Try to think about books or movies you are familiar with that use foreign or eastern locations or characters. By eastern I mean anything beyond western Europe.
Were those eastern or foreign elements treated stereotypically or were they given complexity and depth?
Basically, were the characters just servants or terrorists or in some way the bad guys or were they characterized as complex human beings like ourselves?
Why do you think western writers have a tendency to use the east as the source of bad people and evil doings? Or do you think they do that at all?
SECTION 2
1. Based on your understanding of the Post-Modernism presentation, how does Hugh MacDiarmid fit into that category? What elements of his work seem particularly Post-Modern?
2. What changes in theme, subject matter and even form did you detect from the twentieth century poets?
3. In writing about Pinter’s play The Dumb Waiter, Critic Ian Stuart argues that Ben perceives Gus and his questions about their mysterious work as dangerous and potentially violating authority. . . This gradual emergence of Gus as an individual who confronts the established structure challenges the relationship between the two men Why is Gus dangerous? Why is questioning one place in society viewed by some as a threat to that society?
4. R.A. Buck, in an article about The Dumb Waiter, points out that most critics practice what he calls filling in. We want to provide an ending where either Gus lives or dies. While the question is rather moot, answering it can say something about your view of humanity. So, moot point or not, tell me what you think. Does Gus live or die? Why do you think that?
SECTION 3
Please answer these questions by either typing or recording your response.
1. How are the elements of the gothic or supernatural used differently in the Victorian Age from the Romantics?
2. Think about the Ruskin Stones of Venice presentation. What part of his argument do you think is valid? In today’s world of technology, how do people get job satisfaction? How do people feel like their jobs have meaning? Or do they?
3. Think back to the descriptions of inner cities provided by Dickens and the video by Schama. Are our inner cities better or worse today?
