FILM LITERATURE Flowers for Algernon Limitless TODAYS JOURNAL

FILM & LITERATURE “Flowers for Algernon” & Limitless

TODAY’S JOURNAL PROMPT (8 OCT) When is ignorance ‘bliss’? When is intelligence ‘a curse’?

LITERATURE CIRCLE • In your group, share the notes you took for the 1 st part of “Flowers for Algernon” – Listen to others’ contributions & feel free to add ideas of your own

POINT OF VIEW • Any story requires a viewpoint character – one through who’s eyes & experience the story is told • The viewpoint is measured in distance from the events in the story – 1 st person (narrator is the protagonist; ‘I’ / ‘me’ / ‘my’ / ‘we’) – 2 nd person (narrator speaks to other characters; ‘you’ / ‘you’re’) – 3 rd person (narrator speaks to reader about other characters; ‘she’ / ‘they’ / ‘them’ / ‘it’) • 3 rd person limited – Viewpoint of another character in the story – can know only what is seen & heard • 3 rd person omniscient (“all-knowing”) – Viewpoint of ‘God’ – can know what everyone’s thinking & doing

1 ST PERSON POINT OF VIEW • In the 1 st person point of view, the narrator is the main character • Uses 1 st person pronouns (I, me, my…) See the example below from Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises “I could picture it. I have a habit of imagining the conversations between my friends. We went out to the Cafe Napolitain to have an aperitif and watch the evening crowd on the Boulevard. ”

2 ND PERSON POINT OF VIEW • In the 2 nd person point of view, the narrator speaks directly to other characters in the story • Uses 2 nd person pronouns (you, yours) • Very rarely used – limited usefulness See the example below from Jay Mc. Inerny’s Bright Lights, Big City “You are not the kind of guy who would be at a place like this at this time of the morning. But here you are, and you cannot say that the terrain is entirely unfamiliar, although the details are fuzzy. ”

3 RD PERSON POINT OF VIEW • In the 3 rd person point of view, the narrator tells the reader/viewer about what the other characters are doing – 3 rd person limited (Hound of the Baskervilles) • Narrator is one of the characters; can tell only what she/he sees and hears – 3 rd person omniscient (Dorian Gray) • Narrator is ‘God’; can tell what everyone is experiencing & thinking at all times. • Uses 3 rd person pronouns (she, they, them…) See the example below from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice “When Jane and Elizabeth were alone, the former, who had been cautious in her praise of Mr. Bingley before, expressed to her sister how very much she admired him. ”

LIMITLESS • Limitless (2011) stars Bradley Cooper as Eddie Morra, who uses a drug (NZT) to greatly increase his intelligence (“ 4 -digit IQ”), perception, and physical ability • Based on the novel The Dark Fields (Alan Glynn), itself inspired by “Flowers for Algernon” • All are works which explore human performance enhancement, or transhumanism (superhero movies also explore transhumanism)

LIMITLESS • Watch the clip from the film Limitless • As you watch, consider the following: – Who appears to be a more reliable narrator: Eddie or Charlie? Why? – What might some of the other characters’ views be of… • Eddie’s life (Lindy, ex brother-in-law) • Charlie’s life (Miss Kinnian, Drs. Strauss & Nemur, Charlie’s coworkers) • Discuss with a partner, and share your ideas with the class

WRAP-UP • Read remainder of “Flowers for Algernon” • Select a Lit Circle role and journal accordingly – Discussion Director, Summarizer, Word Master, Connector* • Only 4 roles, so two students may have to be Connector