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| Victorian Literature Topics |
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General
Use this forum to discuss anything not covered under "Discussion Questions" below
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Tue Mar 24, 2009 5:12 pm
PaulSchacht  |
| Victorian Literature Discussion Questions |
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Question for 1-24
What does the word Victorian mean to you? Does it call to mind any particular images, ideas, or values? At the outset of the course, it would be interesting to take stock of our ideas about the Victorian period and the people we call the Victorians. At the end of the semester, we'll compare these ideas with what we've discovered through reading and discussion.
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Mon Jan 28, 2008 10:41 pm
Leslie Manz |
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Question for 1-29
Diogenes Teufelsdröckh, the protagonist of Carlyle's fictional autobiography Sartor Resartus, is a young man trying to figure out how to live in the modern world. This effort forces him to confront some basic philosophical questions. Try to identify one of these questions in your own words. How do you think Teufelsdröckh answers it?
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Mon Jan 28, 2008 11:40 pm
AmandaAllen |
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Question for 1-31
Based on the excerpt from Past and Present, what's your impression of Carlyle's social and political views?
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Thu Jan 31, 2008 8:04 am
TammySeidberg |
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Question for 2-5
You may have noticed that Mill mentions Carlyle favorably in his Autobiography. Yet Mill's social and political outlook is quite different from Carlyle's. How, in particular, does Mill's conception of liberty seem to differ from Carlyle's?
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Tue Feb 05, 2008 12:02 am
DanielleBlanch |
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Question for 2-12
The subtitle of Amy Levy's Reuben Sachs is "A Sketch." What does this subtitle connote? What kind of expectations do you think it's meant to establish in the reader? How does the actual narrative of Reuben Sachs meet or fail to meet these expectations?
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Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:06 am
jenconroy |
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Question for 2-14
In her answer to Tuesday's question, Jennifer pointed out that Levy's "sketch" amounted to "a characterization of society and especially Victorian Jews." In various ways, a number of you made this point. Levy has given us a quickly drawn picture of Jewish life in London at the end of the nineteenth century. Broadly speaking, how does Levy seem to see the subject of this picture? What general impression does the picture make on you?
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Mon Feb 18, 2008 7:32 pm
DanielleBlanch |
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Question for 2-19
Our discussion last time focused on Reuben Sachs as a "sketch" of Victorian Jewish life. But it is also a character sketch. What is your impression of the two main characters, Reuben and Judith, and of the relationship between them?
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Wed Feb 20, 2008 11:13 pm
DanWang |
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Question for 2-26
After last Thursday's activity, you deserve a break from forum posting. So no question for tomorrow. On the other hand, if you have some thoughts about the reading for tomorrow and want to share them, don't hestitate...
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Thu Feb 28, 2008 8:36 am
jenconroy |
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Question for 2-28
On Tuesday, we noted that Victorians responded in a variety of ways to the problem of reconciling new scientific discoveries and attitudes with traditional religious beliefs. How do the poems "Dover Beach" and "Stanzas from the Grande Chartreuse" appear to deal with this problem? (As a follow-up to Tuesday's discussion, you might find it useful to have a look at this Coffeehouse thread, initiated by an excellent question from Dan.)
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Thu Feb 28, 2008 6:22 am
PaulSchacht |
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Question for 3-6
In discussing In Memoriam, our emphasis so far has been on Tennyson's ideas about life, death, faith, science, etc. But in his time he was valued as much for the beauty of his language as for his ideas. Select a few lines from In Memoriam that strike you as especially beautiful or powerful. Try to identify what Tennyson is doing as a poet in these lines to make them affect you as they do.
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Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:27 pm
jenniferestleford |
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Question for 3-11
At the Internet Archive (one of the absolutely best places on the Web), you can watch the first-ever film version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Of course, it's silent. But a silent Alice? Why? The 1903 Alice has also been posted on YouTube, with music added, and it had gotten 201, 771 views when I went to it today. (But really, look at it at the Internet Archive, too. Then spend a little time browsing the Archive. There's so much there.) That's a lot of views for a silent movie that's in pretty bad shape. So again, the question is: What's the appeal of a silent Alice? Wouldn't you have thought that the words were crucial to this story? Share your thoughts.
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Mon Mar 10, 2008 10:48 pm
TAMARA DAVIS |
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Question for 3-13
As we discussed on Tuesday, Alice must learn how to play by the particular, and sometimes peculiar, rules of Wonderland and of the world behind the looking-glass. Do the rules of these dreamworlds show us anything interesting or valuable about the rules of the "real" world?
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Thu Mar 13, 2008 1:05 am
AmandaAllen |
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Question for 3-25
At the beginning of Great Expectations,
Pip is about the same age as Carroll's Alice. How does Pip's childhood experience compare to hers?
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Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:53 am
jenconroy |
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Question for 3-27
How is social class a factor in the development of Pip's identity in the "first stage" of Great Expectations (Chapters 1-19)?
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Thu Mar 27, 2008 6:58 am
jenconroy |
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Question for 4-1
"All other swindlers upon earth," declares Pip at the beginning of Chapter 28, "are nothing to the self-swindlers..." What does he mean by this, and how is the idea of swindling in general important to Pip's story?
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Thu Apr 03, 2008 12:08 am
DanWang |
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Question for 4-8
Thinking of Browning's "Fra Lippo Lippi" as a kind of autobiography, how does the autobiographical method of the poem differ from that of Great Expectations? In other words, how do the poem and the novel differ in the way they present the protagonist's identity? By the way, don't forget to bring both Great Expectations and the Norton Anthology to class with you tomorrow.
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Mon Apr 07, 2008 11:12 pm
jenniferestleford |
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Question for 4-10
The cover of your Norton Anthology features a detail from William Holman Hunt's painting The Lady of Shalott. To accompany Tennyson's poem, the Anthology also prints an 1857 illustration by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (Christina's brother). Many other nineteenth-century artists were moved to represent this poem visually. What is it about the poem itself, in your view, that might explain the many attempts to visualize it?
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Thu Apr 10, 2008 7:52 am
jenconroy |
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Question for 4-15
What ideas do Pater's "Conclusion" to The Renaissance and Rossetti's "The Sonnet" have in common?
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Mon Apr 14, 2008 11:52 pm
Melissa Alessandra |
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Question for 4-17
Like D.G. Rossetti's poetry, the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins often concerns itself with the relationship between the realm of sensuous (i.e., physical) experience and the realm of spiritual meaning. Compare Rossetti's treatment of that relationship to the treatment it receives in poems such as "Pied Beauty," "The Windhover," and "As Kingfishers Catch Fire."
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Thu Apr 17, 2008 7:01 am
jenconroy |
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Question for 4-24
Based on your reading of Kim so far (and hopefully you're about halfway in), how would you compare Kim with Pip?
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Thu Apr 24, 2008 8:26 am
Sarah Walters |
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Question for 4-28
We've discussed Kim as a boy's adventure story that is simultaneously a story about defining Great Britain's identity as a colonial power. How do these two elements come together in Kipling's novel? In other words, how and where in the novel do masculinity and empire intersect?
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Tue Apr 29, 2008 7:21 am
jenconroy |
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Question for 5-1
Following up on Tuesday's question about masculinity and empire: Consider Kim as a boy's version of the Alice books. What aspects of Kipling's novel does this view bring into focus?
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Thu May 01, 2008 8:38 am
RichPulvino |
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Question for 5-7
For January 24, I asked this: "What does the word Victorian mean to you? Does it call to mind any particular images, ideas, or values?" Looking back on the semester's work, has the meaning of the word Victorian changed for you? If so, how? If not, how has the semester's work confirmed what you already thought about the Victorians?
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Tue May 06, 2008 10:52 am
AmandaAllen |
| Charles Dickens Topics |
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General
Use this forum to discuss anything not covered under "Discussion Questions" below.
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Sat May 03, 2008 4:08 pm
EliseArneson |
| Charles Dickens Discussion Questions |
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Question for 1-24
What do you know, or think you know, about Charles Dickens? I'm interested in what's in your head right now, so don't go looking to find things out about him. Just share some immediate thoughts about the man, his reputation, and any works you may have already read by him.
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Sun Jan 27, 2008 9:10 am
MariaKorogodsky |
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Question for 1-29
What are your first impressions of Mr. Pickwick? Can you identify some of the things that Dickens's narrator has done to shape the way you view the man at the center of this story?
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Fri May 09, 2008 12:54 am
John_Keller |
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Question for 1-31
I've put the opening chapter of Pickwick on the wiki for you to begin annotating. (The link should take you right there.) Look for words and phrases in the chapter that do one of the following: (1) point toward ideas and images that become important as the story develops, or (2) reveal something interesting about the way the narrator presents characters and events. Link a word or phrase that does one of these things to a page containing your annotation, or build on an existing annotation. As much as possible, try to connect this first chapter of Dickens's novel with later developments .
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Question for 2-5
What is the funniest scene so far in Pickwick? Why? If you haven't found anything to laugh at yet, say something about why you don't find the novel funny. If someone else has beaten you to mentioning your funniest scene, try to say something about the scene that hasn't been said yet. Or write about the second-funniest scene, or the third...
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Fri May 09, 2008 1:04 am
John_Keller |
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Question for 2-7
There's a lot of eating and drinking in Pickwick Papers. What's that all about? Is a character's behavior around food and drink in Pickwick an index of anything else?
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Thu Feb 07, 2008 11:25 am
Mike Robertson |
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Question for 2-12
Look at the first paper topic listed on the Papers/Exams page of the course website. Number X of Pickwick Papers - comprising chapters 27-29 - is off limits for this topic. So write a few words about it here. Can you identify one element that gives the number internal coherence and one way that the number contributes to the structure of the novel as a whole?
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Fri Feb 29, 2008 7:49 pm
TierneyDecaire |
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Question for 2-14
The "feel" of Pickwick Papers seems to change once Pickwick goes to prison. Can you identify some of the elements of Dickens's writing that bring this change about? Is there a shift in the narrator's tone, for example, and if so what are some examples of this shift? Does the reader's attitude toward Pickwick himself change, and if so, how has Dickens brought this change about?
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Fri Feb 29, 2008 7:56 pm
TierneyDecaire |
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Question for 2-19
Dickens finished Pickwick in 1837. Serial publication of Dombey and Son began almost a decade later, in 1846. The intervening years were eventful ones in both England and Europe. The 1840's were a period of great social turmoil. In Europe this turmoil culminated in the revolutionary uprisings of 1848 - the year Dombey and Son concluded and the year that Marx and Engels' Communist Manifesto was published. In the early pages of Dombey and Son, is there any indication that the social and political realities of the 1840's will be relevant to Dickens's story?
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Tue Feb 19, 2008 3:45 pm
MattDubois |
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Question for 2-26
After last Thursday's activity, you deserve a break from forum posting. So no question for tomorrow. On the other hand, if you have some thoughts about Dombey and Son and want to share them, don't hestitate...
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Question for 2-28
I will not say what happens at the end of Chapter 16 in case you're not there yet. But you should be. So get there if you're not, then answer this question: How did you react to what happened? How did it make you feel? Were you surprised? Moved? Left cold? And why do you think you reacted as you did?
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Thu Feb 28, 2008 9:39 pm
TierneyDecaire |
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Question for 3-4
What does Dombey's second marriage add to our understanding of his character or to our understanding of Dickens's themes in this novel?
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Fri May 09, 2008 1:06 am
John_Keller |
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Question for 3-6
In our discussions so far, we've noted a few times that Dickens seems interested in exploring some of his society's assumptions about gender. Dombey sees his daughter as "a piece of base coin that couldn't be invested." Edith Granger likens the Victorian "marriage market" to prostitution. To what extent do you think Dickens is critical of the way his society has constructed "masculinity" and "femininity" as ways of being and behaving? To what extent do you think he accepts or even perpetuates his society's construction of these identities?
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Thu Mar 06, 2008 12:35 pm
DanaLogan |
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Question for 3-11
On Friday, I posted this entry on Time in Dombey and Son to my Engl 358 blog, prompted by a timely article on time in the New York Times. Time is also important in A Christmas Carol, which was published in 1843, three years before serialization of Dombey began. Look at A Christmas Carol with Time in mind. How does Time figure in the story? How is the idea of Time important to what Dickens wants to say about Christmas?
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Tue Mar 11, 2008 10:24 am
Mike Robertson |
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Question for 3-13
"And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!" Like "Bah! Humbug!", Tiny Tim's observation is one of the lines from A Christmas Carol known even to those who have never read it. What is its importance in Dickens's story? Another way to ask this question would be: How (and how much) does God matter in A Christmas Carol?
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Fri May 09, 2008 1:12 am
John_Keller |
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Question for 3-25
In Pickwick Papers, Dickens created a narrator capable of adopting a range of voices. In Bleak House, Dickens experimented with dividing narratorial responsibility between a third-person, omniscient narrator and a first-person narrator directly involved in the story. The result is a novel dominated by two main voices. What are they like? How are they different? What are some effects, on the reader, of Dickens's decision?
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Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:46 am
Mike Robertson |
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Question for 3-27
Novels generate suspense by generating questions. Will he marry her? Whodunit? Will her illness end in death? Looking back over however much of Bleak House you've completed, what questions has Dickens's novel raised in your mind so far?
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Fri May 09, 2008 1:09 am
John_Keller |
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Question for 4-1
"What connexion can there be," asks the omniscient narrator of Bleak House in Chapter 16, "between the place in Lincolnshire, the house in town, the Mercury in Powder, and the whereabout of Jo the outlaw with the broom, who had the distant light upon him when he swept the churchyard step? What connexion can there have been between many people in the innumerable histories of the world, who, from opposite sides of great gulfs, have, nevertheless, been very curiously brought together?" What is the narrator getting at in asking these questions? How, in general, does the idea of connexions seem to be important to this novel?
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Tue Apr 01, 2008 11:10 am
Mike Robertson |
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Question for 4-8
In what ways is the idea of circulation important to Bleak House? Who/what circulates in the novel, and why/how does this circulation matter?
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Tue Apr 08, 2008 9:54 am
Mike Robertson |
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Question for 4-10
Instead of answering a question for Thursday's class, identify anything about Bleak House that puzzles or confuses you, and make it the basis of your own question. After posting your question, have a look at those of your classmates. If you think you have a good answer to a classmate's question, and you feel like answering it, hit "reply" and give it a shot.
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Thu Apr 10, 2008 10:23 am
Mike Robertson |
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Question for 4-15
The beginning of Great Expectations returns us to two familiar Dickensian themes: Christmas and evangelical Christianity. How can everything we've learned so far about these themes help us interpret the Christmas dinner in Great Expectations? To put the question another way: if we didn't know what we know about these themes from works such as Pickwick Papers and Bleak House, what might we miss in reading the opening chapters of Great Expectations?
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Tue Apr 15, 2008 11:23 am
Mike Robertson |
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Question for 4-17
As the footnote to the last sentence of Vol I, Chapter XIX points out, the final words of this chapter echo words near the end of John Milton's 17th-century epic poem Paradise Lost. The suggestion of this echo is that Pip, in leaving the marshes, is leaving behind a life of innocence, as Adam and Eve left behind the innocence of paradise. How accurate does this suggestion seem to you? In what ways is Pip's life on the marshes a life of innocence? In characterizing his life there as one of innocence, is there anything he may be overlooking?
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Thu Apr 17, 2008 10:45 am
CarliAbiuso |
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Question for 4-24
Pip leaves the "Eden" of the marshes for the "world" of London. What is London like? How would you compare the London of Great Expectations to that of Bleak House?
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Fri May 09, 2008 1:02 am
John_Keller |
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Question for 4-28
As we've discussed, Pip begins his story with a description of his "first most vivid and broad impression of the identity of things." How must he revise his sense of "the identity of things," including his own identity, in light of the revelation of his benefactor's identity?
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Fri May 09, 2008 12:59 am
John_Keller |
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Question for 5-1
Dickens composed two endings for Great Expectations. The Penguin edition prints the original ending, which Dickens revised at the behest of his friend and fellow novelist Edward Bulwer Lytton, on pp. 508-509. Which ending do you think is better? How would you justify your preference?
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Fri May 09, 2008 12:56 am
John_Keller |
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Question for 5-6
For January 24, I asked: "What do you know, or think you know, about Charles Dickens?" Looking back, how well did did you know Dickens? Has this semester's reading and discussion altered your understanding of the man and his work? If so, how? If not, how has this semester's reading and discussion confirmed what you already thought?
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Thu May 08, 2008 11:08 am
Amber Kellogg |
