Short, But Not Exactly Sweet

We’ve got two featherweights this month. The first, Antigone by Sophocles, weighs in at just over fifty pages, and the second, the essay “On Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau, is a mere thirty-two. But don’t let their lengths deceive you! A short selection does not always equal a quick read. And despite the cliché “short and sweet,” neither of these are that, either.

These are two seriously challenging texts, and if you wait until the last minute to read them, you may finish, sure, but you probably won’t have a very good understanding of what you’ve just read.

One thing that will help with the challenge of reading and comprehending these works (aside from starting early and taking your time with them) is a little background. So here you go.

A Little Background – First Up: Antigone

Written by the Greek author Sophocles in about 500 B.C.E., Antigone is part of a cycle of plays referred to as “The Theban Plays.” That’s because they’re all set in and around Thebes, a city in Ancient Greece.

Chronologically in the series, Antigone comes last, but, like Star Wars: A New Hope, it was written before the dramas that come before it. In order, the three plays are:

Oedipus the King

Oedipus at Colonus

Antigone

Even so, we can’t really call the plays that were written after—and yet come before—Antigone in the timeline "prequels." Why? Because all three plays retell segments of a Greek myth that existed before Sophocles got his hands on it. He just put his own spin on the tale by creating these three plays and his version of the myth turned out to be the most widely read and popular.

All three plays can be read on their own, but if you’re starting with something other than the King, which we are, it’s useful to know this: 

• Oedipus seriously messes up in the first play (exactly as a prophecy said he would), and as a result, he and all of his kin are pretty much cursed. In Antigone, we see how the sins of the father (in this case Oedipus) are visited upon his children: his daughters, Ismene and Antigone, and his sons, Polyneices and Eteocles (who are dead at the start of the play, so yeah, cursed).
• Polyneices and Eteocles are dead because they went to war against each other and killed one another in hand to hand combat. Why the war? Because they both wanted to be king. This, too (the battle and their deaths), was foreseen in a prophecy.

That’s enough to get you through, but if you want the whole backstory, check out Shmoop's summary of Oedipus the King  and the CBHS (which I had hoped was Casco Bay High School but turns out to be Christian Brothers High School) summary of Oedipus at Colonus. 

Next (and Last) Up – “On Civil Disobedience”

There’s less you need to know for this one to make sense.

“On Civil Disobedience” is an essay by Henry David Thoreau, and it, along with the book Walden, are his two most well known works. Thoreau was a philosopher and writer who had a lot to say about America’s public institutions, particularly its government. He was big on individualism (the phrase “march to the beat of a different drummer” was paraphrased from his writings) and self-reliance, as you will quickly learn. Like, in the first lines of the essay.

One more thing: It may help to know that Thoreau lived from 1817 to 1862, which means that both slavery and the Mexican-American war were hot-button issues in his day. Therefore it’s no surprise that both of them receive attention in “On Civil Disobedience.”

Okay. Let’s leave it there and get to …

T H E   A S S I G N M E N T S

In honor of this month's selections, I'm going to keep the assignment list short, too. (You can decide how sweet you think these options are.)

Ready?

Do one of the following for our meeting:

OPTION A:
Write a letter that is either:

1. from Henry David Thoreau to one of the characters in Antigone, or 
2. from one of the characters in Antigone to H.D.T.

In this letter, the writer should be "passing judgment," so to speak, on the addressee. For example, Mr. T could write to Antigone expressing his support for or condemnation of her actions and explaining why he feels the way he does about the choices she's made. Or, Creon, say, could let Thoreau know what he thinks about citizens who diss their governments and elected leaders and refuse to pay their taxes.

OPTION B:
Choose a quote from "On Civil Disobedience" or Antigone and link it to a current event. If possible, bring in a news clipping (or article printed from an online source) relating to the current event. If you have no clipping, write a brief paragraph summarizing the current event. At our meeting, share both the quote you've chosen and your information on the current event and explain how you believe the two are related.

OPTION C:
Something clever of your own invention.

Happy reading, and I'll see you on Thursday!

Just what is it about "water for chocolate?"

Like a Simile

Eventually, in your reading of this month's book, Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, you'll encounter the title in the text, and when you do, pay attention! This simile and the way it's used in the novel provide a clue to some of the major themes of the book (not to mention the tone).

And speaking of tone...

What do you make of all of this cooking instruction interspersed with the action of the story? What is the overall effect of all of the recipes, and why did Esquivel bother to include them?

Those are just a few of the questions we'll be discussing when we meet on February 5th. In the meantime, as you prep for the discussion, I invite you to contemplate the questions below.

Please come with a thoughtful, well considered answer to at least one of the following:

1. When and where is the novel set, and why does this setting seem important to the events of the novel?
2. What do you think of the tradition that prevents Tita from marrying? Does it make sense at all? Why or why not? Find an example from another culture of a practice that dictates a person's role or limits their possibilities in life and compare it to the De la Garza family tradition.
3. Which De la Garza sister is the strongest, and why? 
4. Consider the men of the novel. Which of them are honorable, and which of them are not? Explain.
5. Sex and sensuality play a large role in the novel, but to what end? Do they add to the narrative, distract from it, or completely take it over? Is Esquivel trying to send a message? If so, what? 

Reminder: Our starting time is shifting ever so slightly from 10:30 to 10:45am (which means our ending time is shifting by 15 minutes as well, to 12:15pm). 

Until then, happy reading!

"All for one and one for all!"

The 1999 Modern Library edition.

After hearing those famous words so many times, it's kind of thrilling to read their source material: Alexander Dumas' novel, The Three Musketeers—a novel which has been famous since it was first published.

NEVER A WALLFLOWER

Over the years, Dumas' novel has remained popular enough that it has never been out of print. Indeed, the copies we're reading in our house were published in 1999 and 2006, and a quick search of Amazon.com shows that there were new paperback versions published in both 2013 and 2014. Take that, Twilight!

ONE CHAPTER AT A TIME

Like many of Charles Dickens' novels, The Three Musketeers was initially published serially, meaning that it came out one chapter at a time in the Parisian newspaper, Le Siecle (The Century), between March 14 and July 1, 1844. On the days when chapters were slated to appear in the newspaper, lines at newsstands were lonnnnng. People loved it from the beginning.

And the swashbuckling heroes of the novel are no less popular today, having inspired numerous movies—one of which stars Charlie Sheen and Kiefer Sutherland. Yikes. (There's a better one from 2011 with Legolas as the Duke of Buckingham and Christoph Waltz as Richelieu.)

The 2006 Penguin Classics Deluxe edition.

MAKING HISTORY SEXY

One of the things that made Dumas' novel so popular (and which keeps it popular today) is that it is a combination of history and romance; it contains both historical fact and high emotion, a combination that compels historians who might not read a pure romance and romantics who might not read a pure history to read—and enjoy—the book.

This take on the historical novel ushered in a new genre. You know it today as historical fiction, but if you'd walked into Longfellow Books 1884, there would have been just one book in that section: The Three Musketeers.

A LITTLE CONTEXT

Knowing these details may help you better understand the novel. 

D'Artagnan, "the Gascon," is from Gascony, a region of southwestern France. Bearn is part of Gascony.

Cardinal Richelieu, Anne of Austria, Louis XIII, and Monsieur de Treville were all real people, and Dumas presents them fairly accurately.

• The Cardinal was, in fact, an advisor to the King; 
• Treville and the Cardinal were, in fact, adversaries (obviously, since Treville was banished by his buddy the King in 1642 for attempting to have the Cardinal assassinated);
• The marriage of Anne and Louis was a troubled one (they were married for political reasons when they were both 14—it wasn't exactly a Match.com love story);
• There was, in fact, a lot of tension between Anne and the Cardinal (he declared war on her brother in 1635 and accused her of treason in 1637, probably because she really did surreptitiously correspond with her brother).

The three Musketeers (Aramis, Athos, and Porthos) are all based on real Musketeers, as is D'Artagnan (really Charles de Batz-Castlemore), although D'Artagnan's time frame has been shifted a little. Castlemore served with Louis XIV and Cardinal Mazarin—not Louis XIII and Richelieu. 

The romance between Anne and the Duke of Buckingham is entirely fictional, and the character of Lady de Winter (how interesting that we have another de Winter so soon!), though based on an amalgamation of a few real people and stories, did not exist. 

YOUR ASSIGNMENT OPTIONS (FINALLY!)

Please complete ONE of the following and bring it to our next discussion (preferably in a tangible format—not just in your head):

1. Many of the novel's characters are described in great detail. I'm kind of partial to the description of the police commissioner, Monsieur le Commissaire, "a man half-ferret, half-fox." Draw/sketch/paint one of them in the medium of your choice.
2. Throughout the novel we keep hearing not only that women are essentially the downfall of man, but that "woman is a weak vessel." Keep track of these and consider them all together. Do you think Dumas really believes women are problematic and immoral, or is he being satirical? Explain why you believe as you do.
3. We tend to think of the three Musketeers—Athos, Porthos, and Aramis—as heroes. Are they? Take a good look at the way they are first introduced and their development over the course of the novel. In what ways are they heroic? In what ways may they be less than heroic? What's your ultimate verdict: heroes or ... something else?
4. One element of the Romance is that it typically uses "stock characters," which are more or less stereotypes. Today you might find the computer geek, the punk-rock female hacker, or the out of touch school principal as stock characters in novels. They're characters that rely on stereotypes instead of true character development. Do you see any examples of "stock characters" in The Three Musketeers? Who? And what makes him/her/them stereotypes or over-simplifications instead of well-developed characters?
5. Allusions abound in this novel—we even have a Circe reference in chapter XXXVI! Pick a few allusions that you notice and and explain their presence. What is Dumas trying to accomplish by invoking these particular names?

Happy reading (and happy holidays)! See you in 2015!

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again."

As far as first lines go, it's not as famous as, say, Leo Tolstoy's "All happy families are alike; all unhappy families are unhappy in their own way," or Jane Austen's, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." But it's still a good first line.

(And by the way, if you're a sucker for a good first line, you can find plenty more here.)

But why is "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again" a good first line?
I can think of at least two reasons. First, because it sets the tone for the novel—one of nostalgia and mystery. And second, because it establishes the frame of the story.

We've already read one book with a frame this year: The Catcher in the Rye. Unlike Holden Caulfield, however, who doesn't really break into the story he is recounting again until the end, the unnamed narrator of Rebecca continually interrupts her narrative in the early chapters, making us very aware of the interweaving of the past and the present in the story, which just happens to be one of many interesting themes in this novel.

Assignments:
As always, be on the lookout for anything you'd like to discuss when we meet next, on December 4th. And please complete one of the following activities, to the best of your ability.

1. Complete the following sentence with either a, b, or c, whichever you feel is most apt, and come to our discussion with some evidence to back it up. Rebecca is a novel about a) the effects of the past upon the present, b) the balance of power in marriage, or c) the fantasies of a jealous, insecure woman.
2. Decide which character you find most compelling and why. Support your choice with a brief explanation, quotes from the book, illustrations, a personal story arc for that character, or anything else you think does the trick. 
3. Imagine what happens next. Take us ten years down the road from the end of the book and let us know what's going on with each of the characters, what their lives are like, where they are, and what they're up to. 

"Epitome of Simplicity"

That phrase is a frequent clue in the NY Times Sunday crossword.

The answer? "ABC," of course. But American Born Chinese, which is often abbreviated ABC, is anything but simplistic.

More than "Just a Comic Book"

This novel by Gene Luen Yang interweaves three seemingly separate stories in a book that was the first graphic novel ever to be nominated for a National Book Award.

ABC was also the first graphic to win the Michael L. Printz award, an award which is given annually by the American Library Association and which "honors the best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit." So yeah, it's a graphic novel, but it's also a pretty big deal.

That said, it will probably be a pretty quick read for most of you, but you know what that means. 



You'll have time to read this book more than once! 

And when you read a book more than once, you often catch things the second time through that you didn't notice during your first reading. So please, do it. Read this book twice. Or three times. Or more. And then do one of the assignments below and bring it with you to our next discussion on Thursday, November 13th. 

Assignments: 
Lots of possibilities here ... but you only need to do one. 

1. Set a timer and write for 10 minutes about a time when you felt like you didn't fit in somewhere. What was it like? How did it feel? How did you handle it and how was the situation ultimately resolved (or not resolved)? 
2. Relate a significant experience, story, or memory from your childhood, a la Jin Wang's memory of his mother telling his the Chinese parable during their car ride to their new home. You can relate it in graphic format, prose, poetry, or whatever format works best.
3. There are several allusions to historical, philosophical, or religious figures, as well as pop culture and literary references in this novel. Choose one (or more) and do a little research. Figure out exactly who/what is being referenced and then explain why you think Yang chose to include this particular allusion in his novel. 
4. Read Gene Luen Yang’s essay, “Comics, Then and Now,”  and write your own essay about the graphic novel genre and its place in the study of literature. Is there literary value in reading and studying graphic novels? Why or why not?
5. We have a hero’s journey here… decide who it is that embarks on this journey and map the journey out according to the Hero's Journey graphic included on our Links, etc. page.  

Happy reading + assignment doing. See you on the 13th. 

Who's in the Rye?

The catcher, of course.

As in The Catcher in the Rye.

J.D. Salinger's novel gets its name from the Robert Burns poem, "Comin' Thro' the Rye," but if you read the poem, you'll see that there is, in fact, no mention of a "catcher" of any sort. At all. Keep that in mind as you read, because as it turns out, a huge (H-U-G-E) clue to a major theme of the novel hinges on the fact that our protagonist, Holden Caulfield, has misheard a key line of the poem.

You (and Holden) will get more on that in Chapter 22, and you can ponder Holden's interpretation of the poem then. Of course, you can also choose not to ponder the poem, it's meaning, or Holden's interpretation of it while you're reading if it's all too darned confusing, but rest assured we'll certainly be discussing the poem and its relevance to the novel when we meet on October 23rd. So... you might want to at least give it a quick read through in advance.

You can also listen to a few musical versions of the poem, which run the gamut from this traditional version courtesy of Education Scotland, to a family sing-a-long version (with cartoon animals!) by Muffin Tunes and this Celtic punk version by The Real McKenzies'.

The Burns poem aside, we'll also be discussing the various themes and symbols of The Catcher in the Rye, so I'm basing this month's assignment options around those two literary devices.

This Month's Assignment Options
As you get ready for our next discussion, I'd like to tackle either a symbol or a theme from The Catcher in the Rye, either #1 or #2 below--you don't need to do both.

1. SYMBOLS
A symbol is, simply put, something that stands for something else. That's pretty vague, I know, but if you think back to The Odyssey, an excellent example of symbolism is the bed of Penelope and Odysseus.

Carved from an olive tree, around which their bedroom was constructed, this huge, magnificent piece of furniture has roots--literal roots--that extend into the earth. It cannot be moved, and thus it's symbolic of Penelope and Odysseus's enduring, unwavering relationship.

With that in mind, and this further definition of symbols, see if you can spot a symbol in The Catcher in the Rye. When you think you have one, do one of the following:

• Create a visual representation of the symbol (a drawing, sculpture, painting, photograph, or illustration of any kind in any medium) and write a brief sentence or two describing its significance.
• Make a piece of word art to convey the significance of the symbol. You can use a program like Wordle or just cut and paste words from magazines, newspapers, and the like. 
• Write a paragraph (or two, or three) that identifies the symbol and explains its significance. Try to use quotes from the book to support your ideas.

2. THEMES

A theme is a central idea in a piece of literature. If you're reading a book, and you notice that it seems to have a lot to say about love, death, or family, then those are probably themes of the book. In fact, love, death, and family are super common themes in literature, as are things like wealth, class, power, and loyalty.  

When it comes to identifying a theme in a novel, however (and most novels have multiple themes--not just one), you need to be prepared to go a little further than just throwing out key words like love, death, family, and the like. Why? Because that's way too easy. 

Most books have something to say about one or more of those themes, but what we want to know is what is this particular book trying to communicate about this idea? 

So, let's go back to The Odyssey again for a minute, and let's consider how it handles the theme of family. First and foremost, from the way characters are introduced all the time (son of Laertes, daughter of Zeus), it's pretty clear that one's lineage matters. Thus, we might describe one theme of The Odyssey as "the importance of family heritage." See how that works? Not just "family," but something about how family is viewed in the book. 

With that in mind, try to spot a theme in The Catcher in the Rye and express it in a phrase or sentence that gives us an idea of the book's take on that theme. Then, go back up to the SYMBOLS section above, and complete one of those three options (visual representation, Word art, or bit of writing) for your theme.

Let me know if you have any questions. Happy reading!

Let's Take a Little Trip

An odyssey, if you will, since The Odyssey, by Homer, will be our first title this year. 

This is a relatively new edition of The
Odyssey, translated by Stephen Mitchell. 

First, A Little Background

The Odyssey is a sequel of sorts to The Iliad, also by Homer. The Iliad tells the story of the war between the Greeks (or Achaeans) and the Trojans. 

The war begins when Helen, the wife of a Greek king (Agamemnon) is "kidnapped" and taken to Troy. The Greeks sail over to Troy, lay siege to the city for 10 years, and eventually win the war (and get Helen back) thanks in part to the clever strategies of Odysseus. 

You've probably heard the story of the Trojan Horse, right? Yeah, well that was Odysseus's idea. So he's a pretty big hero in The Iliad, but he's even more of a hero in The Odyssey, which tells the tale of his difficult journey back from Troy after the war. 

And Now A Little Foreground

When you flip your copy open to Book I, I'm pretty sure that one of the first things you'll notice is that The Odyssey is a poem. An epic poem, to be precise, and it's about 400 pages long. 

DON'T FREAK OUT. 

For one thing, The Odyssey tells a story, and a pretty compelling one at that. And for another, the wording is relatively straightforward. You can ignore the line breaks and read the sentences the way you would read any other sentences—without pausing until you hit a period or other punctuation mark. 

That said, I understand that if you're not familiar with the story of Odysseus, or if this is your first time tackling an epic poem or an Ancient Greek text, there may be times when you find yourself wondering if you've really understood the section you've just read. 

If you do find yourself in that situation, do two things:

1. Go back to the advice above. (Don't freak out.) 
2. Click on over to Shmoop.com and check out their Book by Book summary of The Odyssey. 

The nice thing about Shmoop's summaries is that they tell you straight up what happens with no in-depth analysis. That can be a big help when you just need some reassurance that you're getting it. And the more you read, the more you'll find that you are getting it, and that will feel good.

Poseidon plays a significant role in The
Odyssey, as the cover of this graphic
novel version of the story suggests. 

Hey—I Know that Guy!

One thing that will help you "get" The Odyssey is that you probably already know some of the tales of Odysseus and his cohort. Greek and Roman (and Egyptian and Norse) mythology have made their way into many children’s and young adult novels, not to mention the Marvel Universe (any Thor fans out there?), so you're probably going to recognize some of the gods and goddesses in The Odyssey. 

And if you're familiar with books like the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, or if you just remember some of the fairy tales, folk tales, and picture books you may have read earlier in life, you'll likely recognize some of the stories, too, which is great. 

In reading The Odyssey, you're getting a chance to explore a piece of literature that has served as the source material for many modern stories. It’s kind of like reading a work of fiction that’s set in your hometown: there’s so much that’s familiar, and there are so many opportunities to say, “Hey—I know that guy,” or “I’ve been to that place!”

Three Thousand Years Young

As old as The Odyssey is, all of its stories, which were likely well-loved in their own era, have held up over time. You won't have to get to far into it before you notice that:

1. you actually recognize—and like—a lot of the characters and plot elements from Odysseus’s adventure; and 
2. there’s some seriously entertaining storytelling going on here.

All of which means that reading an epic poem doesn’t have to be an epic fail.

Your Assignment

In addition to reading the book, please complete one of the following assignments for our discussion:

1. Write a response to the following question: Considering the role the gods play in the lives of humans in The Odyssey, just how responsible are the human characters for their actions? To what extent do the humans have free will? How much do the choices that humans make ultimately matter? Use examples from the book to support your opinions.  

2. Illustrate your favorite scene from the book using the medium of your choice (pen and paper, charcoal, watercolor, collage, a graphic design program of some sort, photography, etc.).

3. Choose a short section of The Odyssey (shoot for at least ten lines) to memorize and recite for the group.

And Finally ... 

Bring your book, whatever edition you have, to our meeting on September 25th. See you then!