Size

Why do you think Swift made the Lilliputians physically small?

The farmer's family

What kind of man is the farmer who finds Gulliver? 

What might Swift be criticizing through the actions of farmer in regard to Gulliver? (pp. 91-94)

How would you describe Glumdalclitch's (the girl who takes care of Gulliver) personality?

King's evaluation

After Gulliver gives a "historical Account" of Europe the King ends his response with one of the most famous passages from Gulliver's Travels:

But by what I have gathered from your own Relation, and the Answers I have with much pains wringed and extorted from you, I cannot but conclude the Bulk of your Natives to be the most pernicious Race of little odious Vermin that Nature ever suffered to crawl upon the Surface of the Earth.

Is the King's evaluation valid? Why or why not?

Grossness

Just as in Lilliput, Gulliver takes time to explain his "natural Necessities" and the "one Thing, which another could not do for me." Gulliver says this to us in his defense for "dwelling" on the "Necessities of Nature":

I hope the gentle reader will excuse me for dwelling on these and the like particulars, which however insignificant they may appear to groveling vulgar minds, yet will certainly help a philosopher to enlarge his thoughts and imagination … which was my sole design in presenting this and other accounts of my travels to the world

What do think is Swift's purpose in mentioning the common bodily functions of defecating and urinating?

Laputians

How does the absence of "Imagination, Fancy, and Invention" contribute to the kind of people the Laputians are?

Immortality

Why does Gulliver change his mind about wanting immortality?

Houyhnhnm

Thoughts on Gulliver's time with the Houyhnhnm?

Yahoo

Why is Gulliver so horrified to see "a perfect human Figure" in that of a Yahoo? (p. 213)

Why does Gulliver work so hard not to be associated with the Yahoos?

Lawyers

What is Swift saying when he criticizes Lawyers by saying they use "Words multiplied" for the purpose of proving that "White is Black" and "Black is White"?

Reason

The Houyhnhnms' Maxim is, "to cultivate Reason, and to be wholly governed by it." What does this mean

Yahoo sails

Notice how matter-of-fact Gulliver is in describing that his sails are made of the skins of Yahoos: "I made use of the youngest I could get, the older being too tough and thick . . ." What does this say about Gulliver? What is Swift trying to say?

What have we been taught?

Gulliver says, ". . . my principal Design was to inform, and not to amuse thee." If we take this as Swift, telling us as readers what his intent was, of what have then been informed?

Humanity

Is humanity as bad as Gulliver thinks it is at the end of the novel?

SORRY!!

I am so sorry for the delay in getting the questions up for Austenland. For some reason I thought I had done it already! So, now Austenland questions are up and I will get the Gullivers Travels questions on later today!

March 2012: Austenland by Shannon Hale

Miss CHarming

thoughts on Miss Charming......

13 boyfrien

Austenland, besides chronicling Janes' stay at Pembrook Park, lists all thirteen "boyfriends" she's had in her lifetime. How well does the reader get to know Jane's past? How much has she changed from her first relationship at age twelve to the one that is now just beginning?

I&I

Jane calls herself and Mr. Nobley "Impertinence and Inflexibility" How do these nicknames originate? How do these traits compare to the pride and prejudice of Darcy and Elizabeth in Austen's novel?

Great Aunt Carolyn

Jane's Great Aunt Carolyn set the whole Pembrook Park adventure into motion. What do you think Carolyn's intentions were in sending Jane to this Austenland? Do you think Jane fulfilled those expectations?

Jane Austen romance

Jane comes to wonder what kind of fantasy world Jane Austen might have created for herself: "Did Austen herself feel this way? Was she hopeful? Jane wondered if the unmarried writer had lived inside Austenland with close to Jane's own sensibility- amused, horrified, but in very real danger of being swept away". Is it possible to guess at Austen's attitude toward romance by reading her work? Why or why not?

Tally Ho

Jane walks away from Nobley and Martin at the airport with the parting words, "Tell Mrs. Wattlesbrook I said tallyho". Why does Jane enjoy her last line so much? What does she mean by tallyho?

Ending

Did you like the ending? Thoughts?

Jane Austen

What might Jane Austen think of Austenland, if she were alive today? Could she have possibly anticipated how influential her novels would become, even for twenty-first-century audiences? Could she ever have imagined a fan like Jane Hayes?

austenland: the movie

Do you plan on seeing the movie? Some casting shown in picture below:

top row: J.J Feild as Mr. Nobley, Keri Russel as Jane, and Bret McKenzie as Martin
bottom row: James Callis as Colonel Andrews, Jennifer Coolidge as Miss Charming, Jane Seymour as Mrs. Wattlesbrook, and Rupert Vansittart as Mr. Wattlesbrook.

A New Member!

I am so excited to have a new member to our club! 

Meet Holly...

Holly goes to church with Julie and I . 

Her favorite books include Emma, the Harry Potter series, The Little Prince, Taming of the Shrew, Ender's Game, To Kill a Mockingbird, the Twilight Series, A Christmas Carol, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Help, The Hunger Games, The Screwtape Letters, OPJB, and all of Bill Peet's children's books.

January and February 2012: East of Eden by John Steinbeck

The people

Did you find the characters to be realistic? True to life? Which were your favorites? Which, if any, did you dislike the most?

Quotes

This novel is full of beautiful prose and descriptions. What are some of your favorite excerpts?

What do you think?

Please discuss here any topics I didn't cover that you feel are important to this novel.

the opening chapter

There is an epic scope to the opening chapter, as if Steinbeck is announcing to the reader the
grandness of his theme. Comment on how he suggests the grandness of his conception.

Aron and Adam

How is Aron's imagination of Abra similar to Adam's inability to see nothing but what he
wants to see in Cathy? What does their infatuation suggest about a state of innocence and purity?

Fathers rejection

What is the nature of the despair that makes both Charles (in Part One) and Cal (in Part Four)
restless, drawn to borders of respectability? If Charles and Cal—as opposed to Adam and
Aron—are the sons who love their fathers, why do their fathers reject them?

American novel

Steinbeck has a character refer to Americans as a "breed," and near the end of the book Lee says to a conflicted Cal that "We are all descended from the restless, the nervous, the criminals, the arguers and brawlers, but also the brave and independent and generous. If our ancestors had not been that, they would have stayed in their home plots in the other world and starved over the squeezed-out soil." What makes this a quintessentially American book? Can you identify archetypically American qualities—perhaps some of those listed above—in the characters?

Sam Hamilton

Sam Hamilton—called a "shining man"—and his children are an immigrant family in the classic American model. What comes with Sam and his wife Liza from the "old country"? How does living in America change them and their children? What opportunities does America provide for the clan, and what challenges?

Adam

Adam Trask struggles to overcome the actions of others—his father, brother, and wife—and make his own life. What is the lesson that he learns that frees him from Kate and allows him to love his sons? He says to Cal near the end that "if you want to give me a present—give me a good life. That would be something I could value." Does Adam have a good life? What hinders him? Would you characterize his life as successful in the end?
 

Lee

Lee is one of the most remarkable characters in American literature, a philosopher trapped by the racial expectations of his time. He is the essence of compassion, erudition, and calm, serving the Trasks while retaining a complex interior and emotional life. Do you understand why he speaks in pidgin, as he explains it to Sam Hamilton? How does his character change—in dress, speech, and action—over the course of the book? And why do you think Lee stays with the Trasks, instead of living on his own in San Francisco and pursuing his dream?

Women

Women in the novel are not always as fully realized as the main male characters. The great exception is Adam Trask's wife, Cathy, later Kate the brothel owner. Clearly Kate's evil is meant to be of biblical proportions. Can you understand what motivates her? Is she truly evil or does Steinbeck allow some traces of humanity in his characterization of her? What does her final act, for Aron Trask, indicate about her (well-hidden) emotions?

Sibling Rivalry

Sibling rivalry is a crushing reoccurrence in East of Eden. First Adam and his brother Charles, then Adam's sons Cal and Aron, act out a drama of jealousy and competition that seems fated: Lee calls the story of Cain and Abel the "symbol story of the human soul." Why do you think this is so, or do you disagree? Have you ever experienced or witnessed such a rivalry? Do all of the siblings in the book act out this drama or do some escape it? If so, how? If all of the "C" characters seem initially to embody evil and all the "A" characters good—in this novel that charts the course of good and evil in human experience—is it true that good and evil are truly separate? Are the C characters also good, the A characters capable of evil?

Race

Some of Steinbeck's ethnic and racial characterizations are loaded with stereotype. Yet he also makes extremely prescient comments about the role that many races played in the building of America, and he takes the time to give dignity to all types of persons. Lee is one example of a character that constantly subverts expectations. Can you think of other scenes or characters that might have challenged conventional notions in Steinbeck's time? In ours? How unusual do you think it might have been to write about America as a multicultural haven in the 1950s? And do you agree that that is what Steinbeck does, or do you think he reveals a darker side to American diversity?

Wealth

What constitutes true wealth in the book? The Hamiltons and the Trasks are most explicitly differentiated by their relationship to money: though Sam Hamilton works hard he accumulates little, while Adam Trask moons and mourns and lives off the money acquired by his father. Think of different times that money is sought after or rejected by characters (such as Will Hamilton and Cal Trask) and the role that it plays to help and hinder them in realizing their dreams. Does the quest for money ever obscure deeper desires?

Timshel

During the naming of the twins, Lee, Sam, and Adam have a long conversation about a sentence from Genesis, disagreeing over whether God has said an act is ordered or predetermined. Lee continues to think about this conversation and enlists the help of a group of Chinese philosophers to come to a conclusion: that God has given humans choice by saying that they may (the Hebrew word for "may," timshel, becomes a key trope in the novel), that people can choose for themselves. What is Steinbeck trying to say about guilt and forgiveness? About family inheritance versus free will? Think of instances where this distinction is important in the novel, and in your own life.

Cal and the end

The end of the novel and the future of the Trasks seems to rest with Cal, the son least liked and least understood by his father and the town. What does Cal come to understand about his relationship to his past and to each member of his family? The last scene between Adam and Cal is momentous; what exactly happens between them, and how hopeful a note is this profound ending? Why is Lee trying to force Cal to overturn the assumption that lives are "all inherited"? What do you think Cal's future will be?

December 2011: Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans

Marc

Marc claims that Beth is the only woman he’s ever loved, yet he’s cheated on her for many years. Do you believe he really loves Beth? Do you think he ever loved her? What do you think his true motives are for finally confessing to Beth?

The clues

If Matthew hadn’t confessed the truth, it’s likely Beth would never have discovered that he is her future son-in-law. When did you first suspect that Matthew might be from the future? Identify the clues the author gives along the way

Trust

In Promise Me Beth experiences a number of hardships and heartbreaks. She believes that she has brought these on herself, because she allowed herself to trust people. How can trust get you into trouble? What do you give up if you won’t, or can’t, trust others?

The money

Roxanne thinks Beth is a fool for sending Matthew away after he gives her a two million dollar check—the winnings from the bet he placed using her home equity loan. While it doesn’t change the fact that he stole, Roxanne notes that he could have easily skipped town with the winnings. What if he’d lost? Do you think the ends justify the means? What do you think of Beth’s decision to put him down as a co-signer on the loan after knowing him for such a short time?

Who Matthew is

Matthew’s revelation—that he is in fact Charlotte’s future husband—stuns Beth. But in Beth’s timeline, Charlotte is still a child. She’ll never be hurt if Matthew chooses to stay with her mother instead of returning to his own present to be with her. So why doesn’t Beth ask him to stay? What would you do?

10 months

What would you do if you had only ten months with someone you loved and money was no object? If you suddenly had only a limited time left with someone you loved, would you wish you’d never met them at all rather than suffer the pain of losing them? Why or why not?

Hindsight is 20/20

Beth suggests that if she’d known Marc would cheat on her, she’d never have married him. But Matthew argues she would have, because otherwise she wouldn’t have had Charlotte. Every choice we make in life has consequences. If you could relive your life knowing what you know now, what would you do differently? What wouldn’t you change?