European Literature (Week 1)

This week’s multicultural adventure led us through the stories of “Faust” by Goethe, “Requiem” by Akhmatova, “The Guest” by Camus, and “The Metamorphosis” by Kafka. The overarching theme from this selection of readings is powerlessness and choice. Gregor, from Kafka’s Metamorphosis was powerless in his position as a bug. And similarly immobilized was the narrator of “Requiem.” She was imprisoned for seventeen months in Leningrad, Russia, during the Great Purge, 1936-1938, which was under the rule of Nikolai Yezhov and Joseph Stalin. (Read more about the Great Purge here: https://www.history.com/topics/russia/great-purge). She clung to the memory of her son’s face and longed for death to save her.

            "The Guest" is an account filled with choices. The main character, Daru, was called upon by his government time and again and had enough. He refused to be in their service any longer and made the choice to let his prisoner go. Ironically, in this way Daru was also letting himself free, but his Arab prisoner chose to walk towards incarceration. In Goethe’s tale, Faust chose to trade his soul for an unquenchable desire.

            A high school teacher could teach these themes of powerlessness and choice to high school students. Prior to reading the stories, teachers would want to have a discussion to define the terms. Questions for discussion include:

1.     What is power? What is powerlessness?

2.     Who can give power and who can take it away?

3.     Have you ever felt powerless? What did you do?

4.     What does choice mean? What kinds of choices are there?

5.     Should consequences be considered when making choices?

6.     Have you ever had to make a difficult choice? What did you do?

After reading the stories, students can be broken into small groups to discuss the elements of the short stories, and specifically create alternate endings related to power and/or choice. Perhaps bestowing power and choice to characters who did not have any.

            Popular culture, specifically social media, provides an avenue for discussion. Students can explain how they have observed social media being used in a negative way, identifying who, if any person, is a victim in that instance. What can a student do when observing other students making poor choices or how can students come alongside each other when being pressed. For example, when a student is at a party and alcohol is being served, how do peers take control of the situation and not feel powerless, instead being empowered to protect the welfare of others.

Reference

http://www.gcumedia.com/digital-resources/ww-norton/2016/the-norton-anthology-of-world-literature_v1-and-v2-custom_ebook_1e.php