The Thatcher Government

Realated to the 80s and 90s, and the novel Nice Work by D.Lodge, we have talked about Margaret Thatcher´s government in the UK.
Here is the Iron Lady herself...

Talking about the controversial sinking of the Belgrano in the Malvinas War

The Lady on socialism...

From her speech you can see many characteristics of her government

David Lodge: Nice Work

Here are two links about David Lodge:

In our blog from last year

An interview:

Fall Of The Berlin Wall 20th Anniversary

“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” American President Ronald Reagan famously demanded in 1987 in front of the Brandenburg Gate. The Soviet leader didn’t exactly rush forward at the controls of a bulldozer, and whether the speech had an effect or was simply an example of surfing on the tides of history, with the collapse of other soviet satellite states and mass demonstrations for reform in East Germany, the Berlin Wall did come down, marked on November 9 of 1989.

The Berlin Wall wouldn’t be officially demolished until the summer of 1990. A temporary crossing through the wall was opened at the Brandenburg Gate on December 22, just before Christmas. The wall separating east and west Berlin was first constructed in 1961, went through four generations of reconstruction, but today is almost entirely vanished except for a sometimes recognizable path marked by information stands and a few remaining sections left as an art project. For 2009 in Berlin, a series of special events and exhibitions celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the “peaceful revolution” that lead to the reunification of Germany and a divided Berlin.

The celebration year started with a performance of the Irish band U2 in front of Brandenburg Gate and it will climax on the date of the anniversary, November 9th with a grand public party at Brandenburg Gate. The "Festival of Freedom" begins with an open-air concert at Pariser Platz by the Staatskapelle Berlin conducted by Daniel Barenboim. After the concert, the fall of the Berlin Wall will be symbolised with the toppling of a domino wall along the entire wall path. by knocking over dominos. Hundreds of thousands are expected to fill the street festivals in one giant party.

this link will help you with the understanding of the fall of USSR.


source:www.bargaintraveleurope.com//youtube.com

Growing up during the Apartheid Era

As I posted in the previous entry, whenever we can listen to or read about someone who gives us first hand experience on a historical event we have to take advantage of that situation to know and even "feel" what it was all about.
Some time ago I asked my South African friend Marianne Pieterse to write something about her memories of growing up during the Apartheid_the barbaric set of laws that made racism legal in that country for years_ and she committed to the task with such a zeal and dedication that we got into her skin and we could get a glimpse of what it was like to live in South Africa in those times.
To read what Marianne sent us, click here and to dowload the PPP I prepared for the class, click here.

I think that all of us learned a lesson...

No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.Nelson Mandela


I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man. Nelson Mandela

I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.Nelson Mandela

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.Nelson Mandela

The last one is one we should believe in!!!

Vietnam War (part 2)

One of the best ways of learning history is through first hand impressions.This is something that we can´t count on very often, but when there´s an opportunity to do so, we should take it.
Here is an interview to a man from Laos who fought in the Vietnam War,Barbara Bezuch could talk to him.The interview is in Spanish.

Escondidos para vivir

Esta frase fue la que mas me llegó, por eso la escogí para ponerla como titulo. Lo que sigue a continuación es una entrevista realizada a Nouporn Prapotip un hombre de 75 años de edad que estuvo en la Guerra de Vietnam, que actualmente está radicado en Verónica partido de Punta Indio.

Por qué crees vos que empezó la Guerra de Vietnam? Que se decía por allá?

Había mucha gente y poca tierra. Toda arena y montaña la gente tenía mucha hambre.

Yo peleaba en contra de Vietnam junto con los de Camboya porque ellos querían pasar para el lado de mi tierra (Laos) (Conflicto interno antes de la guerra.)

En Vietnam la guerra se originó entre en Norte y el Sur, en el Norte estaban los vietnamies y en el Sur “los yankees”. Murieron muchos yankees ya que no sabían vivir en la selva “muerta hambre, muerta cualquier cosa mucho calor y sabes que estar cuerpo así sin la ropa sin nada pelear así…..matar matar no mas con los yankees no hay otra mujer, hombre no importa chico grande no importa” Yo estuve en la guerra de Vietnam y mis vivencias son: “yo estaba en la frontera cuidando que los Vietnamies no se pasen, yo estaba en la “playa” (arena) escondido en la arena. Hacíamos unos agujeros y nos tapábamos con arena teníamos una pajita y respirábamos por ahí tres días estuve así” “los yankees no se escondían iban así caminando no mas peleando y nosotros no estábamos escondidos por ejemplo, el oficial nos decía donde nos teníamos que esconder y los yankees venían como paseando y nosotros salíamos de nuestros escondites y los matábamos”

Que te acordás de cuando terminó?

Yo me fui antes de que termine

Y vos porqué te viniste para acá?

“En el año 1975 vino una avioneta desde Vietnam a Camboya y yo me tuve que escapar si no te morís” Mi señora y mis tres hijos quedan allá y tres años mas tarde fui a buscar a mi familia. Para ir a buscarlos tuve tres días escondido en una cueva y tuve que pelear.

Y por qué estabas escondido?

Porque yo no tenía armas. Y tuve que pelar con mis hijos en la espalda en una mochila. Y estuve tres días sin comer.

Y te quedó algún contacto de esa gente que te acompañó en esas peleas?

Si, algunos están acá, otros en Francia y algunos en Alaska. El 26 de noviembre del 1979 yo estoy en Argentina a las 6 de la tarde y no sabía que comer ni nada. Yo no entendía ni idioma ni plata ni nada.

Cómo se pronuncia este nombre?

Ho Chin Minh (jo chi mi)

Vos lo conociste?

Si, me gustaba como pensaba

China tenía dominada a Vietnam, no podían cruzar para ningún lugar y peleaban por frontera

Yo no se si la ideología era comunista pero si se que los políticos manejaban coimas. Buscan la tierra, buscan gente, busca viviendas buscan casa. Y ahora Vietnam está allá en mis tierras también. Mis tierras tenían oro, plata cuando fue el americano se roba todo y ellos nos dieron armas, tanques pero nosotros no sabíamos usarlos.

Mataron algún familiar tuyo?

Si mataron a mi cuñado por “Buchón” porque él peleaba con nosotros pero le informaba a los Yankees. Lo ataron de las manos y al mar. Lo mata los militares de nuestro país.

“No se si yo loco, cualquiera o no se…mi idea era solamente matar. No se si tenia miedo solo tenía que matar”

Y mataste a gente?

Uh! Millones

Con que mataban uds, que tipo de armas tenían?

Nosotros no precisar tantas armas una cuchilla o un sable. Teníamos que matar para poder “VIVIR”

Te sentiste culpable de matar a tanta gente?

No yo tenía que matar para poder vivir…..

Thanks, Bábara , this must have been a great experience for you and you certainly knew how to transmit it to all of us!!!

Vietnam War

Vietnam is a small country to the south of China, Vietnamese means non-chinese people of the south

For much of Vietnam's history it has been under foreign rule, primarily by the Chinese. In 1860, France began its domination of the area and had, by the late 19th century, implemented its colonization in a number of regions around the Gulf of Tonkin. During WWII, the Japanese government took control of much of the area and set up a puppet regime that was eventually forced out by the Vietnamese at the end of that war in 1945

After WWII and until 1955,France fought hard to regain their former territories in the region, but with a poorly organized army and little determination among the troops, their efforts soon collapsed. The French were finally defeated at Dien Bien Phu on the 8th of May 1954 by the communist general Vo Nguyen Giap.

Between 1955 and 1960, the North Vietnamese with the assistance of the southern communist Vietcong, tried to take over the government in South Vietnam, and in November 1963 President Diem was overthrown and executed. The following year, the North Vietnamese began a massive drive to conquer the whole country aided by China and Russia.

Fearing a communist takeover of the entire region, the United States grew more and more wary of the progress of Ho Chi Minh and the Vietcong (National Liberation Front)

With the cold war at its height, the US leaders were worried that an attack on North Vietnam by the US would create tensions with the Chinese and Russians that would, in turn, lead to a larger conflict and possibly WW III. This created a difficult situation for the US and would eventually lead to many internal conflicts, which ultimately prevented the US from forming a firm policy for the region. The US was also faced with a number of cultural differences between the two countries, and what was considered corrupt by the US government was considered legitimate by South Vietnamese standards. It was difficult for the US to portray South Vietnam as a hard working, hard fighting democracy; corruption was widespread among officials and the armed forces. The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was disorganized due to the low morale of it's leaders and their singular interest in personal gain. Therefore the US had a great deal of difficulty in holding the army together in South Vietnam and saw only one solution, that was to start taking care of things for themselves. By 1950 the US began sending their first troops, firstly in an advisory role, which slowly escalated into a full blown commitment.

The large-scale involvement of the US came under the tenure of President Lyndon B. Johnson and hisGulf of Tonkin Resolution. Johnson had replaced John F. Kennedy after he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas 1963. As president, he was torn between the differing strategies the US had for Vietnam. The increasing involvement and the escalation of troop involvement meant there were more casualties and more problems at home. But Johnson, who was always concerned about his image, and as president, held the power to halt the war in Vietnam, could not face the thought of being regarded as the first president in US history to loose a war.

The pressure around him grew so intense, that he was only left with one option and that was not to run for a second term. Basically, he handed the hot potato to Richard M. Nixon.

Antagonists

North Vietnam US - South Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh Lyndon B Johnson Vo Nguyen Giap Richard M Nixon Nguyen Van Thieu

Trabajo realizado por Bezuch-Díaz-Dal Mastro

Sand Animation on WW II

Kseniya Simonova is a Ukrainian artist who just won Ukraine's version of "America's Got Talent." She uses a giant light box, dramatic music, imagination and "sand painting" skills to interpret Germany's invasion and occupation of Ukraine during WWII.
Just incredible!!!!

Thanks to Wenceslao Michailovsky

Civil Rights_Third part: America also needs equality

1948

Truman signs Executive Order 9981, which states, "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin." The order also creates the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and opportunity in the Armed Services.

1954


The Supreme Court rules on the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans., unanimously agreeing that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. The ruling paves the way for large-scale desegregation. The decision overturns the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling that sanctioned "separate but equal" segregation of the races, ruling that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." It is a victory for NAACP* attorney Thurgood Marshall, who will later return to the Supreme Court as the nation's first black justice.

1955


Fourteen-year-old Chicagoan Emmett Till is visiting family in Mississippi when he is kidnapped, brutally beaten, shot, and dumped in the Tallahatchie River for allegedly whistling at a white woman. Two white men, J. W. Milam and Roy Bryant, are arrested for the murder and acquitted by an all-white jury. They later boast about committing the murder in a Look magazine interview. The case becomes a cause célèbre of the civil rights movement.


(Montgomery, Ala.) NAACP member Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat at the front of the "colored section" of a bus to a white passenger, defying a southern custom of the time. In response to her arrest the Montgomery black community launches a bus boycott, which will last for more than a year, until the buses are desegregated Dec. 21, 1956. As newly elected president of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., is instrumental in leading the boycott.

1957

Martin Luther King, Charles K. Steele, and Fred L. Shuttlesworth establish the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, of which King is made the first president. The SCLC becomes a major force in organizing the civil rights movement and bases its principles on nonviolence and civil disobedience. According to King, it is essential that the civil rights movement not sink to the level of the racists and hatemongers who oppose them: "We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline," he urges.


(Little Rock, Ark.) Formerly all-white Central High School learns that integration is easier said than done. Nine black students are blocked from entering the school on the orders of Governor Orval Faubus. President Eisenhower sends federal troops and the National Guard to intervene on behalf of the students, who become known as the "Little Rock Nine."*


1961

Over the spring and summer, student volunteers begin taking bus trips through the South to test out new laws that prohibit segregation in interstate travel facilities, which includes bus and railway stations. Several of the groups of "freedom riders," as they are called, are attacked by angry mobs along the way. The program, sponsored by The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), involves more than 1,000 volunteers, black and white.


1962

James Meredith becomes the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Violence and riots surrounding the incident cause President Kennedy to send 5,000 federal troops.


1963

Martin Luther King is arrested and jailed during anti-segregation protests in Birmingham, Ala.; he writes his seminal "Letter from Birmingham Jail," arguing that individuals have the moral duty to disobey unjust laws.

During civil rights protests in Birmingham, Ala., Commissioner of Public Safety Eugene "Bull" Connor uses fire hoses and police dogs on black demonstrators. These images of brutality, which are televised and published widely, are instrumental in gaining sympathy for the civil rights movement around the world.

Jun
(Jackson, Miss.) Mississippi's NAACP field secretary, 37-year-old Medgar Evers, is murdered outside his home. Byron De La Beckwith is tried twice in 1964, both trials resulting in hung juries*. Thirty years later he is convicted for murdering Evers.

Aug. 28
(Washington, D.C.) About 200,000 people join the March on Washington. Congregating at the Lincoln Memorial, participants listen as Martin Luther King delivers his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

1964
Jan. 23
The 24th Amendment abolishes the poll tax*, which originally had been instituted in 11 southern states after Reconstruction to make it difficult for poor blacks to vote.

July 2
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion, or national origin. The law also provides the federal government with the powers to enforce desegregation.

Aug. 4
(Neshoba Country, Miss.) The bodies of three civil-rights workers—two white, one black—are found in an earthen dam, six weeks into a federal investigation backed by President Johnson. James E. Chaney, 21; Andrew Goodman, 21; and Michael Schwerner, 24, had been working to register black voters in Mississippi, and, on June 21, had gone to investigate the burning of a black church. They were arrested by the police on speeding charges, incarcerated for several hours, and then released after dark into the hands of the Ku Klux Klan, who murdered them.

1965

Feb. 21
(Harlem, N.Y.) Malcolm X, Black Nationalist and founder of the Organization of Afro-American Unity, is shot to death. It is believed the assailants are members of the Black Muslim faith, which Malcolm had recently abandoned in favor of orthodox Islam.

March 7
(Selma, Ala.) Blacks begin a march to Montgomery in support of voting rights but are stopped at the Pettus Bridge by a police blockade. Fifty marchers are hospitalized after police use tear gas, whips, and clubs against them. The incident is dubbed "Bloody Sunday" by the media. The march is considered the catalyst for pushing through the voting rights act five months later.

Aug. 10
Congress passes the Voting Rights Act of 1965, making it easier for Southern blacks to register to vote. Literacy tests, poll taxes, and other such requirements that were used to restrict black voting are made illegal.



Part 3 of a 3-part assignment by Daniel Cappi, L y C II, 2009

Thanks Daniel for such a good research

Civil rights: Second part A bird in a cage – Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on July 18, 1918. His father was Chief Henry Mandela of the Tembu Tribe. Mandela himself was educated at University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand and qualified in law in 1942. He joined the African National Congress in 1944 and was engaged in resistance against the ruling National Party's apartheid policies after 1948. He went on trial for treason in 1956-1961 and was acquitted* in 1961.

After the banning of the ANC in 1960, Nelson Mandela argued for the setting up of a military wing within the ANC. In June 1961, the ANC* executive considered his proposal on the use of violent tactics and agreed that those members who wished to involve themselves in Mandela's campaign would not be stopped from doing so by the ANC. This led to the formation of Umkhonto We Sizwe. Mandela was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to five years' imprisonment with hard labour.It was In 1963, when many fellow leaders of the ANC and the Umkhonto we Sizwe were arrested, Mandela was brought to stand trial with them for plotting to overthrow* the government by violence. His statement from the dock received considerable international publicity. On June 12, 1964, eight of the accused, including Mandela, were sentenced to life imprisonment. From 1964 to 1982, he was incarcerated at Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town; thereafter, he was at Pollsmoor Prison, nearby on the mainland.

Part 2 of a 3-part assignment by Daniel Cappi, L y C II, 2009

Civil Rights:First part: A pioneer in India

Gandhi takes on Domestic Problems

In 1932, Gandhi began new civil-disobedience campaigns against the British. Arrested twice, the Mahatma fasted* for long periods several times; these fasts were effective measures against the British, because revolution might well have broken out in India if he had died. In September 1932, while in jail, Gandhi undertook a "fast unto death" to improve the status of the Hindu Untouchables*. The British, by permitting the Untouchables to be considered as a separate part of the Indian electorate, were, according to Gandhi, countenancing an injustice. Although he was himself a member of an upper caste, Gandhi was the great leader of the movement in India dedicated to eradicating the unjust social and economic aspects of the caste system.

In 1934 Gandhi formally resigned from politics, being replaced as leader of the Congress party by Jawaharlal Nehru. Gandhi traveled through India, teaching ahimsa and demanding eradication of "untouchability." The esteem in which he was held was the measure of his political power. So great was this power that the limited home rule granted by the British in 1935 could not be implemented until Gandhi approved it. A few years later, in 1939, he again returned to active political life because of the pending federation of Indian principalities with the rest of India. His first act was a fast, designed to force the ruler of the state of Rajkot to modify his autocratic rule. Public unrest caused by the fast was so great that the colonial government intervened; the demands were granted. The Mahatma again became the most important political figure in India.


Independence for India

When World War II broke out; the Congress party and Gandhi demanded a declaration of war aims and their application to India. As a reaction to the unsatisfactory response from the British, the party decided not to support Britain in the war unless the country were granted complete and immediate independence. The British refused, offering compromises that were rejected. When Japan entered the war, Gandhi still refused to agree to Indian participation. He was interned in 1942 but was released two years later because of failing health.


Part 1 of a 3 part assignment by Daniel Cappi, L y C II, 2009

The Great Depression

The Great Depression was an economic slump in North America, Europe, and other industrialized areas of the world that began in 1929 and lasted until about 1939. It was the longest and most severe depression ever experienced by the industrialized Western world.

Though the U.S. economy had gone into depression six months earlier, the Great Depression may be said to have begun with a catastrophic collapse of stock-market prices on the New York Stock Exchange in October 1929. During the next three years stock prices in the United States continued to fall, until by late 1932 they had dropped to only about 20 percent of their value in 1929. Besides ruining many thousands of individual investors, this precipitous decline in the value of assets greatly strained banks and other financial institutions, particularly those holding stocks in their portfolios. Many banks were consequently forced into insolvency; by 1933, 11,000 of the United States' 25,000 banks had failed. The failure of so many banks, combined with a general and nationwide loss of confidence in the economy, led to much-reduced levels of spending and demand and hence of production, thus aggravating the downward spiral. The result was drastically falling output and drastically rising unemployment; by 1932, U.S. manufacturing output had fallen to 54 percent of its 1929 level, and unemployment had risen to between 12 and 15 million workers, or 25-30 percent of the work force.

The Great Depression began in the United States but quickly turned into a worldwide economic slump owing to the special and intimate relationships that had been forged between the United States and European economies after World War I. The United States had emerged from the war as the major creditor and financier of postwar Europe, whose national economies had been greatly weakened by the war itself, by war debts, and, in the case of Germany and other defeated nations, by the need to pay war reparations. So once the American economy slumped and the flow of American investment credits to Europe dried up, prosperity tended to collapse there as well. The Depression hit hardest those nations that were most deeply indebted to the United States, i.e., Germany and Great Britain. In Germany, unemployment rose sharply beginning in late 1929, and by early 1932 it had reached 6 million workers, or 25 percent of the work force. Britain was less severely affected, but its industrial and export sectors remained seriously depressed until World War II. Many other countries had been affected by the slump by 1931.


More about it: here & here

World War II

Our current topic of class discussion is WW II, causes, idelogy behind, course of action and consequences.Here are some links to download PPP of the subject.

WW2-Intro
WW2-2

Maus -Art Spiegelman

Winner of the Pulitzer prize for literature, Art Spiegelman's "Maus: A Survivor's Tale" is a unique and unforgettable work. This two-volume set of book-length comics (or "graphic novels," if you prefer) tells the story of the narrator, Artie, and his father Vladek, a Holocaust survivor. "Maus" is thus an important example of both Holocaust literature and of the graphic novel. The two volumes of "Maus" are subtitled "My Father Bleeds History" and "And Here My Troubles Began"; they should be read together to get the biggest impact.Artie is a comic book artist who is trying to create art that is meaningful, not just commercial. As the two volumes of "Maus" unfold, he gradually learns the full story of his father's history as a Jewish survivor of the World War II Holocaust. There is a complex "book within the book" motif, since the main character is actually writing the book that we are reading. This self-referentiality also allows Spiegelman to get in some satiric material.

The distinguishing conceit of "Maus" involves depicting the books' humanoid characters as having animal heads. All the Jews have mice heads, the Germans are cats, the Americans dogs, etc. It is a visually provocative device, although not without problematic aspects. To his credit, Spiegelman addresses some of the ambiguities of this visual device in the course of the 2 volumes. For example, Artie's wife, a Frenchwoman who converted to Judaism, wonders what kind of animal head she should have in the comic.

"Maus" contains some stunning visual touches, as well as some truly painful and thought-provoking dialogue. Vladek is one of the most extraordinary characters in 20th century literature. As grim as the two books' subject matter is, there are some moments of humor and warmth. Overall, "Maus" is a profound reflection on family ties, history, memory, and the role of the artist in society.


A book to accompany the subject of WWII in our syllabus, it´s highly advisable to read to have another view on the War and the Holocaust.

Maus: Book One
Maus: Book Two

The Northern Irish Conflict. The so-called "The Troubles"

The Troubles (Irish: Na Trioblóidí) was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast Agreement of 1998. Violence nonetheless continues on a sporadic basis.
The principal issues at stake in the Troubles were the constitutional status of Northern Ireland and the relationship between the mainly-Protestant Unionist and mainly-Catholic Nationalist communities in Northern Ireland. The Troubles had both political and military (or paramilitary) dimensions. Its participants included politicians and political activists on both sides, republican and loyalist paramilitaries, and the security forces of the United Kingdom and of Ireland.
To complete the information, consult this web site.

Assignment for Language and Culture II

Cultural references of the XXth century.

a. Find in different EFL textbooks currently being used in our schools (either in EP or ES) examples of cultural references corresponding to topics developed in our syllabus. They could be:

1. Icons or cultural images.
2. Characters or important personalities.
3. Topics or relevant events.


b. In each case mention the textbook and publishing year, teaching point, age group, what icon, character or event is the example referring to(with a short explanation of it; not longer than 400 words. Please avoid the internet copy and paste!!!).

c. Reflect upon the references, taking into account the relevance of the examples for the students , its effectiveness as regards the points taught and suggest changes if you consider so.

d. You are expected to include the photocopy of the lesson where the cultural reference is found, the sources and the bibliography used in each case.

e. The whole work (not including the photocopies of the text analysed) should not be longer than 4 pages. Prioritize your own reflection on c.

f. Date to hand in: second week in August (hand in during examination boards)

g. Please if you have doubts, post them here in the "comentarios" section so everybody can profit from our reflections.

Set Book for after holidays

The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger. Originally published for adults, the novel has become a common part of high school and college curricula throughout the English-speaking world; it has also been translated into almost all of the world's major languages.Around 250,000 copies are sold each year, with total sales of more than sixty-five million. The novel's antihero, Holden Caulfield, has become an icon for teenage rebellion and defiance.

The novel was chosen by Time among the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005, and by Modern Library and its readers as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

To download the complete text, click here

Berenice Bobs her Hair- Analysis

Fitzgerald's stories chronicled a new generation of American youth whose excesses astounded their elders, and his delightful, bold, and infuriating characters provided a template for the modern socialite. Any talk of the "Jazz Age" (also known as the "Roaring Twenties") of the 1920s immediately brings to mind images straight out of Fitzgerald's world – devastatingly charming flappers and their debonair dates. The collection that features "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" is actually titled Flappers and Philosophers (1920), a label that immediately announces its subject matter.

Fitzgerald strove to faithfully and entertainingly depict the changing face of youth in his time; the women are envisioned as forward-thinking, revolutionary "flappers" (slang for the kind of new, fast-talking, Charleston-dancing, jazz-listening, leg-baring gal that emerged at this time), while the men, who either narrowly missed or survived the horrors of World War I, are labeled "philosophers." This title sums up the hedonistic modus operandi of the period: life might be short, so you might as well make it as sweet as possible.

"Bernice" isn't quite as dramatic in its embrace of this philosophy as some of Fitzgerald's other works, but it still gets the message across. The young characters we encounter here are on a different schedule than their parents; instead of planning for the future, they're all about living in the moment. Marjorie proudly claims to be a "gardenia girl", a blossom that's incredibly beautiful, but whose beauty fades fast. Rather than plodding along steadily and never really enjoying herself, Marjorie's motto is something akin to "live fast, die young." Bernice, on the other hand, represents the traditional mode of womanhood – she's totally predictable, and totally boring. The conflict between the two cousins demonstrates the tumultuous social conditions of Fitzgerald's time, with a freshness and accessibility that still impresses readers even ninety years down the road.


Symbolism, Imagery, and Allegory


Hair

It's obvious from the title that hair – and a certain haircut – is of great import in this text. Hair (both Bernice's and Marjorie's) has great symbolic weight here. There's a reason that everyone is so shocked and titillated by the idea of Bernice bobbing her beautiful hair; up until the 1920s, long, glorious, pampered hair was a key component of traditional feminine beauty. The idea of bobbed hair, which came into style in the Roaring Twenties, was considered scandalous and, as Bernice herself jokingly comments, even "unmoral". At the end, one of the reasons Mrs. and Mr. Harvey are so upset by Bernice's bob is that one of their friends, Mrs. Deyo, is a strong opponent of bobbed hair. The fact that a simple hair cut could so upset an entire town may seem ludicrous to us now, but if we consider it in the context of the changing social period Fitzgerald lived in, it makes more sense. Long hair represented both a woman's beauty and her virtue – and bobbing one's hair simply wasn't seen as something a respectable, well-bred girl would do. When Bernice bobs her hair, she is horrified by the dramatic way in which it changes her whole appearance; it robs her of her charm and renders her totally altered. This horror is what makes her ultimate revenge on Marjorie – the removal of her cousin's beautiful hair – even more fitting and gleefully, sinfully, delicious. Marjorie, for all her talk of being a modern girl, prides herself on her traditional feminine beauty, something that Bernice violently takes away from her at the end of the story.

Women / Womanhood

"Bernice Bobs Her Hair," is an allegory for the changing social mores of Fitzgerald's time. Bernice, Marjorie, and Mrs. Harvey all represent different kinds of womanhood, and different sets of social beliefs, and their interactions demonstrate to us the conflict between tradition and modernity. The old-fashioned world that Mrs. Harvey (and Bernice's unseen mother) represent is one in which "all young ladies who belonged to nice families had glorious times", and Little Women was still a model for feminine behaviour. Marjorie, on the other hand, lives in a modern world where a girl has to earn her own popularity. Poor Bernice is stuck in an odd transitional period in between these two ideological spheres, and the conflict of the story is really her struggle to move from one to the other.

Women and Femininity

Up until the twentieth century, one of the most common questions in literature was, "What do men expect from women?" After a certain point, however, the question changed. In "Bernice Bobs Her Hair," we see a new issue emerge: what do women expect from women? This story asks us to evaluate and challenge traditional expectations of womanhood and femininity in comparison to a new kind of woman that exploded into life in the post-Victorian era. However, in the end, neither definition is totally satisfactory; Fitzgerald asks us to question whether or not we should create clear-cut models for femininity at all.
Theme of Youth

"Bernice Bobs Her Hair," like many of Fitzgerald's stories and novels, contemplates what it means to be young, specifically, what it means to be young in a wildly changing social climate. The young people we see here challenge the belief systems they grew up with, and, at times, they shock their parents and other elders. The story asks us to ponder youth and its value, while also looking rather fondly back at the teenage years as a time of rash decisions and heightened emotions.

Identity

It's tough to develop – and maintain – one's own sense of individual identity, when the whole world seems to want to tell us how to act, dress, think, and speak. The characters in "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" don't have it any easier. Even though this story takes place in the now-distant 1920s, we can sympathize with them; they're all dominated by social expectations, pressures, and judgments of the trend-heavy world around them.

Competition

Girls can be competitive. In "Bernice Bobs Her Hair," social competition becomes a matter of life and death. The two main characters unintentionally become fierce competitors in the brutal game of popularity, and when it becomes apparent that an eligible bachelor is the prize, they pull out all stops. What results is a chain of events that is by turns horrible and hilarious.
Betrayal

the antagonist of "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" flips instantly from mentor to metaphorical murderer. The end of this story hinges upon a vicious act of betrayal, and in its aftermath, nothing can possibly be the same again. The story rather uncomfortably asks us to examine just how quickly things can go from ideal to awful – and how the twin demons of competition and jealousy can instantly change the nature of a relationship.

Jealousy

Jealousy plays a central role in "Bernice Bobs Her Hair." Even though its antagonist, a girl who seems to have it all, realizes full well that she has it all, she still can't help but be jealous. In "Bernice Bobs Her Hair," jealousy is simply a fact of life, especially when the person in question is a popularity-obsessed teenager who's used to getting everything she wants. Fitzgerald reminds us of the bitter truth – even when we don't realize it, we're often jealous of someone. It sneaks up on us unawares, and sometimes we don't even recognize it until its too late. Once released, though, jealousy is almost impossible to rein in.

Plot Analysis

Initial Situation

Bernice visits her cousin, Marjorie, for the summer.
The set-up to this story is simple – Marjorie is a ten, but her cousin Bernice is a zero. We see evidence of this at the country club dance, where Marjorie basically has to flirtatiously blackmail people into dancing with the boring Bernice. The difference between the two cousins couldn't be more obvious. We get the feeling that Marjorie just can't wait to get her cousin off her back and enjoy the rest of her summer.
Conflict

Bernice overhears a conversation
(about herself) between Marjorie and Mrs. Harvey; Bernice and Marjorie quarrel.
The conflict here is quite a literal one – Bernice, who overhears her cousin trash-talking her, confronts Marjorie, and the two of them get into a (verbal) fight. Marjorie's sharp-tongued attacks on her rather feeble cousin are effective, and we see what the two of them are really made of – at this stage, at least. The conflict between cousins sets us up to view Marjorie as the strong character and Bernice as the weak, submissive one. This kind of throws us for a little loop when the "Complication" comes along…

Complication


Motivated by Marjorie's criticism, Bernice decides to try to learn how to be popular.
Bernice's change of heart certainly throws a big fat wrench into the works here. While we were ready to accept Bernice's anticipated return home to Eau Claire, she throws us a curveball and decides to stay. We're not sure what's going to happen as these two antagonistic cousins attempt to work together to reinvent Bernice's image, and, like Bernice, we feel some trepidation about it.

Climax
Under Marjorie's tutelage, Bernice becomes a social success – so much so that Warren transfers his affections to her. Marjorie confronts Bernice about Warren.
Things are going well, but there's trouble in paradise. As soon as Bernice threatens her status as queen bee, Marjorie turns against her cousin. This flip from mentor to antagonist is a distinct landmark in the story – we know that things will never be the same between Bernice and Marjorie.

Suspense

Marjorie exposes Bernice's "line" about bobbing her hair at a party.
This scene, which takes place at an afternoon bridge party, is one of the greatest moments of discomfort in the story. Marjorie, jealous of Bernice's success, reveals the fact that Bernice doesn't actually intend to cut her hair. The resultant challenging curiosity that she faces from all of her new friends throws her into a position of anxiety and uncertainty.

Denouement(anti-climax)

Bernice bobs her hair.
Finally, here it is – the moment we've all been waiting for since the title. Bernice does in fact go to the Sevier Barber Shop and bob her hair, and the story shows us at last what we've been alternately hoping for and dreading all along. The haircut is a disaster, and everything Bernice has worked for is immediately destroyed with the snip of a pair of shears. All of a sudden, Bernice is alone – her new "friends" abandon her (including Warren), and there's no way she can return to her old, sedate life.


Conclusion

Bernice takes revenge on Marjorie by chopping off her hair.
This incredibly satisfying conclusion settles the score: Marjorie gets her comeuppance for being a manipulative, jealous, and cold-hearted villain. The conclusion is both resolution and irresolution, for while we get the undeniable thrill of seeing Bernice get her revenge, we're also not sure about her own future. That's part of what makes this story so enjoyable, though – the uncertainty is exciting and strange, and we hope that Bernice goes out with her new-found determination and will and becomes strong woman she has the potential to be.

To get into the "vibe" of those times,watch these videos!

Berenice Bobs her Hair

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American writer of novels and short stories, whose works are evocative of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. Fitzgerald is considered together with Gertrude Stein and Enrnest Hemingway, a member of the "Lost Generation" of the Twenties. He finished four novels, including The Great Gatsby and wrote dozens of short stories that treat themes of youth and promise along with despair and age.

The 1920s proved the most influential decade of Fitzgerald's development.The Great Gatsby, considered his masterpiece, was published in 1925. Fitzgerald made several excursions to Europe, notably Paris and the French Riviera, and became friends with many members of the American expatriate community in Paris, notably Ernest Hemingway.

Hemingway looked up to Fitzgerald as an experienced professional writer. Hemingway greatly admired The Great Gatsby and wrote in his A Moveable Feast "If he could write a book as fine as The Great Gatsby I was sure that he could write an even better one" .

Although Fitzgerald's passion lay in writing novels, only his first novel sold well enough to support the opulent lifestyle that he and his wife Zelda adopted as New York celebrities. As did most professional authors at the time, Fitzgerald supplemented his income by writing short stories for such magazines as The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's Weekly, and Esquire, and sold movie rights of his stories and novels to Hollywood studios. Many of these stories act as testing grounds for his novels.

Fitzgerald wrote frequently for The Saturday Evening Post. This issue from May 1, 1920, containing the short story "Bernice Bobs Her Hair", was the first with Fitzgerald's name on the cover.
And this is the story by Scott Fitzgerald we are going to read in our course. So click HERE and download it....Good reading!!!



A big thanks to Bárbara Bezuch who found the link!!!

source:www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/bernice/

World War I

Here are some interesting Power Point Presentations that we dealt with in class:

The Road to WW1: http://rapidshare.com/files/233802830/TheRoadToWW1__1_.ppt

WW1: http://rapidshare.com/files/233807838/WW1_2_.ppt

WW1: Territorial changes:http://rapidshare.com/files/233809107/WWITerritorialChanges_4_.ppt

WW1: Summary:http://rapidshare.com/files/233814700/WWW1_summary.ppt

"Soldier´s Home" by Ernest Hemingway

"Soldier's Home" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway, first collected in In Our Time (1925).
The story opens when the protagonist, Harold Krebs, has just come back from World War I.

Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 — July 2, 1961) was an American writer and journalist. He was part of the 1920s expatriate community in Paris, and one of the veterans of World War I later known as "the Lost Generation." He received the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for The Old Man and the Sea, and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.

Hemingway's distinctive writing style is characterized by economy and understatement, and had a significant influence on the development of twentieth-century fiction writing. His protagonists are typically stoical men who exhibit an ideal described as "grace under pressure." Many of his works are now considered classics of American literature.

During the First World War, against his father's wishes,he tried to join the United States Army to see action in World War I. He failed the medical examination due to poor vision, and instead joined the Red Cross Ambulance Corps. On his route to the Italian front, he stopped in Paris, which was under constant bombardment from German artillery. Instead of staying in the relative safety of the Hotel Florida, Hemingway tried to get as close to combat as possible.
Soon after arriving on the Italian Front Hemingway witnessed the brutalities of war. On his first day on duty an ammunition factory near Milan blew up. Hemingway had to pick up the human—primarily female—remains. Hemingway wrote about this experience in his short story "A Natural History of the Dead". This first encounter with death left him shaken.
On July 8, 1918, Hemingway was wounded while delivering supplies to soldiers, which ended his career as an ambulance driver. He was later awarded the Silver Medal of Military Valor (medaglia d'argento) from the Italian government for dragging a wounded Italian soldier to safety in spite of his own injuries. He was credited as the first American wounded in Italy during WWI by newspapers at the time but there is debate surrounding the veracity of this claim.
This left an indelible mark on his psyche and provided inspiration for, and was fictionalized in, one of his early novels, A Farewell to Arms and other stories.

Hemingway in WWI

The set test from Hemingway is "Soldier´s Home". You can download it here

The War Poets

Our first topic related to literature is about the so-called "War Poets" ,there are several good sites to consult. Click here and you´ll find some of W. Owen´s work and reviews. Another English War Poet was R.Brooke ,if you go here you´ll find some of his poems that we´ll deal with in class.
Finally, here you´ll find the work of S.Sassoon, another English war poet.

Good poem hunting!!!

Poems we´ll read by Owen: "Dulce et DecorumEst"; "Futility"; "Exposure".
by Sassoon:"Survivors";"Does it Matter?"
by Brooke: "The Dead";"Safety"

Recommendation

Watching TV is sometimes fun, sometimes educational but very seldom both. I have found a very interesting series broadcasted by Sony channel called "American Dreams". The series deals with a typical American family in the 60´s and follows all the important events of the decade as the assassination of President Kennedy (the episode I watched)
As you will see in our syllabus that is very improtant decade in America and in the world, so this is a unique opportunity to have fun and entertainment at the same time we watch something that can help us study or reflect on what we have studied.

Saturdays 1 pm, Sony Channel.

WELCOME!!!

Welcome 2009 students!! This blog will help us be in contact and it can help you study and find material for your subject.I also expect that some of your productions alongside the year will be here.

Our first topic is World War I and the English War Poets; try this site:(click here)


And for maps, this(click here) is very good!!!

David Lodge: Nice Work

In our syllabus of Language & Culture II, one of the set novels is Nice Work by David Lodge.
The BBC World Service has a site called "World Book Club" where you can hear authors talking about their work.
Among others like Hanif Kureishi talking about The Buddha of Suburbia, or Doris Lessing The Grass is Singing, there´s an audio of David Lodge reading and talking about his novel, Nice Work.Interesting for those who are preparing their final exam or for the ones who are going to attend the subject in 2009, but also for literature lovers in general. this is the link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/133_wbc_archive_new/page4.shtm


Thanks to Claudia Girod.