Webquest: Harry Potter: Think and Write

1)     Feminist reading of Harmione’s character in Harry Potter: How do the character portrayal of Harmione and other female characters support feminist discourse?

Harry Potter novels both challenge and do not challenge the stereotypes of gender. However, all characters show both masculine and feminine characteristics and that is what makes the novels unconventional in this aspect. Gender and faminity is represented in this novel when it comes to the three main characters Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione. And femininities are portrayed in the books as a whole.

Harry Potter universe is full of take-charge women and supportive men who don’t let a silly thing like gender constructs get in the way of their fight against the evil forces of the world. In fact, many of the female characters in the Harry Potter series are great leaders, fighters, and thinkers. And one of the main themes of the work is the power of a mother’s love, which is portrayed as strong enough to thwart a terrible curse. Hermione Granger is one of the most important characters. Hermione Granger, and lists many examples of negative ways women are portrayed in the novels. Hermione to be confident in herself and not relyingon male characters to save the day. Unabashedly brilliant, Hermione Granger is a dedicated student, advocate for the ethical treatment of house elves, and overall good person. Her voracious appetite for learning, combined with a can't-be-bothered approach to beauty norms, have made her a longtime feminist icon.

 

Contrary to male characters, Hermione often shows fear - in the first novel,

for example, she cowers with fear when she sees a troll, so that the boys (Harry and Ron) had to rescue her: Hermione's characterization are reflected in her hysterical, timid and fearful behaviour, as well as the language Rowling uses to describe her behaviour. This leads to the false interpretation of female characters as weak or comical, which is unacceptable for feminist criticism. Hermione’s power is not realized through typically male roles; also, she does not attain androgynous characteristics conforming to the theories of radical feminists. 

6) Children’s Literature and Harry Potter: How far does J K Rowling transcends the canonical confines of children’s literature and claims the heights of ‘real’ literature?

Harry Potter is an international phenomenon that has had a huge impact on children's literature and the world.  In the novel optimistic, hope, full of action, fantasy and fanciful idea, think wishful thinking ,tone of  joy and innocence, unquestionably reliable friends.  The characters are children. Good wins over evil. So it is children’s literature. Harry Potter is children’s detective stories, children’s handicraft books, children’s adventure stories and children’s fantasy books, just like there encyclopaedias, detective stories, and fantasy books for adults and many are suitable for both age groups. Harry Potter is horror books and fully imagination and fantasy books but children enjoy a lot and one more things that whenever children literature wrote that time write centre of ending of any work form that is any story is horror is happy that is children literature. So Harry Potter is horror books, but fantastic books so children are like Harry Potter books.

9) The theme of Love and Death: How does Harry Potter make use of age old theme of Love of the dead as well as living as protecting armour? How does Harry Potter deal with the concept of Death as something inevitable?

Love and death are major themes in J.K.Rowling’s Harry Potter books. At the very beginning of the story we hear that Harry’s parents have died, and in due course both we and Harry learn that they were murdered. The shadow of death hangs over Harry; he learns that he, too, was intended to be a victim, but spared in a way no-one can explain.

What is worse than death is the denial or betrayal of love. This brings us to the second major theme. Harry learns that he escaped death because his parents, and especially his mother, were prepared to die for him. He was always Voldemort’s intended victim. His father, James, was killed trying to give his mother time to escape with her child. His mother, Lily, was even given the chance to stand aside and be spared. She preferred to protect him, and her love at the cost of her life gave Harry the protection that turned the Dark Lord’s curse against himself, robbing him of most of his powers for twelve years.

Harry’s own love-life is more subtly recorded. He is friend to Hermione, but Rowling never gives us grounds to suppose this will ever be more than friendship.  His first adolescent attraction is to Cho Chang, his opposite number in the opposing House Quidditch team. This theme will clearly form an important element in the final book. Harry has been saved from the start by love, the love of his mother.

Lily gave Harry the wondrous protection of her loveand a chance at a life free from Voldemort's tyranny Rowling makes a distinction between the natural process of death and Voldemort's warped attempts to "defeat" it and attain immortality. We can defined that Voldermert wish for love don’t wish for death. But he has not win the love with anybody and he didn’t win the death. Voldermert think that I have power and I win the death but at last he doesn’t want to death. 

Blog Task on Literary Analysis of Chetan Bhagat's 'one night @ the call center'

 Chetan Bhagat is an Indian author,columnist, screen writer and speaker. Bhagat is the author of the best selling novels. One night @ the call center is novel written by Chetan Bhagat Published in 2005. The novel based on The work of Call Center. The author's true intention was to convey the self-defeating nature of blaming, complaining and not taking responsibility .By showing the characters' hypocrisy.

 1)Contemporary issues in ON@TCC:-

New Literature is a contemporary and recent literature. And speak about new cultural values. Chatan Bhagat target people who are between teen and adult. ( young adult). This novel throws light on the contemporary issues of present society. All six major characters have their own problems in their personal life. Actually, they are not just imaginative characters, but they are mouthpiece or representative of majority of Indians. ON@TCC explores issues faced by call centre employees. It delves into their lifestyle. A tumultuous relationship, a bad boss and a phone call from God, ON@TCC has all this and more. So, by all this things we can say that Author very well  presented contemporary issues of the society by this Novel. And also presented contemporary awareness to the people.

2) ON@TCC as a self help Book:-

Self-help books' are books written with the intention to instruct readers on a number of personal problems. Self-help books typically advertise themselves as being able to increase self-awareness and performance, including satisfaction with one's life. Narrative techniques of the Novel is also based on idea of self - help book. self - help book becomes kind of culture and the techniques are always imaginative in that. A self help book is one that is written with the intention to instruct its reader on solving problem. Capitalism also play vital role in this. in the story we see that all Character suffer in their life. Many problems in their life. But they their all live in the life.

3) Mannepean satire:-

Menippean satire is a form of satire, usually in prose, which has a length and structure similar to a novel. Mannepean Satire is a seriocomic genre. In the novel we find that these characters suffer from the problems in their life. In this novel Bhagat represent the idea of bossism that the boss of call center who has a power over these six characters. And God making a call, Marriage of two different characters Radhika and Priyanka.

4) The effect of Globalization:-

 In this novel The effect of Globalization also describe the struggle of each of the character‘s life. As globalization was economic movement. In it we find man corporate. Friedam’s the world is Flat’ is non fictional book. Call center the title itself shows the effect of globalization.

5) Cyber Punk:-

 It is a post modern science fiction genre noted for its focus on “high tech” and low life. Cyber Punk means we can find some technological elements in the work. And we can see it in the novel like use of mail, F.M., Bug, etc. It features advanced science, such as information technology and cybernetics coupled with a degree of break down or radical change in the social order. Ans we can say that this all things very well presented in this Novel S,o we can say it categorized as cyber punk novel.

On 'Orientalism': Edward Said

Orientalism: Interview of Edward Said

 

Here I share my views regarding task on Orientalism.

1) Orientalism revolutionized the study of the Middle East and helped to create and shape entire new fields of study such as Post-Colonial theory as well influencing disciplines as diverse as English, History, Anthropology, Political Science and Cultural Studies. Professor Said's contribution to how we understand this general process of what we
could call stereotyping has been immense. The aim of this program is to explore these issues through an interview with him. He starts by discussing the context within which he conceived Orientalism.

2) The central argument of Orientalism is that the way that we acquire this knowledge is not innocent or objective but the end result of a process that reflects certain interests. That is, it is highly motivated. Specifically Said argues that the way the West, Europe and the U.S. looks at the countries and peoples of the Middle East is through a lens that distorts the actual reality of those places and those people. He calls this lens through which we view that part of the world
Orientalism,  a framework that we use to understand the unfamiliar and the strange; to make the peoples of the Middle East appear different
and threatening.

3) Professor Said's analysis of Orientalism isn't just a description of its
content but a sustained argument for why it looks the way it does. It's an examination of the quite concrete, historical and institutional context that creates it. Specifically Said locates the construction of Orientalism within the history of Imperial conquest. As empires spread across the globe historically the British and the French have been the
most important in terms of the East. They conquer not only militarily but also what we could call ideologically.
Orientalism makes this general process more formal in that it presents itself as objective knowledge. Said identifies Napoleon's conquest of Egypt in 1798 as marking a new kind of imperial and colonial conquest, that inaugurates the project of Orientalism.

4) In American Orientalism The differences between different kinds of Orientalisms are in effect the differences between different experiences of what is called the Orient. Edward said signify that mean the difference between Britain and France on the one hand and the United States on the other, is that Britain and France had colonies in the Orient. So difference between British and French Orientalism on the one hand and the American experience of the Orient on the other is that the American one is much more indirect, much more based on abstractions.

5) Edward said draw on work of Antonio Gramsci,
“Therefore the task at the outset, is to try to compile an inventory,” in
other words to try and make sense of it. And this seems to me to be the most interesting sort of human task. It's the task of interpretation. It's a task of giving history some shape and sense, for a particular reason, not just to show that my history is better than yours, or my history is worse than yours.
                                                                                      Thank you.....

 

Blog task on The Birthday Party

Film Screening - Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party 

Post-Viewing Tasks:

• Why are two scenes of Lulu omitted from the movie?
• ·         Is movie successful in giving us the effect of menace? Where you able to feel it while reading the text?
• ·         Do you feel the effect of lurking danger while viewing the movie? Where you able to feel the same while reading the text
• What do you read in 'newspaper' in the movie? Petey is reading newspaper to Meg, it torn into pieces by McCain, pieces are hidden by Petey in last scene.
• Camera is positioned over the head of McCain when he is playing Blind Man's Buff and is positioned at the top with a view of room like a cage (trap) when Stanley is playing it. What interpretations can you give to these positioning of camera? 
• "Pinter restored theater to its basic elements: an enclosed space and unpredictable dialogue, where people are at the mercy of one another and pretense crumbles." (Pinter, Art, Truth & Politics: Excerpts from the 2005 Nobel Lecture). Does this happen in the movie?
• ·         How does viewing movie help in better understanding of the play ‘The Birthday Party’ with its typical characteristics (like painteresque, pause, silence, menace, lurking danger)?
• ·         With which of the following observations you agree:

“It probably wasn't possible to make a satisfactory film of "The Birthday Party."

o    “It's impossible to imagine a better film of Pinter's play than this sensitive, disturbing version directed by William Friedkin”[1][3]. (Ebert)

·         If you were director or screenplay writer, what sort of difference would you make it the making of movie?

·         Who would be your choice of actors to play the role of characters?

---

Respected Sir,
Here I am sharing my interpretation about the play.

1) Two scenes of lulu omitted from the movie because two woman characters ( Lulu & Meg ) as contrast to man characters in the play. And character of Lulu is very slight in the play. Harold Pinter also shows that man characters are aggressive towards female in the play. And in this play we show that all powers are in the hand of man. In the movie we show that the character of Lulu and Meg is important in the life of Stanley besides its represents the society.

2) Yes, I can feel the effect of comedy of menace by watching movie. In this play most of the characters are suffering from distress with different noisy atmosphere. In this play Pinter creates an atmosphere of menace through a variety of dramatic and laughing element and by techniques like ringing of bail, knowing door, of newspaper Stanley play the toy drum. So i think the effect of comedy of menace is presented in very symbolical and artistic way in the play.

3) Yes, I can feel the effect of lurking danger while viewing play. The effect of lurking danger clearly shown during the scene when 'Birthday party' going on. Suddenly lights off. And there are also lots of twists and turns at the back of party. And we can also feel another angle to look at the lurking dangers when they playing the game Blind man's buff.

4) The symbol of Newspaper is very highlighted in this play. In this play Petey is reading news and Meg is asking about news and it was routine for them. We found that Petey read newspaper to Meg and McCann tearing newspaper and at the last seen those pieces are hidden by Petey. Petey hide himself behind it. But actually he faces the reality of society doing by that.

5) During the game of Blind man's buff it symbolized as absence of light. Camera is focusing on to head of McCann and vision if room is like a trap When Stanley is playing game that time he caged by two unknown strangers. So, the Blind man's buff as a game builds the dramatic suspense at that moment, leading to the rather unsolved breakdown of Stanley.

6) Yes, this all things happen in the movie as well as in play. Torrent of dialogues and little space used by Harold Pinter Because we can find the doubtful dialogues and enclosed space of the room at the beginning to the end of the play. Here we can see politics by the characters of Goldberg and McCann very well. Both are breaks the vision of Stanley. Toy drum is become symbol of Art and eventually truth shown by the character of Petey because he was absence in the birthday party.
7) Yes, screening of the movie is very helpful to understanding the play in better way. Screening gives proper hints and imagination to understand the play in correct way. And visualization of the play much better then reading. And after watching this movie i can easily understand the characteristics of the play like menace, lurking danger etc..
8) I agree with the second observation.
"It's impossible to imagine a better film of Pinter's play than this sensitive, disturbing version directed by William Friedkin”.
9) I think the movie is greatly faithful to the original play. And that's why there are no need to change in this direction or screening play.
10) I would like to select those cast in my movie if responsibilities to direct movie has been given to me.
Stanley: Sidharth malhotra
Meg: Ratna Pathak
Petey: Pankaj Kapoor
Lulu: Alia Bhatt
Goldberg: Ronit Roy
McCane: Arjun Rampal