Franz Kafka airport

The Onion, a satirical newspaper has taken the definition of kafkaesque to a new impersonal level with a very clever news report on how the Franz Kafka International Airport in Prague has been named the "Most Dehumanizing Airport" in the world. Very funny, check it out, and be sure to read the clever embedded jokes in the background as well. Click below:
Onion report on Franz Kafka International Airport.

Taking the "Streetcar"

As we look at the play A Streetcar Named Desire, we will be exploring the controversial nature of this play as well as its playwright. Tennessee Williams brought a new kind of theater to the stage that played as much on illusion as it did on stark reality. Perhaps it is the best play to follow the study of Ibsen since Williams takes the taboo subjects that Ibsen tackled and exposes the vulnerable underbelly of society. Taking a Streetcar Named Desire is never a comfortable ride, and it has come under much criticism in the year's since its stage debut. One thing is certain though: in Blanche Dubois and Stanley Kowalski, Williams created some of literature's most intriguing characters. Let's see what your take is. You will be asked to comment on the play as you did for Doll's House. This time I will leave the topic up to you. To many, the play is shocking. Recent critics comment on Williams negative portrayal of men (sometimes claiming it is a homosexual's view of heterosexual relationships), others find his female characters even more demeaning. Personally, I find it all just good theater -- not pleasant by any means, but definitely engaging. Let's mix it up in our online discussion. Please post your comments between April 1 and April 17 for discussion grade.

Getting Bugged by Kafka

As we study Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis in IB English A1 year 1, we need to figure out this often misunderstood author and his work. In order to do that, I ask that you work in your home group on your research findings by calling up one of these articles on Kafka and becoming an expert on it. We will be working in the computer lab on this, so you will not be allowed to print the articles out, you must gather your information while we are in class March 10/11 and you will debrief your group on your findings back in class March 14/15. At that point, you will turn in a short article synopsis (no more than 1 1/2 pages double-spaced typed) and we shall begin unraveling the story of Gregor Samsa's transformation. The following are the article you may consider and some other curiousities I found on the web about all things Metamorphosis:
* Kafka's connection to Judaism
* Kafka's connection to the literary world
* Kafka's connection to Berlin
* Kafka's personal connection to Metamorphosis
* Kafka's negative connection to his father
* Kafka's connection to Milena Jesenska

And here are some interesting things to browse:
* The Metamorphosis and David Bowie's "Changes"
* A modern dance production of The Metamorphosis
* A very strange (but cool) retelling of The Metamorphosis as if Gregor is a robot who suddenly wakes to find he is now human (or a pressurized bag of jelly)
* Slides of Kafka quotes set to classical music
I was also asked to include a link to the video of Nabokov on Kafka for you as well:
Here is Part 1 and here is Part 2

Keeping it Real With Ibsen

Emma Goldman in her book The Social Significance of Modern Drama has this to say about the impact of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House:

"When Nora closes behind her the door of her doll's house, she opens wide the gate of life for woman, and proclaims the revolutionary message that only perfect freedom and communion make a true bond between man and woman, meeting in the open, without lies, without shame, free from the bondage of duty."

As we come to the end of this play in IB A1 Year Two, we need to consider the implications it has on our lives today as well. One of the best questions you can ask yourself in preparation for the mock exams in a few weeks as well as the IB exams in May is what is the enduring power of this play that continues to make it get produced year after year somewhere in the world. What for you makes this work last? Please respond to this with your own views by clicking the comments button below. Post your response by March 15 for us to consider as we enter mock exams. Check back and respond to your classmates.

To read the article this quote came from, click here.