"Run Lola Run" and "Pan's Labyrinth"

I ask that you do a blog entry for each film. After viewing the films, I would like you to write about the ways in which you see that the films have blended "reality" with "mythic themes" and a sense of "mythic time." What role do fantasy and reality play in each film (as related to our discussion of Don Quixote, Grimm's Fairy Tales, 100 Years of Solitude, etc.)?

You could also write about the ways in which fairy tales influence both films and their role within the formation of the plot, characters, etc.

The Ogre (Day Four)

Please discuss two of the following topics or bring up your own topics for discussion:

1. Discuss the Kommandeur's explanation of Nazi symbols to Abel. What does this have to say about the 'theory of signs' within the text and how this relates to Abel's interpretation of various signs around him?

2. What do you think is the significance of the mirror twins and Lothar (they seem to have a special place at the Napola and with Abel)? And what about the way in which they die? How do you read this? (Hint: Revelation 2:16 reads: "Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.")

3. What do you think Ephraim represents? What about his name, which is significant?

4. Discuss the destruction of the Napola (along with that of the Third Reich). For instance: Why do you think the Jungmannen MUST die (or do they have to)?

5. How do you intepret the end of the novel? Do you see it as redemptive or destructive? (By 'end of the novel' I mean the last sentence - the sinking into the mud and the star in the sky.)

The Ogre (Day Three)

Answer two of the following questions or bring up your own topics for analysis.

1. Tournier couches Rominten in a very mystical setting (and we also see this through the eyes of Abel). What do you make of Rominten, Goering, Otto Essing? What do they represent?

2. Discuss the emphasis upon animals in Rominten. What do you think the aurochs symbolize? Or why the emphasis on the hunt? Try to extract as many meanings as possible from this.

3. Bluebeard is a very important character in the text - how does the horse serve as a mirror image for Abel? What dos the horse symbolize for him? Why is this important?

4. Discuss the Napola. You can focus on a number of things: Tiffauge's role/s here, Dr. Blattchen, the Germanization of Tiffauge's name, the life of the Jungmannen, their bizarre quasi-religious ceremonies, etc. What do you make of this?

The Ogre (Day Two)

For today's post, write about two things that interest or intrigue you from the text.

The Ogre (Day One / pp. 3 - 93)

Please address two of the following topics in your posting:

1. At the start of the novel, Abel presents himself first as an ogre (which has mythic status) and then as the owner of a Parisian garage. How do you view these self-presentations? How do they correspond to and / or differ from one another?

2. Why is part one written as a diary? Why does he call these his "sinister writings"? What might this imply?

3. On page 5 Abel writes "All is sign." What do you think he means by this based on what you have thus read?

4. Why do you think we need this initial relationship with Rachel? How do you read this relationship within the context of the novel? (Also, think about the name "Rachel" -- this is important.)

5. How do you interpret Abel's "rewriting" of the Adam and Eve myth? How does he transform the myth? Why? What does this say about his character?

6. How do you interpret Abel's relationship with Pelsenaire? It seems that Pelsenaire has enslaved Abel, but we must ask - who is the exploiter and who is exploited here? What does this say about Abel's personality?

7. How do you read Nestor here in this story? As a benevolent or malevolent force? Both?

Reading Schedule for "The Ogre"

Day One - pp. 3 - 93

Day Two - pp. 93 - 192

Day Three - pp. 195 - 277

Day Four - pp. 277 - 370

100 Years of Solitude (Day Four / Chapters 16 - 20)

Choose TWO of the discussion topics below for your blog post (or you can come up with your own topic for one of the responses). As always, I am looking for your own ideas here.

1. The meaning of the flood and the subsequent drought

2. The fact that Ursula shrinks and becomes like a doll

3. Aureliano's deciphering of the parchment - Why does Melquiadez want this parchment to be deciphered and read?

4. The notion of time in chapter 18

5. The assassination of Aureliano Amador

6. Why is one of Aureliano's friends named Garcia Marquez (yes, the same name as the author)?

7. The importance of Pilar Ternera surviving throughout (almost) the entire novel

8. The symbolism behind the sexual union of Amaranta Ursula and Aureliano and the resulting pig-tail child

9. In what role does the novel place its reader (if we are to buy into the myth that the novel is Melquiadez's parchment and Aureliano is trying to read it so that it becomes legible)? Why does the novel do this? What does this have to say about your role as reader of this novel?