Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Wilson
Chapters 1 - 10
Humor
Sigmund Freud
Characteristics of Humor
Catharsis liberating
element (purgation of
emotions)
Triumph of Narcissism
Invulnerability
Denial of the Claim of
Reality
Triumph of the Pleasure
Principle
SATIRE ETYMOLOGY
satire [sat()r] NOUN
Etymology: from the Latin word satur
(meaning full) and lanx satura
(meaning medley of fruits)
Definition: the use of humor, irony,
exaggeration, or ridicule to expose
and criticize people's stupidity or
vices, particularly in the context of
contemporary politics and other
topical issues.
synonyms: mockery, ridicule,
derision, scorn, caricature, irony,
parody, lampoon
VERBAL IRONY
Satiric artists often use caricature;
satiric writers, also seeking to
persuade by means of ridicule, often
use verbal irony.
In irony of this sort there is a contrast
between what is said and what is
meant.
Words of praise may be meant to
imply blame
Purpose: These passages of ridicule
(especially verbal irony) appear in
arguments, like reasons or like
appeals to emotions, in an effort to
persuade the hearer to accept the
speaker's point of view.
Example:
PURPOSE
While the main purpose of satire is to
entertain through humor, its
fundamental aim is:
to critique societal norms and ideology
with wit.
to comment on the precarious nature
of socially imposed constructs
to punish vice and impose/restore
social order
to expose the hypocrisy of cultural
myths and societal beliefs
TYPES OF SATIRE
Horatian Satire
named for the Roman satirist Horace (65
8 BCE),
playfully criticizes the absurdities and
folly of society through gentle, mild, and
light-hearted humor
goal is to heal the situation with smiles,
rather than by anger
often leads audience to laugh at
themselves when they realize that they
share the characteristics of the mocked
subjects
Examples: The Onion, The Colbert
Report, The Simpsons, etc.
Juvenalian Satire
Example:
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
What is the function of satire in a democratic society?
To what extent is satire more (or less) effective than formal arguments?
What are the drawbacks of satire? Does this mode of persuasion weaken
the arguments put forth by the writers? (For example: Would Twains
argument have been more or less convincing if he had opted to
bluntly malign Americans for racism and slavery?)
Mark Twain
Biography
As a child, Sam spent summers on his uncles farm playing in the slave quarters
and listening to tall tales and slave spirituals.
http://www.history.com/topics/mark-twain (3:19)
Context
1877)
Industrial Revolution
First mappings of the West
First transcontinental
railroad
Plessy vs. Ferguson
Setting
Location, Time, Society
Setting
The setting of this novel is the world that
Clemens grew up in, although Twain
calls the village Dawson's Landing and
has moved it several hundred miles down
the Mississippi River.
idyllic setting: sleepy, natural
romantic and familiar Edenic image
adapted pastoral setting
hiding something uglier: white-washed,
concealed, it is a "slave-holding town"
time is it set?
What might be the significance of
this particular time and location?
What mood is evoked through the
authors description of the setting?
How does the setting seem to
impact the characters?
How does the setting suggest the
themes of the story?
Analyze the culture of the town in which the story is set. Describe
the social and religious values of the townspeople.
What does this story suggest about the authors attitudes towards
the relationship between society and the individual?
Character
Protagonist, Antagonist, Supporting Characters
Characterization
Protagonist, Antagonist, Supporting Characters
What motives determine the characters course of action?
What are the most revealing aspects (thoughts, words, actions, etc.) of
the character?
How does the author reveal this persons character? (Through action? Inaction?
Dialogue? Actions of others?)
Characters
We talk about characters in two ways:
1. As real people
We discuss characters in the same way we do real people. We
observe and interpret their words, actions, appearances, and
background, as well as what others say about them.
2. As fictional creations
We look at characterizationthe process authors use to create
their characters. Are characters presented directly or
indirectly? Are they convincing? Are they developed? Do they
change by the end of the story?
Puddnhead Wilson
capacity for irony; no one can read his irony
outsider/isolated = chooses to live on the
extreme of the western verge of town; must
be labeled and contained
Roxy
Twains most complex woman
character
calls into question: law,
genealogy, custom, privilege
fear of uncertain reality of slave
existence for her child
her physiognomy calls into
question aspects of self, race, etc.
challenges fictions of law
Tom
Exhibits villainous traits:
Criminal behavior (theft), vice
(gambling), hostility (bullying),
etc.
Engages in masquerade to cross
social barriers of race, class, and
gender
Does the narrator wish for us to
sympathize with (or at least pity)
Tom? Show proof from the text.
Valet de Chambers
May be the sole victim in
this tragedy because he
never takes part in any
wrongdoing.
Can Chambers ever be
fully integrated back into
his proper place in
society? Why (not)?
show performers
Find immediate acceptance in DL
(Motif: Insiders/Outsiders)
Claim to be the children of Italian
nobility (Theme: Nobility,
Appearance)
Luigis secret: once committed murder to
protect his brother. (Motif: Secrecy)
Tragic Flaw: Luigi's temper leads him to
a due with Tom.
Narration
POV, etc.
Types of Narrators
Participant (can be the protagonist or
the observer)
Before I could reply that he [Gatsby]
was my neighbor dinner was
announced; wedging his tense arm
imperatively under mine Tom Buchanan
compelled me from the room as though
he were moving a checker to another
square.
--from The Great Gatsby, chapter 1
(Note: Nick Carraway is an observer of
Jay Gatsbys life here)
Harry had taken one step toward it when a slithering sound made
him freeze where he stood. A bush on the edge of the clearing
quivered Then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came
crawling across the ground like some stalking beast.
Points of View
Omniscient (all-knowing)
Editorial Omniscience
vs. Impartial Omniscience
Limited Omniscience or Selective
Omniscience or Third-Person Limited (ie.
Harry Potter books)
Thus ever does the gross Fatality of Earth exult in its invariable
triumph over the immortal essence, which, in this dim sphere of
half-development, demands the completeness of a higher state.
Yet, had Aylmer reached a profounder wisdom, he need not thus
have flung away the happiness, which would have woven his
mortal life of the self-same texture with the celestial.
Plot
Conflicts, Climax, Resolution
Plot
Freytags Pyramid
Exposition: Meet Wilson and Roxy in
Dawsons Landing (DL)
Inciting Incident: Wilson fingerprints
the babies; then, Roxy switches them
Rising Action: Roxy attempts to
conceal Toms identity; Wilson
attempts to fit into DL society
Climax: Tom discovers his heritage?
Tom is tried in court?
Heros Journey
What are the main events that take place in the story? How does each event
relate to the protagonists struggle?
Themes
& Motifs, Symbols, Irony
Titles can
State the storys theme. (ie. )
Point to key aspect in the novel. (Pride and
Prejudice)
Highlight the storys irony. (School of Wives)
So, whats the significance of the original title: The Tragedy of Puddnhead
Wilson, especially in regards to the storys content?
Then, point to specifics from the text that reveal how the novel functions
(or does not function) as a tragedy.
Context
How does the story make
evident that it was written
during Twains dark
period?
How do the events of the
story reflect the historical
context in which it was
written (ie. The
Reconstruction, which
included the rise of the
KKK and black codes)?
Themes
Nurture vs. Nature
Slavery and Miscegenation
Liminality of Social Constructs
Performative masquerades
Environmental Determinism
Obsession with Property (and
its reductive influence on
individuals)
Law & Fictions of Law
Democratic Consensus
Motifs
Dog
research on South secession threats with
this statement)
general dog = the populace
implies ownership or desires for
ownership; mocking about slave holding;
killing Tom would lead to Chambers' death
too
legalistic determinism
Secrecy: Luigis murderous past, Toms
gambling and theivery, Roxys babyswitching
imitation negro
Literature as Argument
Interpretation, Evaluation, Reflection
Interpretation
Ascertaining between the many readingsthe authors
meaning, the meanings accumulated over time, and the
meaning absorbed by modern readers
Interpretation Questions
Is Tom a villain who is meant to be despised by the
readers? Or Is Tom a victim of his circumstances, a
veritable Oedipus whom the audience pities?
Evaluation
Prompts writers to judge a text,
Its raining outside.Fact, not open to argument
I like vanilla.Opinion of Personal Taste, not open to argument
This is a really good book.Evaluative Statement, open to
argument (requires us to showwhythe book is really good.
Evaluation Question
IsPuddnhead Wilsonindeed a tragedy? Is it as great a tragedy
asOedipus the King? If so, who is the tragic hero? Tom?
Chambers? Wilson? Roxy? Why?
Substantiate your response by first explaining the
characteristics of tragedy and tragic heroes. What is tragedy?
Can the hero also be a villain? How does a tragedy differ from a
melodrama? Why do tragedies give us pleasure?
Then, point to specifics from the text that reveal how the novel
functions (or does not function) as a tragedy.
Philosophical Reflections
Concerned with theoretical questions like:
Does a work of art offer anything that can be called
truth? Does our experience with a work of art affect our
character? Does a work of art have meaning in itself, or is
the meaning simply whatever anyone wishes to say it is?
Does PW tell us anything about life, or is it just an
invented story?
Literary Theory
Feminist, Postcolonial, Psychoanalytical
Feminist Theory
InOn Deconstruction(1982), a study of contemporary literary theory,
Jonathan Culler remarks that feminist criticism has often stressed reading
as a woman. This concept, Culler says affirms the continuity between
womens experience of social and familial structures and their experiences
as readers. Do you agree with his suggestion that men and women
interpret literary works differently? Consider Twains PW: identify and
discuss passages (including specific phrases and images) in it to which
men and women readers might (or might not) respond very differently.
Postcolonial Theory
Would you view Roxy as complicit in the downfall of her
son? Or would you say that due to her position of
subjugation as both a slave and a woman that she had no
other agency (no other means for power) than to try to
grasp it through her son?
To support your conclusion, you may wish to compose a
feminist/ postcolonial interpretation wherein you offer
evidence regarding the proper role of slaves and women
during the nineteenth century.
Psychoanalytic Theory
Analyze each of the major characters in the storyTom,
Roxy, Wilson, Chambers, Luigi.
Who is this person? What motivates this character? Are
we meant to despise him/her or empathize with him/her?
How can characteristics of psychoanalysis be applied to
this character. Does s/he demonstrate repression,
projection, displacement, or anxieties (fears of
abandonment/betrayal, etc.)? How is the relationship
between the id, ego, and superego at work within this
story? Explain.
Group Collaboration
Question Design
1. Produce questions designed to focus and attract student attention. Ask as
many questions as possible. Do not stop to judge, discuss, or answer any of
them. Change statements into questions.
2. Improve the questions: Analyze the differences between open- and closedended questions, by practicing changing one type to the other. Then categorize
your questions into 1 of 2 categories. Change the close to open and v/v. How
does each type affect the depth, quality, and value of the information obtained?
3. Prioritize your questions: Choose 3 questions you most want to explore further,
according to themes identified in our reading.
4. Reflect on what you have learned: How has the exercised contributed to your
thinking and learning processes?
Class Writing
Directions: Respond to one of the selected
discussion questions in paragraph format (1.5
pages). You must incorporate at least 2 quotes from
the story to support your conclusions). You will have
20 minutes to complete this response.
ACTivity
Isolate the implicit and explicit
arguments made by the author, the
narrator, or the characters in the
first 4 chapters.
Identify the flaws (logical fallacies,
contradictions, etc.) in these
arguments.
Launch a counterargument.
After your presentation to the class,
others will have an opportunity to
rebut your statements.
Relevant Links