CPL310 11/3/2004 Max Frisch -- served in Swiss army briefly during WWII -- 1947 Die chinisches Mauer -- Frisch met Brecht, whose concept of Epic Theatre influenced him, although they had opposite political views -- got a Rockefeller grant and spent a year in the US during the 50s "The Chinese Wall" -- Frisch calls it a farce -- set in a fictional China against a polonaise (a kind of mask party); the dance itself is a circle which points out the circularity of history -- historical figures including some like Hitler who were invited but couldn't come; other than Romeo and Juliet they were mostly dictators; the Contemporary was trying to argue against them, since if one totalitarian had the bomb, he could destroy humanity -- The Contemporary warns about the atomic bomb; he's the misunderstood intellectual to whom no one listens; others pursue their own agendas -- part at the end of scene 5 reminds Justin of Woyzeck; Mee Lan can't find the love she envisioned -- absurdist plays; post-WWII style that focused on the lack of writing in the world; traits: lack of communication, repetitions, lack of logic -- scene 20; most important scene in the play; Cleopatra has managed to get the Emperor drunk and no one's listening to the Contemporary -- the end of the play: the farce begins again as in the beginning; the Contemporary and Mee Lan find each other (she says "now it is you who are mute"); history repeating itself Test review I 2) They agree their children may marry. 3) He falls in love with a Jewish woman, changing his anti-Semitic views. 10 and 11) see notes II) 3) circular movement, circular stage, atom and circular movement within it; reinforce the theme of searching for truth Two scenes from the DVD of Ruling Class Back to Shoeless Joe Themes: -- love -- family -- dreams -- magic -- Iowa -- religion -- father "Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa" was a short story written before the novel. Spitballs and Holy Water is another terrific baseball novel about a nun in the 1920s who hears voices and can play ball. "If you build it, he will come" -- not only Shoeless Joe and the other 7 players -- the important one is Ray Kinsella's father, with whom Ray had a bad relationship Dream currency Vision of a ballpark "The great god Baseball" (6) Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis is a kind of devil for banning the players for life (7) "The Thrill of the Grass" is a collection of short stories by Kinsella. -- story about replacing artificial turf with grass, one piece of sod at a time End of first section: Ray's father is the catcher to whom he refers. Power of the senses is a big theme in this story. WP Kinsella is an atheist who had to go to churches to get a feel of what they say in order to write about what goes on. -- yet Kinsella has really said that there's an implied author syndrome; you can't consider him the same as Ray Kinsella "Ease my pain" (84) What is baseball? "We're a congregation ... it's a ritual" (84) to Salinger "You've capture the experience of grwoing up in America" (85) -- steadiness of baseball as an overlay and refleciton of American culture </plaintext><br /></body></html>