This week we will be holding quick book club sessions in smaller groups. Below are my initial responses to the four pieces for my group (the Clubs Group).
Victor Hugo
"How could you burn the library! Such a noble institution! Knowledge is what raises you up, empowers you, the true measure of a society's progress!" Hugo invokes the names of several literary and philosophical greats, and lays out the path books and knowledge can inspire from ignorance and prejudice to enlightenment and liberty. As the culprit has no access to such benefits ("I cannot read"), the poem can be seen as a reminder of the importance of information literacy (and literacy in general), and a sort of grounding for those who might get too caught up in a particular cause or pursuit.
Virginia Woolf
This reading is a lot harder to grasp than the others. The author describes a ghostly couple searching for an unnamed Treasure, but at the same time she forgets what she herself goes looking for within the house. Knowing what I do about the author, my interpretation is of an attempt to describe the difficulty of finding that certain something in life, especially for those with depression. The ghostly couple has come back to find it; they know what's important now that they've passed, and even they have a tough time nailing it down.
Patrick Waddington
Marc Girondin is a lowly clerk whose specialty is the streets of Montreal. He seems to be perfectly happy at work amid the officious workings of bureaucracy, especially with the contrast of the inhospitability he faces from his landlady and neighbors. Until one day, when he finds a lost card detailing a street he's never heard of. He sets out to inspect, and ends up hearing the story of the street forgotten by the city from one of the longtime residents. Without taxes, inspections, or unwanted visitors, it's turned into a haven from the rest of the city, lost in time. As he hears of the content little community, Marc realizes that perhaps the authority of bureaucracy isn't a uniformly benign factor. Perhaps I'm too cynical; I found this piece a bit like an adult fairy tale. Plenty of people would be happy to find a tax-free little close-knit neighborhood in the middle of a city. And the turn Marc makes from celebrating the power of bureaucracy to advocating slipping under its radar is quick and painless; then again, not every decision need be difficult.
Randolph Caldecott
Very short poem about the titular Queen and her tarts; she makes them, the Knave (Jack) steals them, the King finds out and beats him, and the Knave brings them back, seemingly having learned his lesson. I've seen this poem before, but the illustrations for this particular publication are what lend the little story a more robust feel. The simplest interpretation of the poem is as a moral against petty theft, but the illustrations lend an interesting glimpse of the life of royalty/aristocracy (in the garden, archery practice, dancing), and a little extra of the cat who tattles on the Knave to the fat kitchen servant.
I'm really interested to hear about a story where the illustrations seemed like such an important part of the interpretation. I'll be interested to hear if the illustrations were discussed in the book club and, if so, how this discussion went.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your reflections I would like to read them...
ReplyDelete