Mental illness in general is a delicate topic in today's society. Mention the word suicide, and people instantly get uncomfortable and disturbed. Is it socially acceptable for a writer to write a story about a person with a mental illness who is suicidal? Should we encourage writers to write about potentially controversial topics and themes, or should they stick with those that are more conventional and would make readers more comfortable?
See "One Flew over the Coo Coo's Nest". – JDJankowski9 years ago
Depending on the direction the article takes, looking at classical examples such as Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet might be something to do.
– MichelleAjodah9 years ago
Another example is Septimus in Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. – Camille Brouard9 years ago
Obviously everyone is going to come down on the side of encouraging controversial topics. That's the point of writing and literature. To tackle those issues head-on. If you're trying to create a balanced article, maybe try starting from a hard position of "No, this topic is too sensitive" and talking yourself back. Start from the most unpopular opinion and see if that gets the juices flowing. – CrunchyEnglish9 years ago
Suicide has been present in literature for quite some time. I don't think that we are uncomfortable with suicide. Rather, I think it has been misunderstood. Particularly in Realist & Naturalist fiction women characters who behaved "immorally" for the time often committed suicide at the end as a form of literary justice (see works of Wharton, Chopin, Dreiser). I think the mental illness, and the way to portray it accurately in a story is the challenge. One of the finest examples is not a book, but the movie Silver Linings Playbook. Tackling mental illness, and presenting it as clearly and accurately as possible is a worthy literary goal. – eringesine9 years ago
Suicide is definitely something prevalent both in Japanese literature and Japanese society (which incidentally has among one of the highest suicide rates in the world.) Haruki Murakami explores suicide in many of his works, including "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" and "Norwegian Wood." – jstorming9 years ago
Traditional Japanese theatre forms also use suicide as an acceptable ending to many plays. Perhaps a good angle might be - what is the difference between how suicide is socially accepted as a trope in Eastern lit/entertainment forms and how it is used/perceived in Western forms? In Japan, suicide has long been seen a noble way to die (especially on the battlefront) and the honorable thing to do when dealing with bringing shame to one's family. In the Western world, suicide is seen as tragic and/or selfish. – Katheryn9 years ago
The latter question about writing things that are "comfortable" is just plain silly. Of course we should use literature as a way to tackle the tough stuff, question convention, and explore even the ugly side of humanity. Is mental illness any more of a taboo than it was even ten years ago? Absolutely not. As medical science advances, and society gets better informed, rhetoric about mental illness changes. Take autism spectrum disorder for example. The term "on the spectrum" has entered society's casual lexicon. Books like The Reason I Jump, movies like Adam, and shows like Parenthood have created a safe social space in which to discuss the disorder. The same could be said for mental health issues like depression or suicide.
I think a more interesting question here is at what age should kids be exposed to tough topics like this? I recently read a YA novel entitled My Heart and another Black Holes. Without any spoilers, the main character, a 17-year old girl, is suffering from severe depression and is suicidal. I found the novel handles this delicate issue incredibly well without sugar-coating or romanticizing it. I would recommend the novel to a young person above the age of say, 13, without reservation, but any younger than that and I'd hesitate. So what does that say about me? Perhaps I'm naive--wanting to preserve the innocence of a young person by keeping them ignorant of some of the terrible things in this world as if they didn't already know. – ladyabercrombie9 years ago
How would George Smiley (of John le Carre) and James Bond (Ian Flemming) work together? Both are anti-heroes and have love for their country (or do they?) but could they see eye-to-eye? How might their live styles conflict and would they be able to take orders from one another? le Carre has spoken about Bond and Smiley but do you think there's a deeper connection? I think an article on the two would bring some answers to this question plus expose some of the deeper character traits these two have.
In the humanities classroom—I speak in particular of literature here—what is the role of the professor now? Is it changing? How has it changed? Does the professor at times hold and use too much power so as to be authoritative with his published books and many letters behind her name? Is the professor a facilitator only that aids the literature student in finding his way? How often should a student openly disagree with or challenge professorial authority? In other words, in their attempts at dismantling authority, showing hegemony for what it is, separating us from the paradigms in which we unwittingly live, do professors also ironically demand certain kinds of "knowledge" which they ought not to?
Depends on the prof...There are as many different types of profs as there are students. I don't think they can be lumped into one category. In any profession there are people who abuse their power or who altruistically give of their time and knowledge. Perhaps whoever writes this article could look at how professors are portrayed in literature. The writer could also look at how the role of professors are depicted in movies even though the topic is in the literature category if the writer wanted to expand. In the kids movie Big Hero Six the prof was the villain. Surprise!! But how are most profs roles written? As villains or heroes? – Munjeera9 years ago
I personally think they can perform all these kinds of roles. Take your university -or the academic world- as a micro-society; everyone of this people has a role to play and fills it with individuality. A professor might choose to focus on his/her students learning because he's not able to produce academic material; another one may produce it, but become frustrated because the academic community doesn't value it, so he pushes his ideas on his students with authority; and so on. There's no fixed role for the professor. I've had teachers who wouldn't admit any answer as right as well as those who would agree to anything, as long as it was inventive; those pursuing the improvement of the whole class, and those motivating us to fight like dogs for points. They are human beings with a determinate set of goals, ideas and complexes; and yes, they have a position of power that 'practically' would be unwise to challenge. If you want to dismantle authority, you may always find other kinds of spaces: a conversation, your own published book. – Paul Iago9 years ago
Speaking as a professor, I can tell you that every one of us has a different teaching style, personality, size of ego, and pedagogical philosophy; as well as what we believe is important in the classroom atmosphere. You will find Wielders of Truth, Dictators, and Facilitators in every discipline; in every department; often all in one person! It really is about the individual. Interacting with students in the classroom is often based on the students themselves - not all students will respond the same way to the same material. Some classes are talkative and like to discuss issues, some do not; some seem as a general group to be defensive, or bored, or engaged, or laid-back, or hyper, or distracted (and if it's a 2 pm class, everyone is just trying not to fall asleep), so we have to (or ought to, at least) adapt our teaching strategies in turn. But your topic is actually very timely, as it is closely related to the current, often passionate debate over tenure: its perceived benefits and drawbacks, and whether or not it is a guarantee of free speech (as it is meant to be), or a free pass to be self-serving, lazy, and/or abusive toward students. Good stuff here. However, can you clarify the last part for me? I understand the implicit irony of expecting compliance while simultaneously preaching free thought and raging against the machine, but I'm not sure what you mean by demanding (?) knowledge "they ought not to be" requesting. Do you mean they are being inappropriate? In what way? – Katheryn9 years ago
To second the above comment, I, as a professor, would appriciate more nuance. Sometimes students challenge a professor with no evidence to back up their claims. There is a right way and a wrong way to challenge authority and the people with more letters at the back of their name are better trained in the art of critical analysis. I teach theatre which is close to literature and there IS a such thing as a wrong interpretation if it cannot be backed by textual evidence or dramaturgy. – Christen Mandracchia9 years ago
I teach theatre too! - seconded. – Katheryn9 years ago
Literature usually indicates a generation anxiety (i.e. Tolkien's Fellowship of the Rings, anxiety about racial wars, modernization, etc; Gibb's Neuromancer, anxiety about technology). It would be interesting if someone wrote an analysis about the predominance of dystopia in popular culture (Hunger Games, Divergence… I can't think of another example.)
Other dystopian YA novels might include:
Cinder of the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
Alice in Zombieland (White Rabbit Chronicles) by Gena Showalter
The Demon Trapper's Daughter: A Demon Trappers Novel by Jana Oliver
I'm sure there are plenty more... But those are the first ones that came to mind – crispychips9 years ago
The Maze Runner series by James Dashner and The Uglies series by Scott Westerfield, and The Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth are some more examples, this is a fascinating topic! – MRichens9 years ago
I feel The Hunger Games trilogy is quite contradictory to its message of fighting the powers that be (I.e. the government oppressing poor societies.) While the story itself is blatantly a "stick it to the man" narrative, that is all it does to go against convention. The novels openly acknowledge the three-act structure (the narrative structure used in pretty much all books/films etc.) and the films have also come into mainstream populairty, earning money for huge corporations that the characters in the stories, are openly against. As for what the books reflect in terms of a nation's anxieties, I don't think it really stretches beyond the going against the oppresive powers, which is in itself, not really an anxiety or infact anything new. – Jamie White9 years ago
To further this analysis, one might take a look in to what the popularity in dystopian figures mean in relation to what our culture/society values today. In other words, what values in today's society make dystopian figures so popular? Or even, are there any relations between what is happening in today's society that correlate with the dystopian themes? – AutamnDarling9 years ago
This is a great topic, and I think it would be important to have a balance of bestselling novels turned into blockbusters, and lesser-known novels/series such as Uglies by Scott Westerfeld and Exodus by Julie Bertagna. The focus on dystopian YA fiction as opposed to regular/adult literature such as 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 is important. Why are dystopian future societies so appealing to younger readers in recent years? When did the line between fantasy and sci-fi disappear and why is that important? – Claire9 years ago
American writers aren't the only ones guilty of this trope. Murakami has been known to include girls that change the male character's life in suit of this trope. This is evident in books such as Norwegian Wood and Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (remember how the protagonist idealized the girls in his life). Create an argument supporting Murakami's use of this trope and/or analyze the role women play in the lives of male protagonists in his books.
This article would analyze the structure of Tobias Wolff's memoir and why it is considered a significant work among other memoirs. It would also discuss the general structure of memoirs and how they've evolved (or have not evolved) through time by taking a look at several notable ones by different authors.
This article would take a look at a few notable short stories written by Tobias Wolff (each story taken from a different collection) and discuss how his earlier work has informed his later work or vice versa. It should discuss the themes which are often explored in his writing and whether the presentation of his ideas has changed since he first started writing.
A discussion of whether Oates' writing has benefited or suffered due to how prolific she is. This article would take a look at her earlier work and the critical reception it has received, and compare it with her most recent work. This article would also offer some insight as to how and why a prolific writing career can affect an author's craft.
