1. “The Wall”: An Analysis
Jean-Paul Sartre

2. Jean Paul Sartre 1905-1980 French author
Capture by Nazis, POW during WWII for one year
Is an existentialist

3. Existentialism
Writing that deals with the philosophy of human existence in that thinking begins with the human person, individually
Does not believe in a God
Humans exist in an emotional realm and define themselves through the concept of the Other
1930’s focus: “dread, boredom, alienation, the absurd, freedom, commitment and nothingness”.
Believes that human existence is filled with:
Anxiety, dread, freedom
Keen awareness of death
Feels that consequences of death not understood by science/physical

4. “The Wall”
Short existential story that examines the reality of death; low and plain style of language
Set in a prison cell
Mentions the lack of priests/God/prayer
Physical existence is a focus, but it is understood that the phy. is not helpful in understanding the reasons for death
Protagonist is pessimistic, harsh, daunted, and wishes to remain “hard”
Major conflict is defining death and emotions about it

5. How is it existential?
No God is present, name used in vain by Tom twice
Major conflict is defining death and emotions about it
Tone is anxious: Juan and Tom display this
Resolution unsettling, reality?: Pablo, although not being selfish like Winston/Julia/Mrs. Hutchinson, is still fated to cause Ramon’s death
Therefore, theme= Death in inevitable; definition of self through the experience of the Other

6. Purposeful Syntax Use of colons and semicolons to add emphasis
Periodic sentences that are curt and terse, emphasize the theme of clod hard truth about death
EX. “I am alone.”

7. Poetry: Syntax

8. May Swenson 1919-1989 Amer. Poet Poetry:
To “…get through the curtains of things as they appear”
Deals with nature settings
Ranges from formalist style,to spatial/concrete

9. “How Everything Happens”
Spatial poem, lang. placed in diff. than formal style on page
Arranged in a wave
Theme: passage of time, Fate, the ways of the universe
Unique in that words “stack up” as the idea of stacking up does
Deals in concept of necessity of opposites to understand them: good and evil, happening and not-happening
Purposeful Syntax: gerunds used to show the flow of the wave, no gerunds at end of sent., periods show end of concept and end of wave

10. Florence Cassen Mayers
Born in 1940
American author of children’s books
Include the children’s guide to baseball and basketball

11. “All-American Sestina”
Form: Sestina
used by the Provençal troubadours
consists of six six-line stanzas and a three-line envoy (messenger)
end words of the first stanza are repeated in varied order as end words in the other stanzas and also recur in the envoy

12. Cont. Theme: challenged American values
Discovers a picture of material culture and how leads to desolate ghost town
Discusses wealth, war, national pride
Images of past and present America
Delivers the message that material is not everything, cannot take it with you, and leaves a lack of community in town
Syntax purposeful: bits and pieces of life composed as bits and pieces within the poem; no punctuation for this reason