For your 1st book report exam, you have to read two stories/essays written by the New York Times Best Selling author David Sedaris. They both deal with cultural differences with a humorous twist. You can download the annotated stories with the required vocabulary and various reading comprehension and vocabulary tasks via the provided download link below. You can also listen to Sedaris read one of his stories. Practice your vocabulary with the assistence of this quizlet: quizlet.com/253641668/holiday-customs-sedaris-flash-cards/ ![]()
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Brave New World is a novel written in 1931 by Aldous Huxley, and published in 1932. It is (mostly) set in London in the year AD 2540 (632 A.F.—"After Ford"—in the book). Ranked fifth by the American Modern Library among its 100 best novels, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World remains an enduring classic of speculative fiction. Since the Trump administration took over, it has become one of the top 10 best-selling books on Amazon. Important concepts: SOCIAL AND GENETIC ENGINEERING (EUGENICS), “HAPPY PILLS”= SOMA, HENRY FORD (FORDISM), SOCIAL AND BIOLOGICAL CASTE SYSTEM, CONSUMERISM, CONFORMITY, INDIVIDUALISM, ALIENATION Title: Brave New World's title is derived from William Shakespeare's play The Tempest (Oluja): "O wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, That has such people in't." Huxley's views on technology & science: When Brave New World was published, science and technology were widely seen as holding a utopian promise. Aldous Huxley’s satirical book about a technocratic, totalitarian state in which the masses are engineered into obedient workers and consumers by eugenics, drugs and mindless enjoyment was one of the first to question the benign nature of technology and science. (Keep in mind that this was before World War II and nuclear bombs). Why it is relevant today: Brave New World's dystopian state uses non-stop, trivial, sensual distractions (music, cinema, sports, sex, drugs) to prevent people from paying too much attention to social and political realities. Significance of Henry Ford: Ford is a replacement figure for "God" in the novel as presented by the utterances such as: 'Ford helps those who help themselves' or 'Ford be praised' Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and the sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. He championed the division of labour in order to increase productivity. The book envisions his practices and ideas taken to extremes: 1. people lack a comprehensive knowledge of the world (they possess only the knowledge needed to perform the tasks they were trained for) 2. an emphasis on productivity and efficiency at all costs . In a world based on these principles people are also mass produced. 3. endless mass production demands endless consumption (constant purchasing of new things) Additional explanation concerning the use of strong language: The character of John the Savage calls Lenina a whore, which you might find shocking. Other characters in the history of literature use this 'term' in reference to their mothers (Hamlet) or wives (Othello), so such name-calling is anything but rare. John the Savage believes in a modest type of love which does not revolve around sex. In comparison, Lenina views relationships with men as mostly physical, without being able to express deeper emotions because she wasn't conditioned to do so. John's violent outbursts at Lenina can be explained, though not condoned, by his inner conflict between his morals and lustful feelings. One should also not forget his 'mommy issues' and the difficulties he faced due to his mother's promiscuous behaviour in the Reservation, so it is to an extent understandable why he would feel repulsed, even aggressive, upon Lenina's sexual advances. Additional explanation concerning self-flagellation and self-punishment: After John's self-exile to a remote lighthouse, he tries to lead his life according to an extreme alternative: a modest life without any pleasures, filled with self-imposed pain and suffering (like medieval monks). However, even his self-imposed pain is turned into a sensation, another product to be consumed. His way of life is not a sustainable (nor desirable) alternative to the world at large. One of the morals of this novel is that happiness and the pursuit thereof can be perverted as much as the pursuit of unhappiness. You can download the book in various formats at: english-e-books.net/brave-new-world-aldous-huxley/ alongside with an audiobook, which I warmly recommend (especially for those who have certain issues with pronunciation). If you prefer to print it out, you can also download the book here: ![]()
Quizlet: quizlet.com/_3mpzkk
The novel, about a teenager with Asperger’s Syndrome who is as brilliant at maths as he is clueless at understanding other people, is at once a detective story, a literary triumph and a commercial success that has grown by word of mouth to beat David Beckham’s autobiography, Harry Potter and the Atkins diet. Christopher Boone, the main character and narrator, loves Sherlock Holmes, one of the most famous fictional detectives. The title of this book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time comes from a Sherlock Holmes short story called ‘The Silver Blaze’. Joke from the beginning of the novel (explained): His face was drawn but the curtains were real. This is a word-play based on the word "drawn". It can mean either a picture created with a pencil or pen, or it can mean something which is pulled. When we say someone has a drawn face (in the sense of pulled), it means the person has a strained expression, either from stress, tiredness or pain. We also draw (pull) curtains to close them. These are both common expressions. The writer uses both meanings in the sentence: his face was drawn (strained; or a picture made with a pencil), but the curtains were real (ie. not drawn shut; and not an illustration, unlike the man's face). Quizlet: quizlet.com/202812396/the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-night-time-flash-cards/ password (for filling in missing definitions, synonyms, translations): curious ![]()
You can download the adapted version of the book below . You can also print it out, if that will facilitate your reading. Use the follow-up and progress questions at the end of the book to guide you through the process of reading. Of course, your exam is going to be based on these questions. ![]()
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