Friday, May 2, 2014

E2: The Sandman

Notes: The Romantic Era
After the Industrial Revolution, questioning the existence of God, and generations of logical thinking people were ready for a little magic—They focused on what was possible in the universe; two movements within this period

  • Light—nothing was inherently evil, original naturalists 
  • Dark—evil was in everything, but can be influenced by outside elements


Common Romantic Tropes:

  • Naive Hero: always a young man who has been sheltered and has an overactive imagination; he always has a best friend and his love interests are the best friend's sister/cousin and the mad scientist's daughter
  • The Rational Love Interest: the girl who's left at home and is clearly smarter than anyone else even if she hides it
  • The Best Friend: the voice of reason and rationality; tries to talk the NH down from whatever wackiness he has latched onto
  • The Mad Scientist: a possibly harmless old man; a possibly dangerous old man; possibly the demon/devil; always has a "daughter"
  • The Daughter: rarely speaks, hidden from the world, the perfect distraction/temptation for NH; rarely human (the only person who can't figure it out is NH)

Pre-reading Paragraph: What are the monsters under your bed? What do you fear?

Read "The Sandman"

Nathaniel to Lothar/Klara to Nathaniel Paragraph: What is the Sandman? Why is Nathaniel obsessed with him?

Post-reading Paragraphs: 
  • Where does evil come from? 
  • What is the story really about? How do you know?

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