After taking the quiz, discuss your reading of the story.
Did you read it? Did you sparknote it? Did your quickly talk about it while I was making coffee?
Will you read it tonight to make up the grade, or because you have intellectual curiosity? Or will you not read it at all?
What is the theme of the story? What is your story?
4 comments:
I first sparknoted the story because I didn't see my e-mail for the electronic copy, then I read it in the morning to fill in the gaps. I will not read it tonight because I already read it and I feel like I have a good grip on the story. Whether or not my quiz will show this is yet to be determined. The theme I got out of the story was that you shouldn't do things when everyone is pressuring you to do them because in the end, they'll treat you like you don't matter anyway. Even though Elisabeth treated the people she was traveling with with kindness, they still called her names. Even when she shared her food with the starving passengers, they still made her feel like she wasn't good enough. Then when they weren't allowed to leave the inn because the German officer wanted to sleep with Elisabeth, they essentially plotted to convince her to sleep with him. They made false claims that God wills it and basically that he'd understand. When the group was on their way again, they looked upon her with disgust after she had slept with the officer for them! The message of the story was that you shouldn't do anything that advances other people and you should focus on yourself.
I did read the story. The people in the carriage talk about their patriotism towards their country when the reason they are on the carriage is to run away. Elisabeth Rousset is the most loyal out of all the passengers but because of her class she is treated poorly. With more wealth, comes more power which is ironic because the wealthiest ones are the ones who care more about material things than they do for their country. Elisabeth sacrifices herself to free the carriage although she feels in order to do so by sleeping with the German officer she will lose her dignity. When she gives in, they treat her horribly and refuse to share their food with her as she had so graciously done with them in the beginning.
I actually did read Boule de Suif.
I would say the theme of the story is that most people are very self-centered, and it is human nature to only look out for one's own interests. The story also seems to teach that being selfless, like Boule de Suif was, will earn you no real gratitude.
I don't know what "my story" is supposed to be, but I can tell you that the character of Boule de Suif was based on Sydney's life story (except for the part about her sharing her food)!
I did end up reading the story and found it a fairly intriguing read. The aspect of the story that most caught my attention was the fairly curious setting. It may be the only story or work of literature that I have read that takes place during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. The theme certainly seems to be a criticism of society, with the rich and the powerful being extremely selfish and proud. Each of the characters were microcosms of the class they represented. The upperclass passengers of the carriage spoke of the decadence and selfishness rampant in their social class, while the nuns spoke of a powerful yet misguided Catholic Church within the country of France. The oppression of the higher class was made clear in their wretched treatment of Boule de Suif.
-Ben
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