From Why We Should Read Great Books

All Great Literature:

Is pertinent to contemporary life

Is worth re-reading

Contains Great Ideas:

Justice

Equality

Truth

Goodness

Liberty

Beauty

Do you think that literature is pertinent to contemporary life?______________________________________________

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Do you believe that literature is worth re-reading?________________________________________________________

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Give an example of a book that you read (or were supposed to read) that addresses one of the 6 Great Ideas and explain how it does:_________________________________________________________________________________

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Were you in a class that used lenses last trimester? If yes, how did they impact your reading of the literature and film?_____________________________________________________________________________________________

If no, what do you think lenses could be?________________________________________________________________

Contemporary literary study includes looking at novels with new critical insight. You will view the text with new eyes focusing your analysis by filtering it through different critical perspectives. There are no right or wrong answers as long as you stay true to the lens of each critical perspective. For this novel we will be trying our hand at critically reading the novel through these two critical perspectives: Transcendentalism and Dystopian literature. Viewing literature this way is a great way to see what a college-level literature classroom may feel like and critical perspectives allow you to view the book with a new and more in-depth analysis.

When we discuss the term critical analysis, we are not always talking about negative attributes. We associate the word critical with negativity. What the term really means is that we are giving comments or judgments on the piece. It is actually analyzing the piece in a detailed way in order to judge the piece to find the crucial and essential defining characteristics of the piece. You can critically analyze something and find the positive qualities just as much as you can identify the weaknesses and the negative qualities.

Some of the discussions and questions for each critical perspective may not align with what you personally believe, but it is important to walk in the shoes of each critic in order to see the book through another viewpoint. This challenging task will help you see how others may think while also helping you determine what you personally value. This helps readers to build critical thinking skills, something that colleges and employers greatly value. I hope that using these critical perspectives will help you look more deeply at the text.

Most students read in order to pass a test or to accomplish an assignment. My hope with the critical perspective reading is to get you past this idea and help you to understand that reading is active. If you only read the surface of the book looking for who is in it and what happens in the plot, you will miss out on so many opportunities to learn more about yourself and society as a whole. Without the views and thoughts of the reader literature is dead, but when you add in your own views and ideas, suddenly the words come alive and they can ring true to what is happening in modern society. Literature is active long after the author has finished putting pen to paper. A good book will still hold mystery and appeal for readers long after the piece is published.

Critical Perspective (Lens) Statement

Evidence For

Lenses allow you to see one reading from multiple perspectives.

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We are analyzing our reading in a detailed way.

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Looking through a lens can help me determine what I value even if I do not agree with the statements.

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Reading is active.

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A good book is worth re-reading.

Fold this sheet in and take notes from the prezi on Ralph Waldo Emerson, filling of the page with bulleted points.

Glue the other of this sheet into your journal and label around with Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Take notes on Henry David Thoreau based on the introduction in the literature book.

S.M.M. Leonetti

Cut and paste him in your journal.

53 | Page

Transcendental

Statement

Evidence from my Reading

The individual is greater than any institution.

Basic truths are arrived at through intuition.

The inner soul leads to truth.

Nature is significant.

Nature leads to self-knowledge.

Nature is good in comparison with society.

The mind is all we need.

The Over-soul is present.

Be an individual.

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Take notes on Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. based on the information presented in Civil Disobedience prezi.

Dystopias: Definition and Characteristics

Utopia: A place, state, or condition that is ideally perfect in respect of politics, laws, customs, and conditions.

Dystopia: A futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control. Dystopias, through an exaggerated worst-case scenario, make a criticism about a current trend, societal norm, or political system.

Characteristics of a Dystopian Society

Propaganda is used to control the citizens of society.

Information, independent thought, and freedom are restricted.

A figurehead or concept is worshipped by the citizens of the society.

Citizens are perceived to be under constant surveillance.

Citizens have a fear of the outside world.

Citizens live in a dehumanized state.

The natural world is banished and distrusted.

Citizens conform to uniform expectations. Individuality and dissent are bad.

The society is an illusion of a perfect utopian world.

Types of Dystopian Controls

Most dystopian works present a world in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through one or more of the following types of controls:

Corporate control: One or more large corporations control society through products, advertising, and/or the media. Examples include Minority Report and Running Man.

Bureaucratic control: Society is controlled by a mindless bureaucracy through a tangle of red tape, relentless regulations, and incompetent government officials. Examples in film include Brazil.

Technological control: Society is controlled by technologythrough computers, robots, and/or scientific means. Examples include The Matrix, The Terminator, and I, Robot.

Philosophical/religious control: Society is controlled by philosophical or religious ideology often enforced through a dictatorship or theocratic government.

The Dystopian Protagonist

often feels trapped and is struggling to escape.

questions the existing social and political systems.

believes or feels that something is terribly wrong with the society in which he or she lives.

helps the audience recognizes the negative aspects of the dystopian world through his or her perspective.

Take notes next to Vonneguts signature based on the information in the prezi.

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