Ender's Game: Themes Analysis

 We have discussed three themes in class as they pertain to Ender’s Game: Children vs. Adults, Games vs. Reality and The Ends Justifying the Means. Choose one of these three themes and determine how it is critical to the development of the novel as a whole.

Due Monday, January 24th by Midnight.

The Help: Historical Criticism Analysis

Any study of the history of events and ideas surrounding the text constitutes historical criticism. How does the historical moment in which the work was written affect the work's content?

(Due: Wednesday, December 2nd @ 2:00pm)

*Think about when the book was published, and how that might change what is in the book, in order to answer this question.

Life of Pi (Opinion Blog)

 Choose from ONE of the following questions and write a formulated response: 

-Due Friday, October 2nd by Midnight.

1. The idea of survival is a major component in the novel. What does this novel project about what it means to survive? 

2. Besides the loss of his family and possessions, what else did Pi lose when the Tsimtsum sank? What did he gain?

3. Chapters 21 and 22 are very short, yet the author has said that they are at the core of the novel. Explain how this might be true.

4. The two Japanese officials who interview Pi don’t believe that he really landed on a man-eating island. When they say that carnivorous trees and fish-eating algae do not exist, Pi responds, “Only because you’ve never seen them.” What does this exchange say about human understanding of what is real and possible?

5. Do you believe Pi forgets all too quickly about his family? Can we criticize Pi for not talking about the loss of his brother and his parents? Or does the alternate story at the end explain his silence?

The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride was originally published in the 1970s. Does it reflect the trends of this time
period, or does the original publication date seem surprising? What is its place in American
literary history? How is the book also timeless?

Due Friday at 4pm.

Into the Wild

Into the Wild (Blog Due at Midnight on Friday, September 30th)

How does the novel Into the Wild affect readers morally, spiritually, or ideologically?
*Choose just one of the three

T.A.N.C.H. (Blog #3): Impact of the Work

The poststructuralist revision of historical criticism, "New Historicism," also studies background but includes more modes of study to discover excluded areas of the past. It urges self-consciousness about our presuppositions.
What was the impact of the novel on its society? How has the novel been received in society?
(Due Monday, March 20th at 8:00am)

T.A.N.C.H (Blog #2): Values of the time

Historical critics believe that literature must be studied in the context of its historical setting in order for readers to understand and appreciate the work. This study includes textual analysis, bibliography, biographical criticism (of the author), genre studies, source studies, the history of ideas, and sociological criticism. These all involve research of the background to a literary work. Historical critics could be interested in the life of the poet, the economic state or political situation of the day, or the role of the genre in a given time period. (The Writing Center, Brigham Young University)

Reconstruct the values of the the time from the novel. How well does the novel reinforce or contradict them?
Due: Friday, April 17th at Midnight