Dicembre 2016 e ditoriale

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2016

Nuova Secondaria - n. 4 2016 - Anno XXXIV - ISSN 1828-4582

This is perhaps the most difficult question. The descrip-

tion of the building (ll.37-43) is easy to find, though not

lexically simple, but the candidates will not have any

clues, unless they read between the lines and recap their

own findings and interpretations about the characters’

desire to be more successful and socially outstanding. The

water-like reflection of the palace in itself (ll- 42-43)

might even remind the candidates of the extraordinary

symbol of imagination represented by Coleridge’s Kubla

Khan “The shadow of the dome of pleasure / Floated mid-

way on the waves; / …/ it was a miracle of rare device, /

a sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice!/).” (1816)

Production

The candidates have to write either a factual/literary es-

say or a narrative. 

1. Alienation or sense of separation is one of the domi-

nating themes in Bellow’s novel Seize the Day. Saul

Bellow is primarily concerned with the well-worn

modern dilemma of the individual: desperately iso-

lated and profoundly alone in a society whose only God

is money. Discuss the topic in a 300-word essay by re-

ferring to other literary and/or philosophical texts you

have read and to your experience. 

The title explains the theme of Bellow’s novel and the

candidates are expected to draw on their studies and per-

sonal experience. While the latter cannot be predicted, it

seems reasonable to believe that, according to their stud-

ies, the candidates might choose to refer to, among some

others, one or more of the following:

a. T. S. Eliot’s Waste Land (1922) - London is seen as

the Unreal City, the symbol of materialism and con-

sumerism, which causes the land to be arid and bar-

ren. By quoting Dante’s Hell, the poet describes the

crowds of commuters as living dead, with blank

stares while going to the City. The unreal city at the

violet hour, wrapped up in brown fog and only de-

voted to commercial transactions, which mirrors a

mercantile society dominated by money, is also the

setting of a loveless sexual intercourse whose lead-

ing motive is boredom. The unreal city is the “waste

land” where the thunder is sterile and brings no rain.

b. F. S. Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925) - Deal-

ing with the “Jazz Age”, the novel criticizes the

Americanness of the period, which confronts the

ideals of honour and courage with the ones of

greed and money. The protagonist, Jay Gatsby,

who comes from a humble family, manages to be-

come wealthy, but he ends his life by being shot in

his luxurious garden. 

c. Miller’s Death of a Salesman (1949) - The play fo-

cuses on the American false myth of materialism

and money during the post-war period. Will, an un-

successful salesman who enjoys day-dreaming, has

a difficult family life, mainly due to his poor career,

and finds his death in a car accident. This is the

tragedy of feeling abandoned, betrayed by the

American dream of success, with which the char-

acter is obsessed.

2. That day Wilhelm “was aware that his routine was

about to break up and he sensed that a huge trouble long

presaged but till now formless was due.” Have you ever

started a day with the feeling that something bad was

going to happen? How did the day progress? What did

you do? Write a 300-word composition on your expe-

rience. 

The title of the narrative assumes that the candidates

have experienced such a presage. Considering their young

age, it can be predicted that they might want to deal with

expected problems or failure about one of the following:

an exam; a sports / music competition; a family event; a

party; a love meeting.

Teaching suggestions

a. It is possible to use the text in the classroom, paying at-

tention to integrate the given questions with questions

aiming at discussing the points that are covered in the

commentaries above and are not explicitly focused on

in the predicted answers, e.g. questions about the sym-

bolic meaning of the pigeon.

b. The text may represent a good opportunity for engag-

ing the students in extensive reading and, for example,

making further study into:

● Saul Bellow’s fiction;

● the character of the anti-hero, e.g. Melville’s

Bartleby the Scrivener (1853) with his famous “ I

would prefer not to” or one from Joyce’s Dublin-

ers  (1914), e.g. A Little Cloud, in which Little

Chandler, the unsuccessful clerk with literary am-

bitions, after experiencing complete failure finds

refuge in reading poetry;

● the portrait of New York in American fiction: a

comparison of the city in Seize the Day  with, for

example, H. James’ Washington Square (1889), E.

Wharton’s The Age of Innocence (1922), H. Roth’s

Call it Sleep (1934), J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in

the Rye (1951), E.L. Doctorow’s Ragtime (1975),

Don Delillo’s Cosmopolis (2003).

Flavia Zappa

I.I.S. “C. Beretta”, Gardone Val Trompia

Università Cattolica di Brescia

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