English Literature

Friday, September 23, 2011

Video of the day | Goethe with a beat

http://www.youtube.com/user/deutschewelleenglish

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Polyamorous:is the practice, desire, or acceptance of having more than one intimate relationship at a time with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyamorous

Polyamory (from Greek πολύ [poly, meaning many or several] and Latin amor [love]) is the practice, desire, or acceptance of having more than one intimate relationship at a time with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved.

Polyamory, often abbreviated to poly, is sometimes described as consensual, ethical, or responsible non-monogamy. The word is occasionally used more broadly to refer to any sexual or romantic relationships that are not sexually exclusive, though there is disagreement on how broadly it applies; an emphasis on ethics, honesty, and transparency all around is widely regarded as the crucial defining characteristic.

"Polyamorous" can refer to the nature of a relationship at a given time, or be used as a description of a philosophy or relationship orientation (much like gender orientation), rather than a person's actual relationship status at a given moment. It is an umbrella term that covers various forms of multiple relationships; polyamorous arrangements are varied, reflecting the choices and philosophies of the individuals involved.

Polyamory differs from polygamy meaning to have multiple spouses. Traditional polygamy is usually patriarchal and polygynous (though there are also traditional polyandrous societies which may be matriarchal) and may be practised in accordance with religious beliefs. Polyamory, on the other hand, is a different outlook grounded in such concepts as: gender equality, self-determination, free choice for all involved, mutual trust, equal respect among partners, the intrinsic value of love, the ideal of compersion, and other mostly secular ideals. As of July 2009, there were estimated to be more than 500,000 polyamorous relationships in the United States.

Monday, January 10, 2011

( 27 WORDS ) PRONUNCIATION OF 27 COMMON WORDS

PRESENTATIONS ON MICHEL FONCAULT

presenations on foncault:

http://www.eng.fju.edu.tw/Literary_Criticism/postmodernism/2003s_foucault.ppt
http://courses.essex.ac.uk/lg/lg232/lg232slxwk2.ppt
http://pages.cs.brandeis.edu/~jamesp/classes/usem40a06/slides/DiscourseAnalysis.ppt
http://philosophy.ucdavis.edu/mattey/phi157/foucault2.ppt
http://www.unisa.edu.au/hawkeinstitute/cslplc/documents/Applying%20Foucault%20slides.ppt
http://www.public.asu.edu/~kheenan/courses/472/f05/powerpoints/foucaultdiscourse.ppt

Thursday, December 30, 2010

MOVIE DIRECTOR SPIELBERG’S INTERPRETATION OF THE CONTEXT OF THE NOVEL THE COLOR PURPLE

Director Stephen Spielberg has rightly highlighted the context of the novel in a subtle way by focusing on how Celie explores herself through different experiences instead of letting the audience baffled and disgusted by showing that the black men are made of pure evil. In a way, he has tried to present this slave narrative by taking the focus off black men and putting the focus on black women's struggle against society's injustices. as in the case of Shug taken by everyone has a corrupt beautiful singer and Sofia who defiantly stood against white women and thus as a result was thrown into it. The novel gives graphic details of the exploits by her father which while adapting could have instigated many reactions among the critics and the black community but Spielberg made it a PG-13 movie in order to avert any controversy. Spielberg has emphasized upon the theme of love and how this love binds humanity together instead of gory details of the atrocities committed by black men on black women or by white people on black slaves.

Spielberg seems to be interested in the universally accepted smile that shy Celie gives in the start, that smile continues till the very end but the authority of Celie and her smile changes at the end of the movie. Her smile in the end is empowering for her African children that came to meet her. Celie's stepfather comments on Celie's smile by saying, "Celie, you've got the ugliest smile made out of creation" which we as audience know that it is incorrect. Celie, played by Whopi Goldberg, gives a sweet child like smile that gives a refreshing feeling whenever the movie gets tense. Her smile provides relief in the movie.

The Color Purple is an epistolary novel which revolves around the life of Celie who writes letters to God. Spielberg does take into account the importance of letters in the novel by starting the movie with a letter that is being read by Celie but he leaves out the vivid description of Celie's abuse by her step father. The letter lays bear the absurd situation Celie and Nettie were in: the incestuous relation with their father and its consequences in the form of illegitimate children. The movie tries to start as raw as the novel but fails to capture the sexual exposition as the novel suggests. The impression of male members of Black community from the beginning comes as brutish and unsympathetic. Celie, Nettie, Sofia, Shug Avery comes out as women of great importance. Celie and Nettie love each other but in a community where black men treat black women ruthlessly they are not able to flourish their love. They suffer at the hands of Mr.___ who forces Nettie to leave his house when she came to meet Celie. Mr.___ tried to exploit Nettie but Nettie fought against Mr.___ advances and thus as punishment she was separated from Celie.

The aspect of Women as an inanimate object is revealed in the movie when Mr.____ comes to take the hand of Nettie for marriage but her stepfather says only Celie is available. Mr.____ says he wants to see Celie if Nettie is not available for marriage. Celie's stepfather calls her and asks her to move herself in circle for Mr._____. Celie's stepfather's boy comments on it by saying "What's she doing that for", stepfather to this gives a smile and replies "your sister thinking about marriage". This act makes Celie a mere object of meat that is being showcased by his step father. Mr.____ doesn't even want Celie in marriage but his desperation and lust overlooks his preferences. This is the reason why later in the movie Mr.____ tries to rape Nettie.

When Shug Avery first meets Celie, she says: "You as ugly as sin." But when Shug comes to witness how Celie is maltreated by her husband she changes her perception and becomes softer towards Celie. She even becomes Celie's protector against the atrocities committed by her family. Shug provides the confidence to Celie by saying that her smile is beautiful and from that moment onwards Celie begins to generate the power to fight her abusers. Shug kisses Celie and we realize in this scene that it is the first time Celie has been willingly involved herself in something intimate. This relation becomes evident in the movie when Celie tells Shug that she does not tell her that she used to go into the purple color fields. Shug replies by saying, "I think it pisses God off when you walk by the color purple in a field and don't notice it." The color purple here symbolizes their lesbian relationship and to emphasize on it Spielberg begins the movie by showing us lavender.

Sophia (Oprah Winfrey), wife of Harpo, was also amazed by how Celie was treated by Mr.____ in her own home. Sophia was of the marginalized black community but she was not afraid of anything. But this does not go in her favor when she hit a white woman in the face and was sentenced to ten years in jail. Celie became confident like Sophia when she sits on the table for the last time with the whole family and starts her reaction towards everything unjust that has been going on in her life. This part is adapted in the movie where Sophia is ironically sitting opposite to her and she starts smiling. From this point onwards the curse of black women suffering as slave inside their own home is broken and Celie sees her luck shine, as she comes to know that her share of property that was given by her late aunt still exists. The last scene in the movie is when Celie's African children come to meet her and call her "mama" and at the same time Mr.____ is seen around the house, as he comes to apologize for everything he had done.

The context of the novel Spielberg presents is interesting take on the novel as he has willingly cut the horrific incidents mentioned in the novel meted out to Celie but at the same time, he manages to portray the injustices black men and black woman in particular had to suffer.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

UNDERSTANDING MODERN LITERARY THEORY

http://www.kristisiegel.com/theory.htm#marx
http://www.kristisiegel.com/links.htm

Video: http://academicearth.org/courses/literary-theory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_theory

http://www.muwasalat.com/2010/10/understanding-modern-literary-theory.html
http://englishliteraturelinks.blogspot.com/2010/10/dr-kristi-siegel-internet-sites-and.html

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

ROSA PARK'S SIGNATURE

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

LIST OF MAJOR ROMANTIC POETS

ENGL 300: Introduction to Theory of Literature

http://oyc.yale.edu/english/introduction-to-theory-of-literature/content/class-sessions

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Hegemony

: preponderant influence or authority over others : domination
<battled for hegemony in Asia>

Source:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hegemony

Good-bye, Mr. Chips' Movie

*ing Peter O'Toole and Petula Clark. My favorite version of this movie.

The movie's plot is about a British school teacher named Mr. Chipping and revolves around his life as he conquers his inability to connect with his students as well as his shyness; his marrying Katherine, an outspoken young woman he meets on holiday, who's personality and background clash with the rigidness of the school atmosphere.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3wHncrp-qw

Links to Critical/Theoretical Approaches:

http://www.kristisiegel.com/theory.htm#marx

Friday, October 8, 2010

The Color Purple soundtrack - MusicMp3.Ru

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

HEDDA GABLER BY HENRIK IBSEN, IMPORTANT POINTS

1.       Cock of the yard - Judge Brack
2.      Triangle is based on mutual understanding - Judge Brack
3.      "people don't shoot their pet rooster" and certainly not their cock of the walk.
4.      Hedda Gabler - i'm burning you child
5.      Hedda seems to be extremely angry people calling books and words as child and as something really important than a human
6.      Childish happy -- Tesman seems to be -- when Hedda Gabler tells him that he has burnt Eilert manuscript for his sake.
7.      Hedda "at last such beauty" "Eilert had the courage to do one right thing"
8.      Then hedda regrets doing that
9.      "everything i touch becomes ludicrous and despicable" - Hedda says that, when Judge Brack tells Hedda that the pistol in Eilert pocket accidentally went off
10. "no longer free, not free, i can't bear that though" - when judge tells that he recognizes the picture
11. George Tesman - concerned about his studies, his family, aunt julie, aunt rina and money
12. Aunt Julie - concerned about george, misses him
13. Berta - diligent servant, always trying to please
14. Judge Brack - flirtious - cock
15. Elvsted lovborg - drunkard genius, now sober but in trouble
16. Hedda Tesman - vine leaves ; Dinoysian self (god of merrry making and wine)- aristocrat, pregnant, unhappy with life - cannot get what she needs from Tesman - her material desires Tesman cannot fulfill,

Monday, September 27, 2010

PERCEPTIONS: OBJECTIVITY AND SUBJECTIVITY

if you believe in religion being objective then you must believe that you are taking subjectivity/ digesting things subjectively in your own way.

So, religion stays religion, but every religion is dependent on our perceptions. You will perceive a moving train differently when you are standing at a higher platform, you'll see the train as an oblong and when you are standing and the train is static as well, you will perceive it as a rectangle.

Einstein theory of Relativity, if it's so. Let me see it on google.

Here are two excerpts from perkel.com

"Isaac Newton was our first scientists to dabble in relativity (not Einstein relativity) in that he discovered that speed and distance traveled were dependent on the frame of reference of the observer. For example, if you are on a train and you roll a ball in the same direction the train is moving at a speed of 5 feet per second, you will observe the ball moving 5 feet in one second. Suppose however that the train is moving down the tracks at 10 feet per second. A person standing next to the tracks will observe the ball moving at 15 feet per second and traveling 15 feet in the same one second. So who's right? The both are, but from their own frame of reference."

"According to relativity, there is no such thing as absolute space and absolute speed. If these things don't exist, then there can never be a way to measure any changes caused by speed. If relative space and time don't exist, then it is necessary that the laws of physics appear to be identical to all moving observers so that you can't measure something that doesn't exist. If you can measure something, then it's real. For something to not be real requires that it can't be measured. Thus in order for absolute space and speed to be not real means that no measurable changes can occur that would allow you to calculate it. Thus the concept of the laws of physics appearing the same and the lack of absolute space and speed are linked. Relativity depends on the lack of absolute references."

And perceptions are deceiving.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

TONI MORRISON AND WRITERS LIKE HER

Afro-American writer, an activist, Toni Morrison has authored nine novels in total. Let me see wikipedia for it. Okay! copied from wikipedia these list of books. Here is the list of six books.

Novels : Six Novels, I am presenting the facts, that I want to share, which I think everyone should remember (apart from every other thing in the novel)

The Bluest Eye (1970; ISBN 0-452-28706-5)

Ok! I am adding the description of all of the novels. Then, again my source is wikipedia, which is not appreciated by critics or anyone from literary background or knowledge. Forget about this. Let me write something.

Ok! the novel is based on the perspective of Claudia MacTeer as a child and as an adult on racism, incest, and child molestation.

Sula (1974; ISBN 1-4000-3343-8)

Sula Peace: the main protagonist, who affects the whole town of Medallion with her return.

Song of Solomon (1977; ISBN 1-4000-3342-X)

The main theme in the novel is Milkman's quest for identity as a black man in the 20th-century United States, as he slowly tries to piece together the history of his ancestors. He does this by taking a journey into his father and aunt's past, searching for origins.
The main character, Macon "Milkman" Dead III, derives his nickname from the fact that he was breastfed for far too long.

Tar Baby (1981; ISBN 1-4000-3344-6)

Love affair.
The struggle of Jadine and Son reveals the pain, struggle, and compromises confronting Black Americans seeking to live and love with integrity in the United States.

Beloved (1987; ISBN 1-4000-3341-1)

Beloved (1987) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Toni Morrison. The novel, her fifth, is loosely based on the life and legal case of the slave Margaret Garner,

Major Themes:

Mother-daughter relationships
Psychological impact of slavery

Jazz (1992; ISBN 1-4000-7621-8)

The novel deliberately mirrors the music of its title, with various characters "improvising" solo compositions that fit together late a whole work.
One of the main themes of the novel is purgatory and the cathartic ability of Jazz music.

Major themes according to gradesaver.com: Youth Vs. Age, Music and Memory

http://www.gradesaver.com/jazz/study-guide/major-themes/

Sorry, I didn't give you examples because I can't write now. Thankyou.

Paradise (1999; ISBN 0-679-43374-0)

The novel tells the story of the tension between the men of Ruby, Oklahoma (an all-black town^[2] founded in 1950) and a group of women who lived in a former convent seventeen miles away.

Love (2003; ISBN 0-375-40944-0)

Love is the story of Bill Cosey, a charismatic but dead hotel owner. Or rather, it is about the people around him, all affected by his life — even long after his death.

A Mercy (2008; ISBN 978-0-307-26423-7)

A Mercy reveals what lies beneath the surface of slavery in early America. It is both the story of mothers and daughters and the story of a primitive America.

Source: Wikipedia : Shortcut link/ Image Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:A_mercy_cover.jpg

Interviews, Discussion direct with or on the Author: Toni Morrison

An Evening with Toni Morrison: On Fora.tv

Download Links:

Audio: http://fora.tv/fora/fora_download?cid=8221&fid=19509

Video: http://fora.tv/fora/fora_download?cid=8221&fid=19508

Conversation with Charlie Rose:

Charlie Rose - MORRISON

59:05 - 4 years ago

Toni Morrison, Author, "Paradise" [Alfred A. Knopf] clips: Charlie Rose 2/24/97, 5/7/93

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2790851242454573240#

Charlie Rose - MORRISON (FROM 11/21/03) / LAHIRI (FROM 10/29/03)

58:08 - 4 years ago

Toni Morrison, Author, "Love" [Knopf] /// Jhumpa Lahiri, Author, "The Namesake" [Houghton Mifflin]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2790851242454573240#docid=4313266071427505573

_______________________________________________________________

Podcast of Toni Morrison discussing Beloved on the BBC's World Book Club

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Drag and drop attachments to save them to your desktop - Official Gmail Blog

Drag and drop attachments to save them to your desktop - Official Gmail Blog

Now that's simple and awesome. In gmail just drag YOUR attachments (any attach file documents, media or txt based) to your desktop and viola! it's automatically saved.

That's really useful. Go Google!

Drag and drop attachments to save them to your desktop - Official Gmail Blog

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Explore the beautiful world of literature

Beauty and literature goes together.
Like oceans, blue,
Like oceans, red,
Like oceans, black
With no ending thread,
Like flowers of today,
Like flowers of tonight,