06.03

Women writers' work were considered as  light entertainment. They were taken more seriously if they used male pen names / pseudonyms. Charlotte Bronte used the name of Currer Bell. Her sisters used the same surname.

Jane Eyre was popular at the time of its publication and people praised the novel for its emotional and powerful strong female voice, and the clear depiction of the obstacles women faced in male dominated society. + her use of natural descriptions to establish mood.

It was published during the Victorian Era : a time of economic growth and expansion of the British empire thanks to the industrial revolution.

British society had sharp class divisions. The servants were expected to show deference to their employers.

Governesses were in charge of educating the children. They were often from respectable but penniless families. = an in-between status

neither a servant nor equal to the family.

The Bible was widely read and the village church was a central part of the community. It inspired people to travel abroad as missionaries to convert them to Christianity.

Extract 1 – Incipit

The novel is a first-person narrative and the story is told from Jane’s point of view.

The ten-year-old Jane Eyre, who has been forbidden by her Aunt from playing with her three cousins (Eliza, Georgiana, and the bullying John), finds a curtained window seat where she can read. She found a copy of the History of British Birds and its many pictures inspire her to imagine mysterious stories.

John makes fun of Jane for being an orphan who is only allowed to live with the Reeds because of his mother’s charity. John throws a book at the young girl. Jane fights back/ retaliates for the first time in her life. When she comes back, Mrs. Reed holds Jane responsible and sends her to the “red-room”—the frightening chamber in which her Uncle Reed died—as punishment.

This episode establishes Jane’s odd and lonely position at Gateshead Hall. Yet her willingness to find a book to read, rather than moping about, establishes her independence.

The description of the pictures reflects her miserable existence and foreshadows the quest she is about to undertake.

Two major themes in the novel are introduced: class conflict and gender difference. She is disadvantaged / ostracised because of her class status, and her position as a female.

Ø The symbolic energy of the red curtains contrasts with the dreary November day." Throughout the book, passion and fire will contrast with paleness and ice. Jane's choice of books is also significant in this scene. Like a bird, she would like to fly away from the alienation she feels at the Reeds' house.

Books and stories fill her with visions of how rich life could be. Jane craves for adventure.

1st person narrative / account allows :

Ø  get the reader to empathize with the main character.

Ø  you can relate / identify with her

Ø  sounds like an autobiography

The perspective is that of an older, mature Jane looking back on her life. Jane is 10 at the opening of Chapter 1 and eighteen at the close of Chapter 10.

1-      Put the following events into chronological order.

a)       ❑ When it goes dark, Jane is frightened by a moving light, which she thinks could be a ghost. 3

b)       ❑ Jane awakes in her own bed to find Mr Lloyd, a kind apothecary, watching over her.  6

c)       ❑  Bessie and Miss Abbot force Jane into the red-room. 1

d)       ❑  Jane’s screams bring the servants and Mrs Reed running to her. 4

e)       ❑  Jane looks around the room remembering that this is where her uncle died. 2

f)        ❑ Jane falls unconscious when Mrs Reed again locks her in the red-room. 5

2-  What do we learn about Jane’s family history and social background ?

Mr Reed was the brother of Jane's mother and he adopted her when she became an orphan. Before he died, he asked Mrs Reed to take care of Jane as her own children.

Mrs Reed did not respect her promise and neglected Jane.

If Mrs Reed did not take her, she would have to go to the poor house.

She is constantly reminded of her inferiority and she doesn't deserve any good treatment.  She is told to be submissive.

3-      How does Charlotte Brontë build tension through this account of Jane’s fearful thoughts?

At first, Jane is enclosed in her anger. She is so upset that she doesn't realize where she is. She is fed up. She can't bear / stand her unfair situation anymore.

Then she thinks about death / committing suicide / starving herself to death.

Then she starts perceiving what is around her and she is overwhelmed by her emotions. This excess of perception leads her to an unbearable oppression.

Charlotte Brontë increases the tension as Jane describes ghostly actions in  long, breathless sentences.

It still haunts her, even after she has grown into womanhood. Whenever she feels like her self worth is being threatened, Jane recalls the horrors she felt inside the red room. She is able to overcome the red room once she has found her inner strength.

4-  The red room: What is Brontë's purpose in having Jane's prison be so isolated and rarely frequented? Why is it so devastating to her? What is the significance of the room being mostly furnished in red?

a symbol of death because someone actually died there. She felt his evil spirit could come back to get her. When She thinks she sees her uncle's ghost, she passes out. (collapse, faint)

Color red : symbolizes blood, passion and anger + colour of fire

The furniture and decoration = very oppressive

She is left alone at night in the room as a punishment for merely existing. It is as if Jane is thrust into the pit of hell.

Passion and strong feelings had to be repressed in the Victorian era.

The red room symbolizes a type of prison for Jane, not a physical prison, but an emotional prison.

Whenever Jane suffers in the future, it will take her, emotionally, back to the red-room.

5-  To what extent can we say that Jane Eyre belongs to the Gothic genre ?

The Gothic tradition uses elements such as supernatural encounters, remote locations, complicated family histories, ancient manor houses, dark secrets, and mysteries to create an atmosphere of suspense and terror. + religion / death ...

All these elements are present in this extract.

creepy, ghastly, gloomy, frightening = scary

frightened = scared = afraid

1.   Focus on the description of Mrs. Reed: what general impression does she give?

She seems to be a physically strong woman who is also very much in control of everything .

She appears at first as a powerful, intimidating figure.

She is a deceitful woman : cf l. 97 the italics emphasize the fact that she is the one who is pretending, not Jane Eyre.

Then she appears gradually frightened and powerless faced to Jane.

2.   The lexical field of war / battle is present throughout the extract. This indicates that Jane is fighting for the first time in her life to assert herself. Mrs Reed is her enemy and she refuses to submit. (cf underlined words). She won the battle over her.

(“retaliation” “antagonist” “opponent” “conqueror”). Jane appears as a heroine, first sizing up the opponent that she will have to face (“I perused her features”), then launching into the battle fiercely (“I gathered my energies and launched them in this blunt sentence…”) and ceaselessly (“[…] thrilled with ungovernable excitement.”) until the fearless adversary is begging for mercy (“[…] she was rocking herself to and fro, and even twisting her face as if she would cry.”).

3.       Jane’s speech:  What does she reproach Mrs. Reed for?

 She reproaches Mrs. Reed for saying that she was deceitful, for punishing her unfairly, for not noticing that she was bullied by her son and for not showing tenderness towards her.

reproach someone for + V-ing

She threatens to reveal and denounce Mrs. Reed’s behaviour to people in her future school. to let the cat out of the bag / to spill the beans

4.    At first Jane was shy and impressed, then she felt so upset and humiliated that she couldn't contain her anger. She was fed up with the false accusations and decided to defend herself.

Throughout the extract, Jane experienced powerful feelings and emotions. Most of the time, she seems to be overwhelmed by what she feels (“ungovernable excitement” / “to expand, to exult” / “burst” / “uncontrolled” + the metaphor of the fire “lighted heath”). She is therefore a very passionate child, sometimes unable to control her feelings or to repress her emotions.

She was more self-confident / self-assured.

 5. She reproaches Mrs. Reed for saying that she was deceitful, for punishing her unfairly, for not noticing that she was bullied by her son and for not showing tenderness towards her. 

reproach someone for + V-ing

She threatens to reveal and denounce Mrs. Reed’s behaviour to people in her future school. 

to let the cat out of the bag / to spill the beans

Q. 6    At first Jane was shy and impressed, then she felt so upset and humiliated that she couldn't contain her anger. She was fed up with the false accusations and decided to defend herself.

Throughout the extract, Jane experienced powerful feelings and emotions. Most of the time, she seems to be overwhelmed by what she feels (“ungovernable excitement” / “to expand, to exult” / “burst” / “uncontrolled” + the metaphor of the fire “lighted heath”). She is therefore a very passionate child, sometimes unable to control her feelings or to repress her emotions.

 She was more self-confident / self-assured.

Q. 7 Her attitude doesn't correspond to the Victorian ideal because women were expected to be obedient and submissive. She is not pious enough. She is too rebellious. She challenges religious beliefs.

Any strong emotion had to be repressed in public at the time. British people are sometimes called stiff-upper lips.

Q. 8   This extract represents a major step in Jane's life because she learnt to stand up / to assert herself but she also learnt the necessity to  control her emotions and she experienced a new feeling : remorse.

Jane Eyre – Chapter 12 -answers

Question 1

Jane is leading a quiet and boring/ monotonous / dull life as a governess in Thornfield. Her only companions are Adèle, the girl she is teaching and Mrs Fairfax, the housekeeper. She is lonely and depressed. She has never known anything but Lowood school and this house. She has never seen a city / never talked to a man. She is tired of / fed up with this too uneventful life.

She would like to discover the world. She craves for adventure.

Question 2                     Cf tableau

Question 3

Jane enjoyed her walk cf l. 1

She lingered l. 16 : took her time to enjoy the moment

The atmosphere is gloomy and the landscape reflects Jane's state of mind. She is brooding about her solitude and she craves for something to happen in her life.

A typically gothic passage.

Question 4 :

On her way, she is met by a large dog and a horse and rider moving at a swift pace. Quote l. 39

The dreary scene and the noise make her think of Bessie's ghost stories about the "Gytrash," a spirit creature, sometimes horse and sometimes dog which pursues travelers at night.

In English folklore, the Gytrash often appears to warn people of the coming death of a friend or relative, but it also adds a mythic feeling to Jane and Rochester's first meeting that makes their later relationship seem more extraordinary.

Question 5 :

The ‘rude noise’ l. 23 and the din l. 27 contrasts sharply with the quiet that characterized the beginning of the extract (absolute hush). No birds, no cattle, only the ‘thin murmurs of life’ l. 20 from Hay could be heard ("whisperings" l.23)

The horse is neighing and groaning, the dog is barking, the rider swears = all these sounds are echoed in the hills.

Question 6 :

M. Rochester is described as a man of about 35 years old with a broad chest, a dark face, stern features and gathered eyebrows. (cf l. 70-75)

Jane limits Rochester's powers by emphasizing that he is neither handsome nor heroic-looking. He is grumpy.

Question 7 :

Rochester is rather arrogant / disdainful / scornful. "hardly turned his eyes in my direction" l. 86

He doesn’t set her at her ease l. 82. He did not smile l. 80

He softens up towards the end of the chapter and accepts her help.

 Mr. Rochester doesn’t introduce himself when he finds out who Jane is because his social class is higher / because he is her employer whereas Jane Eyre belongs to the middle class.

rude  + reluctant to accept her help

Question 8 :

Jane is reluctant to go home because it means a “return to stagnation” l. 144  for her. She finds her existence boring. This is emphasized by the use of adjectives such as ‘darksome’, lonely little, tranquil, long or ‘faint’, ‘viewless’ and ‘too still’. She longs for adventure. She wants to see the world and meet new people.

The older Jane reflects that she was unable to appreciate the privileged and safe life she had at that time. She needs first to be taught by rough and bitter experience.

 Conclusion

It is also significant that Rochester is disabled during their first meeting. Having fallen from his horse, Rochester requires Jane's assistance. This incident helps to establish equality between the two characters. It also foreshadows Rochester's dependence upon Jane at the end of the novel. Finally, Rochester recognizes Jane's ambiguous class and social position through his inability to guess her role in the Thornfield household; he realizes she isn't a servant, yet her clothes aren't fine enough for a lady's-maid.

Plan de lecture – Brooklyn

Lien pour lire le roman en attendant de l’avoir reçu :

https://zoboko.com/text/3r6oej52/brooklyn-a-novel/4

08.12

Biographical elements

Writing Genres: Fiction & non-fiction: short stories / novels / poetry plays / travel writing / essays / literary criticism/ articles

Titles: 4 times nominated for the Booker Prize.

The South (1990)/ The Heather Blazing / The Story of The Night / The Blackwater Lightship (1996) / The Master (2004) / The Empty Family (short stories) / The Magician (2021) / Vinegar Hill (poetry) Now writing a sequel to Brooklyn.

Themes / topics: exile, art, national AND human suffering, human loss, political oppression, being gay, romance, , homesickness and liberation of the emigrant, being Irish.

1. 4 big waves of mass emigration can be identified: the Famine years / the 1950s / the late 1980s / the post-Celtic Tiger years

2.a. There is a long tradition of emigration that affects all Irish youths. Whenever there is an economic downturn, emigrating becomes an option for all and is made easier thanks to the widely existing Irish networks in the U.S. or Britain

b.  It has been part of Ireland’s history since the 17th century and some of the reasons that have made so many generations leave remain unexplained. Leaving might be some sort of Irish state of mind / rite of passage into adulthood / a cultural thing?

There are people who are ghost family members

Feelings for Rose :

We can feel Eilis' admiration for her (“proud of her sister” + “more glamorous every year” / “how much care she took with her appearance” =  signs of Eilis’ subjective perception of things.) She is her role model.

Rose is the breadwinner. She supports the family financially and provides for Eilis’s study costs. She has an office job. Rose is 30 and unmarried, although she has had boyfriends. She has connections in the town: she could have found a suitable position for Eilis if there had been any available. She seems mature and cautious in her relatio

Atmosphere :

Rather joyful / all 3 women seem to get on very well, and care for each other, although each of them seems to have a clearly defined role. (void : absence of the father and the 3 brothers)

They would have a very depressing / dull / gloomy life if Rose went away.

// Cinderella’s family, with the glamorous sister getting ready for the ball whereas plain Cinderella stays at home.

Q. 4 : Religion : the Catholic church at the centre of people’s lives. Mass every Sunday = a rite that determines rhythm in people’s lives.

of paramount importance. (3 masses on Sunday)

at the basis of people's social life.

Q. 5 & 6 Miss Kelly : runs a grocery store in Enniscorthy and offers Eilis a job as a shop assistant. Unpleasant woman who acts differently with her customers according to their social position.

The country’s economy was in recession, unemployment struck hard at that time, and there was “no work for anyone in Enniscorthy, no matter what their qualifications”. Eilis feels obliged to accept, to help her mother since there is no better option.

Ms Kelly is mean /scornful / disdainful / arrogant / haughty. She despises Eilis. She offers her a ridiculously low wage for a few hours of work on Sundays.

7. Miss Kelly's attitude was so icy that Eilis wondered whether she had offended her in the past. Eilis doesn't seem to be aware of the real nature of Miss Kelly. She is naive.

15.12

Conclusion

The narration seems 3rd  person and neutral but we are given access to Eilis’s thoughts: "in a few minutes, Eilis knew, someone would call for her” (ll.4-5)

Eilis does not seem to have much to say / she is quite silent but she is established as the storyteller and the central focus of the novel. she remains quite passive and silent/speechless throughout the passage. On that evening, she will have dinner with her mother (says the mother) and she might go to the pictures (says Rose).

We have the semantic field of endings in this incipit, which gives a twilight atmosphere (“from sunlight into shade”/ “classes were almost ended” / “summer evening had faded”.) It reads like the gradual ending of this order of things, before changes occur. ( = happen)

15.12

4 characters are present in this scene : Eilis, her sister Rose and their mother have invited Father Flood to tea.

They are talking about

- Eilis’s current job at Miss Kelly's grocery shop

- her future prospects

- and her possible emigration to the US

Her situation is not satisfying : she has a low-paid job / she is underpaid / she has a low wage whereas she has qualifications / skills.

Moreover, she’s regulary humiliated / mistreated / despised by her employer.

Before Father Flood's visit, she had intended to go to England, like her brothers,  or even to get a new job.

But she didn't carry out her plans because it was not a good time according to her brothers. (rough times)

She would only get factory work  and her mother had been against this project

Father Flood was invited by Rose and her mother:

- to talk Eilis into considering a job in Brooklyn

( talk someone into + V-ing / talk someone out of + V-ing)

- to convince her to go to the US

He came to convince Eilis to go to America because:

- she would be better paid

- she would get more interesting office work / qualified work

- she would be in safe community of Irish people there

- no unemployment / plenty of work there

she is young = an asset

Father Flood’s general mission consists in:

- coming to Ireland

- helping and recruiting Irish willing to emigrate

- convincing Irish to emigrate

- welcoming the Irish in his community in the US

- setting them up with work

Rose and her mother :

- they both feel guilty

- they must be ashamed

- they use Father Flood to convince Eilis

- Rose feels nervous

- she’s thoughtful and must be wondering if she is doing the right thing

- the mother feels more concerned and worried

- neither of them dare to face her / to look her in the eye

- they’re trying to avoid a confrontation

Rose: (l. 23-24) “She twisted her ring and then her bracelet” / (l. 30) “It was Rose’s silence that

was new to her”

Mother: (l. 21-22) “She looked across at her mother who deliberately, it seemed to her, did not

return her glance but kept her gaze fixed on the floor.” / (l. 26) ““It might be very dangerous,”

her mother said, her eyes still fixed on the floor.”

Eilis :

- seems powerless, like a child - passive attitude

- doesn’t have the right to choose / to decide

- regrets ever having told her mother and sister about the problems she had at Miss Kelly’s

- feels partly responsible for her own situation

- doesn’t dare to question what is happening

- feels nostalgia because she understands something is about to change / things will never be the same

 (l. 34) “She realized, it had somehow been tacitly arranged that Eilis would go to America”

(l. 34-35) “Father Flood, she believed, had been invited to the house because Rose knew that he

could arrange it.”

(l. 38-39) “She regretted having told them so much”

18.12

Eilis :

- seems powerless, like a child - passive attitude

- doesn’t have the right to choose / to decide

- regrets having told her mother and sister about the problems she had at Miss Kelly’s

- feels partly responsible for her own situation

- doesn’t dare to question what is happening

- feels nostalgia because she understands something is about to change / things will never be the same

 (l. 34) “She realized, it had somehow been tacitly arranged that Eilis would go to America”

(l. 34-35) “Father Flood, she believed, had been invited to the house because Rose knew that he

could arrange it.”

(l. 38-39) “She regretted having told them so much”

Q. 6 Eilis compares the two countries  and weighs the pros and cons:

- the US seems more thrilling

- in America they make more money and seem happier

- success is possible in the US / land of opportunities

- it is more difficult to come back from the US / long journey

- the trip is more expensive

whereas

- Irish immigrant living in England are homesick

- England is near and practical, you can come back regularly

- in England people seem to have more ordinary lives

Q. 7 : 

Les jours suivants / Dans les jours qui suivirent, on ne reparla pas de la visite du Père Flood

(Father Flood accepté)

ou du fait qu’il ait évoqué la possibilité qu’elle aille à Brooklyn /

et c’est ce silence lui même (persistant) qui amena

/ poussa Eilis à penser que Rose et sa mère en avaient discuté  et y étaient favorables.

Elle n’avait jamais envisagé de partir aux E.U. / d’aller en Amérique

Elle connaissait bon nombre de personnes  qui / de nombreuses personnes qui étaient parties en Angleterre et revenaient souvent pour Noël ou pour l’été.

Correction Extract 3

1.       

Physical aspect

Personality

Aged between 30 and 40

Blond hair

Fancy hair style

Well-dressed / elegant

Glamorous - attractive

Looks like a movie star

Self-confident / self-assured

Poised

Independent

Resourceful

Clever / smart

A seducer

Daring

outgoing

2.      What was the weather forecast ? Why was Eilis alone in the dining room ?

Eilis was alone in the dining room because the weather forecast was alarming and everyone expected a rough night. People knew that the sea would be agitated / raging and they would be sea-sick if they ate anything. She was the only one who ate mutton stew.

Sea storm – vomit - feel nauseous

1.      Describe the traveling conditions for 3rd class passengers.

The rooms are tiny, with no windows and two bunk beds, and a minuscule bathroom to share with the room on the other side. A cramped space . The light is too weak to read.

There is only one restaurant with long tables with tightly spaced seating. There's no menu -- everyone eats the same food, soups or stews usually made from the cheapest cuts of meat. No lounge bar. The cleaning is done only when they have finished in 1st class.

Except for the time you spend on deck getting fresh air, you are trapped in a congested, noisy, smelly place with absolutely no privacy, for about 6 days.

2.      Many coming-of-age stories feature a mentor—a wise, older character who guides the protagonist from immaturity to maturity. Explain why Georgina corresponds to that role.

Georgina is an experienced character compared to Eilis because she travels on ocean liners once a year to visit her mother in England.

She knows how to sneak into the first-class areas of the ship (probably by seducing a man), how to unlock the toilets’ door, what to do in case of sea-sickness and to pass immigration customs when they arrive in America.

She provides the lessons Eilis needs to succeed. A mentor also gives the protagonist the emotional support he or she needs, often acting as a kind of parent figure. 

3.      What advice did Georgina give Eilis for Ellis Island? Why?

She advises her to look elegant but not tarty. (No prostitution allowed)

She says she ought to wear some make-up to look healthier and try her best not to cough. People who had any signs of a contagious disease could be kept in quarantine. (Tuberculosis)

She should try to look independent and self-assured.

An immigrant could be denied admittance on the grounds that they were likely to become a ward of the state. ( = a burden for society) Only 2% were refused

Correction extract 4

1.   Where does the scene take place? What’s the problem?

The scene takes place at Eilis’ work place, at Bartocci’s department store. Eilis is so homesick that her sadness is visible on her face. She seems on the verge of crying / about to cry. She is so depressed that customers will notice that there’s something wrong with her. Her supervisor doesn’t accept such an attitude and asks her to meet her downstairs in the staff room to explain her what’s wrong.

2.   Describe how Eilis feels.

Eilis has felt miserable since she received her letters from home. She can’t help crying.

She wishes she were home with her family. She has no one to talk to.  She is lonely, homesick and lost.

She did not befriend any of her roommates at Mrs Kehoe. She is overwhelmed by her emotions and can’t share it in letters to her family. She fears her family will never be able to know her anymore (last line p.70)

3.   How do the people at work react? (Miss Fortini, Miss Bartocci, Mr Bartocci)

·        Miss Fortini is a very observant person and she notices immediately that there is something wrong with her. She isolates her from the customers, thus preventing her from making any fault. She questions her efficiently to identify her problem. She reassures her / comforts her : the sadness won’t last = she must have experienced the same homesickness feeling in the past.

·       Miss Bartocci seems understanding and talked to her father who was ‘a special friend to Father Flood’ so  that Eilis would get help from him.

·       Mr Bartocci is nice and allows her some time to get a grip on herself. But his daughter clearly states that he won’t allow such a thing to happen one more time.

4.   What are Father Flood’s diagnosis and remedy?

Father Flood thought she was alright since he had positive echoes from her landlady Mrs Kehoe and everything was fine at the store. That’s why he hadn’t particularly checked on her but he immediately realises that she is homesick and that the remedy is to keep busy and have someone to talk to.

Consequently he enrols her to night classes in bookkeeping. It will keep her mind off her loneliness. It will be an opportunity to meet / befriend new people.  It will also help her to move towards a promotion.

5.   What is implied by ‘It’s a funny place, Brooklyn”? l. 84

Brooklyn is a place where a lot of things are possible, even what you would consider as impossible.

08.01

Hopper , The Automat

1.         Focus on the title of the painting: The Automat. What sort of images does it bring to your mind?

The title brings to mind images of robots, and automatized machines performing very repetitive tasks.

The painter’s purpose was maybe to dehumanize the protagonist and to show she performs the act of drinking her cup of tea in a very absent-minded way.

The woman is sitting alone at a table in a diner. She seems to be a middleclass, middle-aged woman. She looks sad, lost in her thoughts and self-absorbed. (Thoughtful)

The empty seat seems to visually echo the absent-minded countenance of the protagonist. It is as empty as her life is. (emptiness)

The two rows of lamps in the background complete the perfect square shape of the room. There is an illusion of depth-of-field because what is represented is a mirrored image of the room itself and its tightness.

As a consequence, there is no view into the outer world: the woman seems to be caught in a glass cage as her gaze is trapped in her loneliness, in her inner self.

The fruit basket: warm colours echoing her red lips and dress. It seems to be lost in this dark impersonal environment as the symbol of a lost Nature in a urban world. (Still Life = nature morte)

One of her hands is gloved. It contrasts with the bare skin of her other hand. It suggests she is losing her humanity and slowly turning into the automat suggested by the title.

Nighthawks

1.        Focus on the characters: infer where they are, who they are and what their relationships might be.

The four characters are in an all-night diner. There are three customers and a bartender. One customer is on his own while the man and the woman who are sitting next to each other might be a couple.

2. Pay attention to the gazes of the characters: are they looking at each other? Are they talking to each other? What does it reveal about the characters’ lives and feeli

The man whose back can be seen seems to be apart from the others but also from the viewer. Even though the man and the red-haired woman are sitting next to each other, they are not looking or talking to each other. The woman is gazing at something she’s holding in her hand, lost in her thoughts. The man seems to be talking to the bartender, at least they seem to be looking at each other.

3. the setting: describe the outside of the all-night diner. Then describe the diner itself. Why is there such a contrast between the two spaces?Edward Hopper said that Nighthawks a

The image contrasts the dark outside uninhabited world of the street with the inside of the diner lit by bright lights that give the diner an eerie glow, like a beacon on the dark street corner attracting a few night owls / nighthawks.

4. This painting is the only representation made by Hopper of a curbed glass separation. Contrary to what happens in The Automat, the viewer is outside. So, what is the function of the shop window?

There 's no entrance, and the viewer is shut out from the scene by a glass separation. The three anonymous and uncommunicative night owls seem as separate and remote from the viewer as they are from one another. So, this shop window is a way for the painter to underline the glass trap that surrounds any human being in the crowded space of a city.

 1. The two middle-aged coloured women are elegantly dressed and “glamorous”: they wear make-up and perfume, fancy “cream-coloured woollen coats” and their hairstyle is very neat. They seem focused on their shopping and self-confident but they don't interact with the staff.

2. “She found herself staring at the two women” (l.4) / “she saw” (l.5) / “she observed” (l.8)

3. “she noticed how white the inside of the woman’s hand was against the dark skin on the back of her hand” (ll.13-14) It is the first time Eilis has seen a coloured person from so close, that's why she is studying their appearance. She is not prejudiced against black customers contrary to many white Americans. We are thus given a neutral point of view

4. Many verbs associated with the sense of sight emphasize Eilis’s visual discovery of the ladies’ strangeness/otherness. Smell is also present. All these sensations, when applied to Eilis, are very positively connoted.

However, the customers are careful not to touch anybody so that they would not trigger any conflict  with white employees.

5. At first, Eilis and her fellow sales assistants stare at the two women the whole time, as though looking at strange creatures. They all seem fascinated and mesmerised by the ladies’ appearance and behaviour, although Eilis’s colleagues remain aloof / haughty, watching the scene from afar. As they approach the stockings, the ladies keep to themselves and never look up, carefully avoiding the assistants’ looks. Everybody is silent, attentive and alert. Tension builds up.

Only the necessary gestures to process the purchase are made: “no one approached them” / “stood back” / “she was handed the money” / “she took the money as busily as she could” / “waited for the change to be returned” / “she moved forward”. Even when a sentence suggests interaction, it seems that the two groups never come together (cf passive voice l.13 "she was handed"). Their fingers don't even brush when they exchanged the purchased items.

Translation :

 Toute la journée, elles restèrent au comptoir à discuter tranquillement mais personne ne s’approcha pour regarder les bas de nylon rouges. Ce n’est que le lendemain qu’Eilis vit entrer dans le magasin deux dames de couleur, d’une cinquantaine d’années, accueillies par Mlle Fontini pour être dirigées vers Eilis et Mlle Delano. Elle se surprit à les regarder fixement et lorsqu'elle se reprit, elle balaya le magasin du regard et s’aperçut que tout le monde faisait de même.

15.05

The trains were so over-crowded that they didn't even stop. You have to wait / queue

3. There are similarities between immigrating to America and arriving on the beach. You feel you won't find a place, you have to adapt / fit in your new environment and choose a spot to settle.

4. Italians  don’t change on the beach because they put their bathing suits on under their clothes before they set out for the beach, this is a more elegant attitude / they are more self-conscious.

whereas Irish people change on the beach in an “ungraceful and undignified”  manner(ll.27-28)

17.01

5. For the first time in the novel we are given access to Eilis’s way of dealing with her body: Eilis thinks her thighs and bottom are too fat, her skin is too white and she has shaved with “a small pink-coloured razor”. She feels nervous about undressing in front of Tony. Once in the water, they get very close physically, he embraces her, touches her bottom and she can feel his erect penis.

Tony’s intentions are quite clear though initially unknown to Eilis: “he wanted to go into the sea” (ll.40-41) / “his plan” was to do “what the couples around them were up to” (ll.47-48) Then the comical clumsy undressing: Tony instantly stripping down to his trunks / Eilis wriggling out (ll.39-40) The back and forth moves / physical domination: “he was not to be a baby” (l.46) / “she motioned for him to follow her” (ll.45-46) / “he held her” (ll.49) / “swam away from him” (l.52)

Lexical field of sexual pleasure: “the big waves” (l.12) / “erect penis” (l.50) / “smile more than usual” (l.51)

6.The rope metaphor may allude to marriage, perceived by Tony as the only way for him to secure his relationship with her. He meant it as a compliment. We could imagine Tony turning into some kind of jealous  / possessive lover. He may expect her to be a housewife. It may also foreshadow Eilis’ desire to break free from a restrictive life imposed by conventions, morality or a sense of duty.

to tie the knot : attacher, nouer         to propose : demander en mariage

7 She was taught by her roommates and colleagues how to prepare for the beach (L. 20 and 29), as Eilis “did not know”. Then once “she slowly realised” what it was all about, for Tony, she backs away and swims away from him. It must be the first time she has been this intimate with a boy. (L.48)

8 . Both, alternately call the tune. First in the train, Tony holds  her hand and pushes against the crowd so that they can both  board the train. Then the searching for a beach spot is Eilis’s  initiative, though Tony arranges for their belongings to be  looked after. Eilis chooses to embrace him, following what  she thinks is his plan. But as he holds her, she decides to swim away from him.

18/01

Many people attended the funeral and relatives came from other parts of Ireland. Members from the golf club were there too, and her employer Davis's office was shut on the morning of the funeral. = she was loved

She was waked at home by her family before being put into her coffin and buried. Although she had kept her beautiful appearance, she seemed like stone and all pale.

It was on a fine day, without any rain, as if to celebrate Rose one last time.

She is so devastated that she is unable to write a letter and asked her son to do it for her. She is grieving / mad with grief.

19.01

She is mourning/ grieving her daughter. She suffers from depression. She is crying all the time. We had understood from the incipit that she did not have a life of her own apart from her mother role.

I know she'd love to see you, she keeps saying that is the only thing she is hoping for l.26

I think she wants you to come home. L.28

she won't want me to say that she's crying all the time but she is, or most of the time anyway l.34

1.   Why did their mother ask him if he had heard of any work in the town?

She has never been on her own and doesn’t want to stay alone. She thinks she won’t be able to sleep at night / to cope alone and get depressed. She would like one of her sons to come back home and settle in Enniscorthy but the unemployment rate is too high.

2.   What does Jack and the two other brothers expect from Eilis?

Her brothers expect her to come back home in Enniscorthy to take care of their mother. There is no work for them in Ireland and they probably think that taking care of an ageing mother is more the role of a daughter than a son. They don’t seem to care whether Eilis had built a life of her own in America. This seems to be a selfish demand. They want her to sacrifice herself.

3.   What will be the effect of this letter on Eilis?

Eilis will feel guilty for not being with her poor mother who is on her own now that all her children are gone. The guilt she felt for not being able to attend the funeral will add to her grief. She wants to be here to comfort her mother. It’s her duty to go. Jack probably wrote that on purpose.

She may take the first boat home / she may rush home. She may never come back.

Does the first reading of the poem convey an expression of simplicity or complexity? Justify your point of view by quoting the text.

The first reading of the poem conveys an expression of simplicity because the vocabulary is plain: “dogs”, “policemen”, “stars”.

2. Is the poem suitable to the expression of grief? Why?

The poem is suitable to the expression of grief as it puts forward the elements present at a funeral (“muffled drum”, “coffin”, “mourners”, “crepe bows”, “black cotton doves”) and death is unequivocally invoked (“He Is Dead”). Moreover, the imperative forms used all along the poem convey a feeling of urgency of somebody suffering who wants to put an end to other feelings: there is nothing but pain to express and communicate

(“Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone”, “Silence the pianos”, “Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead / Scribbling on the sky the message ‘He is Dead’.”). The poet intends to put an end to any signs of life (“Stop all the clocks”, “Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun, /Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood”). The poet is hopeless / despairing (“I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.”, “For nothing now can ever come to any good.”) and is left voiceless / speechless (“cut off the telephone”, “He was (…) my talk, my song”).

At least four sounds are present in the poem. Pick them out. Why does the poet want to escape any sound?

– the clocks, the telephone, the dog, the piano

The poet is so sad that he does not want to be disturbed by these noises or drawn back into the routine of life.

He wishes to withdraw from the world.

Is death present in the text explicitly, implicitly, or both? Justify.

Death is present explicitly as death is clearly mentioned (“He Is Dead”)

and implicitly with the elements present at a funeral (“muffled drum”, “coffin”, “mourners”, “crepe bows”, “black cotton doves”).

There is an evolution in the structure of the poem ranging from basic objects from daily life (clocks, telephone, and dogs) to a more spiritual sphere with the words, stars, moon and sun. What does this evolution represent?

This evolution represents the scope of the suffering of the poet, who first expresses his need for calm and mourning, then goes on to proclaim to the world the news of his beloved’s death, then returns into himself with what his beloved represented in his life and finally transmits his pain not only to the rest of the planet but to the universe.

Q. 3  At first, the house looks both familiar and filled with her mother’s lively presence, but after visiting the bedrooms, a sense of death and emptiness comes through and Rose’s absence can be felt more intensely. She was not prepared for these feelings. She didn't expect that she would feel uneasy. Although her room feels familiar, she can't connect to it anymore.

26.01

4.   “felt almost nothing” (l.3) → emptiness

“suddenly felt immensely tired” (l.8) “All she wanted to was sleep” (l.31) → tiredness

she is upset at her mother's attitude

“almost frightened her” (l.35) → fear

“all she could do was count the days before she went back” (l.38) → homesickness

“This made her feel strange and guilty / she curled up in her bed” (l.39) → guilt and unease

She may be going through some sort of mourning after realizing more vividly Rose’s absence, or perhaps the strangeness that she feels, together with the guilt, may be a realisation that she does not belong in this house anymore

She wishes she were back in Brooklyn.

Wish + prétérit modal = regret

8.  She expected her mother would have asked about “her time in America, or even her trip home”, Eilis would have given her “an account” of  her two crossings, shown her the letter from Brooklyn College that said she had qualified as bookkeeper. Her mother would have paid more attention or appreciated her gifts. She must be frustrated and disappointed about not being able to share her experience

9.   The narration also contains Eilis’s fantasised / fictitious homecoming = mise en abime

This suggests her psychological fragility. = unable to assert herself - can't utter a word

By silencing potential emotions, it adds to Eilis’s trauma.

It creates further silences, taboos and repressed pains.

20.02

differences

JIM: “someone who had never lived outside the town” (l.9-10) “His innocence and his politeness” = “limitations” (l.10-12) “nice to be with” (l.11) “less eager”, “less funny, less curious”, (l.21-22) “more self-contained” “more sure of his own place in the world” (l.22)

Similarities

“smiling, warm, friendly, easy-going” (l.21)

b. Jim, who is sensible and well-behaved, would provide her with a safe life yet a life of limitations, of restraint, as Jim lacks impulse and offers less excitement whereas life with Tony would be more exciting.

c. At the end, Jim seems to have the upper hand, as Tony is losing ground in Eilis’s heart.  "She was sure she did not love Tony now." l.32

2. • “She could not stop herself wondering” (l.1)... whether she could possibly divorce

• (At the ceremony) “The best thing to do, ... was to put the whole thing out of her mind, but it was hard now, ... not to dream about... ” (ll.14-15)

• (After communion) “...tried to pray and found herself ...answering the question she was about to ask in her prayers. The answer was that there was no answer, that nothing she could do would be right.” (ll.18-20)

• (All in all) “No matter what she decided, ... there would not be a way to avoid the consequences of what she had done” (ll.29-30)

• (As the bride and groom walk out of the church) “she was sure that she did not love Tony now. He seemed part of a dream from which she had woken with considerable force sometime before, and in this waking time his presence, once so solid, lacked any substance or form; it was merely a shadow” (ll.32-34)

3.a. It all happens in the church as the sacred rites of marriage are being performed. Eilis turns to God to guide her and help her solve her dilemma. The conclusion she comes to “occurs to her”, as some kind of mystic revelation, in her prayers and during communion, as she finds herself facing judgment.

To receive Communion, which is a central part of the Catholic faith, Catholics cannot be guilty of grave sin.

sinner

b.i. “nothing she could do would be right” (l.20) / “there would not be a way to avoid the consequences of what she had done, or what she might do now.” (ll.29-30)

ii. “she thought of her mother now beside her in the church, the devastation and shock of Rose's death” (ll.22-23)

iii. “she saw all three of them – Tony, Jim, her mother – ... as innocent people surrounded by light and clarity.” (ll.24-25)

4. Eilis feels guilty because she knows there is no way out. Whatever she decides to do, she will hurt the people she loves.

“feeling that she had done something foolish and hurtful”

(ll.28-29)/ “it was merely a shadow at the edge of every moment of the day and night.” (ll.34-35)

5. People in Ireland never got divorced in those days. Surprisingly, it is referred to as  something immoral. Divorce is non-existent in Eilis’s world, except in movies or in America. Eilis assumes it must be unthinkable to Jim . It is “unheard of” or “out of the question” (l.13).

Focus on Divorce

She does not mention divorce being outlawed. She got married in America and she has probably adopted the American way of thinking about it.

2.a. Playacting / a well-rehearsed performance: “It was clear to Eilis that Miss Kelly had prepared

every word of what she was saying.” (l.23)

Overacting: “Miss Kelly’s tone was almost skittish” (l.11)/ “as though she were doing an imitation of

herself” (ll.11-12)

b. “In her tone Eilis tried to equal Miss Kelly’s air of disdain” (l.31) / “You can fool most people, but

you can’t fool me.” (l.32) / “she herself had not been able to disguise her alarm” (l.38)

3.a. “Was it interesting?” (l.30) Eilis is being sarcastic here, as she is pointing at Mrs Kelly’s taste for gossip.

“Is that right, Miss Lacey? If that’s what your name is now.” (l.34) Innuendo: she’s alluding to the fact that Eilis has changed her name and got married.

“She’ll be glad to hear that” (l.48) Irony: of course she won’t, as Eilis’s mother is still mourning the loss of her daughter and could not care less about how Miss Kelly, whom she despises, thinks she looks.

“I saw you after that Byrne one’s wedding getting into the car with Jim Farrell.” (l.46) Innuendo: she’s referring to Eilis going out with Jim.

3.b. Miss Kelly seemed to be enjoying herself; the gloating expression on Miss Kelly’s face; l.37. She’s caricatured as a mean queen terrorising the good people from her outdated throne.

4. Name these phases Key quotes from the text:

Ø First She answers back with a dignified tone and self-confidence. “is that right?” (l.13)

Ø Then She just remains impassive, as Miss Kelly is getting out of control. “Did you, Miss Kelly?” (l.22)

Ø  Suddenly As the threat of being disclosed looms over her, Eilis is frightened. “suddenly made her afraid” (l.26)

Ø Little by little Eilis is more severely hit by Miss Kelly’s blows. Panick is growing

“had not been able to disguise her alarm” (l.38)/ “a shiver” (l.38)

Ø Finally She backs down. “Eilis was shaking” (l.45) / “she stood up” (l.51)

Name these phases:  Key quotes from the text:

Ø  First She answers back with a dignified tone and self-confidence.

“is that right?” (l.13)

Ø  Then She just remains impassive, as Miss Kelly is getting out of control.

“Did you, Miss Kelly?” (l.22)

Ø  Suddenly As the threat of being disclosed looms over her, Eilis is frightened.

“suddenly made her afraid” (l.26)

Ø  Little by little Eilis is more severely hit by Miss Kelly’s hard blows.

“had not been able to disguise her alarm” (l.38)/ “a shiver” (l.38)

Ø  Finally She backs down. “Eilis was shaking” (l.45) / “she stood up” (l.51)

07.02

What is a Bildungsroman

A Bildungsroman is a literary term describing a formative novel about a protagonist’s psychological and moral growth from their youth into adulthood. (generally written in the 1st person and often features the name of the protagonist directly in the title)

The Bildungsroman literary genre originated in Germany. The German word “bildung” means education” and the German word “roman” means “novel.” Thus, “Bildungsroman” translates to “a novel of education”

Bildungsroman Stages

It falls into four separate stages.

Stage 1: The Call

→spurs the character on their journey towards spiritual or psychological growth. The character is often unhappy (loss- orphan ...) and needs to search for answers to his unhappiness elsewhere in the world.

1.              The protagonist is usually from a small town or village, and they journey to a more complex place, or to a large city.

2.              The protagonist must separate from their family in order to gain an identity that is separate and distinct.

3.              The protagonist searches for answers beyond their home.

Stage 2: The Apprenticeship

a growth process that the character goes through in order to reach maturity and moral change. The character must undertake an education away from their origins in order to learn about his place in society.

1.              Education is crucial to the protagonist’s progress into maturity.

2.              The protagonist is often disappointed by this new world, as it does not live up to his expectations.

3.              He learns through disappointment, and this allows him to successfully mature.

Stage 3: Maturity

Maturity is not easily won; it is a long process, with many mistakes, tests, and obstacles that the character must overcome in order to finally gain maturity.

1.              The protagonist achieves their maturity with difficulty, and it allows them a sense of pride .→  psychological, moral, spiritual growth.

2.              The protagonist and the readers accept that he is not a superior character: he is flawed, but he is fundamentally good.

Stage 4: Acceptance and Remedy

the character typically will return to his place of origins, and uses his newfound knowledge to help others.

The reader is able to see the contrast between the protagonist at the beginning of the novel and the person he has become once he returns to the place he left.

Norman Rockwell, The Triple Self Portrait 

The document is a self-portrait made by the American painter Norman Rockwell in 1960.

Rockwell shows himself reflected in the mirror through the distorting lens of his own perception.

It’s one of the most iconic self-portraits in American art.

The glasses : → look opaque. They are fogged, he can’t actually see his reflection in the mirror // impossibility of an artist to get an accurate image of something.

The smoking trash can  / dustbin: Rockwell often dumped the ashes from his tobacco pipe into the trash can. (one of his workshops accidentally burnt down)

 The gilded mirror decorated with a large American eagle that holds the US flag in its claws = As if to say: My art embodies America ?

Golden frames are often seen in museums for famous classical paintings = auto-derision

He imagined his portrait among the famous works of art in classical museums.

The helmet is a reminder to himself not to be deceived by appearances. He bought it in a Paris antique shop, thinking it was an ancient Roman soldier’s, only to realize later that it was a French firemen helmet

On Rockwell’s easel, are pinned photos of self-portraits by (from top to bottom): Dürer, Rembrandt, Picasso and Van Gogh.

They are his references (+ portraits in the book). They invite us to compare (as he did) how other artists tackled the problem of a self-portrait. The artist’s signature is part of the composition, on the uncompleted canvas.

A “mise-en-abyme” :  placing a copy of an image within itself, often in a way that suggests an infinitely recurring sequence.

The reflection in the mirror is more realistic and less flattering. He looks younger on the canvas.

The portrait of the painter with his back/ bottom to us : not a flattering position.

 CONCLUSION

This painting is very complex because there are different levels of reality.

→ encourages us to think about the authenticity of representations. The only accurate portrait of the artist may be the combination of the 3 representations. He also shows that artists lie when they represent themselves.

Doc 2 : Andy Warhol self-portrait

American artist , leading figure of the Pop Art movement of the 1960's whose mass-produced art exposed the supposed banality of the consumer society of the USA. 

Andy Warhol realized this self-portrait in 1986 shortly before his sudden death in 1987. He elevated his own face to the status of an icon. It belongs to a series of other self-portraits.

He encourages us to stare into his darkened eyes and analyze every square inch of his emaciated face. (to stare at : fixer du regard, dévisager )

The portrait is a 40-inch square format in scarlet red and yellow. The artist's skull-like face oscillates between telling us everything about him or telling us nothing. It is both a self-representation and a self-examination. We are invited to focus on the sharp contrasts between light and darkness.

He presents himself as a construct and is tackling one of the great themes of art : the aging master taking a last look at himself. = a poignant memento mori

Vanitas aspect of this portrait : to remind us that he will die.

La confiance en soi est indispensable. Elle est la pierre angulaire du mouvement des droits de l'homme. Il est important de dire, face à une société indifférente : "Nous sommes importants".

Mais plus nous regardons / scrutons / contemplons notre propre visage, ou les écrans de nos iPhones, moins nous voyons le monde qui nous entoure. Nous sommes tentés de vivre des expériences dans le but de les photographier et d'y appliquer un filtre, car la dernière chose que nous voulons, c'est que nos vies paraissent ordinaires. Mais lorsque nous nous trouvons devant un autoportrait de Rembrandt, nous nous rendons compte qu'être ordinaire - être humain - là est le véritable intérêt. (...) c'est là où réside le réel intérêt

Les selfies ne sont pas des autoportraits

La confiance en soi n'est pas un problème. Et les autoportraits ne sont pas un problème non plus. C'est lorsque l'autoportrait devient un selfie - trivial, banal / insignifiant et finalement / au final jetable - que nous devons être vigilants.

Le selfie menace de nous distraire / détourner de ce que nous devrions faire, et de ce que Rembrandt a fait : nous regarder de près, honnêtement, mais avec compassion. Rembrandt nous enseigne à / apprend à faire attention. Il nous apprend à / enseigne à créer des autoportraits, plutôt que de prendre des selfies. Il nous apprend à regarder de nouveau.

Correction transposition - Rembrandt

Les autoportraits ont toujours reflété l'estime de soi, depuis la Renaissance jusqu'à l'obsession actuelle pour les selfies.

Au début de la Renaissance, les artistes se sont  lancés dans une course à l'immortalité.

Rembrandt laisse derrière lui 80 représentations de sa propre image, réalisées tout au long de sa carrière.

Le nombre d'autoportraits témoigne de son désir d'être immortalisé. Et lorsque nous prenons un selfie, nous faisons la même chose.

Ses autoportraits ne sont pas idéalisés mais le montrent tel qu'il était. Il voulait que nous nous souvenions de lui - en tant qu'artiste, mais aussi en tant qu'homme endeuillé, vieillissant et solitaire.

La journaliste explique que notre démarche est différente avec nos selfies.

Nous ne sommes pas aussi lucides car nous essayons de gommer nos imperfections alors que Rembrandt était méticuleux dans le détail de ses propres défauts physiques.

Rembrandt était minutieux, certes, et pas totalement honnête, mais ses portraits exigeaient du temps, de la réflexion. Avec Snapchat, l'autoportrait devient jetable. Contrairement aux autoportraits de Rembrandt, nos selfies ne supportent pas un examen minutieux.

27.11

Q. 1 Angela Carter is considered as a "mythic writer" l. 18 or as a "New Age role model" l.15. She is a fanciful and unusual person. She is famous for her magic realism work. She lives to "unusual extent in her own fantasies." eccentric

Q. 4 and 5 : The book is entitled The invention of AC because his biographer discovered that it was almost impossible to tell the true life of A. Carter since she lived in a world of fantasy and she admits herself that she "exaggerates terribly" l. 25, so most of her accounts can't be trustworthy. She says she is a "born fabulist" (l. 26) = so what she writes about herself may be a fable.

Moreover the writer also realized that some witnesses told him things which could not be true. (L. 20)

People's memory could be at fault even though they are earnestly convinced it's true.

He compares the process of memory to one of imagination, that's why he thinks autobiography is closer to fiction than biography. Telling the truth about oneself retrospectively is almost impossible, one can forget or be selective, focusing on one aspect at the expense of others, making it more significant.

Consequently, the reader plays an important part when reading the autobiography.

6 Explain Carter’s belief that “the most imaginatively sculpted confession could reveal truths about the confessor’s experience.”l. 26.

She implies that even the most blatant forged confession is telling the truth about the writer. It is telling us about the way he felt things and it might reveal a person's trauma or crack, or a person's personality (faults and qualities).

29.11

Understanding David Bowie's characters

D. Bowie was a musical chameleon. His fictional characters conveyed fear, joy, confusion and ecstasy.

He remains one of the most polarizing figures in music history.

When he was a teenager he was adrift. His family was ridden with mental disorders (schizophrenia and several suicides)

He felt a sense of isolation from a very young age.

1st success : Space Oddity (pun with space Odissey)

oddity = weirdness = strangeness

The main character is Major Tom, an astronaut setting on a dangerous journey to space and who ends up stranded there.

It's a song about facing fear = a story many people can relate to.

He also voiced his issues through Major Tom's voice (his drug addiction)

In 1972 Bowie became Ziggy Stardust : one of his most influential character. A half-human half alien.
He shocked audiences when he appeared on stage on the TV programme Tops of the Pops as a cross-dressing pale thin alien.

He had openely stated to the press that he was gay and there was still a lot of taboo around gay rights.

He finally retired Ziggy Stardust abruptly because the role had become indistinguishable from his real self to the point that he doubted his own sanity.

He created a bunch of other characters :

·      The thin white Duke

·      Aladdin Sane : // a lad insane

·      Halloween Jack

He was an actor both on stage and in several movies. It was a way to hide his weaknesses and showcase his strength.

He mixed music with the theatre and story-telling.  He created something that impacted our culture for generations.

1.    Character-building aimed at helping  children to be emotionally stronger, more independent, and better at dealing with problems at a time when expressing emotions was considered as socially wrong.

In the aim of developing  self-reliance, endurance, and courage in their personality, children were forced to endure frustration, to obey and to comply with discipline. It was thought that their personality was malleable (= soft). You just had to fight against any temptation to remain mainstream / to avoid unconventional attitudes.

2.    Bowie was a disturbing character because he kept reinventing himself. Not only did he change his physical appearance but he seemed to have an infinite number of alter egos. Cross-dressing was shocking for many people.

He cultivated an androgynous appearance and “played with homosexuality” (l.32). He embodied various personas throughout his career, like his androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust to The Thin White Duke.

3. The 21st century is referred to as the century of the selves in the plural because with the growing importance of social networks, people tend to create fake selves on social media to appear in a better light in order to boost their self-esteem. They can also create a fake persona for every context they evolve in.

They want to be seen as having a happy relationship, a thriving career, gifted children, or adventurous hobbies. People can easily frame their lives as endlessly positive and exciting, leaving the negative aspects out of public view.

4.   Relentless self-reinvention can be risky because some key elements, which are necessary to your self-development must be anchored with fixed roles. For instance, a parent cannot reject his parent role for the well-being of the child. People need steady landmarks when they grow-up and not to be overwhelmed with insecurity feelings.

depression - insanity - schizophrenia

Translation 1

Cette idée s'énonce simplement : le caractère n'est pas quelque chose que l'on a / possède, c'est quelque chose que l'on invente. L'acteur est une figure protéiforme, un métamorphe. Et plus l'acteur est bon, plus cette figure devient effrayante.

Les grands acteurs perturbent quelque chose qui est au cœur de notre existence : l'idée du moi. Lorsqu’ils revêtent ou se dévêtent de différents ‘moi’ , ils nous amènent à nous demander si le concept du 'moi' existe vraiment. Bowie était dérangeant parce qu'il poussait cette idée jusqu'à ses conclusions les plus extrêmes.

Translation 2 :

Ces créatures en lesquelles Bowie s'est transformé / se transformait n'étaient pas, comme (dans) les bonnes performances théâtrales, des personnalités / des ‘moi’ cohérentes.

C'étaient des fragments de personnalités éclatées en mille morceaux, des personnages au bord de l'effondrement ou de la disparition.

Bowie nous présentait, en plein cœur de la culture pop, l'idée que cette chose que nous appelions le moi n'est pas du tout fixe / figé.

 Il est, au contraire, multiple, malléable et surtout/ par-dessus tout fragile.

04.12

"Still I Rise" is a nine-stanza poem that’s separated into uneven sets of lines. The 1st 7 stanzas contain 4 lines, known as quatrains, stanzas 8 has 6 lines and the 9th has 9. The first 7 stanzas follow a rhyme scheme of ABCB, the 8th: ABABCC and the 9th: ABABCCBBB.

06.12

As an African American, Maya Angelou experienced firsthand racial prejudices and discrimination in Arkansas. During a visit with her mother, Angelou was raped/ sexually assaulted by her mother's boyfriend. In retaliation, Maya Angelou's family killed the rapist.

She was so traumatized by the experience that she stopped talking. She returned to Arkansas and remained silent / mute for 5 years. Following this trauma, even when she wouldn't speak, Angelou studied and memorized poems, which gave her a unique understanding of language. Poetry enabled her not to be overwhelmed by guilt and suffering / sorrow / misery.

to overcome

She is asserting her ability to rise up and away from her personal and historical past.

The main structural device that Angelou uses is the repetition of the phrase "I rise." She repeats it 10 times throughout the poem in order to assert that she is going to “rise” above and beyond anything that seeks to control her.

she uses the phrase as a refrain, which means we keep it in mind after reading. The last word in a sentence (or last line in a paragraph) is often the most important: Angelou used this effect in her poem : "I rise" as the final words in 4 / 7 stanzas. No matter what she said before about her oppression, she transcends this by repeatedly stating that she will rise.

Throughout the text, the speaker, who is Angelou herself, addresses her own oppressor. The “you” she refers to represents the varieties of injustices that black people, women, and all marginalized communities have suffered from in history. As the poem continues, the “you” comes into focus

Her tone is provocative / ironical and sarcastic.

The major themes of this poem are self-empowerment, perseverance, and injustice.

- determined - defiant and self-assured. You feel inspired, and reinvigorated with courage and strength.

1.     Cultural appropriation takes place when members of a majority group adopt cultural elements of a minority group in an exploitative, disrespectful, or stereotypical way.

→ subject to heavy criticism and debate. Critics note that the concept is often misunderstood or misapplied by the general public. (trying food from a different culture or learning about different cultures)

From encyclopedia Britannica

2.     Cultural exchange is different from cultural appropriation. Things have been shared between different cultures throughout history. Cultural borrowings cannot be appropriation when they don’t involve power. When different cultures come together on an equal footing, exchange happens. But when dominant groups take from an oppressed group, this can be considered as appropriation.

3.      Cultural appropriation can perpetuate stereotypes and exploit groups that are discriminated against.

It can also cause confusion or distress for marginalized groups who want to learn about their culture and identities.

It can be disrespectful when it is reduced to "exotic" fashion or toys by those from the dominant culture.

When this is done, the imitator does not experience any of the daily discriminations faced by the minority of this minority.

4.     

·        Don’t Adopt Sacred Artifacts as Accessories. Don’t dress up as an ethnic stereotype. Someone else’s culture or ethnic origin should never be a costume.

·        It’s Important to Pay homage to Artists and Ideas, and acknowledge their origins. Treat a cultural exchange like any other creative collaboration : Give Credit, and consider royalties.

·        Engage with other cultures on more than an aesthetic level.

5.     The actress and activist Sacheen Littlefeather attended the ceremony in Brando's place, stating that the actor “very regretfully” could not accept the award.  Marlon Brando sent her to decline his Best Actor award in protest over Hollywood’s depiction of Native Americans in films. She was booed onstage and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences only apologized in 2022, nearly 50 years after.

The document is a painting made by Norman Rockwell and published in 1959. It appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. (An American magazine).

In this painting, Norman Rockwell decided to deal with / tackle the lack of diversity in trials by jury.

The scene takes place in a jury room. The atmosphere is heavy and oppressive. (red colour = symbol of anger, warning, emergency, danger, blood)

The men are smoking, the room is full of smoke = they can't breathe.

The floor and the table are messy = they must have been here for a long time.

Present perfect be + ing = lien passé présent

accent mis sur l'action en cours de déroulement.

For (= depuis) + durée

Since (= depuis) + point de départ.

They must have been deliberating for hours. They must decide whether the person is guilty or innocent.

They must disagree. The woman is crossed-armed and surrounded by men who are trying to make her change her mind.

They are pushy.

The debate is difficult = the person could be sentenced for life or executed = death penalty.

She is determined ( // her straight back)

Conclusion :

Norman Rockwell decided to make this painting to criticize the jury system in the USA.

The painting aims at denoucing gender and racial inequality in the jury composition.

aim at + V-ing

Moreover we can see that the man on the right is not taking part to the debate. He is bored and doesn't seem to care. N. Rockwell created this character to show that some jury members don't take jury duty seriously.

Doc 2 : What happened to trial by Jury ?

Trial by jury dates back to Socrates' time. Some early societies decided that some disputes should be heard by a group of citizens to be settled.

Trial by jury became a fundamental feature of English society some centuries later. America kept the system after independence. 1776

It enables to :

·      check the government

·      involve people in decision-making

·      resolve monetary disputes

·      determine whether a defendant is guilty or not.

Only 4 % of criminal cases are judged by juries. Defendants are often asked to plead guilty before so that they get a smaller sentence. = pre-bargaining.

Trials by jury are costly, time-consuming and jurors can make mistakes or be prejudiced.

But they also have advantages : when they are properly selected : they are representative of society and are less biased than legislators or judges who seek re-election or promotion.

Trial by jury enables to check the power of all three branches of the government.

Question 3 :

The defendant’s lawyer argues that Jefferson only took the money because he was poor and stupid and that he was panic-stricken

He compares him to a fool who has no intelligence. (repetition / anaphora to highlight his lack of intelligence)

He argues that he is not a man and compares him to an animal (monkey)  whose ancestors come from “the deepest jungle”.

He even uses the word ‘hog’ l. 53. → more and more derogatory.

The dehumanization / reification is emphasized / reinforced /stressed by the use of the word “thing” which is repeated 4 times.

By dehumanizing Jefferson, the lawyer appeals to the jury’s deep-rooted racism and asks them to spare his life because he was not responsible of his actions.

Question 4 : cf l. 63

disbelief + hopelessness / despair / resignation

He refused to believe the verdict / could not believe that he would be executed for a crime he did not commit.

“Looking down” because he knows he has no prospect. He knows that whatever he would say, nothing would change.

Question 7 :

Thanks to this extract we understand that in the 1940’s, a black defendant was very likely to be condemned even if he was innocent of all charges because the American judiciary system did not enable black people to be jurors. Consequently, black people were only judged by white people who could be extremely prejudiced against them.

Blacks were not judged by their peers.

They thought they had caught him red-handed since he was in a blood bath when the witnesses arrived.

Translation : 

Le procureur prétendait / prétendit ( affirmait que )   (que Jefferson et les deux autres y étaient allés avec la ferme intention de voler le vieil homme et de le tuer pour qu'il ne puisse pas les identifier.

Après la mort du vieil homme et des deux autres voleurs, celui-là - ça prouvait bien quel animal il était en réalité- avait fourré l'argent dans sa poche et célébré l'évènement en buvant devant les corps qui saignaient encore.

La defense, de son côté, répliquait que Jefferson était innocent de toutes les charges qui pesaient contre lui et qu'il s'était simplement trouvé  au mauvais endroit au mauvais moment.

On ne pouvait absolument pas prouver qu'il y ait eu une entente / préméditation entre lui et les deux autres. Le simple fait que monsieur Gropé n'ait tiré que sur Brother et Bear prouvait l'innocence de Jefferson. Pourquoi monsieur Gropé aurait-il tiré deux fois sur l'un des garçon et pas une seule sur Jefferson.

18.09

12 Angry men – poster analysis

Title & text

Adjective « angry » = who are they angry with?

“Life is in their hands “ = They are probably jurors who must decide whether someone is guilty or innocent of a crime

The defendant may be sentenced to death (USA) = an important decision to be taken.

“Death is on their minds”= They may send someone to death and it will be on their minds forever 

“it explodes like 12 sticks of dynamite” = anger of the men = explosive / tensed atmosphere

the fonts used reflect this explosive atmosphere : shaky letters + bold letters  12 angry = sketched by angry hand.

Knife

-          central element of the poster.

-          Wavy / sinuous (not straight) blade of the dagger. // hesitation of the jurors.

Background

Bright yellow background → eye-catching

An ambivalent colour

This colour symbolizes cowardice and duplicity (to turn yellow)

(The colour of light, God, happiness)

Characters

Top part of the picture: the Juror played by Henry Fonda is the only character who stands out contrary to the others who are sitting.

Top: 11 men sitting at a table and 1 man standing behind them

cf The Last Supper A late 15th century painting by Leonardo Da Vinci.

The man seems to have the upper hand, to be more important or to be against all the others

-          Idea of justice / God

The other jurors look angry (clenched fist) / Furious, indignant, outraged

Symbolism

the scales of justice: on the left side, we can read “life is in their hands” and, on the right side, “death is on their minds”.

The knife introduces the idea of separation / division / being torn between 2 feelings.

20.09

12 Angry men

The movie was directed by Sidney Lumet and released in 1957.

The opening scene takes place in a criminal court. The scene opens  with a low angle shot. It shows that justice is powerful.  The facade of the building and the pillars are impressive.

"The true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government. " George Washington.  = Motto written on the building. 

The camera follows many people inside the court house. There are many trials at the same time.

The case :

The defendant is a young boy / a teenager and he is accused of murder in the 1st degree / murder with premeditation. This is the most serious crime and death penalty is mandatory if he is declared guilty.

His life is at stake.

The judge is bored / exhausted.  He doesn't care.

The jury 's task is to reach an unanimous decision. If there is reasonable doubt : a not guilty verdict.

It 's a very hot day : everybody is sweating.  (dog days). The fan is not working. 

It's difficult to breathe → oppressive / claustrophobic atmosphere. The windows are difficult to open.

All jurors don't take things seriously.

One of them is yawning = he is fed up with the trial. 

One is blowing his nose all the time because he has a cold. (blow, blew, blown)

Another is checking his watch.

They are in a hurry to go home.

Camera techniques :

There is a close-up on the boy's face. The defendant is a teenager who doesn't look like a criminal.

There is a fade-in/ fade out. We can still see the boy's face while the setting of the next scene is appearing.

·       We keep in mind that his life is at stake. (a haunting thought)

·       a ghost-like figure : a sign of foreshadowing death.

25.09

Information about the case:

Defendant

- Boy is 18 – he  stabbed his father 4 inches into the chest (10 cm)

- Has been abused all his life long/ beaten by his father

-  Was born in a slum

- Lost his mother when he was 9, spent a year and a half in an orphanage while his father was in jail for forgery.  = not a happy childhood

He doesn't belong to the WASP group, some people may be prejudiced against him.

Witnesses :

At midnight, the old man living downstairs heard noises / a fight and heard “I’m gonna kill you” +  a body hit the floor.

Then he saw the boy run away and called the police.

The coroner fixed the time of death around midnight.

Woman living across the street saw the killing through the windows of a passing train.

Alibi :

The defendant pretended he was at the movies but he can’t remember the title / plot  of the film or the actors

Police record : At 10 went to children court for throwing a rock at a teacher.

At 15 in reform school, he stole a car

Arrested for mugging and knife-fighting twice. He is handy with a knife

+ Pb of appointed lawyer (47'33 - 48'15):

He didn’t do his best to win the case because it brings him nothing : no money, no glory, no chance of winning.

He didn't believe in his client.

Grammar :

Sujet + want + TO + BV

S1 + want + S2 + to + BV

Translate the following sentences :

1.     Le témoin ne veut pas témoigner.

2.     La police veut trouver l'arme du crime.

3.     Le voleur ne veut pas être pris la main dans le sac.

4.     Les jurés ne veulent pas que le jeune garçon soit condamné.

5.     Ils veulent que les choses aillent vite.

6.     L'accusé ne veut  pas que le juge le condamne.

7.     L'avocat veut que son client soit innocenté.

GROUP 1: IT’S THE SAME KNIFE

- Analyse Juror 4’s speech and intervention as he leans over to talk about the knife and juror 8’s reaction

Juror 4 concludes that the boy never went to the movies that night. What actually happened in his opinion is that the boy stayed at home, had another fight with his father and stabbed him to death.

Juror 8 is the only one in favour of the boys’ story. He then pulls out the duplicate knife and slams it into the table next to the evidence.

-    What effect does the appearance of the second knife create on the jury? on the viewer?

The camera zooms in on the knives as the quiet room erupts in noise at this revelation.

Close-up shots are edited in to increase the tension.

The other jurors are astounded at the introduction of the second knife. Juror #4 declares that it is against the law to buy or sell switchblade knives. A series of close-ups maintain the tension of the scene as various jurors try to play down the significance of the easy availability of the second knife.

The knife has the same effect on the jury and the viewer: they are stunned/astonished/ taken aback.

The appearance of the second knife is quite unexpected.

-    Why does Juror n°8 keep repeating “it’s possible”?

Juror 8 doesn’t affirm that the boy is not guilty, but he wants to insist on the possibility that the boy is innocent. He wants to make a point and open the other jurors’ eyes so they can see beyond appearances and beyond what the witness and lawyers affirmed.

He destroys an alleged proof with another proof, and leads the others to doubt.

By revealing the flaws of a demonstration which seemed clear, he leads everyone to reason, to constitute themselves as thinking individuals.

-    Explain why we can consider this scene as a turning point in the film.

This is the first moment when Juror 8 really makes a crack into the case of the prosecutor.

It is perhaps the most famous scene in the film in which the knife is brought into the room and Juror 8 contradicts the court’s evidence and pulls out a replica of the knife while the court had asserted that it was a "one-of-a-kind" weapon. 

The knife makes the testimony untrustworthy.  This is the turning point of the entire film.

because after this point, one by one, the jurors all start to change their minds. It shows how remarkably it took Juror 8 just half an hour to add doubts to people’s minds.

GROUP 2 : “The Old man”( from 39.50 to 46)

-                   What is juror 8 questioning about the testimony of the old man?

He thinks it is unlikely the old man heard the kid yell, "I'm gonna kill you" and a second later he heard the father's body falling with the deafening noise of the El Train passing by.

-                   What are jurors 3 and 12 doing? What does it reveal?

They are playing tic tac toe. They are not taking the task seriously.

-                   Who tries to stop juror 9 from talking and who defends him?

Juror 3 can’t stand hearing another argument against his point of view. Juror 6 defends him, he shows great respect for elderly people. He threatens to hit juror 3 if he interrupts again.

-                    juror 9’s point of view on the old man’s testimony.

He thinks the man did not lie intentionally but he is probably a lonely person who never got much attention in his life. With his crucial testimony (published in the newspaper after the case?) he feels his point of view is important.

-                   What does it reveal about juror 9’s characteristics and personal life?

He is very observant  and he may have experienced the same feeling in his life.

Weather

Although the entire movie takes place indoors, the weather symbolizes the tension between the characters. In the first part, the weather is hot and the jurors cannot figure out how to work the fan. A storm is building outside and inside. 

When the storm begins, it releases some tension, but it is still windy and rainy outside. The last line of the script says, "The rain has stopped." With the tension resolved in the jury room, the weather outside also calms down.

06.10

GROUP 3 : RE-ENACTMENT  SCENE (the old man walking)

From 50.58 to 59 minutes : https://fsharetv.co/watch/12-angry-men-episode-1-tt0050083#

- Who decides to vote ‘not guilty’ and why?

Juror 11 decides to change his vote because there is a reasonable doubt in his mind.

- What new questions are raised? What discrepancies are discovered?

Why did the boy go back on the crime scene, especially if he knew the neighbor had seen him.

If the boy left the knife because he was panic-stricken, why would he have erased the fingerprints?

The old man (witness) may not have been able to move fast enough, his testimony may be distorted.

- What does juror 3 say about old people? Explain why it is important.

He implies that the witness and juror 9 can’t be exact because they are elderly people. He discredited himself, all the more because the old man’s testimony was his main argument.

-    Re-enactment of the old man walking: why does Juror n°7 start whistling?

Juror 7 starts whistling “Laurel & Hardy” ‘s theme song while Juror 8 impersonates the old man walking. As Laurel and Hardy are a comical duet, it means that Juror 7 is making fun of Juror 8 and aims at ridiculing him.

-Look at juror #3’s reaction after the reconstruction of the walk.

Juror 3 refuses to accept these new elements. He uses the word “fairy-tale”. For him it’s not fact but nonsense. He is driven by anger

He rages and says “He’s got to burn!”. He doesn’t want the boy to slip through their fingers.

After juror #3 declares he’s one of the boy’s executioners, what is the others’ attitude?

 Their look is a mixture of anger, disgust and contempt.

-What word gets him crazy? What threat does he make?

The facts are not what interests Juror #3. He personally wants to see the boy go to the electric chair for his own sadistic pleasure. He loses control of himself completely at the mention of the word “sadist” and threatens to kill Juror #8.

-Comment on Juror 3’s reaction after Juror n°8 said “You don’t really mean you’ll kill me, do you?”.

Explain why it’s another turning point.

At these words, Juror n°3 immediately stops yelling and struggling, stunned, as if he was knocked out.

He suddenly realizes that he is wrong. This further serves to intensify the conflict between the two.

- What are the consequences of this scene for Juror n°3?

This scene completely ruins the credibility of Juror 3.

Group 4  “The Alibi”

From 1.09 to 1.12  https://fsharetv.co/watch/12-angry-men-episode-1-tt0050083#

- How long did the boy take to give the title of the movie he saw?

It took about 3 months for the boy and his lawyer to give the title of the movie he saw. We can wonder whether his lawyer did not ask the movie theatre what was scheduled at that time.

- Why couldn’t he remember according to juror 8?

Juror 8 thinks he may have forgotten / he may have been confused after discovering his father’s body on the floor. A traumatic memory loss. He may have been too upset to concentrate on the movie to remember anything about it.

- What does juror 4 think about the alibi?

He thinks the alibi is a lie and that the boy never went to the movies. No one remembers seeing him, no one can corroborate his alibi. The boy could not remember anything about the movie on the night he was arrested.

- Why does juror 8 ask him so many questions about what he did last week?

- What does he prove him in the end ?

He can answer with much assurance to the questions concerning the last few days but he gets hesitating afterwards. He wants to demonstrate that it’s quite hard to remember things precisely when they happened some time ago and when you don’t pay special attention. Juror 4 can’t remember the exact title of the 2nd feature and has trouble remembering the name of the female character. He is corrected by juror 2.

Despite his self-assurance, he has to admit that the boy’s alibi could be true. It is possible.

- What physical reaction can you observe on juror 4?

He is sweating whereas he had stated before that it never happened to him. A sign of great tension.

09.10

GROUP 5 : « RE-ENACTMENT » SCENE (DOWN-IN)

-The stabbing: comment on the scene and the jurors’ reactions. Juror #3 decides to give a practical demonstration of how the wound would have been made. Juror #8 is picked out for the demonstration. As Juror #3 holds the knife in the air, the earlier row between the two men and the word “sadist” echoes in our minds. He holds the blade aloft for a long time. This extension of time is a feature of cinema and is used to increase tension. Members of the jury jump to their feet in horror when he eventually carries out the downward strike. The thought has crossed their minds that he might just have meant the line “I’m gonna kill you!” Juror #8 never flinches.

-Why does juror #5 come in? What makes his argument valid? We know that Juror 5  was brought up in a slum. He is the only one in the room with firsthand experience of a knife-fight. He wants to draw attention to the fact that somebody who was used to using a knife like this one would never stab downwards. Switchblades are designed to come out with a flick of the wrist. It is not possible to flick out the blade of a switchblade and then stab downwards with it.

-What are the consequences of the re-enactment of the stabbing?

Juror 7 declares that he is fed up and wants to change his vote. The movement of the camera accentuates the unexpectedness of this turn of events. Fed up, not real decision.

GROUP 6: JUROR N°10

What does Juror n°10 ‘s choice of words reveal about his personal views on the people he alludes to ? 

a)      How does Juror #10 describe the boy's story?

b)     Who does he mean by "these people"?

c)      Make a list of the charges he makes against them.

d)     At what point does he realise that he has alienated most of his colleagues?

The short-tempered and bigoted Juror 10 shouts his exasperation. He describes the boy’s story as “phoney”. By ”these people”, he means non-whites.

A bigot= prejudiced person /Bigoted/ Bigotry

He has exhibited this prejudice from the start. We, viewers and the other jurors too realize that he is deeply prejudiced.

Juror 10 implies that the looks, and ethnicity of the boy should determine the jury’s verdict. In other words, he claims that the boy is guilty because of his prejudiced /racist views.

As the camera draws back from him, the jurors begin to distance themselves too, and walk away from the table in disgust at the racism he shows.

Juror 10 lists the faults of “these people” - dishonesty, drunkenness, violence, murder, lack of respect for human life. He says there are only a few exceptions.

Describe and explain the other jurors’ reaction to his speech.

The first to walk away from the table is Juror #5. We know how sensitive he is to prejudice against the poor who live in the slums. All the jurors, except n°7 and n°4, stand up and step away from the table, one by one. They stand still, turning their backs at Juror n°10. This is a clear statement that they are deeply disapproving what Juror n°10 is saying. They heard a racist / prejudiced / biased / bigoted speech and they have had enough, they are so outraged that can’t stay at the same table as Juror n°10. Finally, the most cool-headed juror, n°4, tells him to sit and not to open his mouth again.

How would you describe him as he walks to the small table? What do you think it represents?

Juror #10 seems to be in a state of shock as he walks from the main table and takes his seat in the corner of the room. He has caused his own ostracism. Perhaps he was not aware of the depth of his bigotry in the same way that Juror #7 is unaware of his selfishness.

11.10

 GROUP 7 : NOSE MARKS

-What’s his theory about the woman?

Juror #9 is a close observer of people. He noticed things about the old man that the others did not. Now he goes back over what he noticed about the woman and gives a psychological profile of her. She is forty-five years old and trying to look thirty-five. She has had her hair dyed and has bought new clothes. She is heavily made up for her “first public appearance” and is not wearing glasses. She obviously wants to look younger and attractive.

- What effect does it have on juror n° 3? Juror #3 fights all the way, resisting the truth that has dawned on the others. He concedes that the woman might not have wanted to wear glasses in public. But the fact is she was in the privacy of her own home when she saw the boy stabbing his father. Juror #4 has to admit that no one wears glasses to bed.

-How does the camerawork and editing add to the rising tension in the room at this point?

A series of close-ups complete the scene as Juror 11 explains  the implications of what has been revealed. Juror 2 makes his strongest contribution of the afternoon when he says that they cannot send the boy to his death on this testimony.

- Why can we say that the debate has reached a turning point? It reveals the flaws in the woman’s testimony (we can question her eyesight). Hence, her testimony is inaccurate, unreliable.

By doing so, he brings doubt into all 11 jurors’ minds .

Based on this, Juror 4 changes his vote.  Juror 10 gives up and also changes his vote to “not guilty.”

Now, the vote is 11 to 1, and Juror 3 stands alone. The roles are reversed, he is the holdout.

GROUP 8: NOT GUILTY

-    What kind of education did Juror 3 receive in his childhood?

Juror 3 apparently received a strict and traditional education. He says he used to call his father “Sir”, which seems old-fashioned even at the time when the action takes place. It is certainly a form of respect, but also a form of distance that probably didn’t encourage him to be affectionate or close to his father.

-    Explain what happened between him and his son.

At 9 years old, his son ran away from a fight and Juror 3 was ashamed of this reaction. He “taught him how to be a man”, which probably means he bullied his son or encouraged him to answer violence with violence. Ultimately, this backfired on him, as the father and son had a violent fight and they haven’t seen each other for 2 years.

-    What is Juror 3’s point of view on masculinity / virility?

For Juror 3, “being a man” is to fight, to answer violence with violence. He considers running away from a fight as “unmanly”. This view turned out to be destructive for his relationship with his son.

-    Relate this monologue to Juror 3’s opinion on the case.

Juror 3 seems to resent his son and he projects his feelings for his son on the defendant: that’s why he is determined to find him guilty.

We have previously seen that Juror 3 doesn’t get on well with his son/has a troubled relationship with his son and as a result they are estranged.