Holocaust Literature and Themes

• Lesson Summary: Sarcasm employs irony to mock or convey contempt.
• Sarcasm in literature adds humor, demonstrates cynicism, or diversifies a text.
• Authors like Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, and Mark Twain have used sarcasm.
• Sarcasm has helped authors create memorable characters.

Short Story Elements

• A short story has a fully developed theme, along with components of a story but is shorter than a novel.
• Setting: the time and place where the story occurs, usually restricted to one area due to the short story's limited length.
• Plot: events that happen in the story.
• Characters: the people or animals the story focuses on; short stories have limited in-depth character development.
• Conflict: the problems or issues in the story, which can be external (character vs. character, society, or nature) or internal (self vs. self).
• Theme: the central idea of the story.

"The Cask of Amontillado"

• Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" is narrated by Montresor, who murders Fortunato for an unstated insult.
• Montresor lures Fortunato to his cellar under the pretense of tasting Amontillado wine.
• Montresor chains Fortunato to a wall and bricks him in alive.
• The story exemplifies dark romanticism through its themes of pure evil and darkness.
• It uses unity of effect; every plot element contributes to the events that follow

Irony in "The Cask of Amontillado"

• Fortunato's name (Fortunato means fortunate in Italian)
• Fortunato's costume
• Montresor identifying himself as a mason and showing a trowel
• Montresor toasting to Fortunato's long life
• Fortunato’s claim that he will not die from a cough
• Montresor feigning concern for Fortunato’s health

"The Most Dangerous Game"

• Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game" (1924) connects humans and animals via the instincts and strategies needed for survival in a deadly encounter.
• The plot starts with Rainsford and Whitney discussing hunting on a boat to the Amazon, foreshadowing Rainsford becoming the hunted.
• Rainsford meets General Zaroff on Ship Trap Island and is hunted for three days.
• Rainsford uses instinct to set deadly traps, like the knife trap that kills Ivan, Zaroff's man.
• Themes include fear, the impact of war, and the irony of man.
• Rainsford kills Zaroff, accepting his role as the hunted who becomes the victor.
• The story concludes that power dictates the rules of the game, regardless of morality.

"The Scarlet Ibis"

• James Hurst's "The Scarlet Ibis" explores the lives of two brothers, the narrator (Brother) and Doodle.
• Literary elements such as imagery, symbolism, and foreshadowing are prominent.
• Major themes: pride, death, nature, guilt, and family.
• The story is a retrospective account of the narrator's relationship with Doodle.
• Pride is a central theme, highlighting both its achievements (Doodle walking) and its downfalls (Doodle's death).
• Doodle's death is foreshadowed by the death of the scarlet ibis.

Epic Poetry

• Epic poetry is narrative literature that chronicles the extraordinary feats and stories of main characters.
• Common characteristics: third-person narration, omniscient narrator, a brave hero, and a journey.
• Epics often take place in the distant past.
• Divine inspiration and supernatural deities often play a major role.
• Famous examples: The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Iliad, The Odyssey, the Mahabharata, The Aeneid, The Divine Comedy, and Paradise Lost.
• Epic poems often convey a specific message, such as ruling wisely (The Epic of Gilgamesh) or exercising caution in love and warfare (The Iliad).

The Odyssey

• Homer's Odyssey tells of Odysseus, the Greek hero, and his journey home.
• It is a foundational work of Western literature and popularized dactylic hexameter.
• The story begins in medias res, ten years after the Trojan War, with Odysseus trapped on Ogygia.
• The gods help Odysseus escape, but Poseidon shipwrecks him on Scheria.
• Odysseus recounts his adventures to the Phaeacians, including tricking Polyphemus in the Cyclops' lair and his trip to the Underworld.
• His trip to the entrance of the Underworld was likely inspired by Enkidu's dream in The Epic of Gilgamesh.
• In the Underworld, Odysseus meets Agamemnon, reflecting Greek views of centralized authority.
• Odysseus's wife, Penelope, deals with suitors, whom Odysseus slaughters upon his return.

Odysseus as a Hero

• Odysseus's heroic status in Homer's Odyssey is complex compared to other Greek figures.
• Greek heroes embody values such as loyalty, honor, strength, intelligence, and respect.
• Odysseus possesses admirable traits, divine blood (from Hermes), and superhuman abilities.
• Athena recognizes his intelligence, and his strength is unmatched, proving his heroic persona.
• His long journey home symbolizes his heroic quest.
• Odysseus's heroism is challenged by his deceitful nature and failures, such as the death of all his men.
• His victories are often achieved through trickery, which was considered admirable, according to Athena.

Themes in The Odyssey

• The Odyssey follows Odysseus's journey home after the Trojan War.
• The Odyssey reflects and comments on themes in Homer's Iliad.
• Central themes: Hospitality, Loyalty, and Vengeance.
• Hospitality relates to xenia (guest-friendship), with failure in hospitality invoking divine punishment.
• Odysseus receives good hospitality from the Phaecians, servants, and Circe.
• Odysseus experiences poor hospitality from Polyphemus, Circe (initially), and Penelope's suitors.
• Loyalty is embodied by Penelope, who remains loyal to Odysseus for twenty years, delaying her suitors.
• Vengeance drives the plot; Poseidon's wrath for Odysseus blinding Polyphemus, and Odysseus's revenge on the suitors.

Fate and Justice in The Odyssey

• Fate, destiny, and justice are important concepts in Homer's Odyssey.
• The poem considers free will versus fate in Odysseus's trials.
• It is important to take responsibility for one's actions versus blaming external forces.
• Justice prevails when Telemachus asks Themis for help and warns the suitors against angering the gods.
• The divine intervention that helps Odysseus and punishes the suitors demonstrates the triumph of justice.

Mythology

• A myth is an ancient story that explains a culture's origins and how the world operates.
• Myths explain everything from weather to psychological perceptions.
• Basic components of mythology: deities/supernatural beings, heroes and their journeys, explanations of origins and events, and oral tradition.

Types of Myths

• Creation
• Hero's journey
• Nature
• Historical
• Psychological
• Mythology is present in almost every civilization and retold in various media.

The Story of Perseus

• Perseus's myth includes the killing of Medusa, a Gorgon with snakes for hair and the power to turn people to stone.
• Perseus, son of Zeus and Danae, was a demigod, illustrating complex god-human relationships.
• He successfully rescued and married Andromeda.
• The story highlights the importance of fate in fulfilling the prophecy that he would kill his grandfather, Acrisius.

Night (Elie Wiesel)

• Night is a Holocaust memoir by Elie Wiesel, exploring experiences, faith crisis, and the search for hope.
• In Sighet, Hungary, before the Nazi occupation, 15-year-old Eliezer Wiesel and his Jewish community ignore warnings.
• Despite escalating restrictions and deportation, the Jews remain hopeful and praise God.
• Witnessing the burning of humans causes Eliezer to question God.
• Eliezer focused on survival, and turned from God to his father, sharing food and staying with him even when it endangered himself.
• Eliezer is freed by Allied forces after a death march; his father died of dysentery.

Settings and Themes in Night

• Night is an autobiographical narrative of Elie Wiesel's experiences during the Holocaust.
• Themes include survival and faith amid suffering, related to the ghettos, concentration camps, and cattle cars.
• Jews were moved to walled ghettos separate neighborhoods in cities meant to keep the Jews separate from the general population.
• Other groups deemed undesirable by Nazi Germany, were also moved to concentration camps.
• Concentration camps were political prisons; labor camps provided slaves for German companies.
• POW camps were near concentration camps, and Allied personnel often witnessed atrocities.
• Killing centers, like Auschwitz-Birkenau, were built for extermination.
• Victims were sorted upon arrival: some were killed immediately, others were overworked to death.
• Death marches occurred as Nazis evacuated camps, with prisoners shot for slowing down or stopping.
• The conditions led Elie to lose faith and forced prisoners to sacrifice their humanity to survive.

Themes in Night

• Night is a semi-autobiographical novel by Elie Wiesel which blends the author's experiences with fictionalized details.
• Eliezer (a stand-in) grapples with God's silence during the Holocaust.
• Themes: silence, identity, suffering, and night/darkness.
• The tragic themes are shown as Eliezer and his father try to survive, slowly losing themselves to despair.
• Eliezer tries to maintain his Jewish identity in the camp.
• Silence: Eliezer doesn't help his dying father.
• Eliezer is left broken, without innocence, questioning God's allowance of the camps.

A quiz focusing on understanding the Holocaust, including the experiences at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the function of ghettos, death marches, and an analysis of Elie Wiesel's "Night," in addition to literary analysis.