ORAL EXAM - Q&A

Post notes, questions, advice, encouragements, good wishes....

The Real Jane Austen 2002

A few words on "The Novel of Manners"

"The form developed some specific conventions in the 19th century. First, the protagonist is usually a single woman looking to get married. Second, socio-economic class must be a factor in determining whom the woman will marry. Third, the novel must include many scenes that portray the proper and improper way to act within high society, and also outline differences and relations between classes. And finally, the novel of manners usually ends with either the marriage or death of the female protagonist"

www.sparknotes.com

See also post in Ludus on the subject + Fields of Vision

The Amazing Shakespearean Sonnet by the L-class

A The horrid winter evening was so dark
B The devil was let loose and roamed the field
A He cries at night when storms ignite a spark
B Like guardians unprotected by the shield

C Like tempered silver swords begin to mold
D And waves go high in crooked splashing seas
C And in the cold of winter, giants scold
D The hair is itchy from the swarm of fleas

E He never claimed ‘twas known to be discrete
F When he exposed his manly private parts
E The devil made a jealous, quick retreat
F A glorious feast was held to hail the tarts

G The wonders of a baked and eaten bun
G As full of life as this sonnetic pun

If Shakespeare had written Star Wars :)

THIS is awesome.

Macbeth: After the murder

Read act 2, scene 4 in groups of three.

Note down and explain everything in the scene which indicates evil, confusion, the supernatural...

You may relate your findings to the description of the night of the murder from act 2, scene 3 (Lennox' description)

Don't forget to post your names!

Shakespeare: Macbeth Act 1 scenes 1-3

Each group must pick a quote from one of the first 3 scenes of the play. Your choice can be based on:

a) It represents or introduces a basic conflict of the play
b) It provides important information about X as a character
c) The language is simply FANTASTIC!
d) We get important information about the time and the worldview of Shakespeare
e) It is written in iambic pentameter
f) .........................
g) .........................

Write a comment below in which you:

1. bring your quote
2. explain why you chose it
3. analyse it using relevant analytical vocabulary
4. explain how your quote relates to the rest of the play

Be prepared to present your work in class

Macbeth - Play Summary & Analysis by Thug Notes

Video SparkNotes: Shakespeare's Macbeth summary

Kate Chopin: Desiree's Baby

Please post notes for the text

Charlotte Perkins Gilman: "The Yellow Wallpaper"

Please post your notes for the text below - They will be appreciated when you study for the exam, I promise!

Charlotte Brontë: "Jane Eyre" (excerpts)

I decided to share my notes with you - feel free to use or dismiss them. Please share your own notes as comments below or post questions/elaborations/disagreements regarding the points that come up. Some very important aspects were discussed in class, I think. They would be nice to include as well

 

Mrs. Reed is a hypocrite. She tries different strategies in coping with Jane’s outburst. She sees Jane’s behavior as a sickness and suggests that she drink some water or lie down (l. 49, l. 60). Her reactions go from scolding Jane as a child and sending her to her room (l. 1). She then turns cold and tries to intimidate Jane in that way (l. 15). Jane (narrator comments on this fact and says that she talks to her as an adult would talk to another adult l. 19). In l. 45 we see Mrs. Reed starting to lose control. Her body moves and she almost starts to cry. She is falling apart. Her strategy changes and she tries to convince Jane that she wants to be her friend (l. 52). This indirectly involves the reader - like Jane, we have every reason to dismiss this claim as a lie. In the final part of the text, Mrs. Reed makes an attempt at defending herself. She desperately turns to the conventions of her time that children must be corrected and disciplined when they divert from the expected behavior (l. 57). Finally, as a response to Jane’s plee to send her away soon, Mrs. Reed’s dominating voice is reduced to a murmur and she resolves to the only possibility left - namely sending her away as soon as possible.

Jane is torn between the resolve of leaving Rochester because staying with him would be morally wrong. She keeps repeating “I do” 3 times - what should have been her wedding vows (ll. 9-13). Jane knows that life is a struggle - perhaps she realizes this better than Rochester. She says: “We were born to strive and endure” (l. 35). She does not expect life to be easy.  

When Rochester talks about “a mere human law”, she feels that her “conscience and reason turned traitors against me” (l. 44). She immediately moves on to thinking about Rochester and feels guilty for leaving him because of the impact it would have on him. We see how she is torn between emotion and reason. However, a feminist critic would underline the fact that she immediately takes on the role of motherly wife whose natural inclination is to take care of men (which is also what she ends up doing).

The temptation is described as a fire. Jane’s heart beats and she says that she would be insane not to go with him.

Jane calls him “my dear master” (l. 72), while Rochester still uses his pet name for her “little Jane” (l. 75). She is trying to reestablish a distance between them in order to protect herself and give her the strength to stick to her resolve. 

Rochester: There is an animalistic aggression in his grief (l. 6 + l. 17-19). In just half a page, he says her name 6 times - it seems desperate and becomes a plea. These examples show how difficult it is for R to deal with his emotions.

His animalistic nature is evident in ll. 7 (lion), 17-19 (physical reaction - almost violent), l. 78 (passion).

He also tries to persuade her with reason saying that she does not have any relatives whom she has to please. He talks about “a mere human law” (l. 41) - this appeals to Jane’s independence. She begins to lose her sense of reason.

When Jane is leaving, Rochester’s cry: “Oh Jane! My hope - my love - my life!” in l. 65 fades into a sob. The very language dissolves.

Relationship:

There is a very physical aspect to their relationship. In l. 12-13 R tries to embrace J and she pulls away. This incident parallels the inner struggle. Jane knows that she needs to go away. Their bodies, however, are drawn to each other. This physicality breaks with the conventions of the time.

Morally, R and Jane also differ in what they say. Jane states that their being together is a sin (l. 31), whereas R claims that Jane is forcing him back to his old immoral nature (he married Bertha at a time where he was immature and he was lured into the marriage because of money). Jane is thus portrayed as a virgin savior - a love’s Joanne of Arch.

Jane, on the other hand knows that she needs to be true to her moral standards. She cannot be free if she succumbs to the temptation. She leaves Rochester because of herself (- just as she ends up marrying him out of her own choice).

Edgar Allan Poe: The Tell-Tale Heart

Illustration: Harry Clarke, 1919
I have chosen three different aspects for your analysis of the short story:
- Narration and language
- Symbols and sounds
- Narrator and madness (+ the old man)

In your groups, you've worked on these aspects and the way in which they support, elaborate and exemplify our very broad hypothesis: A WEIRD MIND.

Please post notes and quotes from your group as comments below. They are for your fellow students and for you to use when you work together with another group who has worked on the same aspects.

If you find that something is missing from any of the notes, feel free to add you own ideas or ask questions to the group