The conclusion involves social re-integration of the aberrant Scrooge and his re-initiation into the human family. How do the final scenes contribute to this movement?
The conclusion involves social re-integration of the aberrant Scrooge and his re-initiation into the human family. How do the final scenes contribute to this movement? The scene of Scrooge's sending the prize turkey to the Cratchits was criticized in the Westminster Review as being "grossly incompatible with political economy" for "The process whereby poor men are enabled to earn good wages, wherewith to buy turkeys for themselves, does not enter into the account" (cited in Hearn, 166). With what political faction does Dickens seem to be allying himself in this scene? What would a Marxist critic make of Scrooge and his conduct here? How would Revenue Canada or the American Income Tax Office treat the turkey, as an unsolicited gift or a taxable benefit? Explain.
Dickens has been accused of turning the festival of Christ's birth into a Saturnalian celebration of eating and drinking: what minimal gesture does Dickens make towards the Christian spirit of the holiday?
What evidence do the text and the above illustration offer to support Philip Collins's contention that in A Christmas Carol, "Dickens is making up his Christmas mythology as he goes"?
From the ages of 13 through 15 Charles Dickens attended Wellington House Academy, Hampstead Road, London; the description of Scrooge's school here matches that of Salem House in the fifth chapter of David Copperfield, and both mansions of dull red brick seem to have been based on Wellington House.
What attitudes towards schooling and childhood may one detect in these pages? Who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present controls the past. ~ George Orwell 1984 Why is Wintston's writing in his diary especially threatening given the above quote?
Besides the excessive attention given to Winston's basic math skills, how are Orwell's own philosophical beliefs evident in the text? What can you infer about how Orwell vie
The paper weight is shattered. The picture of St. Clements has fallen off the wall. Since Winston and Julia's arrest, what new symbols have been introduced or developed? What is the significance of each of these?
As a continuation of our discussion of how surveillance influences behavior, discuss Weaver's behavior during class on Friday while being observed:
NOTE: Say what you will about Weaver, but please do not discuss any of your other teachers under this topic. Thank you. Use this thread to continue our in-class discussion of Crick's essay concerning the interpretation of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four as SATIRE.
Why do you think that Orwell chose to make sex such a significant portion of his novel? Is it just there for our entertainment? Or does it actually contribute to the meaning of the novel?
What is the significance of the rhyme that Winston learns from Charrington in chapter 8? Oranges and lemons What is the significance of Orwell's use of dialect in Part I, Chapter 8? What is he trying to show the reader?
How are setting and characterization used to show that the protagonist in this commercial is trapped by this society and is trying to escape?
Discuss the significance and nature of Winston's dreams. Deconstruct the dream wherein O'Brien claims that they "shall meet in a place where there is no darkness" (page 22), and the dream in which Winston's mother and sister disappear (page 26). What are the underpinnings of these dreams? What deeper meanings do they hold? Why do you think the author devotes as much time as he does to Winston's dreams?
WAR IS PEACE FREEDOM IS SLAVERY IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH These slogans, introduced early in Orwell's dystopian novel, present the reader with paradoxes. Based on your reading so far, what role do you suspect these paradoxes play in within the diegesis of the novel? or in creating meaning in the literary work?
You may wish to mention other paradoxes that you have noticed in your reading of the first 3 chapters. We know that surveillance makes us behave better -- though maybe not perform better -- but does it make us better people? Does it make us more moral? In other words, is surveillance capable of changing more than our behavior? If this even an issue? Or is behavior all that their is to morality? to being a contributing member of human society?
|