1. The novel begins with Amir's memory of peering down an alley, looking for Hassan who is kite running for him. As Amir peers into the alley, he witnesses a tragedy. The novel ends with Amir kite running for Hassan's son, Sohrab, as he begins a new life with Amir in America. Why do you think the author chooses to frame the novel with these scenes? Refer to the following passage: "Afghans like to say: Life goes on, unmindful of beginning, end...crisis or catharsis, moving forward like a slow, dusty caravan of kochis [nomads]." How is this significant to the framing of the novel?
2. The strong underlying force of this novel is the relationship between Amir and Hassan. Discuss their friendship. Why is Amir afraid to be Hassan's true friend? Why does Amir constantly test Hassan's loyalty? Why does he resent Hassan? After the kite running tournament, why does Amir no longer want to be Hassan's friend?
3. Early in Amir and Hassan's friendship, they often visit a pomegranate tree where they spend hours reading and playing. "One summer day, I used one of Ali's kitchen knives to carve our names on it: 'Amir and Hassan, the sultans of Kabul.' Those words made it formal: the tree was ours." In a letter to Amir later in the story, Hassan mentions that "the tree hasn't borne fruit in years." Discuss the significance of this tree.
4. We begin to understand early in the novel that Amir is constantly vying for Baba's attention and often feels like an outsider in his father's life, as seen in the following passage: "He'd close the door, leave me to wonder why it was always grown-ups time with him. I'd sit by the door, knees drawn to my chest. Sometimes I sat there for an hour, sometimes two, listening to their laughter, their chatter." Discuss Amir's relationship with Baba.
5. After Amir wins the kite running tournament, his relationship with Baba undergoes significant change. However, while they form a bond of friendship, Amir is still unhappy. What causes this unhappiness and how has Baba contributed to Amir's state of mind? Eventually, the relationship between the two returns to the way it was before the tournament, and Amir laments "we actually deceived ourselves into thinking that a toy made of tissue paper, glue, and bamboo could somehow close the chasm between us." Discuss the significance of this passage.
6. As Amir remembers an Afghan celebration in which a sheep must be sacrificed, he talks about seeing the sheep's eyes moments before its death. "I don't know why I watch this yearly ritual in our backyard; my nightmares persist long after the bloodstains on the grass have faded. But I always watch, I watch because of that look of acceptance in the animal's eyes. Absurdly, I imagine the animal understands. I imagine the animal sees that its imminent demise is for a higher purpose." Why do you think Amir recalls this memory when he witnesses Hassan's tragedy in the alleyway? Amir recollects the memory again toward the end of the novel when he sees Sohrab in the home of the Taliban. Discuss the image in the context of the novel.
7. America acts as a place for Amir to bury his memories and a place for Baba to mourn his. In America, there are "homes that made Baba's house in Wazir Akbar Khan look like a servant's hut." What is ironic about this statement? What is the function of irony in this novel?
8. What is the significance of the irony in the first story that Amir writes? After hearing Amir's story, Hassan asks, "Why did the man kill his wife? In fact, why did he ever have to feel sad to shed tears? Couldn't he have just smelled an onion?" How is his reaction to the story a metaphor for Amir's life? How does this story epitomize the difference in character between Hassan and Amir?
9. Why is Baba disappointed by Amir's decision to become a writer? During their argument about his career path, Amir thinks to himself: "I would stand my ground, I decided. I didn't want to sacrifice for Baba anymore. The last time I had done that, I had damned myself." What has Amir sacrificed for Baba? How has Amir "damned himself"?
10. Compare and contrast the relationships of Soraya and Amir and their fathers. How have their upbringings contributed to these relationships?
11. Discuss how the ever-changing politics of Afghanistan affect each of the characters in the novel.
12. On Amir's trip back to Afghanistan, he stays at the home of his driver, Farid. Upon leaving he remarks: "Earlier that morning, when I was certain no one was looking, I did something I had done twenty-six years earlier: I planted a fistful of crumpled money under the mattress." Why is this moment so important in Amir's journey?
13. Throughout the story, Baba worries because Amir never stands up for himself. When does this change?
14. Amir's confrontation with Assef in Wazir Akar Khan marks an important turning point in the novel. Why does the author have Amir, Assef, and Sohrab all come together in this way? What is this the significance of the scar that Amir develops as a result of the confrontation? Why is it important in Amir's journey toward forgiveness and acceptance?
15. While in the hospital in Peshawar, Amir has a dream in which he sees his father wrestling a bear: "They role over a patch of grass, man and beast...they fall to the ground with a loud thud and Baba is sitting on the bear's chest, his fingers digging in its snout. He looks up at me, and I see. He's me. I am wrestling the bear." Why is this dream so important at this point in the story? What does this dream finally help Amir realize?
16. Amir and Hassan have a favorite story. Does the story have the same meaning for both men? Why does Hassan name his son after one of the characters in the story?
17. Baba and Amir know that they are very different people. Often it disappoints both of them that Amir is not the son that Baba has hoped for. When Amir finds out that Baba has lied to him about Hassan, he realizes that "as it turned out, Baba and I were more alike than I'd never known." How does this make Amir feel about his father? How is this both a negative and positive realization?
18. When Amir and Baba move to the States their relationship changes, and Amir begins to view his father as a more complex man. Discuss the changes in their relationship. Do you see the changes in Baba as tragic or positive?
19. Discuss the difference between Baba and Ali and between Amir and Hassan. Are Baba's and Amir's betrayals and similarities in their relationships of their servants (if you consider Baba's act a betrayal) similar or different? Do you think that such betrayals are inevitable in the master/servant relationship, or do you feel that they are due to flaws in Baba's and Amir's characters, or are they the outcome of circumstances and characters?
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Horse Soldiers
1) Were you surprised to learn of America's secret effort to attack the Taliban in the fall of 2001, or did you already know about it? How advisable was this plan? Does knowing about the success of this campaign change your understanding of America's war in Iraq, which followed?
2) As Doug Stanton shows, the American soldiers preparing for their mission to Afghanistan were yanked out of their lives and family relationships to go to war. How did you respond to his portrayal of the men and women involved? Did this exposition add to the power of the story, or were you impatient for the action to begin? Why? Do you know anyone who served in this or another comparable conflict, and was his or her experience similar?
3) Doug Stanton felt that the soldiers' efforts to get into Afghanistan by flying Chinook helicopters over 14,000 ft. mountain peaks were an important part of the story. Do you agree? Did you enjoy knowing what the men went through just get to the battle zone?
4) There are a number of key American soldiers in this story. Which ones were your favorites, and why? Were you interested in their relationships with the Northern Alliance soldiers? Did you trust the Northern Alliance soldiers? Why? How about the Northern Alliance generals?
5) This book shows the relationship between a theoretical military strategy, designed by American generals, and its on-the-ground implementation in real-time conditions. How did well were the soldiers able to fight according to plan? What was your reaction to the combination of horses, conventional arms, and high-tech laser bombing? How did you respond to some of the graphic description of war's carnage? How would the book be different if it didn't include such description?
6) The military action in Horse Soldiers is divided between the battle to secure the city of Mazar-i-Sharif and then the defense of the surprise attack in the fortress of Qala-i-Janghi. How do these two actions relate to one another? Did you prefer one over the other, and why?
7) Horse Soldiers was written by reconstructing the points of view of its participants. Did you enjoy the novelistic technique used? How sympathetic were you, or not, to the portrayal of John Walker Lindh, the American man from California who joined the Taliban and who was discovered in the group of Taliban prisoners by the soldiers?
8) Although the soldiers bravely retake the Qala-i-Janghi fortress, they are soon dispersed, most never to see each other again. What did you learn about the relationships between soldiers in a time of war?
9) America's involvement in Afghanistan changed a great deal in the time after the actions described in this book. Have you followed them? Did the story told in this book affect your perception about the advisability of American involvement in Afghanistan subsequently and in the current day?
10) Doug Stanton worked hard to create an afterword that would put the book in the context of the present time. If you read this afterword, did it add useful perception to your understanding? Or did you mostly like the book for the "war story" that it was? What does this mean about how you read about war, and why?
2) As Doug Stanton shows, the American soldiers preparing for their mission to Afghanistan were yanked out of their lives and family relationships to go to war. How did you respond to his portrayal of the men and women involved? Did this exposition add to the power of the story, or were you impatient for the action to begin? Why? Do you know anyone who served in this or another comparable conflict, and was his or her experience similar?
3) Doug Stanton felt that the soldiers' efforts to get into Afghanistan by flying Chinook helicopters over 14,000 ft. mountain peaks were an important part of the story. Do you agree? Did you enjoy knowing what the men went through just get to the battle zone?
4) There are a number of key American soldiers in this story. Which ones were your favorites, and why? Were you interested in their relationships with the Northern Alliance soldiers? Did you trust the Northern Alliance soldiers? Why? How about the Northern Alliance generals?
5) This book shows the relationship between a theoretical military strategy, designed by American generals, and its on-the-ground implementation in real-time conditions. How did well were the soldiers able to fight according to plan? What was your reaction to the combination of horses, conventional arms, and high-tech laser bombing? How did you respond to some of the graphic description of war's carnage? How would the book be different if it didn't include such description?
6) The military action in Horse Soldiers is divided between the battle to secure the city of Mazar-i-Sharif and then the defense of the surprise attack in the fortress of Qala-i-Janghi. How do these two actions relate to one another? Did you prefer one over the other, and why?
7) Horse Soldiers was written by reconstructing the points of view of its participants. Did you enjoy the novelistic technique used? How sympathetic were you, or not, to the portrayal of John Walker Lindh, the American man from California who joined the Taliban and who was discovered in the group of Taliban prisoners by the soldiers?
8) Although the soldiers bravely retake the Qala-i-Janghi fortress, they are soon dispersed, most never to see each other again. What did you learn about the relationships between soldiers in a time of war?
9) America's involvement in Afghanistan changed a great deal in the time after the actions described in this book. Have you followed them? Did the story told in this book affect your perception about the advisability of American involvement in Afghanistan subsequently and in the current day?
10) Doug Stanton worked hard to create an afterword that would put the book in the context of the present time. If you read this afterword, did it add useful perception to your understanding? Or did you mostly like the book for the "war story" that it was? What does this mean about how you read about war, and why?
Three Cups of Tea
1. There is a telling passage about Mortenson’s change of direction at the start of the book: “One evening, he went to bed by a yak dung fire a mountaineer who’d lost his way, and one morning, by the time he’d shared a pot of butter tea with his hosts and laced up his boots, he’d become a humanitarian who’d found a meaningful path to follow for the rest of his life.” What made Mortenson particularly ripe for such a transformation? Has anything similar happened in your own life?
2. Relin gives a “warts and all” portrait of Mortenson, showing him as a hero but also as a flawed human being with some exasperating traits. Talk about how Relin chose to write about Mortenson’s character—his choice of details, his perspective, the way he constructs scenes. Is Mortenson someone you’d like to get to know, work with, or have as a neighbor or friend?
3. At the heart of the book is a powerful but simple political message: we each as individuals have the power to change the world, one cup of tea at a time. Yet the book powerfully dramatizes the obstacles in the way of this philosophy: bloody wars waged by huge armies, prejudice, religious extremism, cultural barriers. What do you think of the “one cup of tea at a time” philosophy? Do you think Mortenson’s vision can work for lasting and meaningful change?
4. Have you ever known anyone like Mortenson? Have you ever had the experience of making a difference yourself through acts of generosity, aid, or leadership?
5. The Balti people are fierce yet extremely hospitable, kind yet rigid, determined to better themselves yet stuck in the past. Discuss your reactions to them and the other groups that Mortenson tries to help.
6. After Haji Ali’s family saves Greg’s life, he reflects that he could never “imagine discharging the debt he felt to his hosts in Korphe.” Discuss this sense of indebtedness as key to Mortenson’s character. Why was Mortenson compelled to return to the region again and again? In your opinion, does he repay his debt by the end of the book?
7. References to paradise run throughout the book—Mortenson’s childhood home in Tanzania, the mountain scenery, even Berkeley, California, are all referred to as “paradise.” Discuss the concept of paradise, lost and regained, and how it influences Mortenson’s mission.
8. Mortenson’s transition from climbing bum to humanitarian hero seems very abrupt. However, looking back, it’s clear that his sense of mission is rooted in his childhood, the values of his parents, and his relationship with his sister Christa. Discuss the various facets of Mortenson’s character—the freewheeling mountain climber, the ER nurse, the devoted son and brother, and the leader of a humanitarian cause. Do you view him as continuing the work his father began?
9.“I expected something like this from an ignorant village mullah, but to get those kinds of letters from my fellow Americans made me wonder whether I should just give up,” Mortenson remarked after he started getting hate mail in the wake of September 11. What was your reaction to the letters Mortenson received?
10. Mortenson hits many bumps in the road—he’s broke, his girlfriend dumps him, he is forced to build a bridge before he can build the school, his health suffers, and he drives his family crazy. Discuss his repeated brushes with failure and how they influenced your opinion of Mortenson and his efforts.
11. The authors write that “the Balti held the key to a kind of uncomplicated happiness that was disappearing in the developing world.” This peaceful simplicity of life seems to be part of what attracts Mortenson to the villagers. Discuss the pros and cons of bringing “civilization” to the mountain community.
12. Much of the book is a meditation on what it means to be a foreigner assimilating with another culture. Discuss your own experiences with foreign cultures—things that you have learned, mistakes you have made, misunderstandings you have endured.
13. Did the book change your views toward Islam or Muslims? Consider the cleric Syed Abbas, and also the cleric who called a fatwa on Mortenson. Syed Abbas implores Americans to “look into our hearts and see that the great majority of us are not terrorists, but good and simple people.” Discuss this statement. Has the book inspired you to learn more about the region?
2. Relin gives a “warts and all” portrait of Mortenson, showing him as a hero but also as a flawed human being with some exasperating traits. Talk about how Relin chose to write about Mortenson’s character—his choice of details, his perspective, the way he constructs scenes. Is Mortenson someone you’d like to get to know, work with, or have as a neighbor or friend?
3. At the heart of the book is a powerful but simple political message: we each as individuals have the power to change the world, one cup of tea at a time. Yet the book powerfully dramatizes the obstacles in the way of this philosophy: bloody wars waged by huge armies, prejudice, religious extremism, cultural barriers. What do you think of the “one cup of tea at a time” philosophy? Do you think Mortenson’s vision can work for lasting and meaningful change?
4. Have you ever known anyone like Mortenson? Have you ever had the experience of making a difference yourself through acts of generosity, aid, or leadership?
5. The Balti people are fierce yet extremely hospitable, kind yet rigid, determined to better themselves yet stuck in the past. Discuss your reactions to them and the other groups that Mortenson tries to help.
6. After Haji Ali’s family saves Greg’s life, he reflects that he could never “imagine discharging the debt he felt to his hosts in Korphe.” Discuss this sense of indebtedness as key to Mortenson’s character. Why was Mortenson compelled to return to the region again and again? In your opinion, does he repay his debt by the end of the book?
7. References to paradise run throughout the book—Mortenson’s childhood home in Tanzania, the mountain scenery, even Berkeley, California, are all referred to as “paradise.” Discuss the concept of paradise, lost and regained, and how it influences Mortenson’s mission.
8. Mortenson’s transition from climbing bum to humanitarian hero seems very abrupt. However, looking back, it’s clear that his sense of mission is rooted in his childhood, the values of his parents, and his relationship with his sister Christa. Discuss the various facets of Mortenson’s character—the freewheeling mountain climber, the ER nurse, the devoted son and brother, and the leader of a humanitarian cause. Do you view him as continuing the work his father began?
9.“I expected something like this from an ignorant village mullah, but to get those kinds of letters from my fellow Americans made me wonder whether I should just give up,” Mortenson remarked after he started getting hate mail in the wake of September 11. What was your reaction to the letters Mortenson received?
10. Mortenson hits many bumps in the road—he’s broke, his girlfriend dumps him, he is forced to build a bridge before he can build the school, his health suffers, and he drives his family crazy. Discuss his repeated brushes with failure and how they influenced your opinion of Mortenson and his efforts.
11. The authors write that “the Balti held the key to a kind of uncomplicated happiness that was disappearing in the developing world.” This peaceful simplicity of life seems to be part of what attracts Mortenson to the villagers. Discuss the pros and cons of bringing “civilization” to the mountain community.
12. Much of the book is a meditation on what it means to be a foreigner assimilating with another culture. Discuss your own experiences with foreign cultures—things that you have learned, mistakes you have made, misunderstandings you have endured.
13. Did the book change your views toward Islam or Muslims? Consider the cleric Syed Abbas, and also the cleric who called a fatwa on Mortenson. Syed Abbas implores Americans to “look into our hearts and see that the great majority of us are not terrorists, but good and simple people.” Discuss this statement. Has the book inspired you to learn more about the region?
Bookseller of Kabul
1. This narrative begins with a proposal of marriage and describes many different kinds of unions. Discuss the ways in which marriages are agreed upon and carried out in Afghan society. What are the roles of the husband and wife in The Bookseller of Kabul?
2. The Taliban instituted many restrictions on books and printer materials. How did these policies affect Sultan Khan? What impact did they have on education in Afghanistan? How were things changing during the time the author spent with the bookseller’s family?
3. How do female roles in Afghanistan differ? Discuss how a woman’s stage in life (child, adult, old age) or her position in the family (daughter, sister, mother) helps to determine her role. Which women have the most influence in family and society?
4. Clothing is significant in this account. What are some instances in which clothing is a key detail? How does fashion reflect the social changes in Afghanistan?
5. As the bookseller’s first son, Mansur has a special position within the family hierarchy. How does his interaction with various family members reflect this?
6. The author also focuses on Sultan Khan’s youngest sister, Leila. How does her position compare to her nephew’s?
7. The reader travels through Afghanistan with Mansur as he makes his pilgrimage. In what ways does the landscape reflect the social and political circumstances in the country? The author says of the Taliban that “they might have made it had September 11 not happened and the world started to care about Afghanistan” (page 138). Discuss the implications of this statement.
8. Mansur, who is extremely enthusiastic about the opportunity to make his pilgrimage, almost misses the chance to go. What does his experience tell us about the social and emotional outlets currently available to young men in Afghanistan?
9. Sultan Khan has been on both sides of the judicial system – as a prisioner and as an accuser. How, in each case, was truth pursued and justice handled? What can the reader learn from the bookseller’s experience about crime and punishment in Afghan society?
10. What kind of man is Sultan Khan? The author contrasts the bookseller’s behavior at home with his behavior at work. How do his private and professional identities differ?
11. How do Sultan Khan and his acquaintances view the changes in government in their country? Does Sultan’s perspective evolve in the course of the book?
12. Seierstad explains that she had a rare opportunity to observe Afghan family life. How did the fact that she is a woman affect her access to Sultan Khan’s relatives? How might her background as a European woman have affected her interpretation of the people and events she observed?
13. Seierstad describes how women’s access to education, work outside the home, and social freedom changed in Afghanistan immediately after the fall of the Taliban. How have the years of the Taliban rule affected women in Afghanistan today? What do you believe are the prospects for the future?
2. The Taliban instituted many restrictions on books and printer materials. How did these policies affect Sultan Khan? What impact did they have on education in Afghanistan? How were things changing during the time the author spent with the bookseller’s family?
3. How do female roles in Afghanistan differ? Discuss how a woman’s stage in life (child, adult, old age) or her position in the family (daughter, sister, mother) helps to determine her role. Which women have the most influence in family and society?
4. Clothing is significant in this account. What are some instances in which clothing is a key detail? How does fashion reflect the social changes in Afghanistan?
5. As the bookseller’s first son, Mansur has a special position within the family hierarchy. How does his interaction with various family members reflect this?
6. The author also focuses on Sultan Khan’s youngest sister, Leila. How does her position compare to her nephew’s?
7. The reader travels through Afghanistan with Mansur as he makes his pilgrimage. In what ways does the landscape reflect the social and political circumstances in the country? The author says of the Taliban that “they might have made it had September 11 not happened and the world started to care about Afghanistan” (page 138). Discuss the implications of this statement.
8. Mansur, who is extremely enthusiastic about the opportunity to make his pilgrimage, almost misses the chance to go. What does his experience tell us about the social and emotional outlets currently available to young men in Afghanistan?
9. Sultan Khan has been on both sides of the judicial system – as a prisioner and as an accuser. How, in each case, was truth pursued and justice handled? What can the reader learn from the bookseller’s experience about crime and punishment in Afghan society?
10. What kind of man is Sultan Khan? The author contrasts the bookseller’s behavior at home with his behavior at work. How do his private and professional identities differ?
11. How do Sultan Khan and his acquaintances view the changes in government in their country? Does Sultan’s perspective evolve in the course of the book?
12. Seierstad explains that she had a rare opportunity to observe Afghan family life. How did the fact that she is a woman affect her access to Sultan Khan’s relatives? How might her background as a European woman have affected her interpretation of the people and events she observed?
13. Seierstad describes how women’s access to education, work outside the home, and social freedom changed in Afghanistan immediately after the fall of the Taliban. How have the years of the Taliban rule affected women in Afghanistan today? What do you believe are the prospects for the future?
Kabul Beauty School Questions
1. We so often think of ourselves as more socially advanced than Middle Eastern nations. What does it say about this assumption that the author was treated by a preacher husband in the US the same way that Nahhida, wife of a Taliban member, is treated in Afghanistan?
2. Did Debbie take a chance of repeating her abusive history by marrying a relatively unknown man from a culture with a reputation for mistreating women?
3. Were you shocked when she revealed that her husband had another wife?
4. Why do you think Debbie was so emotional upon meeting Sam’s father? Would you have been eager to meet him or preferred not to? Were you surprised at his reaction?
5. As a mother of two, was Debbie irresponsible in taking risks like crossing the Khyber pass and confronting her neighbors? Should she have gone to Afghanistan at all, knowing the conditions in the country?
6. Debbie’s “bad” neighbors were potentially dangerous. What would you have done in her situation? How would the ineffectiveness of the local police make you feel?
7. Was it foolish for Debbie to continue running the beauty school in the face of government interference and hostility?
8. Debbie goes to Afghanistan in order to change the lives of women there and give them greater power in their personal lives, a mission that she has fulfilled for many women. How have these women changed her?
9. Does the example of a strong self-sufficient woman Debbie sets for the Afghan women provide them with helpful inspiration or does it set a dangerous precedent, encouraging them to model behaviors and aspirations that might be dangerous to them in their environment?
10. Would you have let a known Taliban member, and opium addict at that, stay under your roof in order to help his wife? How dangerous do you think this decision really was?
11. Why do you think Hama was unable to follow through and accept the generous offer of a place to live and a new life in the US?
12. How would you have reacted if your son offered to marry Hama? Would you have encouraged him? Argued against it?
13. How do you think American women are similar to and, at the same time, different from the Afghan women Debbie befriended and works with?
14. Did it surprise you to read about some of the frank discussions and depictions of sex among the Afghan women at the beauty salon and the wedding that Debbie attended?
15. Do you think it was wise for Debbie to help Roshanna escape detection as a non-virgin on her wedding night? Would you have chosen to interfere? Why or why not?
2. Did Debbie take a chance of repeating her abusive history by marrying a relatively unknown man from a culture with a reputation for mistreating women?
3. Were you shocked when she revealed that her husband had another wife?
4. Why do you think Debbie was so emotional upon meeting Sam’s father? Would you have been eager to meet him or preferred not to? Were you surprised at his reaction?
5. As a mother of two, was Debbie irresponsible in taking risks like crossing the Khyber pass and confronting her neighbors? Should she have gone to Afghanistan at all, knowing the conditions in the country?
6. Debbie’s “bad” neighbors were potentially dangerous. What would you have done in her situation? How would the ineffectiveness of the local police make you feel?
7. Was it foolish for Debbie to continue running the beauty school in the face of government interference and hostility?
8. Debbie goes to Afghanistan in order to change the lives of women there and give them greater power in their personal lives, a mission that she has fulfilled for many women. How have these women changed her?
9. Does the example of a strong self-sufficient woman Debbie sets for the Afghan women provide them with helpful inspiration or does it set a dangerous precedent, encouraging them to model behaviors and aspirations that might be dangerous to them in their environment?
10. Would you have let a known Taliban member, and opium addict at that, stay under your roof in order to help his wife? How dangerous do you think this decision really was?
11. Why do you think Hama was unable to follow through and accept the generous offer of a place to live and a new life in the US?
12. How would you have reacted if your son offered to marry Hama? Would you have encouraged him? Argued against it?
13. How do you think American women are similar to and, at the same time, different from the Afghan women Debbie befriended and works with?
14. Did it surprise you to read about some of the frank discussions and depictions of sex among the Afghan women at the beauty salon and the wedding that Debbie attended?
15. Do you think it was wise for Debbie to help Roshanna escape detection as a non-virgin on her wedding night? Would you have chosen to interfere? Why or why not?
Weekly Assignments 2/28-3/4
Monday
Afghan powerpoint with basic vocabulary for study. Introduce the discussion questions on blogspot. Journal - What do you know? What do you want to know?
Tuesday
Read for 25 minutes. Meet in circles. Each Friday, leader turns in chosen question with group’s response. In class time to work on questions on Tues./Thurs.
Wednesday
Map project – list all the countries we have studied this year. Color them on your map.
Read for 20 minutes.
Thursday
Read for 25 minutes and work on questions in groups.
Friday
Watch clips from Charlie Wilson’s War. How did the US participation in the Russian defeat bring about 9/11? Read for 20 minutes. Discuss first short essay.
Afghan powerpoint with basic vocabulary for study. Introduce the discussion questions on blogspot. Journal - What do you know? What do you want to know?
Tuesday
Read for 25 minutes. Meet in circles. Each Friday, leader turns in chosen question with group’s response. In class time to work on questions on Tues./Thurs.
Wednesday
Map project – list all the countries we have studied this year. Color them on your map.
Read for 20 minutes.
Thursday
Read for 25 minutes and work on questions in groups.
Friday
Watch clips from Charlie Wilson’s War. How did the US participation in the Russian defeat bring about 9/11? Read for 20 minutes. Discuss first short essay.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Assignments - 2/21-2/25
Monday – Review for test on Heart of Darkness. Test will include questions on plot from the novella, Heart of Darkness, and the film Apocalypse Now (true/false, multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank). Short essay topics include comparing themes and characters of film to book, also comparing the native woman to the fiancée and T.S. Eliot’s poem, “The Hollow Men.”
Tuesday – Test. Bring lyrics of your song to class tomorrow.
Wednesday – Meet in pairs to discuss songs and possible interpretations of imagery. HW for tonight – before midnight, email me your thesis statement for your song analysis essay. You must have a specific detailed thesis statement that is applicable only to your song. (This counts as a homework grade.)
Thursday – Class time to work on song essay or meet with me if you have any questions.
Friday – Essay due by 4:00 – hard copy in box with Works Cited and lyrics attached. Extra Credit this weekend – attend Annie either Friday or Saturday night. HW for Monday (this counts as a grade) – bring your Afghan book to class.
Tuesday – Test. Bring lyrics of your song to class tomorrow.
Wednesday – Meet in pairs to discuss songs and possible interpretations of imagery. HW for tonight – before midnight, email me your thesis statement for your song analysis essay. You must have a specific detailed thesis statement that is applicable only to your song. (This counts as a homework grade.)
Thursday – Class time to work on song essay or meet with me if you have any questions.
Friday – Essay due by 4:00 – hard copy in box with Works Cited and lyrics attached. Extra Credit this weekend – attend Annie either Friday or Saturday night. HW for Monday (this counts as a grade) – bring your Afghan book to class.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Heart of Darkness & Apocalypse Now: A comparative analysis of novella and film
Here's the article we read in class - it might help you for the test next week.
In the opening scenes of the documentary film "Hearts of Darkness-A Filmmaker's Apocalypse," Eleanor Coppola describes her husband Francis's film, Apocalypse Now, as being "loosely based" on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Indeed, "loosely" is the word; the period, setting, and circumstances of the film are totally different from those of the novella. The question, therefore, is whether any of Conrad's classic story of savagery and madness is extant in its cinematic reworking.
The story of Heart of Darkness is narrated by its central character, the seasoned mariner Marlowe, a recurring figure in Conrad's work. Apocalypse Now features a corollary to Marlowe in Captain Willard, a U.S. Army special forces operative assigned to go up the Nung river from Viet Nam into Cambodia in order to "terminate the command" of one Colonel Walter Kurtz whom, he is told, has gone totally insane. It is fitting that Marlowe's character should be renamed, as Willard differs from Marlowe in several significant ways: 1) He is not the captain of the boat which takes him and a party of others up the river; 2) He does not reflect the deep psychological and philosophical insights that are a signal feature in Marlowe's character, and 3) He is sent on his mission specifically to kill Kurtz, unlike Marlowe who is simply piloting others in the capacity of captain of a steamboat. However, Willard does communicate Marlowe's fascination (growing, in fact, into an obsession) with Kurtz. Also significant is the fact that he holds the rank of captain, tying in with Marlowe's occupation.
As to the character of Kurtz, it is worth noting that while significant discrepancies exist between the depictions of Conrad and Coppola, the basic nature of the man remains fairly similar. The idea of company man turned savage, of a brilliant and successful team-player, being groomed by "the Company" for greater things, suddenly gone native, is perfectly realized in both novella and film. In the film, Kurtz is portrayed by Marlon Brando, the father of American method actors, who lends weight (both physically and dramatically) to the figure of the megalomaniacal Kurtz. Brando's massive girth is all the more ironic for those familiar with Heart of Darkness who recall Conrad's description: "I could see the cage of his ribs all astir, the bones of his arms waving. It was as though an animated image of death carved out of old ivory had been shaking its hand with menaces at a motionless crowd of men..." [1]. One could speculate that Coppola's Kurtz is a graphic analogy of the bloated American war machine dominating and perverting the innocent montegnards of Cambodia; however, after viewing Eleanor Coppola's documentary, one finds that the casting was more based on a combination of Coppola's wanting to work with Brando (remember The Godfather) and Brando's own weight problem. (It should also be noted that the cult-like following of Kurtz in Heart of Darkness is brilliantly and subtly updated by Coppola in a foreshadowing scene in which missives to Willard from headquarters are intercut with scenes of newspaper clippings about Charles Manson.)
Also present in Coppola's film is the loveable, addle-headed harlequin/fool figure who meets Marlowe's boat upon arrival at Kurtz's station. This role is rendered in grand, demented style by Dennis Hopper, replete with a plethora of cameras (he is an American photojournalist) to update his fool's motley. Much of his dialogue is taken directly from Conrad, although his character does not flee the scene as does his doppelganger in Heart of Darkness.
Regarding plot, as stated earlier, Coppola's rendering of Heart of Darkness diverges wildly from Conrad. Conrad's story depicts a turn of the century riverboat captain transporting members of an unnamed "Company," an ivory trading concern, up a snake-like river winding its way into the Belgian Congo in order to locate their top "agent" and relieve him of his independently-stockpiled ivory. The Company has judged Kurtz to be a renegade whose methods are "unsound." Coppola's film gives us Willard, an Army captain who is sent by Army intelligence up a similar river in Viet Nam to kill a certain Colonel Kurtz. Again, Colonel Kurtz is considered by the parties in charge to be insane, his methods unsound (a direct dialogue echo from the text.) This last fact, however, that Willard is from the beginning an assassin, is a fundamental difference between the film and the book. It changes the whole psychological dynamic between that of Marlowe and Kurtz. In Conrad, Marlowe is in awe of Kurtz, comes to identify with him in some dark recess of his own psyche; Willard, on the other hand, is more impressed with Kurtz's credentials than moved by his force of mind and will. His mission to kill Kurtz gives him some measure of pause, but his military protocol mentality ultimately rules the day. Compared with Marlowe's deep, searching ruminations on the dark, enigmatic Kurtz, Willard is a government-issue automaton. Add to this the fact that the first two thirds of the movie Apocalypse Now are concerned with the Viet Nam war and have absolutely nothing to do with the plot of Heart of Darkness, and it seems as if there is an un-mendable rift between the film and its purported inspiration. To be fair, however, it is important to mention that the two plots do converge at the point just before the boat parties arrive at Kurtz's station, when a thick fog envelops each boat and a rain of arrows showers down on the passengers. From here we witness the death of the black helmsman by a spear, the greeting of the fool figure, and, finally the meeting with the mad Kurtz.
The dominant theme of Heart of Darkness is man's vulnerability to his own darker nature and the various ways in which this terrible, savage, proto-man can be unleashed; power, the jungle, "the Company," all serve as catalysts for the emergence of this hidden, voracious id-thing within us all, most realized in Kurtz. In Apocalypse Now, Coppola is right on target in exploring this theme, his choice of Viet Nam in the sixties providing all the requisite elements: power, the jungle, and "the Company" are all present, the latter being represented by the U.S. Army, or perhaps the U.S.A. as a whole. This last touch is ingenious, as it calls up a whole series of speculations regarding the various forms of imperialism. In Conrad, set at the turn of the century, the imperialism is traditional, overt. In Coppola, the U.S. presence is just as overt, yet the pretense upon which it is based is more ideological, geopolitical. Both situations provide the possibility for endless abuse of power by foreigners in a primitive jungle setting, a setting which tends to bend their minds and release their dormant savage energies. Heart of Darkness depicts gun-crazy members of "the Company" firing wildly upon anything and everything as they progress up the river. Likewise the men in the PBR in Apocalypse Now, even more so, in fact, due to the circumstances of the Viet Nam war.
The ultimate extreme of man's dark side, as explored in Conrad and Coppola, is madness. The embodiment of this madness is Kurtz, and it is explored more thoroughly, in fact, in Coppola. One might argue that no credit is to be given to Coppola for this, that so many men went mad in Viet Nam, that the war was madness itself. But the way in which Kurtz's madness is portrayed must be examined: the way Brando is filmed in perpetual half-shadow, as if darkness is pouring over him in some black ooze; the strange, nonsensical yet at the same time compelling ruminations he shares with Willard; the scene in which he beheads one of Willard's men and presents the trophy to Willard in full camouflage make-up. These are examples of the filmmaker's craft and should not be overlooked.
The question must be answered as to whether Conrad's Heart of Darkness has survived the passage of seventy-five years and a cinematic treatment by Francis Ford Coppola. In its basic thematic elements, it has. Much has changed, but the basic feel of the novella, the brooding, mysterious jungle energy, its maddening influence over those who would try to tame it, and Kurtz, whose soul went mad, whose last words were "The horror, the horror," all remain relatively in tact. I wonder what Conrad would have thought.
©1996 Patrick Galloway
In the opening scenes of the documentary film "Hearts of Darkness-A Filmmaker's Apocalypse," Eleanor Coppola describes her husband Francis's film, Apocalypse Now, as being "loosely based" on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Indeed, "loosely" is the word; the period, setting, and circumstances of the film are totally different from those of the novella. The question, therefore, is whether any of Conrad's classic story of savagery and madness is extant in its cinematic reworking.
The story of Heart of Darkness is narrated by its central character, the seasoned mariner Marlowe, a recurring figure in Conrad's work. Apocalypse Now features a corollary to Marlowe in Captain Willard, a U.S. Army special forces operative assigned to go up the Nung river from Viet Nam into Cambodia in order to "terminate the command" of one Colonel Walter Kurtz whom, he is told, has gone totally insane. It is fitting that Marlowe's character should be renamed, as Willard differs from Marlowe in several significant ways: 1) He is not the captain of the boat which takes him and a party of others up the river; 2) He does not reflect the deep psychological and philosophical insights that are a signal feature in Marlowe's character, and 3) He is sent on his mission specifically to kill Kurtz, unlike Marlowe who is simply piloting others in the capacity of captain of a steamboat. However, Willard does communicate Marlowe's fascination (growing, in fact, into an obsession) with Kurtz. Also significant is the fact that he holds the rank of captain, tying in with Marlowe's occupation.
As to the character of Kurtz, it is worth noting that while significant discrepancies exist between the depictions of Conrad and Coppola, the basic nature of the man remains fairly similar. The idea of company man turned savage, of a brilliant and successful team-player, being groomed by "the Company" for greater things, suddenly gone native, is perfectly realized in both novella and film. In the film, Kurtz is portrayed by Marlon Brando, the father of American method actors, who lends weight (both physically and dramatically) to the figure of the megalomaniacal Kurtz. Brando's massive girth is all the more ironic for those familiar with Heart of Darkness who recall Conrad's description: "I could see the cage of his ribs all astir, the bones of his arms waving. It was as though an animated image of death carved out of old ivory had been shaking its hand with menaces at a motionless crowd of men..." [1]. One could speculate that Coppola's Kurtz is a graphic analogy of the bloated American war machine dominating and perverting the innocent montegnards of Cambodia; however, after viewing Eleanor Coppola's documentary, one finds that the casting was more based on a combination of Coppola's wanting to work with Brando (remember The Godfather) and Brando's own weight problem. (It should also be noted that the cult-like following of Kurtz in Heart of Darkness is brilliantly and subtly updated by Coppola in a foreshadowing scene in which missives to Willard from headquarters are intercut with scenes of newspaper clippings about Charles Manson.)
Also present in Coppola's film is the loveable, addle-headed harlequin/fool figure who meets Marlowe's boat upon arrival at Kurtz's station. This role is rendered in grand, demented style by Dennis Hopper, replete with a plethora of cameras (he is an American photojournalist) to update his fool's motley. Much of his dialogue is taken directly from Conrad, although his character does not flee the scene as does his doppelganger in Heart of Darkness.
Regarding plot, as stated earlier, Coppola's rendering of Heart of Darkness diverges wildly from Conrad. Conrad's story depicts a turn of the century riverboat captain transporting members of an unnamed "Company," an ivory trading concern, up a snake-like river winding its way into the Belgian Congo in order to locate their top "agent" and relieve him of his independently-stockpiled ivory. The Company has judged Kurtz to be a renegade whose methods are "unsound." Coppola's film gives us Willard, an Army captain who is sent by Army intelligence up a similar river in Viet Nam to kill a certain Colonel Kurtz. Again, Colonel Kurtz is considered by the parties in charge to be insane, his methods unsound (a direct dialogue echo from the text.) This last fact, however, that Willard is from the beginning an assassin, is a fundamental difference between the film and the book. It changes the whole psychological dynamic between that of Marlowe and Kurtz. In Conrad, Marlowe is in awe of Kurtz, comes to identify with him in some dark recess of his own psyche; Willard, on the other hand, is more impressed with Kurtz's credentials than moved by his force of mind and will. His mission to kill Kurtz gives him some measure of pause, but his military protocol mentality ultimately rules the day. Compared with Marlowe's deep, searching ruminations on the dark, enigmatic Kurtz, Willard is a government-issue automaton. Add to this the fact that the first two thirds of the movie Apocalypse Now are concerned with the Viet Nam war and have absolutely nothing to do with the plot of Heart of Darkness, and it seems as if there is an un-mendable rift between the film and its purported inspiration. To be fair, however, it is important to mention that the two plots do converge at the point just before the boat parties arrive at Kurtz's station, when a thick fog envelops each boat and a rain of arrows showers down on the passengers. From here we witness the death of the black helmsman by a spear, the greeting of the fool figure, and, finally the meeting with the mad Kurtz.
The dominant theme of Heart of Darkness is man's vulnerability to his own darker nature and the various ways in which this terrible, savage, proto-man can be unleashed; power, the jungle, "the Company," all serve as catalysts for the emergence of this hidden, voracious id-thing within us all, most realized in Kurtz. In Apocalypse Now, Coppola is right on target in exploring this theme, his choice of Viet Nam in the sixties providing all the requisite elements: power, the jungle, and "the Company" are all present, the latter being represented by the U.S. Army, or perhaps the U.S.A. as a whole. This last touch is ingenious, as it calls up a whole series of speculations regarding the various forms of imperialism. In Conrad, set at the turn of the century, the imperialism is traditional, overt. In Coppola, the U.S. presence is just as overt, yet the pretense upon which it is based is more ideological, geopolitical. Both situations provide the possibility for endless abuse of power by foreigners in a primitive jungle setting, a setting which tends to bend their minds and release their dormant savage energies. Heart of Darkness depicts gun-crazy members of "the Company" firing wildly upon anything and everything as they progress up the river. Likewise the men in the PBR in Apocalypse Now, even more so, in fact, due to the circumstances of the Viet Nam war.
The ultimate extreme of man's dark side, as explored in Conrad and Coppola, is madness. The embodiment of this madness is Kurtz, and it is explored more thoroughly, in fact, in Coppola. One might argue that no credit is to be given to Coppola for this, that so many men went mad in Viet Nam, that the war was madness itself. But the way in which Kurtz's madness is portrayed must be examined: the way Brando is filmed in perpetual half-shadow, as if darkness is pouring over him in some black ooze; the strange, nonsensical yet at the same time compelling ruminations he shares with Willard; the scene in which he beheads one of Willard's men and presents the trophy to Willard in full camouflage make-up. These are examples of the filmmaker's craft and should not be overlooked.
The question must be answered as to whether Conrad's Heart of Darkness has survived the passage of seventy-five years and a cinematic treatment by Francis Ford Coppola. In its basic thematic elements, it has. Much has changed, but the basic feel of the novella, the brooding, mysterious jungle energy, its maddening influence over those who would try to tame it, and Kurtz, whose soul went mad, whose last words were "The horror, the horror," all remain relatively in tact. I wonder what Conrad would have thought.
©1996 Patrick Galloway
Friday, February 11, 2011
Assignments 2/14-2/18
Monday – HW for tomorrow – what book for Afghanistan (chose from Kabul Beauty School,The Bookseller of Kabul, Three Cups of Tea and Horse Soldiers. Honors needs either Kite Runner or Thousand Splendid Suns.)What song for your song analysis essay?Write neatly or type both and give me at least one sentence explanation of why you chose each (neatness counts - no scraps of paper, please).
In class, read requirements for song essay (look at Woodstock song). Song analysis due next Thursday. Read AN essay – make list of characters.
Tuesday – Multiple choice – last practice! Grade and discuss in class. Finish Hearts of Darkness. Finish book for Monday. Final test next Tuesday.
Wednesday – Discuss section 2 questions and look at highlights of section 3 (women appear again…) Section 3 hand-out.
Thursday – TS Eliot poetry inspired by Heart of Darkness.
Friday – Last multiple choice section for extra credit. Work in groups comparing film and book themes (essay for test). Final test on Tuesday. Essay due Thursday.
In class, read requirements for song essay (look at Woodstock song). Song analysis due next Thursday. Read AN essay – make list of characters.
Tuesday – Multiple choice – last practice! Grade and discuss in class. Finish Hearts of Darkness. Finish book for Monday. Final test next Tuesday.
Wednesday – Discuss section 2 questions and look at highlights of section 3 (women appear again…) Section 3 hand-out.
Thursday – TS Eliot poetry inspired by Heart of Darkness.
Friday – Last multiple choice section for extra credit. Work in groups comparing film and book themes (essay for test). Final test on Tuesday. Essay due Thursday.
Protest Song analysis
For this paper, you will choose a Vietnam War Era song to analyze. You need to download the lyrics from the internet and listen to a performance of your song.
You need a history of the band or artist who performed the song, or the band that made the song popular, BUT you should only include facts and information that are relevant to the history of the song. Do not spend a lot of time summarizing Wikipedia. But how did the band feel about the War? What motivated them to write or perform this song?
You need to find out what year the song was released, and then place it in an historical context. What was happening in the U.S. when the song came out? What specific things or things is this song protesting? You may give a brief history here of the war, or the draft, or whatever the song deals with.
Then you need to analyze the lyrics. What type of song was it - folk, country or rock-n-roll? What is the tone of the song? What is the meaning? How did the songwriter feel and what message was he or she trying to get across? Was the message subtle, blunt or ironic? Explain any slang terms or any historical references in the lyrics. Explain any rhetorical devices that the song uses, and why you think they are used (like anaphora, imagery, simile, rhetorical question). Look at the song like it is a poem.
This is approximately a three page typed paper, and as usual it is 14 pt. ft., TNR and 1.5 spacing. Please include the lyrics on a separate page. You will also have a Works Cited page including where you found the lyrics (in MLA format, don’t just give me the website) and any other sites you used to interpret the song’s meaning or to gather the history of the band.
Some suggestions for songs are:
Draft Dodger Rag -- Pete Seeger
On the Eve of Destruction -- Barry McGuire
Masters of War -- Bob Dylan
With God on Our Side -- Bob Dylan
Only a Pawn in Their Game -- Bob Dylan
War -- Edwin Starr
Give Peace a Chance -- John Lennon
The Ballad of the Green Beret (pro war song)
Four Dead in Ohio -- Crosby Stills Nash and Young
Chicago -- Crosby Stills Nash and Young
Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town - The First Edition
An Okie from Moskogee - Merle Haggard
Feels Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag - Country Joe and the Fish
Unknown Soldier - The Doors
One Tin Soldier - Joan Baez
Fortunate Son - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Simple Song of Freedom - Bobby Darin
The War Drags On - Donovan (1965)
I Ain't Marching Anymore - Phil Ochs (1965)
Lyndon Johnson Told The Nation - Tom Paxton (1965)
Bring Them Home - Pete Seeger (1966)
Saigon Bride - Joan Baez (1967)
Waist Deep in the Big Muddy - Pete Seeger (1967)
You need a history of the band or artist who performed the song, or the band that made the song popular, BUT you should only include facts and information that are relevant to the history of the song. Do not spend a lot of time summarizing Wikipedia. But how did the band feel about the War? What motivated them to write or perform this song?
You need to find out what year the song was released, and then place it in an historical context. What was happening in the U.S. when the song came out? What specific things or things is this song protesting? You may give a brief history here of the war, or the draft, or whatever the song deals with.
Then you need to analyze the lyrics. What type of song was it - folk, country or rock-n-roll? What is the tone of the song? What is the meaning? How did the songwriter feel and what message was he or she trying to get across? Was the message subtle, blunt or ironic? Explain any slang terms or any historical references in the lyrics. Explain any rhetorical devices that the song uses, and why you think they are used (like anaphora, imagery, simile, rhetorical question). Look at the song like it is a poem.
This is approximately a three page typed paper, and as usual it is 14 pt. ft., TNR and 1.5 spacing. Please include the lyrics on a separate page. You will also have a Works Cited page including where you found the lyrics (in MLA format, don’t just give me the website) and any other sites you used to interpret the song’s meaning or to gather the history of the band.
Some suggestions for songs are:
Draft Dodger Rag -- Pete Seeger
On the Eve of Destruction -- Barry McGuire
Masters of War -- Bob Dylan
With God on Our Side -- Bob Dylan
Only a Pawn in Their Game -- Bob Dylan
War -- Edwin Starr
Give Peace a Chance -- John Lennon
The Ballad of the Green Beret (pro war song)
Four Dead in Ohio -- Crosby Stills Nash and Young
Chicago -- Crosby Stills Nash and Young
Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town - The First Edition
An Okie from Moskogee - Merle Haggard
Feels Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag - Country Joe and the Fish
Unknown Soldier - The Doors
One Tin Soldier - Joan Baez
Fortunate Son - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Simple Song of Freedom - Bobby Darin
The War Drags On - Donovan (1965)
I Ain't Marching Anymore - Phil Ochs (1965)
Lyndon Johnson Told The Nation - Tom Paxton (1965)
Bring Them Home - Pete Seeger (1966)
Saigon Bride - Joan Baez (1967)
Waist Deep in the Big Muddy - Pete Seeger (1967)
Friday, February 4, 2011
Weekly Assignments - 2/7-2/11
Monday – Finish photo presentations. Relate photos to film. Photo essays due by this afternoon. Read to page 60 by Friday.
Tuesday – Multiple Choice practice. Worksheet in groups – focus on Marlowe’s itinerary. Account for all settings and characters so far.
Wednesday – Quiz on Heart of Darkness through page 50. Handout for Section II. Read Apocalypse Now essay in class. (If you have missed a section of the film, you can watch it in my room or watch it at home.)
Thursday – Review poetry from film. Review poetry terms. Read in class.
Friday – Rewrites due (if we have met to discuss). Begin protest song assignment. Watch clips from Woodstock.
Tuesday – Multiple Choice practice. Worksheet in groups – focus on Marlowe’s itinerary. Account for all settings and characters so far.
Wednesday – Quiz on Heart of Darkness through page 50. Handout for Section II. Read Apocalypse Now essay in class. (If you have missed a section of the film, you can watch it in my room or watch it at home.)
Thursday – Review poetry from film. Review poetry terms. Read in class.
Friday – Rewrites due (if we have met to discuss). Begin protest song assignment. Watch clips from Woodstock.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)