Write paragraphs responding to these questions:A-. In?artuffeMetamorphosisTartuffeMetamorphosis?y Moliere and?by Kafka we see the dynamics of two families in action. Orgon in?goes from being alienated from his family because of his views about Tartuffe to be integrated with them. Gregor in?goes from being the chief support and bread winner in his family to be alienated from them. 1-explain the trajectory of each of these characters in their relationships with their respective families 2- compare the feeling the reader is left with at the end of each story.B- Critics use the word epiphany to describe the insight gained by characters in the stories in James Joyce’s?he Dubliners ?tory “The Dead”. 1-Compare and contrast the epiphany or sense of self-awareness Gabriel comes to in “The Dead” with that experienced by the news correspondent, Rolf in Isabel Allende’s story, “And of Clay Are We Created.” 2-explain what precipitates each of their epiphanies 3- explain how these moments of self-awareness might change the lives of each of these characters for better or for worse. 4-compare and contrast the emotional impact of these two stories on the reader.C- In The Tale of Kieu and The Cane.1-???magine how Kieu in?he Tale of Kieu?y Nguyen Du might have responded to Damaio in “The Cane” by Machado de Assis and his desire to leave his training for the priesthood against his father’s wishes. 2-???hat does Kieu do to help her family? 3-???hat does Damaio do to rebel against his? 4-???ow do the points of view of these two characters reflect the differences in the societies in which they were raised? 5-???hich point of view do you find it easier to identify, that is which is closest to the way you view the world? Do you think loyalty to family or personal fulfillment is more important? Explain why.D-. Social change is occurring in Russia during the time of?he Cherry Orchard.1-???escribe one character who embraces change and another character who resists it in The Cherry Orchard.?E- Select and discuss? memorable?haracter from one of?he works listed in the 4 questions above. Explain what you like and dislike about this character and explain why?ou find him or her memorable. Relate some aspect of this characters’ personality or circumstances to your own life.?eferences:-?????ttps://youtu.be/Jwskdow_Vlg-?????ttps://youtu.be/AWv4Ss8G9is-?????ttps://youtu.be/l8IaoXoYDwY-?????ttps://youtu.be/UNyBcL5wcQA-?????ttps://youtu.be/sPEklVaO7TU-?????ttps://youtu.be/HLbTcGZztNg-?????ttps://youtu.be/5HK6gkdrR0o-?????ttps://youtu.be/h_cYR4KF84I-?????ttps://youtu.be/Kf6ybOErtPI-?????ttps://youtu.be/9JgroQvSzwoJOAQUIM MARIA MACHADO DE ASSIS1839-1908 o one could have predicted that Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis would become Brazil’s greatest writer. Born the grandson of freed slaves in a dilapidated corner of Rio de Janeiro, subject to fits of epilepsy, afflicted with a pronounced stutter, and having no more than an elementary school education, this man of color becamc the first president of Brazil’s Academy of Letters and one of the most innovative, playful, and technically adventurous writers of the whole nineteenth century. Particularly skilled at revealing gaps between high-flown rhetoric and bleak reality, Machado?s he is called?sed his fiction to expose hypocrisy and pretension at the heart of Brazilian societv.782???????????????????????????????DF Machado’s father was a housepainter of ‘nixed race. his mother a white Portuguese wornan who died when he was a small child. He taught hirnself largely bv listening in on lessons at a girls school where his stepmother worked in the kitchen. In his carlv teens he took a job as an apprentice printer and began to write for publication, By the age of twenty-five he was a literary star, hai.inu established himseff as an editor, translator, poet, and writer of criticism and drama. Elegant, reserved, and courteous, he was happily married to the sister of a close poet friend. Despite his literary success, he took bureaucratic posts in the Brazilian government to ensure a steadv income. Machado eventuallv became best known for his novcls and short stories, which in the 1880s broke with all established schools and styles. Draw ing on a huge range of influences thal included Shakespeare and Jonathan Swift, Machado often anticipated twentieth-centurv Modernist fiction byexperimenting with unreliable narrators and mischievous addresses to the reader. But he also expanded the possibilities of realism, exploring the complex psychology and social structures of modern urban life. The city of Rio de Janeiro was an especially strange and frustrating place to live in the late nineteenth century. Brazil abolished slavery’ only in 1888, vehcn Machado was forty-nine years old?the last country in [he Americas to do so. (her the previous three centuries Brazil had brought in four and a half million Africans, more slaves than anv other nation in the New World. Even very poor people?ome of them free blacks often owned a slave or two. The social life of Rio de Janeiro looked quite peculiar to nineteenth-centurv observers: its elite class turned to Europe fashion and ideas, imitating especially thc upper classes in France and Britain; its “middle class” was tvpically quite poor, composed of white immigrants from Europe and frec black workers; and the whole citv was propped up by slave labor. Machado, more than anv of his contemporaries, set out to expose the attitudes and the lies that sustained this lopsided society. Slavery often remains on the margins of Machado’s work, bul he had Longstanding fascination with questions of authoritv and control. How do people wield power? Why do ot hers submit? “The Cane” (189 1), our selection below, follows a subtle chain of influence, as a voung seminary student tries to figure out how to escape a career in the priesthood. He locates his best chance ol’ help in his godfather’s mistress, herself is eager to show her power over both her lover and her slaves. As the main character is torn between ideals of justice and compas sion on thc one hand and a desire to realize his own freedom on the other, Machado reveals the subtle and conflicting sources of power at work organixing Brazilian society. The Cane! m ? ran away from the seminary at eleven o’clock on a Friday morning in August. I don’t know which year it was exactly, but certainlv before 1850. 2 After only a few minutes, he stopped running, suddenlv filled with embarrassment. He had not considered how people might react to the sight of a fleeing, frightened seminarian. Being unfmniliar with the streets, he walked aimlessly up and down, and finally stopped. Where could he go? [le could nol go home, because, his father, after giving him a sound beating, would send him straight back to the seminary. He had not planned where exactly he might take refuge, because he had intended making his escape at some later date; however, a chance incident had precipitated his departure. Where couldl. Translated by Margaret ]ufl Costa.2. Thc end of [he internariona] slave trade in BIWd/il.?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????HE ???????he go? There was his godfather, Joao Carneiro, but he was a spineless crcature, incapable of doing anvthing on his own initiative. He had been the one to take him to the seminary in the first place, presenting him to the rector with these words;”l bring you a great man of the future.” “We welcome great men,” the rector said, “as long as they are humble and good. Truc greatness lies in simplicity. Come in, boy.” That had been his introduction to the seminary. Shortly afterwards, he had run away. We see. him novv standing in the street, frightened, uncert.ain, not knowing where to turn for shelter or advice; in his mind, he reviewed his various relatives and friends, but none seemed quite right. Then a thought occurrcd to him: “I’ll appeal to Sinh? Rita! She’ll scnd for my godfather and tell him she wants me to leave the seminary. Perhaps that way . Sinh?Rita was a widow and Jo? Carneiro’s mistress. Dami? had a vague understanding of what this meant, and it occurred to him that he might be able to take advantage of the situation. But where did she live? He was so disoriented that it took him a few minutcs to find the house, which was in Largo do Capim. “Good heavens! W’hatcver’s the tuattcr?” cried Sinh?Rita, sitting bolt upright on the sofa on which she was reclining. Dami? had burst in unannounced, looking utterly terrified, for when he reached Sinh?Rita’s house, he saw a priest coming down the street, and, in sheer panic, he violently pushed open lhc Sinh?Rita’s front door, which, fortunately for him, was neither locked nor bolted. Once inside, he peered through the shutters to watch the priest, who had clearly failed to notice him and walked on bv. “Whatever’s the matter, Senhor Dami??” she said again, for she had rec ognized him now. “What are you doing here?” I)ami?. who was trembling so much he could barely speak, told her not to be afraid, it was nothing very important and he would explain everything.*All right, sit down and explain yourself then.”‘First, I swear that I haven’t committed a crime of any kind . Sinh?Rita stared at him in alarm, and all the young girls in the room?boarders and day pupils?froze over their lace-making pillows, their bobbins and hands suddenly motionless. Sinh?Rita earned her living largely from teaching lace-making, cut-work, and embroidery. While the boy was catching his breath, she ordered the girls to go back to their tasks, while she waited for Dami? 10 speak. Finally, he told her everything, about how much he hated the seminary and how he was certain he would not make a good priest. HC spoke with great passion and begged her to save him.”But how? I can’t do anything.””You c.ould if vou wanted to.” “No,” she said, shaking her head, “I’m not getting involved in family Inattcrs, besides, I hardly know your family, and they say your father has a vcrv nasty temper on him!”3. Variant of Portuguese word senhvra, or 4. Street in Rio de Janeiro where there was a “mistress”; used by slaves as a form of address. hangman’s scaffold and a slave cemetery.DE Dami? saw that he was Eost. In desperation, he knelt at her feet and kissed her hands. Please help me, Sinh?Rita. Please, for the love of God, by everything you hold most sacred, by the soul of your late husband, save mc from death, because I will kill myself if I have to go back.” Flattered by the boy’s pleas, Sinhki Rita tried to reason with him. The life of a priest was a very holy and pleasant one, she said; in time, he would see that it was best to overcome his dislike of the seminary and then, onc day . ‘No, never!” insisted Dami?, shaking his head and again kissing her hands and saying it would be the death of him. Sinh?Rita hesitated for a while longer. ‘Ihen she asked why he could not speak to his godfather. My godfathcr? He’s even worse than Papa. He never listens to me. I shouldn’t think he listens to anyone . Doesn’t listen, eh?” Sinh?Rita responded, her pride wounded. “I’ll show you if he listens or not.” She summoned a slave-boy and ordered him to go straight to Senhor Jo? Carnciro’s house, and if the gentleman wasn’t at home, then he should ask where he could be found and run and tell him that she needed to speak to him urgently.”Off you go.” Dami? sighed loudly and sadly. To justify the authority with which she had issued these orders, she explained to him that Senhor Joao Carneiro had been a friend of her late husband and had brought her several new pupils. Then, when hc remained leaning in the doorway, looking glum, she tweaked his nose and said, smiling:Don’t you worry, my little priest, it’ll al] be fine.” According to her birth certificate, Sinh?Rita was forty years old, but her eyes were only twenty-seven. She was a handsome, livcly woman, who enjoyed both her food and a joke; however, when she had a mind to, she could be extremely fierce. She tried to cheer the boy up and, despite the situation, this did not prove. difficult. Soon they were both laughing; she was telling him stories and asking him to reciprocate, which he did with considerable humour. One particularly extravagant tale, which required him to pull funnv faces, made one of Sinh?Rita’s pupils laugh so much that she neglected her work. Sinh? Rita picked up a cane lying next to the sofa and threatened her: Remcmbcr the cane, Lucr?ia! The girl bowed her head, waiting for thc blow, but the blow did not come. It had only been a warning. If, by the evening, she had not finished her work, then Lucr?ia would receive the usual punishment. Dami? looked at her; she vvas a scrawny little black girl, all skin and bone, with a scar on her forehead and a burn mark on her left hand. She was about eleven years old. Dami? noticed, too, that she kept coughing, quietly, as if not wanting to disturb their conversation. He felt sorry for her and decided to take her side if she did not finish her work. Sinh?Rita would be sure to forgivc her . . . Besides, she had bcen laughing at him, so it was his fault, if being funny can be a fault. At this point, Jo? Carnciro arrived. He blanched when he saw his godson there and looked at Sinh?Rita, who came straight Lo the point. She told him he had to remove the boy from the seminary, that the child had no vocation???????????????????????????????????????????t li c ???????85for the ecclesiastical life, and it was far better to have no priest at all than a bad priest. One could just as easily love and serve Our Lord in the outside world. For the first few minutes, Jo? Carneiro was too taken aback to replv?in the end, however, he did open his mouth to scold his godson for coming and bothering “complete strangers” and threatened him wit h punishment. “What do you mean ‘punishment’!” Sinh?Rita broke in. “Punish him for what? Go on, talk to his father. “I can’t promise anything, in fact, I think it’s highly unlikely, if not irnposSible . “Well, I’m telling you that it has to be possible. If you really try,” she went on in a rather insinuating tone, “I’m sure vou can sort something out. You just have to ask nicely and he’ll give in. Because, Senhor Jo? Carneiro, your godson is not going back to the seminary.’ ‘But, Senhora . . “Go on, off you go.’ Joao Carneiro did not want to go, but neither could he stay. Ile was caught between two opposing forces. He really didn’t care if the boy ended up being a cleric, a lawyer or a doctor, or something else entirely, however useless, but he was being asked to do battle with the rather’s deepest feelings and could nol guarantee the result. If he failed, that would mean another battle with Sinh?Rita, whose final words had a threatening note to them: “your godson is not going back to the seminary.” Either way, there was sure to be a ruckus. Jo? Carneiro stood there, wide-eyed, his eyelids twitching, his chest heaving. He kept shooting pleading glances al Sinh?Rita, glances in which there was just a hint of censure. Why couldn’t she ask him for something else, anything? VV’hy couldn’t she ask him to walk in the rain all the way to Tijuca or Jacarepagu?5 But to persuade a father to change his mind about his son’s career . . . He knew the boy’s father well, and knew that he was perf?tly capable of smashing a glass in his face. Ah, if only the boy would just drop down dead of an apoplectic fit! That would be a solution?ruel, ves, but final.”What do you say?” demanded Sinh? Rita. He made a gesture as if asking for more time. He stroked his beard, looking for some way out. A papal decree dissolving the Church or, at the very least, abolishing all seminaries, that would do the trick. Jo? Carneiro could then go home and enjoy a quiet game of cards. It was like asking Napoleon’s barber to lead the battle of Austerlitz f’ Alas, the Church was still thcrc, so were the seminaries, and his godson was still standing waiting by the wall, eyes downcast, with no convenient apoplectic fit in sight.”Go on, off you go,” said Sinh?Rita, handing him his hat and cane. There was nothing for it. The barber put away his razor, buckled on his sword, and went off to battle. Dami? breathed more easily, although, outwardly, he remained grave-faced, eyes fixed on the floor. This time, Sinh?Rita pinched his chin.’Comc on, don’t be so glum, lees have something to eat.””Do you really think he’ll succeed?” 5. Neighborhoods ill Rio de Janeiro. his tactical genius: Austerfitz is the present6. In 1805, the defining victory in Napoleon’s day Slavkov, a town in the (beeh Republic. military career, often considered the height of786 ????????????????????????????????E He has to,” retorted Sinhzi Rita proudlv. “Come along, the soup’s getting cold. Despitc Sinh?Rita’s natural joviality and his own naturally playful self, Dami? felt less happy over supper than he had earlier on. He had no conhdence in his spineless godfather. Nevertheless, he ate well and, towards the end, was once again telling jokes as he had in the morning. Over dessert, he heard thc sound of people in the next room, and asked if thev had come for him.’No, it’ll be the ladies.” They got up and went into the drawing-room. The “ladies” were five neighbours who came every evening after supper to have coffee with Sinhzi Rita and stayed until nightfall. Once the pupils had finished their supper, they returned to their lace-making pillows. Sinhki Rita presided over this gaggle of women, some of whom were resident and others not. The whisper of bobbins and the chatter oc the ladies vcre such worldly sounds, so far removed from theology and Latin, that the boy let himself be carried along by them and forgot about everything else. At first, the ladies were a little shy, but soon recovered. One of them sang a popular ballad accompanied on the guitar by Sinh?Rita, and the evening passed quickly. Before the soir? ended, Sinh?Rita asked Dami? to tell them the story she had particularly liked. The same one. that had made Lucr?ia laugh. ‘Come on, Senhor Dami?, don’t play hard to get. Our guests are just about to leave. You’ll really love this one, ladies. Dami? had no option but to obey. Despite the expectation created by Sinh?Rita’s words?hich rather diminished the joke and its effect-?he story did nevertheless make the ladies laugh. Plcased with himself, Dami? glanced over at Lucr?ia to sec if she had laughed as well, but she had her head bent over her work, intent now on finishing her task. She certainly wasn’t laughing, or perhaps only to herself, in the. sarne way as she kept her cough to herself. The ladies left, and darkncss fell. Dami?’s heart also grew blacker with the onset of night. What would be happening at his father’s house? Every few minutes, he went over to peer out of the window, but returned cach time feeling more discouraged. No sign of his godfather. His father had doubtless sent him packing, then summoned a couple of slaves and gone to the police station to demand that a constable come with him to arrest his son and take him back to the seminary. Dami? asked Sinh?Rita if there was [-1 back entrancc to the house and ran out into the garden to see if he could climb over the wall. He also asked if there was an escape route down Rua da Vala or if she could perhaps speak to one of her neighbours, who might be kind enough to take him in. The problem was his cassock: could Sinh?Rita lend him a jacket or an old overcoat? Sinh?Rita did indeed have a jacket, left behind by Jo? Carneiro, either as a souvenir or out of sheer absentmindedness. “I have an old jacket of my husband’s,” she said, laughing, “but why are you so frightened? It will all work out, don’t you worry.” At last, when- night had fallen, a slave arrived bearing a letter for Sinh?Rita frolil his godfather. No agreement had yet been reached; the father had reacted furiously and tried to smash everything in the room; he had roared out his disapproval, saying that if his lazy rapscallion of a son refused to go back to the seminary, he would have him thrown in jail or sent to the prison ship. Jo? Carneiro had battled very hard to persuade Dami?’s father not to????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????HE ???????????787rush into a decision, but to sleep on it and ponder deeply whether it was right to give the Church such a rebellious, immoral child. Ile explained in the letter that he had only used such languagc as a way of winning the argument. Not that he considered the argument won, by any means, but tomorrow he would go and sec the man again and try to win him round. He concluded by saying that, meanwhile, the boy could stay al his house. Dami? finished reading the letter and looked at Sinhii Rita. She’s mv last hope, he thought. Sinh?Rita ordered a bottle of ink to be brought, and she wrote this response on the bottom half of Jo? Carneiro’s letter: “MV dear Jo?zinho,7 either you save the boy or you’ll never see me again.” She sealed the letter with glue and gave it to the slave for him to deliver with all speed. Shc again tried to cheer up the reluctant seminarian, who had again donned the monkish hood of humility and consternation. She told him not to worrv, that she would sort things out.”They’ll see what I’m made of! No one’s going to get the better of me! It was time to collect in the lace work. Sinh?Rita examined each piece, and all the girls had completed their daily task. Only Lucr?ia was still at her laccmaking pillow, furiously working the bobbins, even though it was too dark to see. Sinh?Rita went over to her, saw that the work was unfinished and flew into a rage, seizing her by one ear, “You lazy girl!””Please, Senhora, please, for the love of God and Our I ady in Heaven.”You idler! Our Lady doesn’t protect good-for-nothings like you! Lucr?ia broke. away and fled the room. Sinh?Rita went after her and caught her by the arm.”Come here!””Please, Senhora, please forgive me!”No, I won’t forgive you!” And they came back into the room: i ,ucr?ia dragged along by her ear, struggling and crying and pleading; and Sinh?Rita declaring that she must be punished.”Where’s that cane?” Thc canc was next to the sofa. From the other side of the room, Sinh?Rita, not wanting to let the girl go, shouted to Dami?.”Senhor Dami?, give me that cane, will you?” Darni? froze. Oh, cruel moment! A kind of cloud passed beforc his eyes. Had he not sworn to help the young girl, who had, after all, only got behind with her work because of him?”Give me the cane, Senhor Dami?! Dami? began to walk over to the sofa. The young black girl bcggcd him by all that he held most sacred, his mother, his father, Our Lord . . “Help me, sir! Sinh?Rita, face aflame, eyes bulging, was demanding the cane, still not letting go of (he girl, who was now convulsed by a coughing fit. Dami? was terribly touched by her plight, but . he had to get out of that seminary. He went over to the sofa, picked up the cane and handed it ID Sinh?Rita.Arts & HumanitiesEnglishLiteratureLIT 212
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