tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26428110.post114658598922482566..comments2023-07-08T09:00:54.916-07:00Comments on A Common Reader: Chapters 11 – 20: discussion topicsDwighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13688525659034403580noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26428110.post-1146586015910218272006-05-02T09:06:00.000-07:002006-05-02T09:06:00.000-07:00Again, these are just a few things I’m having fun ...Again, these are just a few things I’m having fun mulling over as I read this section of the book. Feel free to add your own enjoyments.<BR/><BR/>The Crawley family seems to have put the fun in dysfunctional. The role of money/wealth in their relations to each other is a fun dynamic to watch.<BR/><BR/>Also interesting to see is how the women in the novel treat other women, and how the roles of wealth, standing, and age impact their actions.<BR/><BR/>George and Dobbin are contrasted physically in Chapter 5. Does that contrast between the two seem to carry over to other areas of their lives?<BR/><BR/>The book is full of wooing in the foreground and war in the background. But look at some of the language used to describe the former: “skirmishes,” “campaign,” and “routed” in one section, obviously meant to compare it to the latter. How much of this pervades other parts of the story?<BR/><BR/>Chapter 9 gives a brief overview of Lady Crawley and her history. Thackeray does not seem to hold a high opinion of her, painting her as having sold her soul for a chance to belong in Vanity Fair. Is this too harsh? How does Lady Crawley differ from other characters in the book attempting the same thing?<BR/><BR/>The narrator’s omniscience seems to falter at times, while at other times he deliberately misleads or surprises you. How much of a character is the narrator in the book?<BR/><BR/>OK, that’s a start…Dwighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13688525659034403580noreply@blogger.com