People Are Strange, When You're a Stranger ...

Love? Gentle indifference? Cries of hate? Just what are your lingering thoughts concerning Camus's The Stranger? You might address something covered in class that was particularly striking or an issue that wasn't addressed in class discussion. You might choose to discuss style, characters, plot, or philosophical implications of the novel.

Crimes and Misdemeanors

What are your thoughts on Woody Allen's film Crimes and Misdemeanors? What's a crime? What's a misdemeanor? Are there parallels to Crime and Punishment? If so, why does Allen conspicuously remove the "Punishment" from the title? What are the moral and ethical implications of the film? What existential themes does this film posit? (Note: These questions are meant to get you started. Feel free to comment on any aspects of the film.)

Rock and Roll

What are your thoughts on the myth of Sisyphus and his punishment? You may approach this question in any ONE of several ways:

1. Comment on Camus's interpretation in his "The Myth of Sisyphus."

2. Provide your own metaphorical reading of Sisyphus's punishment.

3. Discuss another punishment in the Greek underworld.

(Please choose only ONE of the above.)

Russian Idol

If Crime and Punishment were a contestant on a version of American Idol that fostered competition between works of literature rather than pop singers ... well, I'd probably watch it. Anyway, how would it do? Compare it to another great work of literature you've read, providing justification for a "winner" in terms of literary success. (This is admittedly rather silly and less than useful, but I'd be interested in what you have to say here ...)

Your Turn

By now you've been exposed to a few examples of "Question #3," the open-ended prompt at the end of the free-response section of the A.P. Literature test. (For further examples, follow the link at the bottom.)

Please write your own original open-ended prompt that could be applied to a variety of works of literary merit. (Also, please include a title that you have in mind as a response to your prompt.)

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/english_lit/samp.html?englit

Mr. Raskolnikov, Meet Mr. Tolstoy ...

During the course of his epic War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy alternates historical fiction on a grand scale with a number of short, analytical "essays," ultimately proposing a theory of historical events that challenges conventional views of historians. Please follow this link for one such chapter, occurring at or near the midpoint of the novel and serving as a type of thesis statement for Tolstoy's work:

http://www.online-literature.com/tolstoy/war_and_peace/168/

(Note: This is not Chapter 1 of the entire book, but rather Chapter 1 of Book 9.)

How does Tolstoy's theory of history relate to and/or contradict the theory proposed by Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment? You might instead choose to discuss your own thoughts on the validity of Tolstoy's theory of historical events and persons.

The Root of All Evil?

"The root of all evil: that the slavish morality of meekness, chastity, selflessness, absolute obedience, has triumphed -- ruling natures were thus condemned (1) to hypocrisy, (2) to torments of conscience -- creative natures felt like rebels against God, uncertain and inhibited by eternal values ..."

- Friedrich Nietzsche (1884)

Please comment on the above passage. Feel free to respond in light of Dostoevsky or Raskolnikov, or to simply express your own thoughts about Nietzsche's comments.