Jewish traditions task

Mezuzah: A mezuzah is a piece of parchment (often contained in a decorative case) inscribed with specified Hebrew verses from the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21). These verses comprise the Jewish prayer "Shema Yisrael", beginning with the phrase: "Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is One"
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" (Deuteronomy 6:9). 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 black indelible ink with a special quill pen. The parchment is then rolled up and placed inside the case.







Tefillin:   also called phylacteries  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. Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form (the singular being "tefillah"), it is loosely used as a singular as well. The hand-tefillin, or shel yad, is placed on the upper arm, and the strap wrapped around the arm, hand and fingers; while the head-tefillin, or shel rosh, is placed above the forehead. The Torah commands that they should be worn to serve as a "sign" and "remembrance" that God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt.
The scriptural texts for tefillin are obscure in literal meaning. For example, the verse in Deut. 11:18 does not designate what specifically to "bind upon your arm," and the definition of totafot is not obvious. It is the Talmud, the authoritative oral tradition for Rabbinic Judaism, which explains what are to be bound to the body and the form of tefillin.






 Shofar:  The shofar is mentioned frequently in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud and rabbinic literature. The blast of a shofar emanating from the thick cloud on Mount Sinai made the Israelites tremble in awe (Exodus 19:16).
The shofar was used to announce holidays (Ps. lxxxi. 4), and the Jubilee year (Lev. 25:9). The first day of the seventh month (Tishri) is termed "a memorial of blowing" (Lev. 23:24), or "a day of blowing" (Num. 29:1), the shofar. They were for signifying the start of a war (Josh. 6:4; Judges 3:27; 7:16, 20; I Sam. 8:3). Later, it was also employed in processions (II Sam. 6:15; I Chron. 15:28), as musical accompaniment (Ps. 98:6; comp. ib. 47:5) and eventually it was inserted into the temple orchestra by David (Ps. 150:3). Note that the 'trumpets' described in Numbers 10 are a different instrument, described by the Hebrew word 'trumpet', not the word for shofar.




Hanukkah: Hanukkah also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. 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. The typical Menorah consists of eight branches with an additional raised branch. The extra light is called a shamash  and is given a distinct location, usually above or below the rest. The purpose of the shamash is to have a light available for use, as using the Hanukkah lights themselves is forbidden.




Kashrut: Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food that may be consumed according to halakha (Jewish law) is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" (in this context, fit for consumption). Food that is not in accordance with Jewish law is called treif . Kosher can also refer to anything that is fit for use or correct according to halakha, such as a hanukiyah (candelabra for Hannukah), or a sukkah (a Sukkot booth). The word kosher has become English vernacular, a colloquialism meaning proper, legitimate, genuine, fair, or acceptable.
Among the numerous laws that form part of kashrut are the prohibitions on the consumption of unclean animals (such as pork, shellfish (both Mollusca and Crustacea) and most insects, with the exception of crickets and locusts), mixtures of meat and milk, and the commandment to slaughter mammals and birds according to a process known as shechita. Most of the basic laws of kashrut are derived from the Torah's Books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Their details and practical application, however, is set down in the oral law (eventually codified in the Mishnah and Talmud) and elaborated on in the later rabbinical literature. While the Torah does not state the rationale for most kashrut laws, many reasons have been suggested, including philosophical, practical and hygienic.

Tzedakah, or Ṣ'daqah in Classical Hebrew, is a Hebrew word literally meaning righteousness but commonly used to signify charity. It is based on the Hebrew word  meaning righteousness, fairness or justice, and it is related to the Hebrew word Tzadik meaning righteous as an adjective (or righteous individual as a noun in the form of a substantive). In Judaism, tzedakah refers to the religious obligation to do what is right and just, which Judaism emphasises are important parts of living a spiritual life.







Sabbath or a sabbath is generally a weekly day of rest or time of worship observed in Abrahamic religions and other practices. Many viewpoints and definitions have arisen over the millennia. The term has been used to describe a similar weekly observance in any of several other traditions; the new moon; any of seven annual festivals in Judaism and some Christian traditions; any of eight annual pagan festivals (usually "sabbat"); an annual secular holiday; and a year of rest in religious or secular usage, originally every seventh year.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org

Book Trailers

Holocaust Documentary

Fateless Movie Trailer

In this activity we are going to analyze the trailer of the movie Fatelessness.

• Do you think that the combination of the music, images and actors are trying to evoke feelings in the viewer ?
• What kind of feelings are they?
• Are this similar to what the book provoked in you?
• Would you feel inspired to watch this movie after seeing this trailer?

My Book Trailer Project

Think of an idea to boost motivation in the audience to make them watch this movie.

• Plan your own video trailer focusing on the feelings that you want to raise in the viewers. Create a Story Board with the scenes you think you can include in your Book Trailer.

This is an example of what you should have. You should be using around three sheets to storyboar your complete Book Trailer.

• You can do this activity in groups of 2-3 students.
• Each student must play a part.
• This trailer must last no more than 5 minutes for each group.

• You will have this Tuesday (Oct 30), next Monday (Nov 5) and Tuesday (Nov 6) to work on your Book Trailer. Before you start shooting the video, your teacher must approve your storyboard.
• Use props and costumes ideally to represent your roles.
• The shooting of the video and editing must be done in your house. That's why we will not give you any online assignment this week or the next, so you can use this time to work on your Book Trailer in your house.
• You can use iMovie or Windows Movie Maker to edit your Book Trailer once you finish shooting.

This is an example of a book trailer to get you inspired: "Steampunk Book Trailer"

Book Trailer

Use some technical vocabulary when creating your story board. Take notes on the following Prezi presentation on StoryBoard Vocabulary. CLICK HERE

Fatelesness (3)

Before we continue analysing "Fatelessness",

it's important to make sure we manage all the literary terms that we need to give depth 

to our analysis and make it worth reading.

The following Glossary will help you remember

the most commonly used rhetorical devices and other concepts used in literary works. 

Use it as you analyse the following chapters 

from the book.

Glossary of Literary Terms.docx

You may also want to remember the difference between TONE and MOOD!

• TONE is the author’s attitude towards the writing (his characters, the situation) and the readers. A work of writing can have more than one tone. An example of tone could be both serious and humorous. Tone is set by the setting, choice of vocabulary and other details. WORDS TO DEFINE TONE: Amused, Humorous, Pessimistic, Angry, Informal, Playful, Cheerful, Ironic, Pompous, Horror, Light, Sad, Clear, Matter-of-fact, Serious, Formal, Resigned, Suspicious, Gloomy, Optimistic, Witty.
• 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. WORDS TO DEFINE MOOD: Fanciful, Melancholy, Frightening, Mysterious, Frustrating, Romantic, Gloomy, Sentimental, Happy, Sorrowful, Joyful, Suspenseful.

Fatelessness (2)

Famous Cases: Anne Frank's Diary

Anne Frank was one of over one million Jewish children who died in the Holocaust. She was born on June 12, 1929, in Frankfurt, Germany, to Otto and Edith Frank. 

For the first 5 years of her life, Anne lived with her parents and older sister, Margot, in an apartment on the outskirts of Frankfurt. After the NAZI seizure of power in 1933, they fled to Amsterdam.

The Germans occupied Amsterdam in may 1940, deporting Jews to Auschwitz-Birkenau and Sobibor killing centres in German-occupied Poland.

During the occupation, Anne and her family went to hiding in a secret attic apartment behind the office of the family-owned business. They stayed there for two years.

On August 4, 1944, the Gestapo (German Secret State Police) discovered the hiding place. The Franks were sent by train along with other Jewish prisoners to The Auschwitz Concentration Camp Complex. Due to their age, the two girls were transferred to the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, where they both died of typhus in March 1945, just a few weeks before British troops liberated it. The girls' mother, Edith, also died in Auschwitz. Only Otto, the father, survived the war.

                                       Bergen-Belsen COncentration Camp prisoners.

While in hiding, Anne kept a diary in which she recorded her fears, hopes, and experiences. Found in the secret apartment after the family was arrested, the diary was kept for Anne by Miep Gies, one of the people who had helped hide the Franks. It was published after the war in many languages and is used in thousands of middle and high school curricula in Europe and the Americas.

Anne Frank has become a symbol for the lost promise of the children who died in the Holocaust.

Adapted from <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005210>

Original DIary of Anne Frank.

Anne Frank's Life Interactive Timeline HERE

Fatelessness is a Holocaust memoir that takes us back when the Jewish were savagely discriminated due to the Nazi ideology which spreading throughout Europe. Find out more about this in the following site. CLICK HERE

Before we begin our analysis, let's remember:

HOW TO ANALYZE A QUOTATION

1. Read through the quotation.
2. Identify the speaker, listener, and context of the quotation.
3. Examine the quotation carefully, looking for any of the following:

• Character development:  What is revealed about the character’s personality?
• Themes:  Look to see if there is anything that relates to the author’s message.
• Literary devices such as: simile, metaphor, irony, etc.  Consider the reason WHY the author creates this figurative language.  What is the writer trying to highlight or convey?

*** You are not limited to only one of the above.  Some quotations may be rich with elements that enhance the writer’s craft, which leaves us plenty to analyze.

4. Pull all of your ideas into one strong, cohesive response.   Try to “pull out” or highlight word, phrases, and word units that help you to support the idea(s) you are trying to convey/prove.  Italicize or “quote” the words/phrases and integrate them into your sentence(s) as you analyze the significance of the passage.  
5. Don’t forget the “HOW/WHY” rule: explain how and why the quotation is important.

Fatelssness

"Remarkable... an original and chilling quality" - The New York Review of Books

"In his writing, Imre Kertész explores the possibility of continuing to live and think as an individual in an era in which the subjection of human beings to social forces has become increasingly complete... [He] upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric arbitrariness of history."- The Swedish Academy, The Nobel Prize in Literature 2002

Before analysing "Fatelessness" from the point of view of Texts and Contexts, let's review what the official IB Language and Literature Guide tells us:

Meaning in a text is shaped by culture and by the contexts of the circumstances of its production. It is also shaped by what the reader brings to it. Literary texts are not created in a vacuum but are influenced by social context, cultural heritage and historical change. 

Through the close reading of literary texts, students are able to consider the relationship between literature and issues at large, such as gender, power and identity. 

Students should be encouraged to consider how texts build upon and transform the inherited literary and cultural traditions. The compulsory study of translated texts encourages students to reflect on their own cultural assumptions through an examination of work produced in other languages and cultures (Fatelessness)

The study of Literature - texts and contexts - means that students will be able to meet the following learning outcomes:

1. Consider the changing historical, cultural and social contexts in which particular texts are written (produced) and received. Areas to be considered could include:

- the impact of different forms of publishing, for example, serialization 

- political pressure and censorship 

- dominant and minority groups 

- the role of the individual and family in society.

- the impact of prevailing values and beliefs.

- protest and polemic. 

2. Demonstrate how the formal elements of the text, genre and structure can not only be seen to influence meaning but can also be influenced by context. Aspects to be considered could include: 

- narrative technique

- characterization

- elements of style and structure

- poetic language

3. Understand the attitudes and values expressed by literary texts and their impact on readers. Students should be able to recognise that:

- there can be very different readings of the same text 

- the context of reception, including the individual reader, influences the way a text is read 

- different values may be in contention within a text.

"FATELESSNESS"

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Atonement

Atonement: 

1. Satisfaction or reparation for a wrongdoing or injury, amends (dictionary.reference.com) 

2. Reconciliation. Reparation for an offense or injury. (merriam-webster.com)

3. Repayment, compensation, or reparation made for a wrongdoing or mistake (vocabulary-vocabulary.com)

"Atonement" by Ian McEwan

2002 National Book Critics Circle Award Winner

Ian McEwan's symphonic novel of love and war, childhood and class, guilt and forgiveness provides all the satisfaction of a brilliant narrative and the provocation we have come to expect from this master of English prose.

On a hot summer day in 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses a moment's flirtation between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant and Cecilia's childhood friend. But Briony's incomplete grasp of adult motives - together with her precocious literary gifts - brings about a crime that will change all their lives. As it follows that crime's repercussions through the chaos and carnage of the Second World War and into the close of the twentieth century, Atonement engages the reader on every conceivable level, with an ease and authority that mark it as a genuine masterpiece

(review and plot retrieved from <http://www.randomhouse.com/highschool/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385721790>)

Atonement ‎(2007)‎

TASK:

Watch the first half of the 2007 movie adaptation of "Atonement". While you watch, take notes and answer the following questions:

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?

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? 

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? 

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? 

(adapted from <http://readinggroupguides.com/guides3/atonement1.asp>)

DUNKIRK EVACUATION

In "Atonement", we find out that the lie which Briony tells regarding the crime committed in her house, ends up separating her sister Cecilia from her enduring love, Robbie, who in turn is sent to fight for Great Britain during the Second World War. 

A key historical element that shapes the destinies of the main characters is the evacuation of the British troops from Dunkirk, France. 

Dunkirk Evacuation

• 2nd Clip from the movie "Atonement" (2007): Dunkirk
• Reading Task 1: CC p. 291

Based on the extract from the novel "Atonement", answer the following questions:

1. What is happening?

2. What ideas or feelings are being suggested?

3. Who is the narrator?

4. Who is speaking in the passage?

5. Who is seeing the events taking place?

6. What is the setting?

7. What do you know about what is going on?

REFLECTION

8. Do you think that the passage about the evacuation of Dunkirk would fulfill McEwan's desire to write about the war? Whose vision of the war is depicted: Robbie's, Briony's, McEwan's, or those of his sources?

Glossary

- Tommies: Colloquial word to refer to "British soldiers"

- Maginot: "Maginot Line" - a line of concrete fortifications and war defenses built around the borders of France with Germany and Italy.

- Poilus: Colloquial word to refer to "French soldiers"

- RAF: Royal AIr Force: The Air Force of the United Kingdom

- Frogs: Another colloquial word to refer to "French soldiers", due to their camouflage

• 3rd Clip from the movie "Atonement" (2007) - Closure
• Reading Task 2: "Historical Truth" CC p. 295

ONLINE ASSIGNMENT for the week (also to be posted in your BLOG)

FInd examples (at least two) of men writing as women, and women writing as men. Many critics have pointed out that Jane Austen rarely presented a male character with a private internal monologue, or in a scene that wasn't told from the point of view of a female observer, due to her extremely limited social circumstances, and a desire to retain a sense of authenticity in her writing. 

What are the benefits and limitations of this approach?

Why do other authors, like McEwan, take the opposite approach?

Pride and Prejudice

"I am amusing myself with Miss Austen's novels, She has great power and discrimination in delineating common-place people; and her writings are a capital picture of real life, with all the little wheels and machinery laid bare like a patent clock"

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet and educator: journal entry, May 1839.

Using a novel as a "primary source" can end up being a really effective way of learning about social history. Such is the case of "Pride and Prejudice", a novel written by British author Jane Austen and published in 1813.

The story depicts what happens to Elizabeth Bennet, a clearly ahead-of-her-time character who finds herself struggling against British society's views of propriety, marriage, decorum, women's role, morality, justice, and family breeding. On the way, and against all odds, she happens to find love in the unconventional Mr Darcy. 

Even though the story's historical context portrays the societal and cultural features of mid-19th century England, it still mirrors current conflicts and issues of today's society. It has been adapted to films, TV series and re-tellings of the most interesting kind as presented in the following clips:

Pride and Prejudice (2005)

Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

Lost in Austen (TV series 2008)

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies ‎(Novel - 2009)‎

TASK 1: Based on the clips above, answer the following questions:

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

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

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

Review of important terms

Class: David Cody provides a basic definition of class on The Victorian Web, an EDSITEment-reviewed website. He explains:

Class is a complex term, in use since the late eighteenth century, and employed in many different ways. In our context, classes are the more or less distinct social groupings which at any given historical period, taken as a whole, constituted British Society. Different social classes can be (and were by the classes themselves) distinguished by inequalities in such areas as power, authority, wealth, working and living conditions, life-styles, life-span, education, religion, and culture.

Gentleman: Cody again provides a helpful description on The Victorian Web, an EDSITEment-reviewed website. He states:

Members of the British aristocracy were gentlemen by right of birth (although it was also emphasized, paradoxically enough, that birth alone could not make a man a gentleman), while the new industrial and mercantile elites, in the face of opposition from the aristocracy, inevitably attempted to have themselves designated as gentlemen as a natural consequence of their growing wealth and influence. Other Victorians [as well as those who lived earlier in the nineteenth century]—clergy belonging to the Church of England, army officers, members of Parliament—were recognized as gentlemen by virtue of their occupations, while members of numerous other eminently respectable professions—engineers, for example—were not.

<http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/jane-austens-pride-and-prejudice-novel-historical-source#section-16101>

TASK 2: CC pp. 287, 288 "Jane Austen and women's emancipation"

Glossary

• self-indulgence: To pity oneself
• youth: state in life when one's considered young
• whilst: while
• excursive: tending to avoid the main subject
• envisage: view
• reverberate: replicate
• stifling: suffocating
• unscrupulous: absent of values or moral norms

TASK 3: CC pp. 289, 290

PEE and quotations

As well as having lots of ideas, you need to explain them clearly. One really effective way of doing this is to use PEE (Point, Evidence, Explanation).

So if you're answering a question, state your point, back it up with a piece of evidence and then, explain it.

Try out the PEE technique. Here's an extract from "Holes" about a character named Stanley and the prison work camp.

Find two features of Stanley's character and explain how they are suggested. Write your answer in your English notebook.

Stanley and his parents had tried to pretend that he was just going away to camp for a while, just like rich kids do. When Stanley was younger he used to play with stuffed animals, and pretend the animals were at camp. Camp Fun and Games he called it. Sometimes he'd have them play soccer with a marble. Other times they'd run an obstacle course, or go bungee jumping off a table, tied to broken rubber bands. Now Stanley tried to pretend he was going to Camp Fun and Games. Maybe he'd make some friends, he thought. At least he'd get to swim in the lake.

'Holes' - Louis Sachar

Sample Answer

Point:

1. Stanley is a lonely boy.

2. He is willing to make the best of a bad situation.

Evidence:

1. The writer suggests that Stanley spent long periods, when younger, playing alone with stuffed toys.

2. Stanley thinks that he will have the chance to make friends and "at least he'd get to swim in the lake".

Explanation:

1. The writer lists the sort of games Stanley played with his stuffed toys at "Camp Fun and Games" in a way that suggests he was playing on his own - the toys became his friends.

2. He is going to a boy's prison work cam, but, instead of thinking about the horrors he might face, he shows that he is hopeful and ready to make the best of things.

The following video provides another example. This time, it's based on the book "Of Mice and Men"

PEE technique for Literary Analysis

Using Quotations

When quoting from a text, remember to:

• Use quotation marks.
• Quote accurately.
• Quotes of three words or less can be used in the sentence you're writing - for example ...when the writer talks about the "futility of life" he means...
• Longer quotations need to be included on a line of their own and with a space before it (known as an indent).
• Short, well-chosen quotations are better than long, vague ones.

Remember that certain words and phrases are helpful when you're explaining an idea in some detail, especially if you are commenting on implicit meaning. The following list shows some of those phrases.

• this implies
• this suggests
• which gives the impression that
• possibly
• perhaps
• this indicates that
• this shows
• obviously

Some other words and phrases that may be useful are those that help move your argument on. These are called connectives. Here are some examples:

• however
• therefore
• in contrast
• because
• but
• and
• furthermore
• also
• then
• at first
• later
• as well as

The Help

The Help Movie Trailer

"The Help" is one of the most thought-provoking and touching portraits of African-American maids working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi during the early 1960s.

Post your responses to the following activities in your blog.

1. In your own words, write what was meant by "separate but equal." How did people in Jackson, Mississippi - including the ladies of the Junior League in "The Help" - try to apply this principle?

2. Do a simple online research about Jim Crow Laws. Identify what outcomes - forced upon domestic workers - were present in "The Help".

3. Explore the themes in "The Help" and develop your ideas by continuing the following sentence:

"The maids in The Help took a risk by telling their stories. Even though they knew they could be shot to death in their front yards, they went ahead with the project. If people are not willing to take risks..."

TKM part 2

1. 1o minutes to finish answering questions about "Purple Hibiscus"and the essay by the NIgerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Part II

Analysis Questions of chapters 12, 13 and 14

Ch. 12

1. Comment on Jem's and Scout's visit to First Purchase Church. What does Scout learn about how black people live?

2. Explain why Calpurnia speaks differently in the Finch household, and among her neighbours at church.

Ch. 13

3. Aunt Alexandra thinks Scout is "dull" (not clever). Why does she think this, and is she right? 

4. How does Aunt Alexandra involve herself in Macomb's social life?

5. Comment on Aunt Alexandra's ideas about breeding and family, in contrast to Atticus' visions. Who's right, do you think? Why?

Ch. 14. 

6. Comment on Atticus' definition of rape. How suitable is this definition as an answer to Scout?

Personal Recount - Written task

"Mixing with strangers"

Write about your experiences of meeting people whose way of life was different from your own - perhaps people from another country, or ethnic group, or people whose first language is not the same as yours. Connect your ideas to those present in Chapter 12 (Min. 100 words)

Friday, Aug 17

Ch. 15

1. What is the Ku Klux Klan? What do you think of Atticus' comment about it?

2. How does Jem react when Atticus tells him to go home, and why?

3. What persuades the lynching-party to give up their attempt on Tom's life?

Ch. 16

4. What sort of person is Dolphus Raymond and what is your opinion of him?

5. How does Reverend Sykes help the children see and hear the trial? Is he correct in doing so?

Ch. 17

6. Choose three quotes from chapter 17. Explain the context of each, the characters involved, and their relevance for the story, themes and overall message of the novel.

Reading Test BONUS POINT (5 extra points in your score) 

DEADLINE: Thursday, Aug 23

Write a script and record yourself by using voicethread presenting a short item on any part of Tom Robinson's trial for a news broadcast on an Alabama Station (keeping the social conventions and views of the historical context of the story)

Post the written script and the voicethread link in your BLOG.

Literature Text and contexts

Literature

Texts and Contexts

 

What is Literature?

 

As previously studied on Week 5 of our programme, we came to the conclusion that Literature is "a highly developed use of language in that is the stylized manipulation of language for larger effect (purpose) and/or affect (emotional response)" (L&L Course Companion p.9)

So, can a literature work be read only as stylized words used on a piece of paper or an online medium? Is there ANYTHING ELSE we need to know in order to comprehend a literature text "better"?

Try your skills and let's see if you can handle the following texts. 

CC Activity 1 - pp 272, 273

TEXT A: "The Leopard" by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (1958)

TEXT B: "Notable American Women" by Ben Marcus (2002)

WARNING: These are not easy texts. Both passages are short sections form long, complicated novels. Jot down all the questions that pop up in your head while you read them. After you finish reading, go through the sample student's questions. Are they similar to yours?

 

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Take a look at the following audio/visual material connected to the works from which you just read extracts. Let's see if it broadens your mind and perspective towards your reading.

"The Leopard" by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa

The Leopard ‎(1958)‎

"Notable American Women" by Ben Marcus

Writers on Writing: Ben Marcus

• "Reading is not simply a decoding of letters and words but a process through which we understand what a text or author is suggesting and what the words mean"
• "We all bring knowledge and experience to our reading of the text"
• "To be an informed reader is to be a reader who may know it is impossible to know and understand everything about a work of literature, but who understands the forces on an author, on the meaning and interpretation of a work, and on his own personal reactions"

What are CONTEXTS?

 

Context can be defined simply as the circumstances that surround a given text and help to specify its meaning.

Context is best expressed as CONTEXTS (plural) because of the wide variety of external forces that affect the general reception or understanding of a work.

 

CONTEXT OF PRODUCTION: Critical positions, historical facts, biographical aspects of the author's life.

 

CONTEXT OF RECEPTION: Once you approach a work as a reader, the meaning that is communicated, that is sent from the text to you, is influenced by everything that you bring to it, from your reading to your personal experiences and biases.

 

General Questions about Context

 

 

The work of literature you will be analysing and discovering is Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird". Do an online research this week and find out the following information (Post it in your BLOG)

 

• What is the cultural and educational background of the author?
• What are the values and aesthetic concerns of the culture of the author (literature movement, cultural movement, society of that time, etc)?
• What important social, political or economic issues took place in the author's times.

A digest of texts and contexts

Harper Lee and the killing of a mockingbird

Many context elements inspired Harper lee to write her novel. 

The Great Economic Depression, Jim Crow Laws, 

and the moral and social conventions of the time are reflected in the chapters and characters of 

"To Kill a Mockingbird".

Take a look at the following presentations on these topics:

Great Depression

kill_a_mockingbird.ppt

As part of the study of context, we will consider the following points as context of PRODUCTION in "To Kill a Mockingbird"

• Harper Lee's life and times
• The Deep South
• The Economic Depression
• Jim Crow Laws (segregation)
• Social Classes and Discrimination
• Martin Luther King's figure

Have a look at the following video. What effect does it cause on you?

The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl

TKM Chapter 1 Analysis

taken from <http://www.enotes.com/to-kill-a-mockingbird/chapter-1-questions-answers>

1. What do you learn in this chapter about Maycomb, Atticus Finch and his family?

2. Describe Calpurnia as Scout depicts her in Chapter 1.

3. What does Dill dare Jem to do?

4. The townspeople of Maycomb have some fears and superstitions about the Radley place. Describe these fears and superstitions.

5. How important is bravery to Jem?

6. What do you notice about the narrative voice and viewpoint of the story?