be emerging? Can you find links with those themes in Ishiguro’s and Hartley’s novels?

4.Style:

ü  Is the story told by a narrator who is also a character in the stories, referring to herself / himself as “I” (first person narrative) or is he/she anonymous and detached from the action (third person narrative)?

ü  Note down any interesting or striking uses of language, such as powerful words, motifs, metaphors, or images which evoke a sense of atmosphere. Compare and contrast them with Ishiguro’s use of language.

How is Ishiguro's novel post-modern? 

5.Your personal response: Has the novel made you think about or influenced your views on its themes and characters? How has the novel informed your views on the masters and servants in England before WWI? What have you enjoyed or admired most about this novel (or least) and why? In order to give your opinion, use the critical essays on The Remains of the Day to help you say what you want to say. Find information about Kazuo Ishiguro to help you understand his novel better.

6. Sources: Make sure you quote your sources properly and write a References list at the end of your production.

7. Length of your production:  it should not exceed 1,500 words.  

DEADLINE: WED. 7^th, NOV. 11.A.M.

IV. GEORGE ORWELL’S Burmese Days – English Literature II

IV. GEORGE ORWELL’S Burmese Days – English Literature II

Activities:

1.    Work collaboratively in groups. 

2.    What are your initial impressions of the characters in Burmese Days? Do they develop through the novel or are they static? If they are developing characters, how do they change and why? Are there any similarities or differences between this set of characters and those of E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India? As you make progress through the pages of this novel, take down notes on all the characters you encounter. 

In your notes, include

• Traits of personality
• Physical features
• Their philosophical outlooks ( how they see life, the “Others” ( in this case, the Burmese), their own countrymen, love, sex, their place in the world, the place where they are living at the moment, etc.
• Gestures, speech, and mannerisms that characterise them
• 3.Setting: How well does the writer help you to visualise the setting? Make a note of any descriptive passages which you think are particularly effective in creating a vivid sense of place and time. Does the setting seem to be just a background against which the action takes place – for example, because it is concerned with historical events or with the interrelationship between people and their environment? Can you make any connections between these settings and the ones in A Passage to India? (Even if the novels take place in different countries, India and Burma – now, Myanmar /mjanˈmɑː/– both countries were colonised by the same people and both are in Asia).

4. Themes: What themes seem to be emerging? Can you find links with those themes in Forster’s novel?

5.Style: Is the story told by a narrator who is also a character in the stories, referring to herself/himself as “I” (first person narrative) or is he/she anonymous and detached from the action (third-person narrative)

How is this novel inscribed within MODERNISM? What makes it modern?

Note down any interesting or striking uses of language, such as powerful words, motifs, metaphors, or images which evoke a sense of atmosphere. Compare and contrast them with Forster’s use of language. You will need to re-read the essays on A Passage to India to help you.

      6.Your personal response: 

Has the novel made you think about or influenced your views on its themes and characters? 

How has the novel informed your views on Colonialism and Post-Colonialism? What have you enjoyed or admired most about both novels (or least) and why?

In order to give your opinion, find critical essays on Burmese Days that can help you say what you want to say. Find information about George Orwell to help you understand his bitter satire against the British Empire. The essays on A Passage to India can be useful as well.

Blog: You are expected to write a summary of your findings for the Blog with your group. It should be no longer than 1,500 words. It must include all the items above and quotes from the novel to illustrate your conclusions. 

• Remember to include REFERENCES, with a list of sources quoted and the names of the members of the group at the end of your post. 
• Deadline : SAT 10th, NOVEMBER, 2018 - 11:00 A.M. 

3- Thomas Hardy's THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE

3. Thomas Hardy’s The Return of the Native

Instructions:

1. Divide yourselves into TWO groups.

2. Each group must answer at least 10 questions ( there are 21 questions in total).

3. Copy and paste the author/s and the questions you answer.

3. After you post your answers ( you will have to do so in different posts as you will not be able to do so in one post), write the names of the member of your group.

Deadline: FRI 12^th, Oct. – 16.00 p.m.

Criticism of Thomas Hardy’s Art

These critical essays help us analyse and understand the two novels by Thomas Hardy we are going to read: The Return of the Native and A Pair of Blue Eyes. You are required to use at least one of these essays when writing your paper on A Pair of Blue Eyes.

1.Johnson, Lionel. “The Characteristics of Hardy’s Art.” Thomas Hardy: The Tragic Novels.             Editor  R.P. Draper. London: Macmillan Press Ltd., 1991. 59-61. Print.

1. How is Hardy a typical modern novelist?

2. Where does the power of his art lie?

3. What common elements do all his novels show?

2.Lawrence, David Herbert. “The Real Tragedy.” Thomas Hardy: The Tragic Novels. Editor                R.P. Draper London: Macmillan Press Ltd., 1991. 66-74. Print.

     1. What peculiarities do Hardy’s characters share? Why are these important?

    2. How does Lawrence explain the concept of “self-preservation”? What are the consequences of         freeing yourself from it?

    3.  How is the heath the “real stuff of tragedy”?

    4. What makes Hardy’s novels wonderful?

3.Williams, Raymond. “The Educated Observer and the Passionate Participant.” Thomas                Hardy: The Tragic Novels. Ed.  R.P. Draper. London: Macmillan Press Ltd., 1991. 93-104.            Print.

1.  “…the real Hardy country,…, is the border country so many of us have been living in: between custom and education, between work and ideas, between love and place and an experience of change.” (Williams 93). What does Williams mean?

2. What parallels does Williams draw between Hardy the man and Hardy the novelist?

3. What theme or idea seems to be recurrent in Hardy’s making of his characters?

4. Where does the difficulty of the returned native lie? How is this related to Hardy’s view of tradition?

5. Why does Williams consider Hardy’s depiction of Dorset and its people as extremely accurate

4.Paterson, John. “An Attempt at Grand Tragedy.” (1966). Thomas Hardy: The Tragic Novels.            Ed. R. P. Draper. London:Macmillan Press Ltd., 1991. Pp.107-115.

     1.What features of classical tragedy does The Return of the Native have?

     2.Where does Hardy fail in writing a great tragedy according to Paterson?

     3.Which are the novel’s best features?

     4.What was fateful in Eustacia’s choice of the role of the Turkish knight?

5.Casagrande, Peter J. “Son and Lover: The Dilemma of Clym Yeobright.” (1982). Ed. R.P.              Draper. London:Macmillan Press Ltd., 1991. Pp.115-130.  

    1.Which was the truth Hardy wanted to convey to us in The Return of the Native?

   2.What was the original purpose of the St. George play and how does it connect with the novel?          Why does it fail?

   3.In which way is Mrs. Yeobright a pernicious influence?

   4.Which minor characters act as Clym’s foils and for what purpose?

   5.In which ways are Clym and Thomasin both alike and different?