Postmodernism
The Plot
Symbolism & Significance
Thought-Provoking Questions
Book Vs. Film
100
The combining or pasting of elements of previous genres and styles of literature to create a new narrative voice is...
Pastiche
100
How did the English patient lose his memory?
He was in a plane crash and was badly burned.
100
What does Caravaggio losing his thumbs symbolize and how is this significant to his character?
Losing his thumbs represents his loss of livelihood and identity. This is significant because Caravaggio no longer feels like a "whole" or "complete" man anymore, and therefore, cannot provide and properly care for Hana.
100
For what deeper purpose does Hana cut her hair?
To keep the blood out of it. This shows how she detaches herself from the world and her patients.
100
How does the beginning of the movie differ from the novel?
The movie begins with the English patient flying in the desert. It also provides background information that the readers do not get in the book until much later.
200
Writing under the assumption that modern society cannot be explained or understood.
Paranoia
200
How do Carravagio and Hana know each other from before?
He was a friend of Hana's father.
200
What is the significance of the text constantly switching between past and present tense?
It makes the reader more of an outsider and creates an illusion of a continuous reality where the past in inseparable from the present.
200
What role does the war have on the characters specifically? Give 2 examples.
The war causes each character to lose a part of his or her identity. Ex: Hana stops living life and does not face reality. Caravaggio suffers from physical scars from the loss of his thumbs, as well as a loss purpose and feeling "whole." The English patient loses his memory/identity and also suffers from physical scars.
200
How is Hana's character in the film compared to her character in the book?
Her character in the film appears to have joyful and happy moments at times. She even is friendly and kind to her other patients. In the book, she is cold, isolated, and detached from her patients consistently.
300
Subject material is based on actual events, but the line between fact and fiction is blurred, making it difficult to tell the difference between the two.
Faction
300
What is Caravaggio's character like? Give 3 specific examples.
His is a thief, he has no thumbs, and he is paranoid and doesn't trust the English patient. Other examples are acceptable.
300
What is the significance of Hana remaining behind at the villa? Why does she stay there?
Everything in her life is lost and/or broken (including EP who is fragile and dying) and the villa is a permanent setting and state of mind for her. Also, she projects the image of her father on EP. While staying there, she can live out a fantasy of peace and privacy with her "father."
300
How does the villa where the characters are staying represent death and rebirth?
The villa, greatly altered by war, is a place of isolation and walls with holes in it where all the characters end up to avoid reality and life due to the immense amount of death and war they have witnessed. This causes them to become more indifferent and in a sense, appear "dead" inside as well. The longer the characters stay at the villa and the more characters join there, all begin to "heal" and start to live life again.
300
How is Caravaggio portrayed differently between the book and the film?
He does not know Hana from before in the movie, but he is a friend of her father's in the novel.
400
What is intertextuality and give 1 example from the book?
An acknowledgment of previous literary works; a dependence on literature that has been created earlier, which attempts to comment on the situation in which both literature and society found themselves in the second half of the 20th century Examples will vary.
400
How do Hana and Kip meet? Describe the scene in detail.
Hana was playing the piano in the villa one night when the sapper and his unit heard the music and came to investigate. They were looking for bombs, which were often left by the Germans in musical instruments to catch the owner off-guard.
400
What is the purpose and meaning of Hana calling patients "buddy?" Provide an example of this in the book.
She does this to detached and disconnect from her patients so she is never close to them when they die. She can quickly move on with her life. Ex: She takes their property and sells it after they have died and has no problem with it.
400
Why did the author include so much word choice that alludes to religion? Give at least 2 examples of an allusion to religion.
It is used to heighten the tone of the novel. It is used to inform the readers of religion's place during war time and in the novel specifically. Ex. EP's "hip bones like Christ," use of a crucifix as a scarecrow, Bedouin man who looks like an "archangel" to the EP, etc.
400
Describe one scene, in detail, that is different between the book and film. Give specifics to how they are different.
Best example: Kip's entrance to the story.
500
A literary technique that uses a nonlinear timeline is...? Give 2 specific examples from the book.
Temporal distortion. Examples will vary
500
Describe how Kip and Hana's relationship began. Provide the specific setting and description of events that led to it.
They were disarming a difficult bomb near the villa. She had to hold the wires while he tried to disarm it. Afterwards, they lay together.
500
What is the difference in the relationship between Hana & EP and Hana & Kip? Why is this significant and important?
Hana feels like a nurse w/ EP. It is her "duty" to take care of him. Also, she projects the image of her father on him and she must protect him. Hana feels like a woman with Kip. He can protect her and keep her safe. Both are significant to show that Hana has reconnected with the world she is living in and no longer detaching herself from those around her.
500
Throughout the novel, the characters are affected by death in a positive and/or negative way. List 2 characters and how they were affected by death (how it affected their character).
Hana - through the death of her father, Hana imprints his image and the ideal of "saving" him onto the English patient. She then thinks of him as a saint who she must care for. Kip - through the death of his mentor, he chooses to continue on in his occupation and remain loyal to a nation that is not his own. Other answers are acceptable.
500
List one theme that is clearly depicted in both film and novel so far and provide an example of it.
Examples will vary: War and Isolation due to war - The characters inhabiting the villa and avoiding social interactions.
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