20th-century Literature

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Call of the Wild and White Fang
Number of lessons: 13; compatible text for study guide: all texts are compatible (you may order the text below). Guide prepared by Dori Anne Abbott and Robert W. Watson.
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Animal Farm by George Orwell
Number of lessons: 5; compatible text for study guide: all texts are compatible (you may order the text below). Guide prepared by Robert W. Watson.
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Why I Am Not a Christian
The essay is included with the study guide. Guide prepared by Robert W. Watson. Download file: Pub88.zip.
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The Pearl
Number of lessons: 5; compatible text for study guide: all texts are compatible (you may order the text below). Guide prepared by Robert W. Watson.
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Scarlet Pimpermel
Number of lessons: 14; compatible text for study guide: all texts are compatible (you may order the text below). Guide prepared by Robert W. Watson.
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Call of the Wild and White Fang
The Call of the Wild & White Fang
Order THE CALL OF THE WILD text here
Order WHITE FANG text here

Note: This guide is included in the course, An Introduction to Literature.

Before James Bond or Indiana Jones, there was Jack London—real-life adventurer, writer, and traveler to “the raw edges of the world.” The Klondike, the slums of England, South Africa, the South Seas Islands, and the rugged countryside of North Korea were some of his favorite haunts. His many adventures were fueled by his constant reading and an overwhelming desire to hammer out a personal philosophy of life.

London’s most famous stories center on the Alaskan gold rush of 1897. London did not write these stories as documentary narratives, but rather to show what would happen when men and animals were thrust into the wild. The stories you are about to read show London’s respect for men who could survive the “raw edge of the world.” These men overwhelmed London’s imagination, and he began to see them as the ultimate symbols of manly success and their behavior as the code for that success.

The Call of the Wild and White Fang show London’s vision of the Klondike as a laboratory where the animals and men could be reduced to the simplicity of the natural laws of survival. You will notice that the differences between man and animals are often obscured. While London claims White Fang is not a sequel to The Call of the Wild, you will not miss the fact that while Buck comes from a domesticated environment to become wild on the one hand, White Fang comes from the wild and turns domesticated.

Also, be aware of London’s belief in the superhuman since London was an admirer of Friedrich Nietzsche (Nee-chee), a German philosopher, classical scholar, and critic of Christianity. It was Nietzsche who introduced the concept of the “superman,”—a magnanimous hero who rises above biblical morality, whose motivation is the “will to power” that directs his creativity. This “will to power” distinguishes the superman apart from inferior human beings.

You will note the recurring theme of “survival of the fittest.” Obviously, this philosophy is opposed to the Scriptures. But in a world that is under the curse of sin, humans tend to think that “might makes right.” Also, you may note the stories suggest that life is a continual emergency, which it is not. While emergencies happen, life is often mundane and mostly predictable. Human beings do not live their lives in a constant state of “survival mode.”

Number of lessons: 13; compatible text for study guide: all texts are compatible (you may order the text below). Guide prepared by Dori Anne Abbott and Robert W. Watson.
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Animal Farm by George Orwell
Animal Farm
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When George Orwell (a.k.a. Eric Blair) wrote Animal Farm, the world was catching its breath after several years of war. The novella is a fable in the sense that animals in the book talk and act as though they are human beings. Like Aesop, Orwell was able to pack a lot of meaning into his story.

All commentators explain that the central purpose of Animal Farm is to critique the failure of the Soviet state. Even though he castigates the Soviet version of socialism, Orwell is an argent socialist himself, who believes that the socialism in the Soviet Union was a corruption of Marxist's ideals. However, Orwell believed that socialism was still the answer to the world’s problems of misery and oppression. Yet, even though Orwell did not intend it, Animal Farm is not just a condemnation of the Soviet system of socialism, or even of totalitarianism in its fascistic, capitalistic, or socialistic manifestations. After all, these systems are not forms of civil government, but rather economic systems. What Animal Farm demonstrates is the failure of the political entity called the state. The state as a civil government is unable to offer or to maintain liberty, because the interests of the state are counter to the interests of liberty.

Number of lessons: 5; compatible text for study guide: all texts are compatible (you may order the text below). Guide prepared by Robert W. Watson.
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Why I Am Not a Christian
"Why I Am Not a Christian"
LIVING for ninety-seven years, Bertrand Russell lived a long and controversial life. His search for knowledge established Russell as a pioneer in both the fields of mathematics and of philosophy. If his activism against war and nuclear weapons is an indication of his “unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind,” then Russell surely put feet to his words.

During World War I, Russell was dismissed from Trinity College and later imprisoned for five months because of his anti-war activities in Great Britain. Many years later in 1961, Russell spent a week in prison again for his role in anti-nuclear protests. Trying several times to capture a seat in parliament, Russell was defeated every time he ran a campaign.

When his brother died in 1931, Russell became the third Earl Russell and a few years later was offered a professorship of philosophy at the University of California at Los Angeles. One year later, Russell was given an appointment at City College in New York, but he was determined by a court to be morally unfit to be a professor at the school, largely because of his views found in his book, Marriage and Morals.

Russell was a prolific writer, and he was recognized for his contribution to literature by being awarded the Noble Prize for Literature in 1950. Nevertheless, Russell is best known for his work in mathematics, particularly concerning set theory and for his being one of the founders of analytical philosophy, a short lived project trying to bring clarity to language. Philosophically, Russell embraced neutral monism, a belief that there is only one substance that composes everything, both thoughts and physical reality. But most Christians know Russell by his lecture, “Why I Am Not a Christian,” presented in 1927 and printed in a book of religious essays in 1957. As a self-proclaimed atheist, Russell espouses, as you will read, the lowest opinion of religion of any man.

There have been many fine refutations of Russell’s essay. In fact, Russell and his thinking are easy marks to hit. Overall, the essay is disappointing, because it is so shallow, which one would not expect from such an otherwise brilliant thinker. However, Russell time and time again proves the Bible and its pronouncements about the foolishness of men not being led by the Spirit of God. Indeed, while professing himself to be wise, Russell appears foolsh and silly. His audience is the National Secular Society, a friendly gathering, and Russell has the role of being more like a cheerleader at a pep rally than like a philosopher trying to formulate a better system than Christianity. Ironically, in his essay, Russell is guilty of dogmatism and emotionalism, which he claims to be undesirable traits of the Christian faith.

Russell attacks Christianity from two fronts: the non-existence of God and the low moral character of the Lord Jesus Christ. If he is successful with either assertion, then Russell will have carried his burden of proof, and Christianity should indeed be called into question. Whether he is successful is left up to your judgment.
The essay is included with the study guide. Guide prepared by Robert W. Watson. Download file: Pub88.zip.
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The Pearl
The Pearl
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THE PEARL represents John Steinbeck’s belief about the American Dream. The illusion of easy wealth and carefree living is an alluring dream; but it is simply that—a dream. If one having known only poverty were to have a windfall of riches, the wealth would soon be consumed, because the accumulation of wealth has its own natural laws. The poor, who are typically consumers and not investors, do not understand these laws, and thus are destined to remain in poverty unless the laws of wealth are studied and obeyed.

While he became rich through his writing, Steinbeck has a preoccupation with poverty, which he explores not only in The Pearl but also in The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men. Even if many of his readers do not seem to understand about money, Steinbeck is aware that riches and wealth bring their own set of problems. Indeed, the wealthy are not lucky; they just happen to understand the power of money.

John Steinbeck was a Californian, who chose to abandon college life and become a common laborer while he pursued a career in writing. For this reason, his novels have a touch of authenticity regarding the “common” man, even though his socialist views are evident in many of his works. The Grapes of Wrath won Steinbeck a Pulitzer Prize, and in 1962 he received the Nobel Prize for literature. His later works like East of Eden and The Winter of Our Discontent did not receive as much acclaim as his works during the Depression. The “hero” of The Pearl is Kino, a poor Mexican, who represents the common man, or the Everyman, with his typical concerns about life and family. As you read, note how Kino’s contentment with his station in life changes as the story progresses. Steinbeck uses a lot of symbolism in this story such as the scorpion and the doctor. Be aware of these symbols, and discover why they are significant.

One of the many motifs throughout The Pearl is the conflict between modern mores and past heritage. Whether intentional or not, Steinbeck gives more credence to the way of the past in contrast to the modern money-based society. While modern society is unstable and immature due to its constant and incessant urge for change, honored traditions and heritage offer the soul a place of refuge, a place of certainty and stability. When his life looked its darkest, Kino returns to his community, his neighbors, and his home.

Another common motif found in this story is light verses darkness. However, Steinbeck surprises the reader by oftentimes reversing the roles of light and darkness. There are other conflicts such as foreigners against natives, merchants against pearl drivers, and nature against man. All of these conflicts are not exaggerated at all and are part of the common lot of mankind.

One question that should be asked and resolved as you read The Pearl is whether inanimate objects can possess goodness or evil. Things can be powerful symbols, but are they inherently good or evil in themselves? Kept this in mind as you read. Also, some critics suggest that Steinbeck is using the biblical parable of the Pearl of Great Price as the basis for his story (Matthew 13:45–45). Look for evidence that either supports or refutes the critics. As usual, you should try to glean biblical lessons and precepts from reading. You will find The Pearl is replete with such lessons.
Number of lessons: 5; compatible text for study guide: all texts are compatible (you may order the text below). Guide prepared by Robert W. Watson.
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Scarlet Pimpermel
The Scarlet Pimpernel
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Note: This guide is included in the course, Introduction to Literature.

Written by the Hungarian-born Baroness Orczy (1865-1947) (her actual name is Emma Magdalena Rosalia Maria Josefa Barbara Orczy), who was also an artist, The Scarlet Pimpernel is only one of the many books written by this prolific author. There is an entire series about the adventures of Sir Percy Blakeney

The basic plot of the novel is simple: the French revolutionary government wants to have the head of the courageous Scarlet Pimpernel, a pseudonym for an Englishman, who commands a small—but dedicated—group of men who rescue many victims from death. Why does such a man endanger his life in order to save a few French nobles? Undoubtedly, the Scarlet Pimpernel has absolutely nothing else to do. This was a diversion, a daring pastime, to end the tedium common to a life of leisure. Truly, the life of the Scarlet Pimpernel is hardly boring or commonplace.
Number of lessons: 14; compatible text for study guide: all texts are compatible (you may order the text below). Guide prepared by Robert W. Watson.
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