Metamorphosis

08:44

1.Is Gregor actually insane and only believes he has gone through a transformation? Explain your reasoning.

2. As Gregor loses his humanity, what do you think the author is saying about society and the effects we have on others?

3. Gregor’s family responds in fear and hatred. Explore the family as a catalyst for Gregor’s change and his loss of memory and instinct.

4. Explain the symbolism in the story. (Gregor’s transformation, the physical injury inflicted by Gregor’s father, Gregor’s starvation, and the picture of the woman on the wall)? Why is this story relevant today?

5. Kafka once wrote, “I think we should read only the kind of books that wound and stab us… we need books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone… A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside of us.” Do you agree? Why?
How might Gregor’s situation be a form of self-punishment?

6. Reflect upon the saying, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” How does this statement apply to The Metamorphosis?

7. Why is dehumanization/ isolation/ alienation a universal theme? (** Find a current event that reflects the theme of isolation, alienation, and/or dehumanization.)

Daniel & Ben questions 1 & 6

Kester & Endrin questions 2 & 4

Amla & Michelle question 5

Sarah, question 3

ATLs

Personal Project Bibliography exemplar

Personal Project appendix exemplar

Personal project Exemplar paper

Analogies

Introduction to Analogies here

more depth here

then try this

then here

then here

more here

timed here

harder

harder

nuts

hmmmm :(

Imperialism

Paragraphs and essays

Plato The Cave

Orwell in Burma

Imperialism

Imperialism, state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas. Because it always involves the use of power, whether military or economic or some subtler form, imperialism has often been considered morally reprehensible, and the term is frequently employed in international propaganda to denounce and discredit an opponent’s foreign policy.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/imperialism

a system in which a country rules other countries, sometimes having used force to get power over them:

the age of imperialism

a situation in which one country has a lot of power or influence over others, especially in political and economic matters:

She accused the United States of economic imperialism.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/imperialism

Definition of imperialism

1: imperial government, authority, or system

2: the policy, practice, or advocacy of extending the power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial acquisitions or by gaining indirect control over the political or economic life of other areasbroadly : the extension or imposition of power, authority, or influenceunion imperialism
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/imperialism

Quest for a general theory of imperialism

The main trend of academic thought in the Western world is to follow Schumpeter’s conclusion—that modern imperialism is not a product of capitalism—without paying close attention to Schumpeter’s sophisticated sociological analysis. Specialized studies have produced a variety of interpretations of the origin or reawakening of the new imperialism: for France, bolstering of national prestige after its defeat in the Franco-German War (1870–71); for Germany, Bismarck’s design to stay in power when threatened by political rivals; for England, the desire for greater military security in the Mediterranean and India. These reasons—along with other frequently mentioned contributing causes, such as the spirit of national and racial superiority and the drive for power—are still matters of controversy with respect to specific cases and to the problem of fitting them into a general theory of imperialism. For example, if it is found that a new colony was acquired for better military defense of existing colonies, the questions still remain as to why the existing colonies were acquired in the first place and why it was considered necessary to defend them rather than to give them up. Similarly, explanations in terms of the search for power still have to account for the close relationship between power and wealth, because in the real world adequate economic resources are needed for a nation to hold on to its power, let alone to increase it. Conversely, increasing a nation’s wealth often requires power. As is characteristic of historical phenomena, imperialist expansion is conditioned by a nation’s previous history and the particular situation preceding each expansionist move. Moreover, it is carried forth in the midst of a complex of political, military, economic, and psychological impulses. It would seem, therefore, that the attempt to arrive at a theory that explains each and every imperialist action—ranging from a semifeudal Russia to a relatively undeveloped Italy to an industrially powerful Germany—is a vain pursuit. But this does not eliminate the more important challenge of constructing a theory that will provide a meaningful interpretation of the almost simultaneous eruption of the new imperialism in a whole group of leading powers.

essay planning and organisation 1

develop a question

find quotes ( note source and pg. numbers)

develop paragraph outlines by joining quotes (2 maximum per paragraph)

choose paragraphs and write explanations

finalise body paragraphs (including order)

write conclusion

write introduction


(remember that your question will develop and change as your essay develops)

essay 1

For Friday:

10 quotes  organised into paragraph outlines (including ideas)




Amla - The consciousness, and double narrative of the narrator

Michelle -sepectator and prisoner

Ben - Orwell and Imperialism

Daniel - Orwell and Imperialism

Endrin - Orwell and Imperialism

Kester - What does the elephant represent metaphorically, and how is it seen differently by the narrator and the natives? 
Describe the communication between colonizer and native: What do they create in common? 

Shooting an Elephant questions to consider

Define the concept of Imperialism. 
How does Orwell describe British Imperialism? 
How does this story expose the perplexity and irony of imperialism? 


What does the elephant represent metaphorically, and how is it seen differently by the narrator and the natives? 
Describe the communication between colonizer and native: What do they create in common? 

How is the narrator more of a spectator in his own life than a participant, like a prisoner in Plato’s cave? 
What are the consequences of the narrator’s alienation from himself? 
Explain what W.E.B. Dubois would call the double consciousness of Orwell as a police officer in the British army. 
Even though the narrator is in a privileged position as a white male, how does Orwell show a conflict within that position?

PARADOX A paradox is a statement or situation that appears to lead to a contradiction but, in fact, reveals some element of truth. Characters can say or do things that seem contradictory but, because of ambiguous or complex circumstances, may in fact express a deeper truth. 

Orwell writes, “I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys.” Why is this statement paradoxical? How does it reflect Orwell’s point of view about British imperialism? 






RI 2 Determine central ideas of a text and analyze their development. RI 3 Analyze a sequence of events and explain how specific events interact and develop over the course of the text. RI 5 Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition, including whether the structure makes points clear and engaging. RI 6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power of the text.

Shooting an Elephant

English writer George Orwell is best known for his book Nineteen Eighty-Four, a dystopian novel about a future society controlled by a leader known as Big Brother. To this day “Big Brother” refers to an oppressive totalitarian state, and to call something “Orwellian” implies a culture where people are under constant surveillance and the influence of propaganda and political “double-speak.”

Orwell’s essay, 'Shooting and Elephant,' is set in Burma, a Southeast Asian country now known as Myanmar. In a series of wars in the 19th century, the British gained control of Burma and made it a province of British India. The Burmese resented British rule, under which they endured poverty and a lack of political and religious freedom. Like many of his fellow British officers, Orwell was inexperienced in police work when he arrived in Burma at age 19. This particular essay recounts Orwell’s experience as a police officer in Burma, part of Britain’s Indian Empire, in which he must shoot a wild elephant in the town market, not to protect the people but to keep from embarrassing himself

The line “when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys” asks the reader to consider the oppressor as the oppressed.

British Empire