SHORELINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

English 258

Second Paper: Interpreting Journey to the End of the Night

Please consider all aspects and requirements explained in the first writing assignment and then answer one of the following questions:

• Professor Wayne Burns tells us that his "Panzaic Principle" explains how a novel like Celine’s Journey to the End of the Night can painfully cut through ideals and show the "phallic reality" that underlies them. This, for him, is the power of good fiction. Do you agree or disagree with Burn’s notions? Please explain your answer in detail.

• Do Ferdinand Bardamu's feelings about women (in general) and the women in his life differ? How so? Do these feelings change through his journey?

• Assuming Ferdinand is more concerned about self-preservation than ideals like honor, does this concern effect his perception of family and family relationships? How? Explain the answer given in detail.

• Celine's depiction of prostitutes in Journey to the End of the Night represents the author's sexual objectification of women. Using the feminist critical model, support or refute this assertion.

• In Journey to the End of the Night Ferdinand comes to an existential realization concerning behavior and consequence. In Camus' The Stranger Meursault undergoes a similar transformation. Compare and contrast the impact of these events on these characters.

• Are there parallels between the lives of Ferdinand Bardamu and Louis-Ferdinand Celine? Consider one episode (like the time in war-torn Europe) and show the parallels/differences and explain their significance.

• What causes people to make impulsive decisions that don't always result in the idealistic outcome? Relate one of your experience's to Bardamu's (for example joining the army or moving to an African colony). What was the intent? What was the outcome?

• Wayne Burns writes about being a Parasitic Anarchist.  In Journey to the End of the Night, Bardamu claims to be an anarchist and Robinson is continually trying to escape "the system"  (escaping from Africa , killing the grandmother for money). Do Bardamu and Robinson represent the Parasitic Anarchism that Burns suggests? Explain answer in detail.