Home Work: Due TUESDAY

Read the following and come up with notes for Tuesday's double graded discussion.

This mini unit we are focusing on Reading Standard # 9: Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new.

Both The  Birthmark and Flowers for Algernon draw on ancient archetypal stories in order to communicate the idea that perhaps there is some knowledge that mankind is not meant to have. This is still a prevalent theme (I am Legend, Jurassic Park etc).

In order to really understand what each author is saying, you need to know where this story line comes from. Read over the following, click through the links for more info if you need it.

In Flowers for Algernon the author makes reference to the Biblical story of Adam & Eve [ Fanny Girdon telling Charlie it was “evil when Eve ate the apple”]. This happens during a pivotal scene, so we know the author is being purposeful by referenmcing it here. Need a quick refresher on Adam and Eve? Click here.

In The Birthmark Aylmer’s assistant is called Aminidab, “thou man of clay”. This is a direct reference to Adam, the first man, also made from clay. Actually,  the Hebrew word “adam” originally meant something close to the word “clay”, so Hawthorne is clearly intending the connection.

Frankenstein (written 30+ years before The Birthmark) shares the thematic connection of overreaching ambition and humanity’s relationship to the natural world.

The subtitle of Frankenstein is A Modern Prometheus. Prometheus is credited with the creation of man from clay, and who defies the gods and gives fire to humanity, an act that enabled progress and civilization but also led to the concept of war and Prometheus’ eternal punishment. For a more full account click here.

For our graded discussion we need to pull all of this together. Think about Flowers and BM as well as some of the source material above and write up some thoughts to bring to our discussion. Shoot for ¾ of a page of thoughts.

Possible discussion starters:

• Is technological progress objectively good?
• Is it possible to know too much?
• Is ignorance bliss? Or is the unexamined life not worth living?
• Are we becoming more human through always striving for more, or less? More to the point, what is it to be human?

Obviously if you have questions then include those as well. The notes can look any way you'd like. I just want to be sure everyone is prepared to talk on Tuesday.