- This topic has 107 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated May 25, 2022 by
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Summary for Lesson 1
In today’s class we began our study of Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, thinking about the context and history behind the novel that can help to illuminate its themes. We started with thinking about the elements of the book the class both did and didn’t enjoy, analysing devices in the book including character development, stream of consciousness writing and motifs. We then moved on to talking about the context of the 1920s, when the book was published, discussing themes such as war, society and gender/race/class-based subjugation. Finally, we looked at the modernist movement, learning about how it overtook the art and literary worlds and the themes, subjects and contexts it examined, which the students all absorbed wonderfully and were able to use in their analysis of Woolf’ work. The class all worked so well today, especially considering the often confusing and obscure nature of the novel, and were all super keen to share some really exciting ideas and thoughts. Amazing work class- keep it up and I’ll see you next week 🙂
Modernism video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VjMzRcEW90&t=88s
Homework
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Here is the article to read for homework: https://sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/shell-shock-as-a-metaphor-in-the-modernist-novels-of-ford-and-woolf/
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Johnny:
I agree with these conclusions because the way to describe shell shock from people like Septimus is abnormal shaking and the corruption, the traps that he gets into makes his nightmarish dreams haunt him and it shows shell shock as a metaphor. The whole metaphor shell shock simply means corruption of someone’s body through horror and experiences we get from feeling it and Septimus feels in danger of these symptoms. It faces WWI fears and Septimus has to face these stuggles. His case is similar to the shaking and the complaint of paralysis from soldiers of WWI who couldn’t stand the sound of shells falling on them and cannons shooting. It was too much for them.
The term of shell shock as a metaphor just describes the constant problem of have fear bully you and the repetitive fear of problems being experienced loads of times. So, I agree with the author. Virginia Woolf has used the long lasting and terrorizing effect of shell shock in Mrs Dalloway and it becomes a great success. This is a super effective way to create a memorable effect in writing. But the incredible detail in Woolf’s work reflects how vivid it is to describe shell shock. I would have been remembering war problems after reading a piece of work with shell shock used as an effective metaphor in it.
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I agree with this author’s conclusions. Shell shock puts its victims into another world, and they become isolated and alienated from the real world. Septimius suffers acutely from shell shock – “beauty was behind a pane of glass”. This suggests that he does not see beauty in the way that he used to; he sees it as other worldly and almost as if it is not his nature or purpose to see it.
Modernist writers may be expressing their pessimism about society by comparing it to shell shock. The symptoms of shell shock is commonly fatigue poor sleep, nightmares or and jumpiness. The symptoms of jumpiness may be symbolising the instability of the Victorian society, while nightmares may depict the disasters and horrors of the interwar. The metaphor effectively describes the society with vividness, making it more memorable and persuasive.
Finally, Septimius kills himself near the end because he is unwilling to let doctors take him to mental intuition. This shows how shell shock had traumatized in such a way that the doesn’t want to be helped or cured – an ordinary citizen with shell shock would be typically eager to escape from it. However, wolf uses romantic and rich imagery to show how Septimius wants to end his life to find more pleasures in death.
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Dear Beth,
Thank you for the shell-tastic lesson!
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A FABLE: Shell & Sheena Ant
Once Upon a time, there lived an Ant called Shell. Shell had participated in the Ant War and now had a terrible limp on the right side of his body, and symptoms of quirkiness as well. Shell had a wife called Sheena Ant, who thught his limp was poor show.
“Look at all those dead Anties out in the field” Sheena Ant purposefully said, making Shell feel even more out of sorts.
So it should be no surprise that Shell launched himself underneath the dark black boot of a passing human, which crushed him flat. Sheena Ant was left to grieve and consider her deep mistake. 🐜💧
Moral: Do not be mean towards those with Shell Shock. It leads to death.
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Dear Beth,
My homework is in the attachment below.
Thanks for the lesson!
(Sorry my answer is a bit short)
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Thank you for the explosive lesson
sorry about being late, I forgot that the doing time was Monday 3:pm
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Summary for Lesson 2
In today’s lesson we continued our work on Mrs Dalloway, thinking about the themes and characters of the novel in depth. We started by thinking about the key ideas in the book, linking the main themes to examples in the plot. We then moved on to thinking about sympathetic characters and what Woolf’s characterisation tells us about how she viewed society- focusing in particular on gender and mental health and the anti-discrimination narrative she builds. The class completed some creative writing where they imagined a conversation between two characters- which they did fantastically- before finishing up with some ideas on the Greek chorus of minor characters. Amazing work today everyone- today’s lesson touched on some very complicated themes and ideas and you all dealt with them wonderfully. Keep up the great work and I’ll see you next week 🙂
Greek chorus video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRMc-u9Nj74
Mrs Dalloway characters video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdEGL_WoNZE
Homework
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I think the genre of this book is tragedy 🎭 and it is also romantic. The reason why I think this book is romantic is that when we first see the appearance of couples, then we see people who plea for marriage like Peter Walsh trying to beg Clarissa Dalloway to marry him, though Clarissa chooses Richard Dalloway instead of and didn’t fancy Richard in the end. And also, we see couples attempting to soothe each other as well and this plays a vital role in this story like Lucrezia “Rezia” Warren Smith trying to soothe Septimus after his life-long shell-shock,
This story is also tragic in the post traumatic disorder that most of the characters suffer from. This gives all kinds of trouble in their mind and Septimus experiences the most as in the end, he commited suicide because he couldn’t take in anymore. This shows extreme sympathy for Septimus as he was a good lad and he was haunted by the far away thoughts of losing Evans during WWI. These are the two genres I think Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf represents.
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I think that Mrs Dalloway is a romantic and unhappy novel that shows us the raging war and the traumatic effects it can have to us. It is a romantic novel from all the husbands and wives and love throughout the story. The story starts to show the effects of war when Septimus is brought into the story, this young man is a person who suffers from severe shell shock and fear, this will soon leave to willing suicide. Even though this man is traumatised by war and sometimes can get very mad Lecrezia (his wife ) still loves him dearly.
Even in these horrible accidents though, the novel still shows hope (barely). People are trying to help Septimus forget about his past and worries especially Evans. This soothes the reader a bit but at the end Septimus still jumps out of the window.
This story also complies of past, seeking into the future where not only the war fighters are being troubled but also normal trespassers like Clarissa who is stuck with her rough childhood
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Dear Beth,
Thanks for the explosive lesson ✧( •̀ ω •́ )✧! Please find my homework attached!
✧Thanks✧
✧✧Aryan✧✧
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Dear Beth,
Lessons are amazing,
Mary had a pen
with which she made a zing
of many a piece
So here is the hooky penky,
with which to write your ream.
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Thanks for the scrumptious lesson! 😉
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I think this book is a tragedy. Septimus experiences Shell-shock (or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.) He feels very stressed when an aeroplane appears in the sky, as it reminds him of the horrors of WW1 and his dead friend, Evans. The aeroplane symbolises the rapid development of technology after WW1, alarming him as the speed of this growth felt overwhelmingly fast. In the climax, Septimus kills himself, which is very tragic.
Furthermore, the novel is also romantic – expressed by Mrs Dalloway. At start of the novel, Mrs Dalloway says she would buy the flowers (more precisely: roses) herself. Roses represent love and romance, but their thorns may symbolise how Mrs Dalloway’s relationships are unstable.
Also, Rezia deeply loves her husband. She was lively and open when she was young, but Septimus’ suffering has made her worry. However, her optimistic nature lingers on. Her love and strong character makes Mrs Dalloway a romantic novel as they are two very common features.
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Summary for Lesson 3
In today’s class we finished our work on Mrs Dalloway, thinking about responding creatively to Woolf’s work. We began by thinking about stream of consciousness writing, which the class then used beautifully for their own re-telling of their favourite stories, discussing how little we really reflect on our inner psyche’s voice. We then spoke about symbolism, using the flowers from the novel as a springboard before the class wrote their own symbols into the novel, thinking about how different characters would interact with their symbolic objects. Finally, we spoke about the title of the book, learning about its original title- The Hours– and hearing the students’ thoughts of what they would call it. I was extremely impressed by everyone’s work today- the breadth of creativity was truly outstanding, as were the class’s contributions throughout and thoughts on complex matters such as symbolism and stylistic writing. Incredible work from each and every one of you- keep up the brilliant ideas and writing skills everyone and I’ll see you for Brave New World next week 🙂
The only recording of Woolf’s voice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8czs8v6PuI
Stream of consciousness video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaSFwO3O2SI
Homework
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Dear Beth,
Thank you for the fan-wesome lesson!
🎈🎁🎗✨🎠🎨💡😁🏜😀😂😉😊🎡😆😃⚓😄☺🙂🌎🙃😺🦄🌌🪐🏳🌈🛸🎆🏔🏕🎀🌏🏝🏖🏡;-)🎈🎁⚓
-Complete the gaps & discover the answer to this riddle: I am rosy, dark and shadow, I am light, gleaned and overgrow. What am I?
1. _ blue house dancing with yellow apricot lights
2. Dawn is a_atter of interest
3. Mrs. Dalloway _ats at the party, drifting to her own thoughts, mousily quite
4. _umbles rumbl like lightning in silence!
5. Sheena requested Ansil to _pen the window
6. The _itz is hosting a special tonight.
7._ellow dogs will not appeal to the pest-control
Answer: A memory!
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I both agree and disagree that Woolf’s books have nothing happening.
Firstly, short stories like the Death of the Moth have nothing happening and we describve the world from the moth’s point of view and it is just stream of consciousness instead of anyone doing things.
However, on the flip side books like Mrs Dalloway and A Room of one’s own show lots of action and not as much stream of consciousness. So we can also argue that there are things happening in Woolf’s books. Otherwise, Septimus and Mrs Dalloway would be gamers from their perspective of the world as watchtowers and not doing much on it.
Yes, some stories don’t have much going on. Yes, we can make a place just by description. But novels shouldn’t have no action. They ned to be full of situation and a climax with loads going on. It’s ridiculous to think that such long books just have drones on stream of consciousness and other things. Woolf has action. But short stories can have nothing going on. Even non-fiction stories have things going on. But Woolf definetely has things going on in her stories.
For conclusion, I don’t think we can credit any novel with having no action otherwise, it would be silly to call them a novel. Woolf’s stories do have things going on, though some stories by Woolf don’t have much going on at all.
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I agree but disagree if the meaning is changed, this is because
I agree because in Virginia Woolf’s books because on every book their is almost as if the characters don’t do much except from the suicide, other than this everything else and their character do not do anything at all. In the books the main subject is not hidden from plain view, nor put in plain view because their is sort of no main subject.
The books also acts as if every single day is going to be the same and that they do not have any physical skill. The most likely main subject would probably be Septimus but he is dealt with near the end so when it is the end of the book, it doesn’t have the same affect.
However the story gives a lot of detail about war and everyday doings and how the effect of war can be mind blowing. The main action in the story are trials and the consciousness of Mrs Dalloway . Although the action is short packed, the characters aren’t and like I said, they might not have physical skill but they do have emotional skills. In the book The shell shocked characters don’t feel like they are living in the real world but instead are being controlled by horror. This is the only thing that creates proper tension in the stories.
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Critics say that Mrs Dalloway is too complicated. But that’s not all: they claim that it is static and that “nothing happens”. Yes, nothing happens, but only literally. Figuratively, it is a journey through thick forests – cloaked in mist and surrounded by ghostly, stooped figures. Thus, I both agree and disagree with this claim.
There is a past present and future in Mrs Dalloway (represented by The Elizabeth Tower.) The Elizabeth Tower symbolises the passage of time. Furthermore, the original title of this novel was “The Hours”. This heavy relationship to time suggests that this book describes that characters’ lifeline in precision (hour by hour).
However, if you look literally, nothing really does happen. The novel starts: “Mrs Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.” Flowers represent domestic, which may suggest the novel revolves around this image of domesticity, making it feel unadventurous and always staying-at-home.
In conclusion, the events in the book are fairly ordinary and homely, but the inner world is more than your wildest dreams!
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Summary for Lesson 4
In today’s lesson we began studying our second book: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. We thought about the genre of dystopia, and about how typical Brave New World is of this genre, and also discussed what modern parallels can be drawn between the society in the novel and society today, thinking particularly about issues of class and state surveillance. We also had an enlightening discussion on everyone’s favourite and least favourite parts of the book, and the class did some great work thinking about how the history and philosophy behind a book can influence our thinking about it. I loved hearing the students’ thoughts about technology and the way in which it shapes society, and thought they were incredibly adept at exploring the notions and mechanisms of dystopias and utopias. Wonderful work today class! There were a lot of complex ideas in today’s lesson and you all dealt with it fantastically- I am really impressed with your work! Well done everyone, keep up the great ideas and I’ll see you next week 🙂
Huxley video we watched some of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIgjujAI6eE
P.S. Remember to read the facts about Aldous Huxley’s life on Slide 7 of the PowerPoint if you get a chance!
Homework
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Dear Beth,
Thank you for the world-galactic lesson! 🌌🌏⚓🪐🗺🧭🌠🌜☄🌞
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“O Brave New world that has such people in’t!”
Miranda’s response to seeing the shipwrecked courtiers is rather strange, contemplating the dire circumstances and the panic that most of us would feel at actually sighting shipwrecked courtiers. The Tempest is one of Shakespeare’s Comedies, a comedy that Brave New world is shaped around. The comedy is structured around this referred shipwrecking as well as a few peevish spirits along with on complicatedly grumpy wizard.
🧙🏽♂️+🧚🏽♂️+🏝+🚢+⛵+⚓+😉= The Tempest
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Dear Beth
Another fantastic lesson. Thank you for clarifying the history of Brave New World!
Here is my homework:
Johnny
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Dear Beth,
Thanks for the great lesson! ☆*: .｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆ Please find my homework attached.
Thanks,
Aryan
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The World State wants their people to be happy, but uses a dystopian way to achieve this. The use of conditioning and advanced technology was to make the people happy with who they were, but it was actually tyrannical. The overuse of this technology suggests that the world state is selfish; they have become too idle to care for their people’s wellbeing, using their technology and workers to care for them instead.
Furthermore, Brave New World is a both dystopia and utopia. Dystopia is when only the people who created the dystopia is happy. Utopia is when everyone is happy. The people are content but if they had not been dominated by the World State, they would have realised their satisfaction was coded and not really real. The manipulation of their minds is artificial. Therefore, the people still have an understanding of the world, but just the understanding is tilted and vague.
Overall, the World State controls its citizens using manipulation and technology, but the use of technology allows the citizens to think for themselves as well.
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I accidentally left it out of your feedback but I love the sentence you wrote saying “They are also establishing a sort of feudalist thinking in the world doing tests on babies as if they were ragdolls.”- that’s a beautiful metaphor and fantastic use of the word feudalist. You’ve thought about the way in which curing poverty and hunger are used by the World State to keep people in line which is a good point. Well done for that- just try to add in some more examples next time 🙂
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Summary for Lesson 5
In today’s class we continued our work on Brave New World, focusing on themes and analysing the literary heritage of the book. We began with a debate about whether social media can be equated to soma, before moving on to thinking about the role of Shakespeare’s The Tempest in the book. The class analysed this beautifully, offering their thoughts on whether the novel is a parody of The Tempest, before finally moving on to some thematic analysis. We ended the lesson by sharing some ideas on the core themes and motifs within Brave New World, which the class did wonderfully, giving some great examples of various themes throughout. Excellent work everyone- you all spoke very thoughtfully on the themes and ideas we studied today, particularly with our comparison to Shakespeare and our opening debate around social media as our generation’s soma. Well done class and I’ll see you next week 🙂
Tempest summary video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkhAvPDXOJU&feature=emb_logo
Homework
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Dear Beth,
Thank you for the pill-mazing, utopian lesson!
💊🌏🌌
Brave New World-5 languages Geussing Game
1.El Bravo Mundo ________
2.brave nouveau monde ________
3.Schöne neue Welt ________
4.Fortis novum mundum ________
5.Modig ny värld__________
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Hi Beth,
Thanks for the fantastic lesson! Here is my homework. Happy late Earth Day and St. George’s Day!
Yichen
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Dear Beth,
Thank you for the fantastic lesson. As always, you always make it fun and well packed! Here’s my homework:
Thanks,
Johnny
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Thank you for your amazing lesson, absolutely loved it.
Sorry it is a bit late, we went on holiday to London and snowdome
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Summary for Lesson 6
In today’s lesson we continued our study of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, working on developing our skills of close textual analysis. We worked on the use of inference in literary analysis, thought about character analysis, and considered prompts to help the students discuss and analyse word choice, literary techniques, structure and author intent. We also looked at a mark scheme for the P.E.E. paragraphs completed in the lesson, and shared some thoughts on how to self-evaluate. Finally the students discussed their own dystopian ideas creating whole new worlds using the novel as inspiration. Excellent work everyone- you all contributed beautifully today and I loved hearing your creative dystopia ideas! You all discussed aspects of the novel wonderfully and analysed key passages in an engaged and thorough way. Keep it up and I’ll see you next week- well done 🙂
The passage I would like you to analyse for homework is the first two pages of Chapter XVIII from the line “The door was ajar” up to the line “So long as I can be alone”. I’ll post pictures of the pages I mean below this post.
Homework
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Dear Beth,
B
R
A
V
W E
E N
Thank you for the spool-tastic class!🎉🎊✨🎉✨🎉🎊
(Looking forewords to getting my foot bonked again by that brick of a book, Bleak House-my copy is 935 pages long and the publisher managed to squeeze the pages pretty small😉👍🏽 I think Dickens should have called the book Meadow House or Very-Heavy-Alert-brick-Book-Fragile! House)
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WHY IS BRAVE NEW WORLD STILL IN IMPORTANT TO READ TODAY? Posted on 30/04/2022
In my opinion, I believe it is still important to read Brave New World today is because it gives us a clue of what might happen far in the future and can also hint us away from that dystopian future. The book also tells us what will happen if we mistreat the earth in no matter what way we mistreat it. Although Brave New world is not that child-friendly it is still important to read. The book shows us viewpoints and emotions (well you can infer their emotions) and describes how affected people feel and makes you realise why it is important not to try and control someone.However the book also describes the people who actually agree with this dystopian novel and can make you realise the advantages of a dystopian world.
You realise that you could be the one with all the power and have everyone’s lives within you hands, the person in control could delete human existence with a quick snap of his/her fingers. Then there are the consequences, living in a dystopian world or city. Take Real Wars for example, every time there is a war people are forced to fight for their own lives and if you die, then that’s that. This is dystopian as the government and rulers are basically controlling you and making you make the city or town poor and horrible.
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Dear Beth,
Thanks for the fabulous lesson o(*￣▽￣*)ブ! Please find my homework attached.
Thanks,
Aryan
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Huxley creates a sense of foreboding by writing “The unpleasant sound repeated, twice; there was silence.” This auditory imagery suggests that danger is imminent – “silence” after unpleasant noises links to the idiom “calm before the storm.” “Silence” represents a noiseless caution while the “unpleasant sound” is the peril itself.
Furthermore, the metaphor “I ate civilisation” depicts how John cannot comprehend the society and angrily decides to conquer it in his own way instead. The irony in this quote (Bernard asked if he had eaten something that “didn’t agree” with John, and John nodded in reply, saying “I ate civilisation) highlights how does not like nor agree with the society. This clash creates a foreboding sense.
Finally, John’s sudden outburst that he’ll be “damned” indicates that he is fed up with the dour experiments. “Damn” connotes Hell and sin, depicting that if John does not escape, he will be trapped inside his punishment forever. -
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Summary for Lesson 7
In today’s lesson we began our study of Bleak House by Dickens, thinking about everything we liked and didn’t like about the book and pulling apart various elements such as the genre and atmosphere of this novel. We began by discussing the novel overall, watching a video that spoke in depth about what the book is all about, before moving on to a research task regarding genre. The class then all came up with some very creative re-imaginings of the book’s genre- ranging from utopia, to dystopia, to sci-fi to the supernatural- which were all wonderfully imaginative. Finally we analysed a cinematic interpretation of the book, aligning it with the class’s own. Excellent work today everyone- I was really impressed by how clocked in and studious you all were today. Well done for having such great ideas on what is a complex and tricky book- keep up the great work and I’ll see you next week 🙂
Homework video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwZDFZRx-gU
Summary video from class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c2T24iK-wA&feature=emb_logo
Trailer we watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_9SBBK4KzI&feature=emb_logo
Overall summary to read if you would like: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bleak-House
Homework
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Dear Beth,
Thank you for the superbly Dickensian lesson!
📝🖋📗✏🎨
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Dickens’s works were so influential that the graves of many of his characters can be found today, such as that of Ebeneezer Scrrooge in A Christmas Carol and Little Dorrit in The Old Curiosity Shop.
<p style=”text-align: center;”>The crumbled heathens</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>bent</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>under countless willow branches</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>stone that mirrors plagued words</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>immortalized</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>time and space</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>mean nothing</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>to the faceless brass glistening</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>High o’er above a grassy field</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>do the dead eyes watch their grave</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>withered flowers satirizingly pressed</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>unto a fake grave</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>where nothing rests</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>and yet golden rays</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>in dark words engraved</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>a long decade fore-back</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>then there rested none of the valour</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>of Little Dorrit on the moor</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>And when the sleigh bells jangled again the S-C-R-O-O-</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>cut off by blame</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>a long awaited Christmas day</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>and His stroke is blamed away</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>when at last the footstep falters</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>the pen that droops in the hand</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>but then one remembers</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>how cherished in the Pickwick Papers</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>how high o’er over fair hills and glades</p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”>rose a pen embezzled with jade.</p>
(POEM-FORM DICKESIAN OBITUARY)
<p style=”text-align: center;”></p> -
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Sorry about the frazzled >aling< things-I wrote a poem on the device setting and it rendered it align, etc.
The crumbled heathens
bent
under countless willow branches
stone that mirrors plagued words
immortalized
time and space
mean nothing
to the faceless brass glistening
High o’er above a grassy field
do the dead eyes watch their grave
withered flowers satirizingly pressed
unto a fake grave
where nothing rests
and yet golden rays
in dark words engraved
a long decade fore-back
then there rested none of the valour
of Little Dorrit on the moor
And when the sleigh bells jangled again the S-C-R-O-O-
cut off by blame
a long awaited Christmas day
and His stroke is blamed away
when at last the footstep falters
the pen that droops in the hand
but then one remembers
how cherished in the Pickwick Papers
how high o’er over fair hills and glades
rose a pen embezzled with jade.
(POEM-FORM DICKESIAN OBITUARY)
😉
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This is an absolutely stunning poem, Amber! I’m blown away by the images created here, definitely keep up this writing 😀
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Dear Beth,
Thanks for the dicken-tastic lesson(((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))! Please find my homework attached.
Thanks,
Aryan
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I learnt that learnt that Dickens may write long, gothic, death-filled novels; but he included humour to engage and entertain the readers. “Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard” reminds us that Dicken wrote to entertain, so his descriptive, continuous humour is essential.
I also learnt that it is the first novel that Dickens wrote that included a 1st person narrative. This makes it seen more personal and closer.
Finally, Dickens uses a plot that can connect all of the characters. Not only is it interesting, it is very effective so you don’t have to spend so long making family trees for all your characters.
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I learnt from the video that Charles Dickens’s character and tone sounds almost like Shakespear’s novels because Shakespeare is like an actor therefore his books are almost like a script for a most promising play. Charles Dickens also does this by adding little jokes and gimmicks to his story that you can only realize are there if you inference the text.
For example: Stanley dug his shovel until he could not bear the beam of burning sunlight. soon a little droplet of sweat rolled down from his face, then down his back and finally rolled in between his cheeks.(a piece of extract from Holes) This example shows that a piece of sweat has rolled down into an unmentionable place. However some people may not have noticed as it is hidden in the text and they would have to use inference to realise the joke.
There is also another thing to notice: some of the little humorous lines are plain clear and these jokes make the reader more entertained and ready to go. Like come on, it is impossible that you have read a super big book that is plain and serious without going; “uh this is soooo boring and tiring”.
I also learnt that Dicken uses he right tense when needed like for Bleak House which most of it is first person, it makes the reader more excited and attracted.
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Summary for Lesson 8
In todays lesson we continued our work on Bleak House, thinking about the characterisation of the novel and some of the wider social commentary Dickens delivers through it. We began with a discussion on the social issues in the book thinking about issues such as the law, poverty, family and dependency, linking this to a wider understanding of Dickens’ view of the world. We then thought about characters in the novel, analysing what makes certain characters so interesting before the class created their own characters to fit within the confines of the novel. Finally they wrote some beautiful Dickensian descriptions of these characters using an example of Dickens’ own description of Mr Bucket from the book. Everybody worked beautifully today I was super impressed by their writing skills in particular and thought that they grasped the social issues within the novel with maturity and sophistication. Amazing work guys, keep it up and I really enjoyed hearing your Dickensian descriptions today – really well done and I’ll see you next week 🙂
Video we watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJnDwLaZvb8
Homework
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Dear Beth,
Thank you for the fur-tasticly supper-vial, mus-astic lesson!
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Moor animal wildlife is all the more diverse. Although the landscape itself is considered Bleak, beautiful and is a setting for many Gothic novels, its animal wanderers are highly discreet. The following bird is one
that exists in the more arid and hot moors.
🦝🐨🐾🐂
Bleak House is set in the dreary moors-except that the house itself should really be called Happy-Bunny-Summer-home & Cold Gravestones for Supper House. The whole extent of the plot of Bleak House is either set in London, near Bleak House or in Lincolnshire as well as the many Dedlock estates. Moorland is not described as much in Dickens’s works as the Bronte sisters’ buildungsromans.
Riddle:
The adder with the hatter
went prancing about with a little bundled snout
thence what the bundle did such an amphibian take within its bout?
Answer: a bilberry bundle!
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Third person narrator
The third person narrator gives us an objective view of the events – he tells us everything that happened, what the characters are thinking and occasionally gives a comment on the events. The third person narrator’s role is to gradually build up the plot and a picture of what is happening without giving away everything.
First person narrator
The first person narrator (Esther) shows us deeper feeling, although her account is blunter and not only recounts but also comments on things. Her narrator makes us feel pity for her as she describes herself as “not clever” and deprived of good qualities. In the chapter “A Progress” she describes how her Godmother would not tell her about her mother, and how her personality became shy and subservient, but in a way that makes the reader understand that she is desperate and helpless but unpitied, making the reader feel sorry.
Furthermore, the constant fluctuation from third person to first person makes the reader feel shocked every time the perspective changes. For example, the extensive description in “Eighteen of Mr Tangle’s learned friends, each armed with a little summary of Eighteen hundred sheets, bob up like eighteen hammers in a piano forte, make eighteen bows, and drop into their eighteen places of obscurity” contrasts the emotion and bluntness of something Esther would write along the lines of Eighteen steady gentlemen, all in exact line, bobbed their bows and disappeared, delighting me so. This contrast suggests that the role of the third person, omniscient narrator is to tell us the rough plot and events in the story, while Esther is used to make the reader feel emotions towards certain characters.
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Homework.
Two narrators can create the effect of of different characters, feelings or third or second person.
For example, bleak house uses two narrators two describe a more sad perspective and happy perspectives.also different narrators show first and second person. Another example from the book is when you have a sudden split between characters with another switch between first person and second person. first person describes things with extra detail for what the character feels and there pain and emotions. Third person shows how peoples emotion by showing facial expressions
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Summary for Lesson 9
In today’s lesson we finished our work on Bleak House by Charles Dickens, thinking about closely analysing the text and central ideas of the book. We started with discussing what we would call the book if we were Dickens, which the class came up with some fab ideas for, before moving on to thinking about the motifs in the text. We then looked at a passage from the novel, answering comprehension questions on Dickens’ language and style, thinking about techniques such as pathetic fallacy. Finally the class wrote some beautiful creative interpretations of this passage, using the characters from the text as inspiration. Amazing work from everyone today as per usual- there was some excellent writing and ideas all round. Well done class, you’ve all been fantastic this course and I have seen each and every one of you progress in your skills of debate, analysis and creative thinking fantastically. You should all be proud of your work- keep up the fab ideas 😊
Homework
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Here is a great Bleak House study guide too!
https://literariness.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Literariness.org-Bleak-House.pdf
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Dear Beth,
Thank You for the spec-arve-arshmallowy-igcifent lesson! 🍢🧐🤭🙌🏼
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HAIKU SUMMARY OF BLEAK HOUSE
A Tear Wept
Silent Echos From The Past
New Doves Take Flight
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