Life is Beautiful "take-home" exercise/test

Remember--be able to hand in 50 points worth of work by Tuesday.

In case you don't have the handout for your instructions, here it is:


Worth 70 points---any 50 points of the assignment is due by Tuesday, December 21. The remainder is due the “second” day back after Christmas break.

Do A, B and then either C or D, and then either E or F.

A. Print out your response to journal #3 Life is Beautiful found at Schoolsville (10 pts.).

B. Paint a picture for me. Or sketch a pencil drawing. Or compose a song. Or photograph. Or video. Or write in vivid prose in your own words … to depict any scene, image, or object from any story or film that we’ve studied this year, but especially The Cask of Amontillado, The Shawl, The Portable Phonograph, and The Stone Boy (20 pts.). N.B. films include Life is Beautiful and the Dick and Ricky Hoyt HBO special (found on the blog). N.B. if you choose to paint, sketch, video, sing, or photograph, you should do so in a competent manner. No stick figures, sloppy videos, or murky drawings. Write, if you’re not skillful at any of these genres.

THEN DO C OR D.

C. Focusing on setting or description, find a short story or a selection from a novel (a chapter, maybe, NOT the entire work) that we have NOT read in class and one that you enjoyed reading. Analyze its importance as it pertains to use of setting (verisimilitude, irony, organization, characterization, atmosphere, symbolism) or description (figures of speech, concrete details, connotative words, and sensory images). Your analysis should be similar in length (1 ½ - 2 typed pages) and detail (cite lines from the text and integrate them grammatically) as the in-class assignment on The Grapes of Wrath. (20 pts.)

D. Focusing on setting or description, find a short story or a selection from a novel (a chapter, maybe, NOT the entire work) from a work of prose fiction that we did read in class this year. Analyze its importance as it pertains to use of setting (verisimilitude, irony, organization, characterization, atmosphere, symbolism) or description (figures of speech, concrete details, connotative words, and sensory images). Your analysis should be similar in length (1 ½ - 2 typed pages) and detail (cite lines from the text and integrate them grammatically) as the in-class assignment on The Grapes of Wrath (20 pts.). Recommended works include (but are not limited to) The Cask of Amontillado, The Shawl, The Portable Phonograph, and The Stone Boy. (20 pts.)

THEN DO E OR F OR G.

E. Discuss the importance of any three settings and/or “shots” in Life is Beautiful. Recommended length is 4-6 sentences EACH (20 PTS.).

F. Discuss any three discussion topics listed on the Life is Beautiful handout (see below). Recommended length is 4-6 sentences EACH (20 PTS.).

G. IF YOU DID NOT SEE all or enough of Life is Beautiful, then you must complete both options of C/D to get your final 20 pts. (20 PTS.).

FINAL NOTE: DO NOT USE ANY OUTSIDE RESOURCES TO COMPLETE THIS ASSIGNMENT


Here is the Life is Beautiful handout needed to complete option F:

Setting in the movie:

Tuscany 1938—countryside (Guido’s “kingdom”, town life (Uncle’s home, the prefect’s office, the streets of the town, the opera, the school where Dora works, the Grand Hotel where Guido serves)

Tuscany 1943— Guido and Dora’s home, Guido’s bookshop

The concentration camp—the train, the barracks in the concentration camp, anvil factory in the camp, dinner hall where Guido serves the Germans

Note anything that you “see” in the movie that stands out. This could be as general as the green fields of the Italian countryside or as specific as the Nazi soldier saluting the Ethiopian wedding cake.


Discussion topics in Life is Beautiful

Find examples of each and explain the importance of each motif

Physical humor and slapstick--
Benigni hoped that the humor of the story’s early scenes of misadventure and romance would only make the poignancy of what happens to Guido and his loved ones more deeply felt. Benigni continues: “I believe that laughter saves us, it forces us to consider the other side of things, the surreal and funny side. Being able to imagine prevents us from being reduced to ashes, from being crushed like twigs. It gives us the strength to survive the endless night.”

Linguistic (language) humor—riddles, “no spiders or Visigoths allowed,”



Cleverly foreshadowed running gags—



Mockery of Aryan Supremacy--



Prince Charming ("knight in shining armor") motif--



Willpower Gags--

Schopenhauer's analysis of "will" led him to the conclusion that emotional, physical, and sexual desires can never be fulfilled. Consequently, Schopenhauer favored a lifestyle of negating human desires.

Schopenhauer Willpower: "Will power is to the mind like a strong blind man who carries on his shoulders a lame man who can see."


The Power of Imagination—Making Life a Game

Benign said, "For the Giosue character, I chose him to be at an age where he can understand everything yet still can believe that it’s only a game. Giosue probably knew exactly what was going on, the way children do, but he was willing to go along with the make-believe.”


Like or dislike the movie? Defend your answer.