ENG1D Novel Study

1. ENG1D Novel Study

2. Some terms to know… • Apocalypse: earlier referred to as writings about a violent change in which evil forces are destroyed; now, it is considered “the destruction of earth as we now know it” (Wikipedia) • Post-apocalyptic: life after the destruction of the world • Science fiction: stories that present an alternative world, based on science (imagined future scientific discoveries or imagined environmental changes)

3. Post-apocalyptic fiction… • post-apocalyptic fiction is set in a world or civilization after such a disaster. The time frame may be immediately after the catastrophe, focusing on the travails or psychology of survivors, or considerably later, often including the theme that the existence of pre-catastrophe civilization has been forgotten…. Post-apocalyptic stories often take place in an agrarian, non-technological future world, or a world where only scattered elements of technology remain. (Wikipedia)

4. Some well-known post-apocalyptic novels and films • Children of Men • two decades of human inability to reproduce has left humanity an endangered species • The Road by Cormac McCarthy: • tale of a journey taken by a father and his young son over a period of several months, across a landscape blasted by an unnamed cataclysm that destroyed all civilization and, apparently, most life on earth. (Wikipedia)

5. Movie posters from “The Road”—the movie, released in theatres Nov. 25, 2009

6. THE ROAD10 years from now one event will change the face of the planet...Wake, Search, Move, HideFrom Cormac McCarthyAuthor of"No country for old men"At the end of Civilization, an epic journey is about to beginThis FallRun, Protect, Sacrifice, Kill The Road is directed by John Hillcoat and is starring Viggo Mortensen Kodi Smit-McPhee. It will be released in October 2009.

7. I am Legend • A Manhattan scientist is somehow immune to a virus that has virtually wiped out the world’s population. Yet the infected victims, in mutated form, lurk in the shadows. Dr. Neville spends three years looking for other survivors, but is running out of time.

8. 2012 • In 2012, the world is destroyed, as predicted by the ancient Mayan calendar; this is the telling of the heroes who survive this immense disaster

9. Walle "WALL•E" is the story about the last little robot on Earth. He is a robot that his programming was to help clean up. You see, it's set way in the future. Through consumerism, rampant, unchecked consumerism, the Earth was covered with trash. And to clean up, everyone had to leave Earth and set in place millions of these little robots that went around to clean up the trash and make Earth habitable again. Well, the cleanup program failed with the exception of this one little robot and he's left on Earth doing his duty all alone. (www.wildaboutmovies.com)

10. The Hunger Games • Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games was published in 2008 • Set in Post-Apocalyptic America

11. Hunger Games Setting • Panem is the nation that "rose out of the ashes" of what was previously North America (p.18) • the future • Panem consists of a wealthy Capitol and twelve poorer districts, with a thirteenth district destroyed in a past rebellion.

12. Post-apocalyptic setting • The mayor… “lists the disasters, the droughts, the storms, the fires, the encroaching seas that swallowed up so much of the land, the brutal war for what little sustenance remained. The result was Panem, a shining Capitol ringed by thirteen districts, which brought peace and prosperity to its citizens. Then came the Dark Days, the uprising of the districts against the Capitol. Twelve were defeated, the thirteenth obliterated. The Treaty of Treason gave us the new laws to guarantee peace and, as our yearly reminder that the Dark Days must never be repeated, it gave us the Hunger Games” (18).

13. Harsh Government • Katniss alludes to not having anyone read her thoughts or discussing “tricky topics”: the reaping, food shortages, or the Hunger Games (6) • The Hob is a black market that operates in an abandoned warehouse that once held coal (11), used for trading food • The Hunger Games is a punishment for the uprising; 24 tributes fight to the death (18)

14. Themes • A theme is the main idea, or message, of a book. • The message may be about life, society, or human nature. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and may be implied rather than stated explicitly. • The following are some aspects of the human condition to look for in The Hunger Games…

15. Government Control on the individual

16. The power of audience to fuel art

17. Reason vs. Irrationality

18. The positive power of hope

19. A person’s natural surroundings

20. The effect of outside sources on the forming of identity

21. The role of gender in defining the hero

22. Symbolism • The practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships.

23. Symbolism to watch for… • Fire • Dandelions • Mockingjay • Trees • Cave • Cornucopia

24. And…before you ask…there is no movie, yet. The movie will be released in 2013.

25. Evaluation • As a part of your summative mark, you will be required to: • Write 3 reading quizzes (6 percent) • Create a movie proposal (10 percent) • Write a literary essay (14 percent)