Discussion Questions:
1. Do you think Mr. Bixby knows about his wife’s relationship with the Colonel?
2. Mrs. Bixby’s plan for keeping the mink coat does not work. What would you have done in her position?
3. What do you think Mrs. Bixby will do, now that she knows her husband is unfaithful to her? What would you do?
4. Compare what we know of the two men in Mrs. Bixby’s life.
5. What do you think are the Colonel’s “personal reasons” for not seeing Mrs. Bixby any more?
6. Do you feel sympathy for Mrs. Bixby or do you feel she deserves what happens to her in the end?
7. Did you like the story? Why / why not?
sábado, 26 de febrero de 2011
domingo, 13 de febrero de 2011
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - by James Thurber
Discussion Questions:
1. What is Walter Mitty’s internal conflict? How does he escape from it?
2. Describe Walter Mitty’s personality and the changes produced in him. Consider his real life and his daydreams.
3. What kind of relationship do Walter and his wife have?
4. In his fantasies Walter Mitty turns out to be triumphant, a hero. What different roles does he play? Mention instances from the text which show that he is a successful man.
5. How does the story end? What does it show?
...and do not forget to record your opinion in voxopop
1. What is Walter Mitty’s internal conflict? How does he escape from it?
2. Describe Walter Mitty’s personality and the changes produced in him. Consider his real life and his daydreams.
3. What kind of relationship do Walter and his wife have?
4. In his fantasies Walter Mitty turns out to be triumphant, a hero. What different roles does he play? Mention instances from the text which show that he is a successful man.
5. How does the story end? What does it show?
...and do not forget to record your opinion in voxopop
viernes, 11 de febrero de 2011
The Way Up to Heaven - by Liliana
Violence and silence
“Violence and abuse affect all kinds of people every day. It doesn't matter what race or culture you come from, how much money you have, how old you are, or if you have a disability. Violence does not discriminate.
Abuse can be physical, mental, and emotional. Violence against women in any form is a crime, whether the abuser is a family member; someone you date; a current or past spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend; an acquaintance; or a stranger. You are not at fault. You did not cause the abuse to occur. If you or someone you know has been sexually, physically, or emotionally abused, seek help.”
After reading “The Way up to Heaven” by Dahal, I could link the theme of this story to a problem that occured in the past , occurs now and I hope it wont occur in the future, violence. The previous text that I have included explains in a few words what violence means and it also explains that violence doesnt discriminate .
The woman in Dahl’s story, Mrs Foster is a victim of his husband but there are also husbands victims of their wives , kids victims of their parents or other members of their families, old parents victims of their sons etc.
Mrs Foster conspiratorial silence helps her husband to go on with mental and emotional abuse. An economical dependant woman that lives according to her middle class life , who perhaps has accepted his cruelty for years in the relationship. A woman who is understimated by her husband, and that one day when he has an accident in the elevador she finds the opportunity to be free. An accident that with her silence turns out to be a crime cause he has been closed in the elevator more than a month alone without any help. She cant find a way to leave him , to be free with any damage and violence occurs again.
“Violence and abuse affect all kinds of people every day. It doesn't matter what race or culture you come from, how much money you have, how old you are, or if you have a disability. Violence does not discriminate.
Abuse can be physical, mental, and emotional. Violence against women in any form is a crime, whether the abuser is a family member; someone you date; a current or past spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend; an acquaintance; or a stranger. You are not at fault. You did not cause the abuse to occur. If you or someone you know has been sexually, physically, or emotionally abused, seek help.”
After reading “The Way up to Heaven” by Dahal, I could link the theme of this story to a problem that occured in the past , occurs now and I hope it wont occur in the future, violence. The previous text that I have included explains in a few words what violence means and it also explains that violence doesnt discriminate .
The woman in Dahl’s story, Mrs Foster is a victim of his husband but there are also husbands victims of their wives , kids victims of their parents or other members of their families, old parents victims of their sons etc.
Mrs Foster conspiratorial silence helps her husband to go on with mental and emotional abuse. An economical dependant woman that lives according to her middle class life , who perhaps has accepted his cruelty for years in the relationship. A woman who is understimated by her husband, and that one day when he has an accident in the elevador she finds the opportunity to be free. An accident that with her silence turns out to be a crime cause he has been closed in the elevator more than a month alone without any help. She cant find a way to leave him , to be free with any damage and violence occurs again.
jueves, 10 de febrero de 2011
Readings
Hi!.
If you don't have enough with the material of our summer e-book clubbing, or you're just more a 'hearing' person, check the Readings section of the BBC Radio's website, where you can find stories read by famous actors or writers. Another interesting section is Books and Authors, a podcast that features conversations with leading authors about their work. Hope you enjoy it.
See you!.
Sol.
If you don't have enough with the material of our summer e-book clubbing, or you're just more a 'hearing' person, check the Readings section of the BBC Radio's website, where you can find stories read by famous actors or writers. Another interesting section is Books and Authors, a podcast that features conversations with leading authors about their work. Hope you enjoy it.
See you!.
Sol.
sábado, 5 de febrero de 2011
viernes, 28 de enero de 2011
The Way Up to Heaven -by Roald Dahl
Discussion Questions:
o Mrs. Foster has a habit which is a problem and causes unhappiness. Have you ever felt / had anything like that?
o How sympathetic is Mr. Foster to his wife?
o Does Mr Foster feel unhappy about having to stay at the club while his wife is away?
o How do Mrs. Foster’s feelings about her husband develop?
o Is the letter she wrote from Paris ironic?
o What happened to Mr. Foster by the end of the story?
Which of the following statements do you agree with? Discuss:
- Mrs. Foster’s decision at the front door is one you can understand and sympathize with.
- Mr. Foster deserves what he got.
- Mrs. Foster should have separated from her husband long ago.
- She just murdered him.
- She deservers to live happily in France with her daughter and grandchildren
- It was just an unfortunate accident and Mrs Foster knew how to take advantage of it.
o Mrs. Foster has a habit which is a problem and causes unhappiness. Have you ever felt / had anything like that?
o How sympathetic is Mr. Foster to his wife?
o Does Mr Foster feel unhappy about having to stay at the club while his wife is away?
o How do Mrs. Foster’s feelings about her husband develop?
o Is the letter she wrote from Paris ironic?
o What happened to Mr. Foster by the end of the story?
Which of the following statements do you agree with? Discuss:
- Mrs. Foster’s decision at the front door is one you can understand and sympathize with.
- Mr. Foster deserves what he got.
- Mrs. Foster should have separated from her husband long ago.
- She just murdered him.
- She deservers to live happily in France with her daughter and grandchildren
- It was just an unfortunate accident and Mrs Foster knew how to take advantage of it.
THANKS!
I just want to thank everybody for collaborating with juicy opinions
(written / recorded / telepathic) I'm sure you are all reading and enjoying!
I'm still on holidays and my internet connections are far from good so I haven't been able to record my voice again. I'll get in touch soon through voxopop once at home.
Love,
Nat
(written / recorded / telepathic) I'm sure you are all reading and enjoying!
I'm still on holidays and my internet connections are far from good so I haven't been able to record my voice again. I'll get in touch soon through voxopop once at home.
Love,
Nat
martes, 25 de enero de 2011
The Cask of Amontillado II - by Liliana
The Cask of Amontillado (Last comments)
Yesterday I read this story again trying to find something else in it. I discovered that in these two men Montresor and Fortunato we could find dark parts of human beings. Montresor represents an oscure part of our alms, the revenge and Fortunato who enjoyes drinking wine represents an addict who can do anything to obtain what he wants.
The dark place where Fortunato died, Montresor dark clothes all are associated with that dark part that it is in all of us slept, under control or in activity.
Yesterday I read this story again trying to find something else in it. I discovered that in these two men Montresor and Fortunato we could find dark parts of human beings. Montresor represents an oscure part of our alms, the revenge and Fortunato who enjoyes drinking wine represents an addict who can do anything to obtain what he wants.
The dark place where Fortunato died, Montresor dark clothes all are associated with that dark part that it is in all of us slept, under control or in activity.
The Cask of Amontillado I - by Liliana
Nemo me impune lacessit
As my spirit of investigation is still alive I have been working as a detective again!!!!!
What’s the meaning of “ Nemo me impune lacessit”? ("No one insults me with impunity”).
*During the reign of Charles II, the motto was added to the Royal coat of arms of Scotland and, since 1707, has appeared in the Scottish version of the arms of British Monarchs, including the present Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom used in Scotland.
*According to legend, the "guardian thistle" has played its part in the defence of the ancient realm of Scotland against a night attack by Norwegian vikings, one of whom let out a yell of pain when he stepped on a prickly thistle, thus alerting the Scottish defenders. In the motto "No-one attacks me with impunity" (Latin: "Nemo me impune lacessit"),"me" was therefore originally the thistle itself, but by extension now refers to the Scottish regiments which have adopted *(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemo_me_impune_lacessit ).
In “The Cask of Amontillado” we can read about a personal revenge, one with an uncertain origin. Montresor carefully planned Fortunato’s (ironically named) death in an unknown city in Carnival . A revenge that’s shows Montresor‘s soul as dark as the catacombs of his family. What’s a revenge? According to Cambridge dictionary it’s harm done to someone as a punishment for harm that they have done to someone (ttp://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/revenge).Only a person with mental problems could have planned such a cruel crime, a revenge that after fifty years had impunity
As my spirit of investigation is still alive I have been working as a detective again!!!!!
What’s the meaning of “ Nemo me impune lacessit”? ("No one insults me with impunity”).
*During the reign of Charles II, the motto was added to the Royal coat of arms of Scotland and, since 1707, has appeared in the Scottish version of the arms of British Monarchs, including the present Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom used in Scotland.
*According to legend, the "guardian thistle" has played its part in the defence of the ancient realm of Scotland against a night attack by Norwegian vikings, one of whom let out a yell of pain when he stepped on a prickly thistle, thus alerting the Scottish defenders. In the motto "No-one attacks me with impunity" (Latin: "Nemo me impune lacessit"),"me" was therefore originally the thistle itself, but by extension now refers to the Scottish regiments which have adopted *(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemo_me_impune_lacessit ).
In “The Cask of Amontillado” we can read about a personal revenge, one with an uncertain origin. Montresor carefully planned Fortunato’s (ironically named) death in an unknown city in Carnival . A revenge that’s shows Montresor‘s soul as dark as the catacombs of his family. What’s a revenge? According to Cambridge dictionary it’s harm done to someone as a punishment for harm that they have done to someone (ttp://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/revenge).Only a person with mental problems could have planned such a cruel crime, a revenge that after fifty years had impunity
viernes, 14 de enero de 2011
THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO by E.A. Poe
Where do you think the story takes place? When?
Who are the characters?
What do we know about them and their relationship?
Themes dealt with?
Can you mention death references?
Analyse the following quotations:
1. “I must not only punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong” (p. 3)
2. “Here I knocked off the neck of a bottle which I drew from a long row of its fellows that lay upon the mould” (p. 5)
3. “Nemo me impune lacessit” (p. 6)
4. “ (…) in the fashion of the great catacombs of Paris” (p. 7)
5. “He was too much astounded to resist” (p.7)
6. “(…) the intoxication of Fortunato had in a great measure worn off” (p. 8)
7. “For the love of God!” (p. 9)
8. “There came forth in reply only a jingling of the bells” (p. 9)
9. “For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them. In pace requiescat!” (p. 9)
Can you summarize the plot in no more than three lines?
Who are the characters?
What do we know about them and their relationship?
Themes dealt with?
Can you mention death references?
Analyse the following quotations:
1. “I must not only punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong” (p. 3)
2. “Here I knocked off the neck of a bottle which I drew from a long row of its fellows that lay upon the mould” (p. 5)
3. “Nemo me impune lacessit” (p. 6)
4. “ (…) in the fashion of the great catacombs of Paris” (p. 7)
5. “He was too much astounded to resist” (p.7)
6. “(…) the intoxication of Fortunato had in a great measure worn off” (p. 8)
7. “For the love of God!” (p. 9)
8. “There came forth in reply only a jingling of the bells” (p. 9)
9. “For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them. In pace requiescat!” (p. 9)
Can you summarize the plot in no more than three lines?
The Mark on The Wall by Luciana
Hello Nat! Could you post this on the blog? Thank you!!! Happy holidays! Lu
Hello guys! I' m sorry to inform you that, somehow, I can't record any message on the discussion. Not here in SIGEN nor in my personal computer. So, unfortunately I’m going to post my opinion here this time. I hope to find a solution for this situation for the next short story!
Regarding “The Mark on the Wall”, my first impression when I read the story was that it was purely about the narrator’s stream of thoughts. As we know, the story begins when the narrator sees a mark on the wall. By trying to imagine what could have made it, she embarks herself on an almost non stopping babbling. Maybe, with the proper analysis, I could find other meanings to every thought she expressed. But for now, even thought this “stream of thoughts” is merely a literary resource used by the author, all I can say is that it is the closest she can be to the human mind. How many times we have seen or listened to something and start relating it with past experiences or with anything at all?
As far as the themes of the story, I think that the inaccuracy of thought, the notion of flimsiness and self-preservation and, also, how readily our thoughts swarm upon new objects and then leaves them there are the basic ideas the author wants to communicate. After all, without all the random thinking the story would have been rather pointless.
In my opinion, the mark on the wall it’s just the kick off for the story to develop. The narrator consciousness shows all different kinds of ideas but to me it shows particularly a conflict of closure. It seems as if she can’t finish an idea or stop her babbling. She admits this in the 6th paragraph by saying “I want to think quietly, calmly spaciously, never to be interrupted, never to have to rise from my chair, to slip easily from one thing to another (…)”. She also mentions “I wish I could hit upon a pleasant track of thought, a track indirectly reflecting credit upon myself, for those are the pleasantest thoughts”.
It is also important to point out that the “Whiteker’s Almanac” and “the Table of Precedency” are mentioned to trace a parallel with the place one has in life. Such as the order of precedence establishes who follows who in importance, the narrators says one must know how to behave and act according to the place you have in life, to know who follows who. And, in this case, she must follow Nature.
Last but not least, throughout the story the focus comes and goes from the mark on the wall, as if reminding why she was talking in the first place. It comes to my mind that the mark on the wall doesn’t really matter. The end of the story makes that quite clear. When the narrator finishes her thoughts she says “Ah! The mark on the wall! It was a snail”, she is clearly mocking us. She says “That? No big deal
Hello guys! I' m sorry to inform you that, somehow, I can't record any message on the discussion. Not here in SIGEN nor in my personal computer. So, unfortunately I’m going to post my opinion here this time. I hope to find a solution for this situation for the next short story!
Regarding “The Mark on the Wall”, my first impression when I read the story was that it was purely about the narrator’s stream of thoughts. As we know, the story begins when the narrator sees a mark on the wall. By trying to imagine what could have made it, she embarks herself on an almost non stopping babbling. Maybe, with the proper analysis, I could find other meanings to every thought she expressed. But for now, even thought this “stream of thoughts” is merely a literary resource used by the author, all I can say is that it is the closest she can be to the human mind. How many times we have seen or listened to something and start relating it with past experiences or with anything at all?
As far as the themes of the story, I think that the inaccuracy of thought, the notion of flimsiness and self-preservation and, also, how readily our thoughts swarm upon new objects and then leaves them there are the basic ideas the author wants to communicate. After all, without all the random thinking the story would have been rather pointless.
In my opinion, the mark on the wall it’s just the kick off for the story to develop. The narrator consciousness shows all different kinds of ideas but to me it shows particularly a conflict of closure. It seems as if she can’t finish an idea or stop her babbling. She admits this in the 6th paragraph by saying “I want to think quietly, calmly spaciously, never to be interrupted, never to have to rise from my chair, to slip easily from one thing to another (…)”. She also mentions “I wish I could hit upon a pleasant track of thought, a track indirectly reflecting credit upon myself, for those are the pleasantest thoughts”.
It is also important to point out that the “Whiteker’s Almanac” and “the Table of Precedency” are mentioned to trace a parallel with the place one has in life. Such as the order of precedence establishes who follows who in importance, the narrators says one must know how to behave and act according to the place you have in life, to know who follows who. And, in this case, she must follow Nature.
Last but not least, throughout the story the focus comes and goes from the mark on the wall, as if reminding why she was talking in the first place. It comes to my mind that the mark on the wall doesn’t really matter. The end of the story makes that quite clear. When the narrator finishes her thoughts she says “Ah! The mark on the wall! It was a snail”, she is clearly mocking us. She says “That? No big deal
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