Fairy tale

Fernando Núñez-Sebastián Barriga

The Unique boy

           Once upon a time, there was a very poor family that lived in the edges of the kingdom. They lived from the production and sell of pumpkins pies. The father harvested, the mother cooked the pies, and their son travelled to the kingdom to sell them. But one day, the king ate one of these pies, and found out that he was allergic, so it was prohibited them in all the lands of the kingdom. The poor family got poorer than ever and they only ate their pumpkins. The boy was very upset and started hating the king and the royalty, for what they’ve done. But the boy, who was very clever, thought of a solution for their poorness. His mother always told him of an elf that lived in the forest, and if you answer correctly to hid three tests, he will grant you a wish. So the boy, with all his courage, went inside the forest. After travelling for three days and three nights, he found a little door at the bottom of an old tree. He knocked the door and a very weird voice asked who dared to bother an elf. He opened the door and told him what was he doing alone in the forest. He answered that he was searching for the magic elf, which could grant him a wish. “I am him” the elf said, but you have to accomplish three tests. In these tests, he was supposed to demonstrate three values: courage, humbleness and loyalty. The boy accepted, with the condition that he couldn’t regret.

The first test was about courage, where he must travel to the darkest part of the forest and bring back a dragon scale. The boy arrived to the dragon’s shelter, where the creature was sleeping. The boy rushed towards the dragons to pull out a scale with his own hands, but the dragon woke up and got angry. The boy trembled of fear and jumped behind the rocks. The dragon asked him what was he doing there, as the frightened boy answered that he needed a scale from him. The big monster had a gentle unknown side, and asked the boy why he didn’t ask for one. The boy realized that he let his fear to control him. The dragon was glad when the boy asked him kindly for what he needed, so he gave him the scale. As the boy left, the dragon told him: “the bravest man is not the one that doesn’t know fear, but who knows it and controls it”.

The boy ran to the elf’s home, excited for having the scale and finished the first test. The second test was about humbleness and consisted in leaving aside his pride. He should go to the kingdom and beg some money to the king himself. This was a very hard task, because the boy hated him for all what he has done to his family. But the love for his family was bigger, so he traveled to the kingdom, entered to the castle and stood in front of the king. He begged him some coins and the king gave him a big cauldron full of golden coins. But the boy only accepted a few coins, as the king got very astonished. The boy left the kingdom and went back with the elf. He gave him the coins, accomplishing the second test. Finally, the third task was about loyalty, and consisted in defending something or someone that he loved, at all cost. The elf told him that until this point, he has been very brave. In this task, he was supposed to find the cure for his unicorn, which was poisoned by an evil orange dwarf. The boy had to convince the dwarf to tell him were was the cure, by any means, but it wouldn’t be easy. The boy went home to visit his unicorn, but when he tried to touch it, the creature attacked him because of his illness. But the kid didn’t gave up, because he loved his friend. He went to visit the evil orange dwarf, which tried to convince the boy to go back because the risk he was taking didn’t worth it. The boy didn’t gave up either, so he went home to bring the unicorn to the dwarf. When he arrived, the evil creature told him his friend was sick and he must left him alone. But the boy didn’t gave up again, and brought his unicorn with the elf. The boy told him he didn’t found the cure, but he will never left his friend alone. The elf seemed very satisfied, and told him he had acknowledge what loyalty meant, and as he had accomplished the three tests, he will concede him a wish, about anything he wanted. The boy asked to live with his family a happy life, and the elf told him that it was already conceded. But the boy keep worried and the elf asked why, as the boy answered he was worried about his friend, but the elf told him to not be worried, because his wish had the word family, and his friend was part of his family. Besides, the elf told him “I will give you what you have brought to me: the scale, symbol of courage, that will be transformed into a cauldron with no end; and the coins, that will full fill the cauldron forever. The boy rushed to his unicorn and went back home, gave the cauldron to his father, and lived happily aver after. 

Book trailet assesment

Here is the book trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDtSWwElfxE&feature=youtu.be

Rationale

    I have chosen to write a letter from Georg Koves to his father, from the book “Fatelessness”. I did this because I want to demonstrate how the protagonist feels about some specific topics, like innocence, segregation and miss belonging to a community.

   As I wrote a letter, I can narrate the personal experiences of Georg in first person, being inside his mind. I can describe everything from the view point of a fourteen year old boy. His innocent perspective let me change all the real meanings of some things, like concentration camps or German soldiers.

   The audience of this kind of text is a very small one, only his father is supposed to read the letter, but maybe it could be evidence for the future of how was the Holocaust for Jewish teenagers, like Anne Frank. As it was a letter from son to father, it should be written in a kind language, as the writer revealed his feelings, memories and aspirations.

   The reason why there are some “historical mistakes” is because I wrote the letter in Georg’s perspective, as he is very innocent of every event that occurs.  “(German soldiers) They generate in me some feelings of security. I know they will protect us...” We can see here the “mistake”, the innocence versus reality. We all know that for Jewish people, a German soldier should be their greatest fear. We can see reality affected because of his poor experience.

 The title of this letter is “Miss You, dad”, and is very related to the main idea of the text, make the father of the boy realize how he is feeling.

Written Task

Miss you, dad

5th of June, 1940

Dear Dad,

       Since you left, so many things had happen here. I’m not longer in home with my stepmother, neither with my mother. Instead, I'm in somewhere called “Auschwitz Birkenau”. We arrived, “we” because we are travelling in groups, yesterday, in train; and were checked by a doctor who decided if we were healthy to work. I’m glad I pass, because some guys didn't like Moskovics, a skinny little boy I met during the journey. You must be asking yourself how I get here, so now I’m telling you.

    I don’t remember if we were travelling since yesterday or an eternity, because for me it was the most uncomfortable journey of my life. This entire trip started like every other day, I was going to work, when suddenly, the bus stopped in middle of the highway. A police officer asked every Jewish boy to get off the bus. I met other boys and girls getting off other buses. We saw other children get off other buses too. We have been travelling for kilometres from Budapest, we passed the Hungarian frontier, and we arrived to a German station, or that’s what I think, because everybody in here speaks German.

     About “Auschwitz Birkenau”, is not bad, although there are some prisoners that only speak Yiddish. They are all shaved and wear striped clothes and round caps, and on their chests they had their convict number and a yellow triangle. I have been asking myself what they have done, what are they accused of. For the medical check, they get around to see who was accepted. We were separated from women and girls, as we were only boys and men at this side of the camp.

     I’m starting to miss you, I miss the shop, and I miss home, the school, my mother, even my stepmother. I miss my friends, my family, our neighbours, and specially Annamarie. I didn’t tell you, but I think I love her. One day, we decided to join, we were talking when a bomb exploded near us. And then we kissed, and that moment I realized I love her. But she doesn’t accept it; she states that everything was because of the bomb. Although, I miss her too.

    I’ve heard some rumours about other Hungarians; they say we are here because of our religion. I think they are wrong, because I don’t feel myself attached to any religion in particular, and I’m still here. It’s very interesting what I have realized this few days, I’m not part of the Jewish community, or I don’t feel myself like one of them. Maybe these reflections I’m revealing to you will make you feel mad or upset, but it’s what is happening to me. I realized this the day you left us. Uncle Lajos took me to pray for you, but I didn’t know how, moreover, I didn’t understand a word he said. This new reflections make me feel alone, because I don’t belong to any community right now, and here everyone, o0r most of people are Jewish people, they all pray or speak Yiddish, so I don’t understand anything. This feeling is very uncomfortable, I need to belong somewhere, but I don’t know were.

    Here at the camp, German soldiers are very kind, they gave us instructions, they make us pass through medical checking and offered us a job. I don’t know why they use guns; nobody in here is going to fight them. Maybe they use them to intimidate the prisoners, or to control the mob. Maybe, as there are so much people, they use them to identify themselves. They generate in me some feelings of security. I’m sure they will protect us if we are under any kind of danger. The only thing is weird in them is that they use a sort of arm band, is red and have an unknown sign for me. Every soldier and German in charge of this camp uses them. Maybe they accomplish the same function of their guns, to identify themselves.

    I want to know something about you, I haven’t heard any new about you since you left, and I want to know how are you, if you are healthy, if you are working, if you miss home, if you miss me, everything. After this “adventure” we should go to expend some time together. We haven’t made anything together since a long time ago. Maybe we could invite my stepmother, and probably I will know her better, so we have a better coexistence in home. I promise that when we arrive home, I will study some Hebrew to understand what we are praying. That’s all I wanted to tell you.

         

            Sincerely yours

                    Georg

summary week 24

Analysis of 3 quotes from chapter 3
This week we analysed chapter 3 from the book,and the task was to choose three quotes that called our attention. to analysed the quotes we must use PEE structure.

1. As the book says, Jewish people, during the Holocaust, were treated like animals. "...he turn toward the gendarmes, ordering them, in a bellow that filled the entire square, to take "the whole Jewish rabble" off the place that, in his view, they actually belonged-the stables,that is to say-and lock them in for the night."(p.57) Her is very clear how the Nazis treated Jewish people, as they locked them so they don't scape.

2. The Holocaust take Jewish people to an awful economic situation, as they were forced tom save money and changing basic needs for other things. "... I once asked him what he found so great about smoking so much, to which he gave the curt to reply, "It's cheaper than food". I was slightly take aback, since such a reason would never had occurred to me."(p.42) We can see here that they changed food, a basic need, with cigars. That's a very desperate solution and is not rational, as the satisfaction that generates smoking doesn't replace the necessity of eating.

3. The protagonist, until this point, hasn't realized what is really happening to him, he is very innocent, although he has experienced a sort of evolution wit the departure of his father. "They led us into a maze of grey buildings, before we suddenly debouched onto (...) some sort of barracks parade ground." (p.56) As we can see here, Georg describes what he sees, but he has not idea of where he is or what is happening. And the description of the place is very childish "... maze of grey buildings...". 

Jewish Traditions

Seven pillars to Judaism

Mezuzah:

The parchment

Is a piece of parchment (often contained in a decorative case) inscribed with specified Hebrew verses from the Torah.A mezuzah is affixed to the doorframe in Jewish homes to fulfill the mitzvah (Biblical commandment) to inscribe the words of the Shema "on the doorposts of your house". Some interpret Jewish law to require a mezuzah on every doorway in the home apart from bathrooms, and closets too small to qualify as rooms. The parchment is prepared by a qualified scribe (a "sofer stam") who has undergone many years of meticulous training, and the verses are written in blackindelible ink with a special quill pen. The parchment is then rolled up and placed inside the case.

Tefillin:

Tefillin

Are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, which are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers.  Jewish men are required to place one box on their head and tie the other one on their arm each weekday morning.

Shofar

Shofar:

The shofar dates back to ancient times when making loud noises on the New Year was thought to scare off demons and ensure a happy start to the coming year. It was used to announce the start of holidays, in processions and even to mark the start of a war.the sound of the shofar on Rosh HaShanah is meant to wake up soul and turn its attention to the important task of repentance.

Hanukkah:

Hanukiah

Is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar.The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a unique candelabrum, the nine-branched Menorah or Hanukiah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. 

Kosher:

Means approved and represents the dietetic laws that are find in the Bible. There are some rules to follow. Is forbidden to eat meat taken from an animal. Is forbidden to drink blood. The meat must be sliced with different knifes from vegetables.

Tzedakah:

It refers to the religious obligation to do what is right and just, which Judaism emphasises are important parts of living a spiritual life. most Jews carry out tzedakah by donating a portion of their income to charitable institutions, or to needy people that they may encounter; the perception among many modern day Jews is that if donation of this form is not possible, the obligation of tzedakah still requires that something be given. Traditional Jews commonly practice "ma'aser kesafim," tithing 10% of their income to support those in need.

Sabbath:

 Is generally a weekly day of rest or time of worship observed in Abrahamic religions and other practices.It means day of rest,also came to mean simply a "se'nnight" or seven-day week, the interval between two weekly Sabbaths.

Founts:

wikipedia.com

jewishvirtuallibrary.org

judaism.about.com

Chapter 2: Literary Analysis Worksheet

Title of selection: Fatelessness
Author: Imre Kertész
Genre: Autobiography
Setting: Budapest, Hungary, Neighbourhood
Historical Context: Second World War, Holocaust, 1940's.

The author wrote this piece to: 

Show to the reader how the protagonist's life changed when his father left.

The main idea of this piece is:

Show the evolution of the character from being a child to an adult.

The message of this selection which the author would like us to "take away" is: 

Differentness is a matter of perspective and the fact that one might feel different should not bring us down.

Characters:

           -Protagonist: Georg Koves

           -Antagonist: Nazi Party

           -Static characters: Mr.Süto

           -Dynamic characters: Georg, Annamarie

Literary devices?

Allusion, "The prince an the pauper"

Flashback, love with Annamarie

What was the author's tone toward the subject he wrote about?

The tone make the reader realize that the narrator is a teenager, a 14 year old child.

What point of view was this piece told from?

Narrator, in first person. Is Georg who tells us the story.

list the conflicts in this section.

Internal: The dilemma of to be or not to be party of the Jewish Community.

Extetnal: The Holocaust, Nazi Party.

Summary week 23

Summary of Literary terms:


This week (week 23) we analysed the Narrative techniques so we are able to give depth 

to our analysis and make it worth reading. These are some Rhetorical Devices that will help us in the comprehension of Narrative Techniques.

-Allegory:  is a device in which characters or events represent or symbolize ideas and concepts.

-Alliteration: is the repetition of a particular sound in the prominent lifts of a series of words or phrases.

-Allusion: is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, people, places, events, literary work, myths, or works of art, either directly or by implication.

-Climax: is a figure of speech in which words, phrases, or clauses are arranged in order of increasing importance.

-Connotation: is a commonly understood subjective cultural or emotional association that some word or phrase carries, in addition to the word's or phrase's explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation.

-Denotation:  is often associated with symbolism, as the denotation of a particular media text often represents something further; a hidden meaning ) is often encoded into a media text.

-Flashback: is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached.

-Foreshadowing: is a literary device in which an author indistinctly suggests certain plot developments that will come later in the story.

-Gothic: use of primitive, medieval, or mysterious elements in literature. Gothic writing often features dark and gloomy places and horrifying, supernatural events

Edgar Allan Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher” is a gothic story featuring a large, dark, gothic mansion.

-Hero: a character whose actions are inspiring or noble. Tragic heroes are noble and inspiring but have a fault or make a mistake which leads to their downfall.

Some critics claim that Dimmesdale in TSL is a tragic hero who falls is society due to poor decisions.

- Hyperbole: boldy exaggerated statement that adds emphasis without intending to be literally true.

- Lyric poem: a melodic poem which describe an object or emotion.

“Heart, we will forget him” describes a woman trying to recover from heartbreak

- Metaphor: a lterary device in which a direct comparison is made between two things essentially unlike

-. Narrative poem: a narrative poem tells a story in verse.

- Onomatopoeia: use of words that imitate sounds.

- Personification: a literary device in which human attributes are given to a non-human such as an animal, object, or concept

- Plot: sequence of events in a story, usually involves characters and a conflict.

- Point of view: the perspective or vantage point from which a story or poem is told. Three common points of view include: first-person, omniscient, and third person limited.

- Setting: the time and place of the story or poem’s action, it helps to create the mood of the story

- Simile: a literary device in which a direct comparison is made between two things essentially unlike using the words “like” or “as.”

- Soliloquy: A long speech made by a character who is onstage alone and who reveals his/her private thoughts and feelings to the audience.

Romeo, as he is about to kill himself in ROMEO AND JULIET speaks to the audience.

-. Stanza: a group of lines in a poem that are considered to be a unit. They function like paragraphs do in prose writing.

The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy

- Symbol: something that means more than what it is; an object, person, situation, or action that in addition to its literal meaning suggests other meanings as well.

The Liberty Bell is not only a bell but a symbol of freedom in the United States. Hester’s scarlet letter symbolized her sin of adultery.

-. Theme: an insight about human life that is revealed in a literary work

One of the themes if PUDD’NHEAD WILSON is that everyone suffers in some way in a society that condones slavery.

- Thesis: the organizing thought of an entire essay or piece of writing and which contains a subject and an opinion

“Of the three scaffold scenes in TSL, the third one best encapsulates the theme that self-punishment is the harshest outcome of sin.”

- Tone: the writer’s attitude toward the story, poem, characters, or audience. A writer’s tone may be formal or informal, friendly or anxious, personal, or arrogant, for example

“Hooray! I’m going to get married today!” (ecstatic tone)

- Understatement/litote: literary device that says less than intended. Oppositive of hyperbole. Usually has an ironic effect, and sometimes may be used for comic purposes
.
We also have the tone and the mood.
TONE:  a literary technique which encompasses the attitudes toward the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary work that is compatible with the other drive,
MOOD: is the general atmosphere created by the author’s words. It is the feeling the reader gets from reading those words. It may be the same, or it may change from situation to situation.

Summary of narrative techniques

The narrative techniques consist in four points:

-Point of view: Who tells the story?

-Narrator: Who is the narrator speaking to?

-Speech: How do the narrator and the characters of a story speak?

-Tense: When did the events happen?

Point of view:

1. The narrator of the story- First person.

2. The reader of the story-Second person

3. Someone else-Third Person

Narrator:

1. Direct Narration-directly to the reader

2. Frame narrator-Third person

3. Indirect Narration-Not to the reader

Speech:

1. Direct speech- speaks for themselves

2. reported speech- retold the story

3. Free indirect speech-character's thoughts

Tense:

1. Past-what happened

2.Present-what is happening

3. Future-what will happen

Chapter 1 Analysis.

As we analysed the context of the book, we also read it, and until this week we were supposed to read until chapter 1, task that I did with joy and happiness. Then in class we were give a task to do.

1. What characters are introduced in this chapter?
-Georg Köves (protagonist)
-Stepmother and father
-Grandpa and Grandma
-Uncle Willie
-Mr. Süto
-Uncle Dénes
-Uncle Lajos
-Baker and wife
-Shop keeper
-Uncle Fleischmann
-Uncle Steiner
2. Choose two characters and select a quote to describe them physically or psychologically.
-Shopkeeper: " a little old man whit a sallow skin but gleam piny false teeth and an oversleeve on an arm" (p.10)
-Mr. Süto: "Yellowish red light spots were dancing like bursting pushes... white front teeth."(p.6)
3. What is the narrative technique?
-Point of view: First person, narrator.
-Narrator: Direct, to the reader.
-Speech: Direct.
-Tense: Past.
4. Describe the setting.
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. Is in the climax of Second World War, they are forced to wear yellow stars.

Anne Frank: Summary of historical facts

Anne Frank

Annelies "Anne" Marie Frank ; 12 June 1929 – early March 1945) was one of the most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Her diary has been the basis for several plays and films. Born in the city of Frankfurt am Main in Weimar Germany, she lived most of her life in or near Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. Born a German national, Frank lost her citizenship in 1941 when Nazi Germany passed the anti-Semitic Nuremberg Laws. She gained international fame posthumously after her diary was published. It documents her experiences hiding during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II.

The Frank family moved from Germany to Amsterdam in 1933, the year the Nazis gained control over Germany. By the beginning of 1940, they were trapped in Amsterdam by the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. As persecutions of the Jewish population increased in July 1942, the family went into hiding in the hidden rooms of Anne's father, Otto Frank's, office building. After two years, the group was betrayed and transported toconcentration camps. Anne Frank and her sister, Margot, were eventually transferred to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where they both died of typhus in March 1945.

 We can read here that she lived in Germany, and  contextualize the book "Fatelessness". They (Margot and Anne) had the same conflict that Georg, they were transferred to a concentration camp.

Summary week 23

Exploring  Fatelessness
This week we explored thge book based on the the authors life.  So we watched a video of Imre Kertész and his actual life.

1. Before the interview, the presenter visits a monument to the Holocaust created by the American artist Peter Eiserman. Considering the shapes, architecture and general design, in what ways do you think he represents the reality in the concentration camps?

He tries to generate some feelings in the people visiting this monument. I think that the 200 stone blocks are there to represent that everyone in concentration camps were equal and with now importance over others.

2. Which is the paradox the presenter mentions regarding Imre Kertész and the place where he lives?

That some years ago, Germany, the country were he lives actually, tried to kill him, and now, he feels safer in Berlin than in Hungary.

3. Refer to antisemitism before and after Auschwitz according to Kertész.

Those who were anti-Semitism, after Auschwitz, wanted a new Auschwitz.

4. In what way do reminders of the past in historical books make us "much richer"?

The perspective, we receive different viewpoints and then you create your own.

5. Which metaphor does Imre use to exemplify the effect of FATELESSNESS on its readers?

He talks about we might not know what Holocaust, and he says that its locked up, and it will knock out of the cabinet. 

Holocaust Timeline

Pressing the link is my timeline of the holocaust.
http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/holocaust--125

Summary week 22

"Fatelessness" by Imre Kertész
24/9/2012-28/9/2012
This week was the first that we analysed the book "Fatelessness". We made some historical research to contextualize the novel.

I analysed this picture. There were 3 steps to analyse it:
Step 1: Observation
I can see the hand of someone, probably of a Jew, he is behind a fence, and he is hoping for freedom.
Step 2: Inferences
I can deduce that people in concentration camps wished for freedom. They were desperate and they were always fighting to live.
Step 3: Questions
Why Nazis took Jewish people? How should feel to be caught in a camp always fighting t keep alive and with no hope of being free?
This image is in a sepia tone, it shows a hand trying to reach freedom, but is stopped by  fence. It makes me feel upset and sad.

Men writing as women and women writing like men

When we analysed "Atonement", I realized that the story was narrated by a woman, and that the book was written by a men. Then, I decided to search for some authors that did this, I mean, women writing as men and men writing as women.
We have the following men that write like women:
-Daniel Defoe, The Fortunate Mistress
-Samuel Richardson, Pamela
-John Cleland, Memories of a women of pleasure

And the following are women that write like men:
-Charlotte Brontë, The Professor
-Edith Warthon, Ethan Frome
-Agatha Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

This are a few of the big amount of authors that write in another gender. I think it shooud be very difficult for a man to express his feelings as a woman and make the audience feel that way.

Dunkirk evacuation

On June 4, 1940, the German army seized the French port of Dunkirk, ending the evacuation that had begun nine days earlier and had saved 338,000 Allied troops.

A month later, German forces had begun speeding west, racing through the Benelux countries and storming into France. They rolled to the English Channel and split the Allied forces in two. 

Relentlessly, the Germans advanced toward western France and by May 24 were ready to seize Dunkirk, home to large numbers of the British Expeditionary Force and other allied troops.

Unexpectedly, the Germans halted their attack, on personal orders from Adolf Hitler himself. It seems that Hermann Goring, the man in charge of the Luftwaffe, had assured Hitler that German plans could destroy the Dunkirk defenders and that ground troops wouldn't be needed. That destruction didn't go off as planned; and two days later, the ground assault on Dunkirk reignited.

The Allies made the most of those two days. On May 26, Operation Dynamo was ready to roll. 

The Allies were to evacuate their forces from Dunkirk as quickly as they could, with fortified defenses aiming to hold off the Germans as long as possible.

The Germany army proved up to the task, however, and began to break through the Allied defenses within a few days. Thousands of men were still stranded in Dunkirk, their backs to the sea, with German soldiers advancing toward them. Capture seemed imminent.

Then, as if out of nowhere, fishing boats, pleasure yachts, and even lifeboats arrived by the hundreds, seeking to rescue the British and French troops seeking exile from Nazi-dominated Europe. Braving mines, bombs, and torpedoes, civilians of all stripe manned their boats and came to the rescue. German planes had bombed the harbor, so the soldiers had to be ferried from the beaches to the warships waiting at sea.

In the end, Germany captured Dunkirk, of course. But the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who escaped France that day lived to fight another day against Germany. Four years later, almost to the day, a great many of those men were on ships headed back to France, on D-Day.

Summary week 19

Ian Mc'Ewan's "Atonement"
3/9/2012-7/9/2012
This week we discuss about the film "Atonement". We watched the first half of the film.
Task:

1. What sort of social and cultural setting does the Tallis House create? What emotions and impulses are being acted upon or repressed by its inhabitants?

We can see a very accommodative family, they have some things that prove their economic position. Other things about the house like the relations between people are evidence of the social and cultural setting, as Cecile can't reveal her relation with Robbie, because she is rich and Robbie is the gardener.

2. A passion for order, a lively imagination, and a desire for attention seem to be Briony's strongest traits. In what ways is she still a child? Is her narcissism - her inability to see things from any point of view but her own - unusual in a thirteen-year-old? 

Briony is still a child in some aspects, like been very curious about some events that are not of her incumbency. She is very immature and a liar. She create stories based in her points of view. She only believe what she sees. Her narcissism inhabitable her to comprehend the story for any point of view but her own.

3. Why does Briony stick to her "version of the story" with such unwavering commitment? Does she act entirely in error in a situation she is not old enough to understand, or does she act, in part, on an impulse of malice, revenge, or self-importance? 

Because there are some feelings hidden or related, she feels anger because Robbie doesn't choose her over her sister. She acts in a very immature way and with malice, because of what she felt.

4. As she grows older, Briony develops the empathy to realise what she has done to Cecilia and Robbie. How and why do you think she does this?
Because she realise she acted very wrong, very immature, and now she feels guilty and wnats to change what he has done in the past.

Summary week 18

Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice"
3/9/2012-7/9/2012

This week we analysed the novel "Pride and Prejudice" from the author Jane Austen. The book is so good it continues having new versions. We discuss about why they still produce more versions.
Task 1

1. Why do you think "Pride and Prejudice" continues to be a referent for modern tales? 

Because the original version was an important change in society when it was published, so, for today's readers, it caught their attention because it was ahead all the social importance of that time.

2. What do you think is the effect that these different authors (film directors, producers, modern writers) want to achieve in today's audiences?

I think they want to generate the same influence that generated the original version, so they could make a change in the audience's vision.

3. If you had to choose one of the previous versions to analyse, which would be the one and why?

I would choose "Pride and Prejudice" because the societies differences and stereotypes are more evident, so the context are more capable.

Task 2

1.She must revise her first impressions about Darcy and Wickham. In conservative fiction.
2. Arranged marriages, Elizabeth Bennet wants something else than this, because she realizes that she is meant for something better.
3. I would have a position before start reading the book, sop I would read it with one constant idea.
4. Its very different but very similar at the same time. Its a very universal theme but the social circumstances are not as evident as in Victorian times.