Moliere Part Deux

Act 1, Scene 5 contains an important exchange. Orgon criticizes what he calls "free-thinking" because it challenges "faith," while Cleante delivers his long monologue about Nature (read "human nature") and "Reason's laws." This is the heart of the Enlightenment argument. But note as you read further that Cleante, for all his wise words, is relatively powerless. For that matter, power itself is an important issue here. Who wields it, or who thinks they do when perhaps they really do not?

Les Miserables

Hi everyone. You should watch the film Les Miserables in the next few days. (I really like the 1998 version with Liam Neeson, available for viewing instantly at Netflix.) The author of the novel upon which the movie is based, Victor Hugo, is one of our authors in the Literary Paris book. It's a very modern story in a sense about the conflict between the law, government, and the individual. In particular, I find Javert's "solution" to the quandry that he finds himself in at the very end of the movie to be especially interesting.

Verlaine

Verlaine is also one of the writers in our Literary Paris book. Read his description. What do you think is the tone of the poem? There is one line that I think is espcially poignant, and it comes in the final stanza. Which do you think it is? Why is it interesting? You can find more information about Verlaine on Poets.org

Buttering the Bagel and French Theory

1. Under what conditions is buttering my bagel an artistic act?

2. As you read the essay on French theory, don't get bogged down in all the names. What I want you to understand is the author's description of the Enlightenment period and the problems that arose as a result of the movement toward rationalism and away from the faith-based arguments of the church. There are direct applications here to Voltaire, but also to all of the rest of the readings. The readings in the packet could not be possible without the Enlightenment and the problems/solutions that it proposed.