There are winners and losers in the novel. What factors seem to influence the happiness or satisfaction of the key characters? Are Bazarov and his ideals the real victims?
Fathers and Sons continued
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Fathers and Sons (Children)
The Russian writer, Mikhail Morgulis ,remarked to me that children will not listen to their parents, but they will watch. It is not our words, but our actions that determine how we will be judged. Examine the words and actions of Bazarov, Arkady, Pavel and Arkady’s father and determine if their actions are consistent with their words.
Selifan?
Our author ran out of time and could not describe Selifan. Using the standard Gogolian ability to create something out of nothing, create a 250-300 word background story of Selifan using your best Gogolian grotesque.
Gogol’s Dead Souls
Compliments of Cathy: Do you think Dead Souls has a plot? Does a novel need a plot to have a greater significance or meaning? If so, what is it about a cohesive story line that allows for readers to extract meaning from it? If not, what are the elements of a story (specifically Dead Souls) that make it meaningful?
And please consider the concept of the “picaresque novel” as you wonder aloud: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picaresque.
BUT you also need to offer 100-200 words on the split class format-plusses and minuses-thoughts-and what is the proper balance between teaching and learning, between listening and speaking. Do we all need a monitor to stay on task? Why have class at all? (maybe more than 200 words!)
For more on Gogol’s laughter through tears check out Charlie Chaplin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiyPgtYiGxI&feature=related
Did we all come from Gogol’s Overcoat of from his Nose?
Which is the true Gogol? The humane critic of the social condition hoping to evoke our outrage and sympathy for the downtrodden, or the comical humorist laughing with us and at us and our human vanity? How does one reconcile the author of both of these stories?
Just for a change of pace -limit yourself to a MAXIMUM of 250 words!!! Please!!!
Pechorin-predestined or just pretentious?
Pechorin says so many things, some clever, some true, some troubling, but is he honest with himself? Choose one of your favorite lines from his diary and comment on it, it as reflected in Pechorin and its relevance to today.
A Hero of Our Time
There is a youthful energy to this text that is really a series of five stories bundled together into a whole that some call a marvelous psychological novel. What do we learn about Pechorin in each section as we see him through three sets of eyes (Maksim’s, the narrator’s, and his own)?
Be sure to watch some of the youtube videos for a sense of the Time and Place. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwy9PPE4Z_I&feature=related
“The Queen of Spades”
This is a complex tale that has spawned a Chaikovsky opera (sometimes know even in English under the French title Pique Dame] and several films. The inclusion of the card game (faro) opens a whole new world of associations. You will find several useful and entertaining links below, but at the end of the day you must read the story and comment on it. Watch carefully the role of numbers, the city, time, the physical framing of characters (windows, chairs, coffins), coincidence. Is this romanticism or realism (but be sure to define those terms for yourself and your fellow readers)?
Deck of Cards Song (Text)
The Game of Faro (History) Be sure to play a few hands.
The Russian Пиковая дама.
The Station Master and Amateur Maid
Are we seeing a repeat of Poor Liza in poor Dunya? Is she poor or pure? Who is innocent or guilty in this story? How do the pictures of the Prodigal Son inform us? Why are the inscriptions in German?
As for the final story of Belkin’s Tales, what is Pushkin trying to accomplish? And does he?
Read the parable at
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%2015:11-15:32&version=KJV
Pushkin’s “The Shot” and “The Snowstorm.”
“But let us return to the worthy proprietors of Nenaradova, and see what is happening there.
Nothing.”
More than once our assumptions and expectations are proven incorrect as the narratives unfold. The narratives themselves are also collections, like little Russian nested dolls, matryoshkas, where one story is embedded in side of another. Pushkin also treats us to superbly balanced stories.
There is much more to these seemingly simple stories. Consider the complications suggested by the Introduction. What struck your fancy in either one of the stories?