Oedipus, tragedy and Aristotle

Sophocles lived 496 – 406 B.C.

• Born in Athens
• Wrote Antigone, then Oedpius Rex, then Oedipus at Colonnus
• Wrote a total of 120 plays. We only have 7 complete plays, and fragments of the others

• He was a musician throughout his life; also worked at various occupations; among them, he was a priest, ambassador, general
• Leaves the Divine mysterious
  • We don’t know for sure, and we don’t need to speculate

• Believed to be the originator of the single play
• Was the first to introduce a third character on stage at the same time
• Sophocles concentrated on the individual character instead of the Chorus
• His characters have strong personalities. They don’t budge (stubborn)
  • Only one main character
    • Isolates them, they further isolate themselves with the choices that they make
    • Tend to be intelligent and willing to accept their moral responsibility
    • Deep moral commitment to a high moral standard, they make the right moral choice, BUT it ultimately destroys them

Oedipus Rex :

7 Major themes:

1. Search for Truth
2. Incest / Patricide
3. Man in Relation to God
4. Mystery of Identity
5. Fate vs Freedom
6. Leadership in Crisis
7. Justice

• It is possible that the beginning of Oedipus is set during the Greek plague
  • There was both a plague & a civil war going on
• The opening scene, the Priest represents the people
  • The people are asking Oedipus for help
• The Riddle representative of humanity

Tension / Conflict

Greatest possible public  Good           vs         Greatest Possible Evil

• Oedipus is wise, persistent, determined to find the truth.

What is the tragic flaw?

• Oedipus thinks that he can control everything with investigative thought, through the use of his intellect… HUBRIS

Jocasta’s speech:  “Chance rules our lives…”  and “Live day to day…”  STOP QUESTIONING

VS

Oedipus’s final speech before learning the truth, where he says that he will accept the truth, whatever it is è personal drive, he wants to know the truth

• Both the dignity and tragedy of Oedipus resides in his reliance on his “heroic intellect”
  • He saved the city.
  • He is clever, brave, confident, but he is not a god.
  • Does his hubris become overreaching?
    • Even that becomes tragic because he is reaching for knowledge, not power

The first line of Aristotle’s book, Metaphysics is “All men, by nature, desire to know.”

At the end, “O Light”

God of light (Sun, also thought, intelligence, medicine)

The light that blinds you

Insight SO great, that it blinds you

Oedipus blinds himself and now he SEES.

What is tragedy?

Aristotle believed that art was essential and that the best and highest form of art was drama, specifically tragedy. According to Aristotle, that is because tragedy — when properly constructed — leads to catharsis, a purging or cleaning of the soul achieved through extreme emotion.

How is that achieved? According to Aristotle, the story must:

• be told in real time and in one place. That is the unity of time and place. If the story takes two hours to tell, it must be two hours in the lives of the characters on stage.
• Unity of plot and theme – there has to be one story and one story only (no side stories or die plots) and there must be a tight cause and effect relationship. All actions must be the direct result of previous actions (no intervention by the gods and no sheer coincidence)
• Unity of mood – no comic relief
• There must be a tragic hero that is: noble, good, attractive, well-liked, admired, and human.
  • He must posses a tragic flaw which directly leads to his downfall (hamartia)
  • and there must be a moment of recognition (anagnorisis) where the hero understands his downfall was caused by his own actions.

Often, we call sad events tragic, but there is much more to it.  There are whole philosophical debates on the nature of tragedy:

“Tragedy arises when human aspirations urge us to go beyond the limitations placed on us by our own human nature and by the forces of nature that surround us.”

“The tragic hero has normally had an extraordinary, often nearly a divine, destiny almost within grasp…. The irony in tragedy lies in the contrast between the vision which the tragic hero has of his future and the shocking disaster that befalls him. In this respect, he is also the universal human being.”

To the tragic hero, the world is ambiguous. Is there order? He yearns to believe that there is a purpose, yet his actions lead to disaster.

Qualities that make him heroic:

1. A belief in his own freedom
2. Supreme pride, often leading to hubris
3. Capacity for suffering
4. A sense of commitment
5. Vigorous protest/resistance to his situation
6. Transformation / transfiguration
7. Impact / catharsis

Oedipus’s world is an existential one.  It is a nihilistic world in which there is no concern for human beings.  In the deepest sense, Oedipus is innocent.  He is wronged by the gods.  His tragic heroism arises from his refusal to resign himself to the meaninglessness and purposeless cruelty of this world.  If there is any meaning for Oedipus, it is that he can assert the dignity of self in a vacuum of injustice and absurdity.

More on Aristotle and tragedy:  http://web.mnstate.edu/gracyk/courses/web%20publishing/AristotlePoeticsEdited.htm

Learn the terms: harmartia and peripeteia

Welcome, Class of 2021!

What a year! I know that everything is in flux, but whether we meet in person this August or virtually over Zoom, I am excited to work with you. We will work hard. We will read (a lot), analyze, write, and discuss.

Here is some information on AP Literature:

AP English Literature and Composition will give students a learning experience equivalent to a typical undergrad introduction to literature class. Through close reading of literary texts, students will come to understand how writers use language to provide meaning and to answer the big questions in life. We will “measure” literature against the history of philosophy to understand how literature fits into its own time as well as in all time.

We will ask, “What is art?” and try to determine the qualities of great literature. Our literary analysis will look through the lenses of style and structure, rhetorical strategies, diction, figurative language, imagery, selection of detail, language and syntax. Vocabulary study is important.

So, let’s get started! This summer, you will read:

• 1. How to Read Literature Like a Professorby Thomas C. Foster. Write a a brief summary (bullet points, and a couple of paragraphs should be enough).

  You will turn this in. 

  To be clear, you will take notes on the chapters. What did you learn? What hints and suggestions does Foster provide? For example, what are the characteristics of the Heroic Journey?

  2. Oedipus the King(sometimes translates as Oedipus Rex) a classic Greek play by Sophocles
  3. An AP Review Book (e.g., Princeton Review, Barrons, 5 Steps to a 5).

  Take notes, there will be a test on the vocabulary and some of the common test strategies.

  To Clarify: you’ll review the book and LEARN their test-taking skills and strategies. For example, what does the text suggest is at the heart of every essay question? What tips does the text give on answering the multiple choice questions?

  Know the structure of the exam and become familiar with the literary terms and vocabulary (there is an extensive glossary at the back of the book).
  Your test will include questions on each of those.

  Now, some suggestions:
  The AP Lit exam tests your knowledge of literature. It is, in actuality, a test on 4 years of literary knowledge. The more you read, the more prepared you will be. So, I suggest that you read a novel or play of your choice from this list (but NOT one of the works that we will read together in class. Here is a link to the list: http://www.madeiracityschools.org/userfiles/300/Classes/39310/Most%20frequently%20cited%20books.pdf )

  You may also want to refresh your knowledge of Biblical stories. Many literary texts, especially the older works, often allude to Judea-Christian stories. So, it would be a good idea to review those so that you can recognize some common symbols and archetypes that allude to biblical stories.

  Another suggestion is the book A Brief History of Thought: a Philosophical Guide. This book explains and explores different schools of philosophical thought, which will be very helpful as that will be a component of our class.

  Please keep in mind that discussion is a major component of this course. So, discuss amongst yourselves. Visit this site often and post questions, thoughts, observations. I will do the same.

  Throughout the year we will read and analyze many works of literature from novels and plays to short stories and poems.

  For those of you that want to know what we will read in class throughout the year, this is a tentative list of some of the books that we will read next year, in case you want to purchase and/or borrow these books over the summer.

  We will read the following books in class. Depending on our timing, there may be an additional play.
  The Iliad, Homer (excerpts, I will provide)
  Othello, William Shakespeare
  Beowulf (excerpts, I will provide)
  Grendel by John Gardner                                                                                                                    The Stranger, by Albert Camus                                                                                                     The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald                                                                           A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway

  You will read a book or play over the winter break and another one during spring break.

  If time permits, we will read one of the following plays:

   A Doll’s House, Ibsen

  Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Edward Albee

   Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller

  SUMMARY:
  You will read independently and for class

  You will read, not just for plot, but for style, motif, hidden meanings, etc.

  Your work begins this summer

  Expect a test on the first day of class. I will test you on:

  • Facts, literary devices, symbols, etc from How to Read Literature Like a Professor
  • Oedipus the King
  • on literary terms/vocabulary, testing strategies, and on things that you should have learned from your summer reading.

  Good luck, enjoy your summer, and keep in touch!

NEW: Class Syllabus Advanced Placement English 20-21 Syllabus

Spring Break 2020 Assignment

We are in test prep mode. Reading poetry (of all types) is always good, and April is National Poetry Month! You can review great poems on www.poets.org and on www.poetryfoundation.org. They have poems, information on the authors and other resources. But, I definitely want you to know these 10 poems (KNOW the poems, understand them, be prepared to write about and/or discuss them in depth):

1. “A Prayer for My Daughter,” by William Butler Yeats
2. “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” John Donne
3. “The World is Too Much with Us,” By William Wordsworth
4. “The Bistro Styx,” By Rita Dove
5. “When I Consider How My Light is Spent,” John Milton
6. “One Art,” by Elizabeth Bishop
7. “Dover Beach,” By Matthew Arnold
8. “Blackberry Picking,” by Seamus Heaney
9. “Dulce Et Decorum Est,” By Wilfred Owen
10. “Lady Lazarus,” By Sylvia Plath

  And this is the list of words / literary phrases that you need to know and be able to identify:

1. Allegory
2. Alliteration
3. Allusion
4. Anachronism
5. Anaphora
6. Antithesis
7. Apostrophe
8. Archetype
9. Aside
10. Assonance
11. Blank Verse
12. Bildungsroman
13. Conceit
14. Didactic
15. Chiasmus
16. Elegy
17. Enjambment
18. Ennui
19. Euphemism
20. Foil
21. Metonymy
22. Motif
23. Oxymoron
24. Paradox
25. Parallelism
26. Sonnet
27. Spondee
28. Synecdoche
29. Villanelle
30. Zeugma

Note: If you have not already done so, this is a good time to begin reviewing for the AP exam. Take out your review books and look over the testing information. You are not just looking for the structure of the test, but familiarizing yourself with how to answer questions, what the questions are asking and also learning more poems and reviewing passages from books you have not read. If you want suggestions of plays or books to read, here are some: Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Glass Menagerie (both plays by Tennessee Williams), Our Town by Thornton Wilder, Catch-22 By Joseph Heller, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Final Wrap-Up of a Farewell to Arms

Good morning!

My wrap up video: https://youtu.be/1WUlNMNkDvI

So, I experimented and created my first Google Slides presentation (like, ever!). Feel free to laugh at me — I understand. Here is a link to the presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1C1d55gHp492obCQMkcl73EjrzbC9X8Zp2iTx6lz9HJA/edit?usp=sharing

If it does not work, please let me know.

The final assignment for A Farewell to Arms is the essay. You will upload that essay onto http://www.turnitin.com before 7:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. Here are your topics:

You have four options below. Please, Select one:

1. Hope vs. Hopelessness.

• Does this story provide any hope at all? Does it imply that hope is a bad thing?  Does it advocate cynicism?  Think of the “wise” characters.  What message do they leave Henry (and us)?

2. Heroism.

• There are lots of heroes throughout the novel, like Ettore, an Italian-American who had received numerous medals:“He was a legitimate hero who bored every one he met” (p. 124). What concept of heroism does Hemingway present through Henry and others?
• Could Catherine be considered a hero? What kind of hero?

3. Disillusionment

• Is Henry “defeated”?

4. Analyze a specific passage

• On page 249, there is a LONG pivotal passage that begins with “That night…” Explain the passage.  Describe the significance/symbolism of the night vs day images.  When was the last time that he spoke about something like this?  You may choose to analyze one passage, compare the two, or discuss the themes/motifs depicted. (Think about the conversation with the priest about Abruzzi, page 13).  Why is it significant that he’s talking like this again?  What does he mean?  Explain.  Do you agree with him?  Explain why or why not / defend your answer.
• “Once in camp I put a log on top of the fire and it was full of ants.  As it commenced to burn, the ants swarmed out and went first toward the center where the fire was; then turned back and ran toward the end.  When there were enough on the end, they fell off into the fire.  Some got out, their bodies burnt and flattened, and went off not knowing where they were going.  But most of them went toward the end and finally fell off into the fire.  I remember thinking at the time that it was the end of the world and a splendid chance to be a messiah and lift the log off the fire and throw it out where the ants could get off onto the ground.  But I did not do anything but throw a tin cup of water on the log, so that I would have the cup empty to put the whisky in before I added water to it.  I think the cup of water on the burning log only steamed the ants.”

Comment on this passage (for form, structure, figurative language and theme). Hint: In this scene, Henry compares himself to a “messiah.”  What message does Hemingway make about Henry’s religion?  About religion in general? Think about the ants.  Some of them burn immediately; others get out burned, singed, or handicapped.  How does that relate to people?  Explain the comparison.

Some points to consider in A Farewell to Arms

Hi guys, first for a little sense of normalcy, watch: https://youtu.be/On4Bjzat2IU

NOW, getting down to business —

There’s a lot to take in as the novel winds down. Read over the questions below and post your responses to http://www.turnitin.com (for those of you who have not registered, the Class ID is: 23401173 and the enrollment key is PinkRoom2020)

Hope/Hopelessness:

Hemingway wrote, “Abstract words such as glory, honor, courage, or hallow were obscene beside the concrete names of villages, the numbers of roads, the names of rivers, the numbers of regiments and the dates” (185). Henry, in a moment of reflection, explains: “If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them” (249).

1. In the first passage, what is Hemingway saying about abstract words?
2. Do the concrete facts of life provide more hope than abstractions? Why?
3. Is Hemingway suggesting that one must relinquish any hope in order to survive in the world? (i.e., is he an existentialist? A nihilist?)

In the final chapter, Frederic Henry reflects on a memory:

“Once in camp I put a log on top of the fire and it was full of ants.  As it commenced to burn, the ants swarmed out and went first toward the centre where the fire was; then turned back and ran toward the end.  When there were enough on the end, they fell off into the fire.  Some got out, their bodies burnt and flattened, and went off not knowing where they were going.  But most of them went toward the end and finally fell off into the fire.  I remember thinking at the time that it was the end of the world and a splendid chance to be a messiah and lift the log off the fire and throw it out where the ants could get off onto the ground.  But I did not do anything but throw a tin cup of water on the log, so that I would have the cup empty to put the whisky in before I added water to it.  I think the cup of water on the burning log only steamed the ants.”

 

1. In this scene, Henry compares himself to a “messiah.” What message does Hemingway make about Henry’s religion?  About religion in general?

 

 

2. Think about the ants. Some of them burn immediately, others get out burned, singed, handicapped.  How does that relate to people?  Explain the comparison.  THINK.

 

 

3. Think of Gatsby and the eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg. Remember that he represented the eyes of God that had forsaken humanity.  How is this scene similar?  Explain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. How does Catherine feel about her impending death? What does she mean when she

tells Frederic, “I’ll come and stay with you nights”?

 

2. In what ways does Catherine prove herself to be a typical Hemingway hero?
3. In the concluding paragraph for this novel, Frederic describes Catherine’s body as being

like a cold statue. Remember that Hemingway is a master of understatement; what do

you think he might be saying concerning his belief in an eternal life after death? Is there

any other explanation for his description of Catherine’s body as a statue?

8. In what ways can this novel be considered to be a loss of innocence story? How has

Frederic changed since the first Book? Did Catherine change?

 

A Farewell to Arms – Book II

Guys, I am out today and don’t want you to fall behind. In class today, please answer the following questions in your journals:

In chapter 23, Henry and Catherine see a couple like themselves.  Catherine says that they are not like them.  And, she says, that couple can go to the cathedral.

1. Why isn’t the other couple like them? Do they have different problems?  Are they less in love?  Different in another way? Explain.
2. Why can they go into the cathedral when Catherine cannot?

I would love for you to answer these questions (thoughtfully and thoroughly) and discuss your thoughts. They are not many questions, so please provide depth.

TURN EVERYTHING IN BEFORE THE END OF CLASS.

Then, I want you to look through the chapters. And answer (think about and discuss) the following questions:

1. In chapter 18 there is a very tender, intimate scene between Henry and Catherine.”I loved to take her hair down…. it was the feeling of inside a tent or behind falls.” What does that scene suggest about Henry’s feelings and the nature of their relationship? Explain.
2. Later in the same chapter, Henry becomes jealous. Why? Is he right to be jealous? Explain.
3. Ettore is a legitimate hero; yet, he is not heroic. Explain.
4. If Henry has given himself jaundice, he is drinking very heavily. What do you think that he is trying to suppress?
5. Why did Nurse Van Campen go out of her way to insult and offend Henry (in chapter 23)?
6. As we have discussed many times, the weather is often an important symbol and/or motif. In chapters 23-24 it is rainy, misty, and foggy. Consider and explain the significance.
7. Hemingway alludes to a poem by Andrew Marvell, when Henry recites: “But at
   my back I always hear, time’s winged chariot hurrying near” (here is a link to the poem: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44688/to-his-coy-mistress ).Why Henry recite this poem at this moment in the novel? Why is “time’s winged
   chariot hurrying near?” (Read the poem and be prepared to discuss it on Wednesday).

I won’t assign additional chapters because I want to discuss these with you. So,if you did not complete the reading, here is your opportunity to do so. Quiz on the chapters on Wednesday. Don’t focus too much on the horse races. One of the major themes in this book is the impact the war has on the values of the characters. So consider what the incident where Catherine and Frederic bet on Light for Me reveal about their values. The bets are all kind of rigged and Catherine doesn’t really like it.

Last, for your notes:

The central character in a work of literature is called the protagonist.
The protagonist usually initiates the main action of the story and often
overcomes a flaw, such as weakness or ignorance, to achieve a new
understanding by the work’s end. A protagonist who acts with great
honor or courage may be called a hero. An antihero is a protagonist
lacking these qualities. Instead of being dignified, brave, idealistic, or
purposeful, the antihero may be cowardly, self-interested, or weak. The
protagonist’s journey is enriched by encounters with characters who hold
differing beliefs. One such character type, a foil, has traits that contrast
with the protagonist’s and highlight important features of the main
character’s personality. The most important foil, the antagonist, opposes the
protagonist, barring or complicating his or her success.
We encounter the secondary characters through Henry’s point of view.
Hemingway does not profile Henry’s comrades in great detail. As Henry’s
lover, Miss Barkley provides the foil for Henry’s character, leading him in
unexpected directions: “God knows … I had not wanted to fall in love
with any one. But God knows I had and I lay on the bed in the room of
the hospital in Milan and all sorts of things went through my head but I
felt wonderful” (p. 93).
Discussion Activities

Notes on Hemingway Code Heroes and Stocism

The Hemingway Code Hero

HW: visit: http://www.lostgeneration.com and click on Biography, then read all about Hemingway

The Hemingway man was a man’s man. He was a man involved in a great deal of drinking. He was a man who moved from one love affair to another, who participated in wild game hunting, who enjoyed bullfights, who was involved in all of the so-called manly activities, which the typical American male did not participate in. Throughout many of Hemingway’s novels the code hero acts in a manner which allowed the critic to formulate a particular code. – he does not talk about what he believes in. – he is man of action rather than a man of theory. Behind the formulation of this concept of the hero lies the basic disillusionment brought about by the First World War. The sensitive man came to the realization that the old concepts and the old values embedded in Christianity and other ethical systems of the western world had not served to save mankind from the catastrophe inherent in the World War. A basis for all of the actions of all Hemingway code heroes is the concept of death. The idea of death lies behind all of the character’s actions in Hemingway novels. “When you are dead you are dead.” There is nothing more. If man cannot accept a life or reward after death, the emphasis must then be on obtaining or doing or performing something in this particular life. If death ends all activity, if death ends all knowledge and consciousness, man must seek his reward here, now, immediately. Consequently, the Hemingway man exists in a large part for the gratification of his sensual desires (eating, drinking, sex), he will devote himself to all types of physical pleasures because these are the reward of this life. It is the duty of the Hemingway hero to avoid death at almost all cost. Life must continue. Life is valuable and enjoyable. Life is everything. Death is nothing. With this view in mind it might seem strange then to the casual or superficial reader that the Hemingway code hero will often be placed in an encounter with death, or that the Hemingway hero will often choose to confront death. From this we derive the idea of grace (or courage) under pressure. This concept is one according to which the character must act in a way that is acceptable when he is faced with the fact of death. The Hemingway man must have fear of death, but he must not be afraid to die. By fear we mean that he must have the intellectual realization that death is the end of all things and as such must be constantly avoided in one way or another. A man can never act in a cowardly way. He must not show that he is afraid or trembling or frightened in the presence of death. If man wishes to live, he lives most intensely sometimes when he is in the direct presence of death. The man has not yet been tested; we don’t know whether he will withstand the pressures, whether he will prove to be a true Hemingway man. It is only by testing, by coming into confrontation with something that is dangerous that man lives with this intensity. In the presence of death, then, man can discover his own sense of being, his own potentiality. The Nada Concept Aside from death being a part of the concept of the code hero, there are certain images that are often connected with this view. His actions are often identified by certain definite movements or performances. He is often called a restless man. By restless is meant that he will often stay awake at nighttime and sleep all during the day. The reason for this is that for the Hemingway man sleep itself is a type of obliteration of the consciousness. Night is a difficult time for night-itself-the darkness of night—implies or symbolizes the utter darkness that man will have to face after death. Therefore the code hero will avoid nighttime. This will be the time he will drink or carouse or stay awake. The Discipline of the Code Hero If the old values no longer serve man, what values will? Hemingway rejects abstract qualities—courage, bravery, etc. These are all just words. For example, courage may involve a single act of courage. This does not mean that a man is by nature courageous. A man who has been courageous in war might not be courageous in some civil affair or in some other human endeavor. What Hemingway is searching for are absolute values, which will be the same and constant at every moment of every day and of every day of every week. Ultimately therefore, for Hemingway the only value that will serve man is an innate faculty of self-discipline. This is a value that grows out of man’s essential being, in his inner nature. If a man has discipline to face one thing on one day he will still possess that same degree of discipline on another day and in another situation. The Hemingway man is never a sloppy drunk. The man who cannot hold his liquor does not possess the proper degree of discipline. This discipline functions in other ways also. For example, the Hemingway hero will often say, “Don’t let’s talk about it.” This means after he has performed some act of bravery he will not discuss it. Talking is emotionalism. It is the action that is important. If you talk about the act too much you lose the importance of the act itself. The same is true of talking about love. The Hemingway code hero is also a person of some degree of skill. It is seldom mentioned what the character does, but we do know that Frederic Henry has been a good architect. It is in the act of doing that which a man is good at doing that the code character finds himself. Rinaldi makes the statement that he only lives while he is performing an operation. Thus the Hemingway man detests people who are mediocre. There are enough people who are like the Hemingway hero that he will not associate with the ordinary or mediocre person. This attitude leads to the concept of the loyalty that a Hemingway hero feels for other people. He feels an intense loyalty for a small group of people. He cannot feel a sense of loyalty to something abstract, but as far as the intense, personal, immediate friendship is concerned, he is totally devoted to this smaller, this more personal group. Summing it all up The Hemingway hero is a man whose concepts are shaped by his view of death, that in the face of death a man must perform certain duties. Code Heroes often have:

• a general loss of faith in conventional morality; the Hemingway hero is cut off from the traditional values of home and family.
• the ability and desire to do his job well.
• the belief that no matter how much trouble life gives a person, he must never let his suffering show, except for fears, which surface at night.
• a belief that the world is generally a cruel place.
• he demonstrates that men and women can find moments of meaning and happiness despite the cruelty of the world.

Why was such a code necessary? Because in Hemingway’s world, a world still shuddering in the aftermath of a brutal war, the old values-faith in family, in country, in a just and loving God-had been irreparably shattered. In such a world, wrote one critic, only a rigid code of behavior “makes a man a man and distinguishes him from the people who follow random impulses, let down their hair, and are generally messy, perhaps cowardly, without inviolable rules for how to live holding tight.” Hemingway’s heroes and heroines are marked by stoicism-a term taken from Greek philosophy, describing the belief that no matter how much life makes you suffer you must never show that suffering. Many of Hemingway’s heroes-Nick Adams, Jake Barnes, and of course Frederic Henry-endure war wounds so severe they will in some way never recover from them. Yet in public they all present consistently brave faces. Stoicism An ancient Greek school of philosophy founded at Athens by Zeno of Citium. The school taught that virtue, the highest good, is based on knowledge, and that the wise live in harmony with the divine Reason (also identified with Fate and Providence) that governs nature, and are indifferent to the vicissitudes of fortune and to pleasure and pain.  In other words, one should endure pain and/or hardship without a display of feelings and without complaint. Stoics and Moral Philosophy8 Principles of Stoic Philosophy and Their Serenity Prayer-Like Advice Below are 8 of the main ideas held by the Stoic philosophers.

1. Nature – Nature is rational.
2. Law of Reason – The universe is governed by the law of reason. Man can’t actually escape its inexorable force, but he can, uniquely, follow the law deliberately.
3. Virtue – A life led according to rational nature is virtuous.
4. Wisdom – Wisdom is the root virtue. From it spring the cardinal virtues: insight, bravery, self-control, and justice.

“Briefly, their notion of morality is stern, involving a life in accordance with nature and controlled by virtue. It is an ascetic system, teaching perfect indifference ( APATHEA ) to everything external, for nothing external could be either good or evil. Hence to the Stoics both pain and pleasure, poverty and riches, sickness and health, were supposed to be equally unimportant.”

5. Apathea – Since passion is irrational, life should be waged as a battle against it. Intense feeling should be avoided.
6. Pleasure – Pleasure is not good. (Nor is it bad. It is only acceptable if it doesn’t interfere with our quest for virtue.)
7. Evil – Poverty, illness, and death are not evil.
8. Duty – Virtue should be sought, not for the sake of pleasure, but for duty.

Stoic Agenda “To avoid unhappiness, frustration, and disappointment, we, therefore, need to do two things: control those things that are within our power (namely our beliefs, judgments, desires, and attitudes) and be indifferent or apathetic to those things which are not in our power (namely, things external to us).” _ Some of the Articles discussed in class. Hemingway in Love: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/ernest-hemingway-in-love-180956617/ Hemingway’s Letter to Fitzgerald: https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/07/21/hemingway-f-scott-fitzgerald-letter-advice/ Hemingway & Fitzgerald: Work & Days: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-ca-hemingway-fitzgerald26-2009jul26-story.html

Gatsby and Existentialism

In the Genealogy of Morality, Friedrich Nietzsche wrote that “man is sicker, more unsure, more changing, more undetermined than any other animal, of this there is no doubt – he is the sick animal: how does this come about? …he, the one yet unconquered, the eternally future one who no longer finds any rest from his own pressing energy, so that his future digs inexorably like a spur into the flesh of every present…Man is fed up with it, often enough, there are entire epidemics of this being-fed-up…even when he wounds himself, this master of destruction, self-destruction – afterwards it is the wound itself that compels him to live….”

This is a heavy quote and in this passage he was discussing good vs evil and moral vs immoral; however, you can extrapolate this existentialist ideal to fit many arguments and scenarios.  

I.    Explain/interpret this passage.

II.   How does it fit Gatsby?  Explain.

Homework – Gatsby, chapter 5

In your journal, respond to the following prompt:

Throughout the novel, the characters discuss dreams and illusions.  Sometimes these references are obvious, other times they are subtle.  In chapter 5 it is pretty-heavy handed.

Gatsby “was consumed with wonder at [Daisy’s] presence.  He had been full of the idea so long, dreamed it right through to the end….” And then, while looking out the window, he kind of realized that although he had what he wanted, he had also lost something.  “Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever…. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one.”  And, was it worth it?  “There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams – not through her own fault but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion.  It had gone beyond her, beyond everything.  He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way.”

Surely, this reunion with Daisy was a disappointment.  Not because of the circumstances or even because of Daisy herself, but rather because “No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store in his ghostly heart.”

Is there a danger in idolizing something/someone? Can reality measure up to our expectations? Are we always destined to chase and then be disappointed?  To be… Sisyphus?

The Stranger, Notes on theme and philosophy

As Camus continued to write, he began to develop more fully the notion of life as “absurd,” which mainly centered on the idea that our awareness of the certainty and finality of death makes life meaningless. In his journal he wrote: “There is only one case in which despair is true. It is that of a man sentenced to die….”

The Stranger was published early in Camus’s career, in 1942, when he was primarily concerned with what he called the “absurdity” of the human condition. People want, and need, a basis for their lives and values, but the world offers them none, Camus believed. Because there is no overarching value system, a person can’t make everyday value judgments, but is adrift in a meaningless world. The inevitability and finality of death adds to the absurdity of life, in Camus’s view.

The Stranger Theme of Philosophical Viewpoints:

The Absurd:

The Stranger reflects Camus’s philosophical stance as an absurdist. Is there a logical meaning to life? Is there some higher order or law governing it? Some rational explanation to the chaos and nonsense? Can we make sense of life at all?

The answer from The Stranger to these questions is a categorical “No.” There is no truth, no certainty, nor any unwavering, non-relative laws in life – and there is no sense in pursuing such impossibilities.

Absurdism essentially says that the world is so nonsensical, so absurd, that you can’t expect to find meaning in it anywhere.

Meursault, our main character and narrator, is emotionally incapable, socially unaware, and understands relationships only in the context of the physical. (Kind of like Sherlock Holmes or Dexter Morgan).

But this stranger is also an introspective philosophical rebel. And the philosophy that he and Camus promote—the philosophy of absurdism—states that the world is so nonsensical, so absurd, that you can’t expect to find meaning in it anywhere. There’s no logic, no rationale, no governing order.

Themes explored in The Stranger

Mortality and DEATH

The Stranger opens with an announcement of death; Salamano’s old dog is in a state of (super-gross) decay; the protagonist murders a guy, and is then sentenced to execution. Death is everywhere.

The centrality of death, as a concept, is perhaps Camus’s way of forcing us to confront the continuum of varying attitudes on this universal, yet distinctly absurdist, theme.

In The Stranger, death is inevitable and does not lead to an afterlife. The novel concludes with the revelation that death is what makes all men – indeed all living creatures – equal.

(Later in his life Camus changed his thinking to add that within this framework, our actions can still be important because we can affect the lives of other persons. We must behave as if life has meaning.)

Benign Indifference of the Universe

Our lives are brief compared to the permanence of the universe. Images of sun, water, earth, and sky give pleasure to fleeting moments of our lives. But they can turn dangerous and destructive.

The natural forces do not have empathy for us or care. They are neither good nor evil; they are simply there, and they go on being there long after we are gone. To accept this philosophy is to live in a world without God.

Societal Norms, Religious Values, Expected Rituals & Routines

According to the absurdist, religion is constructed by man in an attempt to create meaning to a senseless existence. Acceptance of religion, of the possibility of an afterlife, would mean that man effectively escapes death. This is a destructive belief, as only the realization and acceptance of impending death allows man to live to his fullest.

Detachment from society is one thing, but nonconformity—or refusal to play by its rules—is another. A detached guy is deemed cold and pathetic, but a blatant nonconformist is deemed amoral.

1. Ritual. Meursault is viewed as an outcast because he doesn’t weep at his mother’s funeral or feel guilty because he put her into a nursing home. Society has developed patterns of behavior for given moments in our lives, whether or not we have the requisite feelings. Meursault could have lied about his feelings at any time and made his ordeal easier.
2. Religion. Society also turns against Meursault because he doesn’t believe in God or the possibility of an afterlife. This attitude leaves him open to the charge that he has no basis to deter him from wrong action; it also leaves him without conventional hope.
3. Love. Meursault says that he was “fond” of his mother. He loved her the way people love their mothers. He says to Marie that he does not really love her but will marry her if she wants. Love isn’t important to him. Love, Camus is saying, and its institutionalized symbol, marriage, have been created by society and have nothing to do with how people really feel. Camus is attempting to define love as the physical pleasure one experiences with another person.
4. Justice: is there any such thing?

Theme of Isolation and Commitment

The Stranger focuses on one man’s isolation from society, from friends, from his lover, from human emotion, and eventually from normal logic.

This isolation is self-prescribed; the main character isn’t exiled by any means – he separates himself. Of course, at first he doesn’t view this as a choice at all; isolation is simply the path of least resistance, the series of activities that requires the least activity and effort.

Passivity

The Stranger (or at least Meursault) conveys the message that passivity is an acceptable way of experiencing life and treating others. For the most part, our main man is an observer—a spectator

Women and Femininity

Mersault displays a detachment not only from society, but also from women. He does not cry at his mother’s funeral. He does not sympathize with Raymond’s ex-girlfriend when she is brutally beaten. He does not love his own girlfriend, though he admittedly enjoys her company. Treatment of women is the main theme here, but other romantic and/or sexual relationships in the novel provide additional insights by way of contrast.

The Stranger explores the differences between friendship and companionship. The novel’s apathetic hero seems to draw no distinction between them, or rather, approaches what other characters think of as “friendship” with a detached and indifferent air. He falls into friendships if being friends is easier than being strangers, but would rather remain strangers if that takes less effort than having a conversation.

Friendship ends up being something that happens to the main character, rather than something he creates. Of course, one could always argue that this means it isn’t friendship – or even companionship – at all.

Meursault is characterized as a person who has no commitment to anyone or to anything except his own small pleasures and the necessities of the moment. He drifts without thought into minor activities- his affair with Marie, his friendship with Raymond, his comforting of Salamano. He finds it easier to say yes than no. Yet, when pushed, he will not lie about his motives, even though to say what is expected of him would clearly make people more sympathetic to his ordeal.

As you read, keep in mind these questions: What is the purpose of acting when you know you will die? Are you responsible for anyone’s actions other than your own? How committed are you to your own ideals and to what extent would you defend your feelings and beliefs?

Sadness

At funerals, we expect sadness. At a murderer’s trial, we desire to witness remorse. Have you ever asked why our expectation and desire converge? Should the son be sad at his mother’s funeral? Should the murderer be remorseful? And what if the rebels do not wish to abide by these rules society has imposed on its constituents? Should they die for their lack of sadness or remorse? This main character sure does. And Camus explores why that is in The Stranger.