8 JOHN FOWELS (1926-2005):

“LEADING THE READERS ASTRAY” (ВВОДИТИ ЧИТАЧІВ В ОМАНУ!)

a/. LIFE-STORY (briefly)
John Robert Fowles was born in 1926 in Leigh-on-Sea, in the county of Essex,
England. Of his childhood, Fowles says “I have tried to escape ever since.”
English novelist, whose allusive and descriptive works combine psychological
probings with an interest in social and philosophical issues.
After graduation from Oxford University, where he studied French, he taught in
France and also for several years on a Greek island, then returned to England and
worked on his first novel, The Collector. After its publication, and the good
reviews which it received, he gave up teaching to pursue writing full time.
Fowles' next work was The Aristos, a collection of philosophical aphorisms. The
Magus, his next novel. The French Lieutenant's Woman,The Ebony Tower, a
collection of short stories. His later novels include Daniel Martin, Mantissa, and A
Maggot. John Fowles died in 2005.
b/. “THE MAGUS” (GENERAL OVERVIEW:
setting;
The whole story of The Magus takes place on the fictional Greek island, Phraxos,
but it is based on the real one—Spetses. Nicholas Urfe, the protagonist of The
Magus came to the island to teach English, just like Fowles did before him.
themes
Freedom and Choice is the novel's main theme, both evoked and specifically
defined at three principal points. These are the climax of Conchis' story of his
experiences during the Nazi occupation of World War II, the climax of Nicholas'
trial when he is presented with the opportunity to punish Lily, and in the book's
final moments, in which he forces Alison into a position similar to the one he
experienced on the previous two occasions.
the protagonist
Nicholas Urfe – the protagonist, a 26-year-old Englishman who goes to Greece to
teach English and one day stumbles upon "the waiting room"
the conflict
The main conflict and passion of the book is between Conchis and Nicholas.
; the narrator; the features of postmodernism; simulacrum)
c/. “THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT’s WOMAN” (“ПОДРУГА
ФРАНЦУЗЬКОГО ЛЕЙТЕНАНТА”); (general overview:
setting
; themes; the protagonist; the conflict; the features of postmodernism; multiple
endings; simulacrum; game with the reader; imitation of a VICTORIAN novel)
9 NEIL R. GAIMAN (born in 1960): “THE THING ABOUT CASSANDRA
“( “DEЩО ПРО КАСАНДРУ”)
YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING (AVOID RETELLING THE TEXT
PLEASE) of this short story.
THE PLOT
THE TITLE
THE NARRATOR
CHRONOLOGICAL SHIFTS
STRUCTURE
FEATURES OF POSTMODERNISM
READER is a co-author?
Ambiguity
Simulacrum
THE STORY WITHIN THE STORY