Literature
Here you can discuss books, poetry, short stories, plays, etc., either for your reading pleasure or books that you have to read for A1 class. This forum is for the discussion of books only, whereas discussion of any literature assignments should go in the Language A1 forum.
366 topics in this forum
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"Where writers unite." That sounds corny. Whatever. Anyway. Lc and I love to write. One of the ambitions of our lives is to publish a book (separately, not together). So we thought we needed a place here to talk about our writing and consequently see how many other writers we have here. So do you write? This is the place to share your works, maybe get some constructive criticism or comments, or just talk about your writing habits. To be totally honest, I can be extremely defensive and insecure about my writing, so I don't show them around too much, but I occasionally do. And when I do, it's either because I think it's pretty darn good, or it was written to be shar…
Last reply by Taylanian, -
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I loved Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front", I fell in love with "The Wars" by Timothy Findley, love Jane Austin (too bad I wont get to read her books at all ) love and am looking forward to "The Stranger" by Camus. What about you? what books do you need for IB that you absolutely want to read?
Last reply by Befuddled, -
So there was a Harry Potter thread and as much as I LOVE those books (my absolute favourite) I also love other books and thought it would be fun to create a thread for it. Do you consider yourself as a bookworm/bibliophile? What are your favourite books? Least favourite? Any books you think everyone should read? What kind of books do you prefer? What was the last books you read and are you currently reading something? Post everything here I am myself a huge fan of books. My bookcases are filled with novels that I have still yet to read because of time. My favourites (beside Harry Potter...) are; the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, Pay It Forward by Catherine Ryan H…
Last reply by ShootingStars, -
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This summer I became completely obsessed with the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, and I completely fell in love with Edward Cullen!! However, in my Spanish class we read " The Unbearable Lightness of the Being" by Milan Kundera and it changed the way I perceive literature. Now I consider Twilight series to be quite superficial.. good, yet superficial...what do you think?
Last reply by stevens579, -
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A book that I had to read for school that I absolutely despise is Julius Caesar. I had to read it back in 10th grade (Pre-IB) and I thought it was absolutely boring. If I read it over a few times more, I might begin to like it, but I doubt that would happen. So what are some of the books that you all can't stand?
Last reply by TheTroll73, -
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My friend and i are doing our IOP and we are finding it hard to make it creative, or how to intrigue the audience we are looking for more unique was rather than jokes, powerpoints/prezis, etc
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Well, since Lc wanted to "rant" about HP7 and she can't find me online, I thought I might as well give her a place to rant. Really, so who has read (and finished) it? I don't have so much of a rant as a rave. Spoiler - Click me! First impression: The events moved so fast! The whole book, really, rushed. But I guess it sets the pace - it was a war, everything moved quickly.The deaths: Hedwig was shocking, especially all everyone's been speculating about had been human death. Mad Eye was expected, it was appropriate how he died in battle. Snape - again, expected. But I half expected him to turn out evil after all when all through the book there was no clue of …
Last reply by Daedalus, -
Amaaaazing Books? 1 2 3 4
by timtamboy63- 61 replies
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This thread is for everyone that loves to read~~ What are your favourite books/authors/series? I really like Matthew Reilly, he has a pretty awesome fast pace and has a pretty grand plot I also liked Kite Runner, it was written quite well
Last reply by cclina32, -
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So I was ranting about Shakespeare the other day, and I realized that while I'm not a big fan of his plays, it's mainly because I can't understand them. But even so, I just don't see how he's the greatest there ever was and think we should be exposed to more playwrights. The sonnets I've read by him are just easier to discuss and to enjoy. What do you think of old Willie? Like him? Hate him? Want to build another monument in his honor for CAS?
Last reply by Kiara5, -
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Just started a book (physical book, in one volume, in English) that is 2192 pages long, tiny text, huge pages (Concise Anthology of American Literature 2nd Edition if you're wondering... and yes, it is called concise, and no, it doesn't make sense!) - but the longest I've ever managed so far is some Robert Jordan book, probably 1000+. What are your greatest achievements? What is the longest book you have browsed?
Last reply by Ambriah, -
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The Hunger Games have become very popular since the film came out. I don't consider myself a fan but I enjoyed the books (I didn't like Mockingjay very much though..). Before watching the movie my friends and I discussed whether the books can be considered as literature. My first response was no. It is a YA novel, and most novels of that genre can't be considered as literature. *cough cough* Twilight (btw I hate it when people compare The Hunger Games with Twilight just because of the love triangle). We reached to the conclusion that The Hunger Games describesa a dystopian society and it portrays significant themes (like the control of the government, or the power of mass…
Last reply by Aegle, -
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On behalf of this thread I intend to discuss the infinite themes and motifs of one of the greatest dystopian novels of the twentieth century. I read 1984 for IB english and found it very interesting, it opened my mind to the reality of the world and existing power relationships. As an IB history student, it contributed to my understanding of single party leaders. It is a novel full of symbolism, suspense and emotions. It made me realize about the freedoms that we nowadays enjoy and made me wonder how long will these liberties last, as well. I absolutely loved it and I believe it leaves certain issues open to readers to question such as the abuse of power from the authorit…
Last reply by Teertha, -
Was curious about what people thought about this. Just organized in a poll-like form I guess... and not comprehensive, just some examples. i.e. for me Best: Ian McEwan's novels Worst: Twilight series; Eragon series What do you think? Dissidents welcome... thumbs up if you agree, down if you don't!
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Hello, everyone! So tomorrow begins exams for me, and I should be good for everything except for English. Now, English had been one of my favourite subjects before, and I felt like I was decent at it, but this year not so much. My teacher is very smart and seems to be good at what she does, but she's very harsh with marks. However, we've taken only one practise exam for English and I didn't do very well. It was on analysing poetry, which is what our exam will be on. Does anyone have any tips on how to analyse poetry/prose? Thank you very much!
Last reply by aarti, -
Hey, For those of you who don't know 2008 is my first year in IB. Since age seven I've been an avid creative writer, and since last year I've been getting the urge to write something more than a few pages which is what I call a short story. A plot has been brewing in my head for some time now and I have to get it out of my system - if you're a prolific writer like me you'll know what I mean. So I want to start a novella... just when to do it is the problem. I recently discovered NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and I have been instantly hooked (http://www.nanowrimo.org/). Read all about it if you don't know and you're interested. But all who already understand h…
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At my school we did: The Crucible by Arthur Miller(play) The Tempest by Shakespeare (play) The Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez(novella/short novel) Okay so I noticed that paper 2 is split up into sections based on type of work you have studied, like theres play, poetry and then prose: novel and short story. Our teacher said we should write about all the three works we have studied. However, after looking at some of the previous past paper questions, I'm starting to think that this is going to be a bit unrealistic. I mean considering the time frame for the exam and whatnot and especially if I want to go discuss…
Last reply by eternallyapril, -
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What is the most memorable book you have ever read, and why? It doesn't have to necessarily be a good book, but the one that left the darkest mark on you. I have quite a few, but one of the most prominent of mine was called My Brother Bernadette. It was one of the first chapter books (despite the humongous font) that I read and really enjoyed.
Last reply by Jellyio, -
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HEY GUYS THIS IS AN S.O.S SITUATION!!! Do any of you know how magical realism in chronicle of a death foretold is able to convey the fact that the truth is invariably impossible to know? As of right now, I only have 2 quotations and i'm really lost as well.
Last reply by Ruthbeck, -
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What, in your opinion, are the best dystopian novels? Of course, everyone (as in, dystopian lovers ) worships 1984 and Brave New World - but what else? I personally find Player Piano (Kurt Vonnegut) and Darkness at Noon (Arthur Koestler) to be as good as, if not better than, the famous two
Last reply by CeciliaL, -
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I've just read it for my English A1 class, and it's a pretty fascinating book. In all my years of reading dreaded novels and books, I think this is the first time I actually read the book not because it was assigned for me to finish but because I actually liked the plot and wanted to read more. My teacher told us that this book will generate different views from each part of the world, and I tend to agree with him. I don't think a person living in say in Asia (since they tend to have extremely intricate traditions and cultures) will interpret this book like another person will in the West. What did you think? I personally think it resembles much of post-revolutionary Ira…
Last reply by Proletariat, -
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Hey guys, I was just wondering which portions of the written assignment (HL A Lit) count towards the word count? Do the title and embedded citations count? Thanks in advance
Last reply by chrisncal2, -
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Hey you guys. So I've noticed that people were talking about Twilight in another thread, but I don't enjoy it much (don't eat me...). So I decided to start another thread about another series which I really like. It's called the Bartimaeus Trilogy (fantasy/mystery) and I recommend all who haven't read it to give it a try. Anyone read it already? Are there any other series you guys enjoy reading? Recommend a few for me!
Last reply by iMedic, -
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I know a lot of people hate poetry but I am a total English nerd and I am looking for good poetry to read. My favourite poem is The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot, what are you some of your favourites?
Last reply by poppop828, -
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Which do you like more and why?
Last reply by candy6, -
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Can somebody help me with this poem "Men Talk" by Liz Lochhead? I am doing a WT2 for it and I don't really understand the meaning of the poem. Help pls? Thanks
Last reply by JacquiHB, -
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Has anyone read Perfume by Patrick Suskind for IB English HL? It's received mixed reviews in my class, but I absolutely love it. It's so different and creepy and brillant! I'm anxious to write about it and hope we're allowed to use this in our world literature papers. This makes me LOL: "He would be able to create a scent that was not merely human but superhuman, an angel's scent...they would love him...love him to the point of insanity...He would be the omnipotent god of scent...He who ruled scent ruled the hearts of men...his mood was not euphoric as he formed his plans to rule mankind...he asked himself why he wanted to do it at all. And he said to himself that he wan…
Last reply by nbortfeld, -
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As you may know, summer holidays for North American students are in one week (for me). I really want to get back to my habit of reading books. Are there any good novels or series to go after? I really open to any genre of novels... So just fire away with any novel that you think is good Thanks
Last reply by Raina Doshi, -
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Well, my Eng b teacher has decided to do 1984 , its all good, but in the entire year she only made us do the chapter reviews and in class we just chat about the book and its implications. Pretty easy stuff, she doesn't even make us do any essays on the book, such as the themes etc. It isn't much of a challenge at all, so i was wondering if anyone could give me some good questions on 1984 that I could write an essay on for a bit of practice for my finals next month.
Last reply by IB King Fason, -
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Well, my current...obsession, if you will, is Narnia fanfiction. I was listening to a Narnia fanfic podcast the other day and they mentioned the fact that if you didn't read the Narnia books as a child and tried to read it as an adult, you pretty much miss the boat because it's so...well, boring to read as a mature reader. To be honest, I would agree with this. Actually I never actually read Narnia as a child and only started reading them for my EE. But then I was looking at it more from a literary perspective so I wasn't thinking about how interested I might be otherwise. Recently I went back and reading them just for fun, and well...there is no doubt these are kids' boo…
Last reply by kingdomx, -
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An Analysis of the Social Classes in Patrick Suskind’s Perfume Analysis of Manipulative Relationships and Animal Metaphors in Patrick Suskind’s Perfume In Perfume, Patrick Suskind illustrates the importance of social classes in Germany post-World War 2 through his story of Grenouille, a murderer with a strong sense of smell and a goal to control everyone around him, in 18th century France. The difference in time and place forces the reader to make connections between what was occurring in the book and Communist Germany. Although the settings are different, they demonstrate the rise of communism and social order along with the eventual downfall of it all w…
Last reply by nicholasnj, -
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hey guys would you suggest me what are the aspects of geographical setting to look at when writing critical analysis on geographical aspects? I am doing on 'Chronicles of a Death Foretold' by Garcia.
Last reply by thehaikubandit, -
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Hi I'm currently in Year 11 and I'm not sure whether to take English HL Lit or Lang/Lit for IB. Right now, I get A* for my literature essays and only A/B for Language. I thought I was pretty set on Lit HL but then I heard that Lit HL is actually really hard and only the top 3% are able to get a 7 whilst Lang/Lit would much easier even though I'm not that good at Language or don't really enjoy it. I'm wondering if Lit HL would just be extra unnecessary work especially since I'm not planning to do English-related career in the future or as a college major. Some advice would be really appreciated. Thanks.
Last reply by Erin.L, -
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Hey all, I take English A SL and need to do my IOP after Christmas break. I have decided to do it on The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. My Thesis is: "The story creates an atmosphere that conveys a dark theme of insecurity and instability". I was to talk about punctuation, repetition,diction , the narrator , and the vulture eye (symbolism). My teacher says the thesis is too vague, that it needs to be falsifiable. What does this mean? And what can I come up with as an alternative. I want to be done quickly so that I can rehearse and perfect my presentation. All help is appreciated, I haven't had English literature before.
Last reply by Nomenclature, -
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ONi am a year 1 student and still struggling to search rq for my ee . I would like to do literature ON symbolism. Can anyone suggest me how to make a GOOD proposal that can convince a teacher to accept me as her / his advisee. And , what should i put on my introduction of proposal ? My teacher said something about justification and arguments in the introduction part of the proposal instead of description but i still dont get the picture .. Please help me
Last reply by Infested, -
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Hey people, Just wanted to get a few minds together to see what we can come up with pertaining to the book (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen). I think Mrs. Bennet's behavoir is sometimes adorable but sometimes annoying too. Like when she's constantly gossiping and almost desperately tries to keep her daughters around the men SHE wants them to marry, almost regardless of what they want. What are your views?
Last reply by LiveLaughLove, -
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If you read Historical fiction, what is your most favorite books ever? The Alexander Tri-ology by Valerio Massimo Manfredi- my favorite books <3
Last reply by CanadianRice, -
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hey guys i'm really stuck on h ow to write a reflective statement. we are doing a doll's house. thanks in advance
Last reply by Tania Shah 10, -
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I'm just starting to read The Great Gatsby (bought it an hour ago ) and I started to wonder what do you guys think about this particular book? Is it really such a masterpiece as many have said? Or is it an abstruse piece of literature which you must read for A2 language as some have said? What do you think? Any comments?
Last reply by ninety, -
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So, my IOP is on Tuesday and I have almost everything done, but I'm stuck on how to write the conclusion. It's a comparative IOP (I'm comparing thematic views on death between "Only Death" and Macbeth's 'life's but a walking shadow soliloquy'). I have never done anything comparative for English before.. What am I supposed to talk about in the conclusion? My IOP is thematic based, so will talking about human nature in relation to the concept of death suffice? Any help is appreciated! Thanks!
Last reply by Blackcurrant, -
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So I was wondering this? I used to read a lot of Harry Potter fanfiction when I was in the IB (that was a while ago) and it was always a guilty pleasure of sorts. Once, one of my friends caught me reading it in Maths class and she flipped out because she read an excessive amount of fanfiction too. We later found out that 5/8 people on our lunch table used to read fanfiction in their spare time. I sort of reduced this as university became intense, but I've continued to read the occasional story every now and again. So, anybody else out there? Also, if you do read HP fanfiction in particular, any recommendations?
Last reply by Arrowhead, -
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Hi IBSurvival! Does anyone else on here enjoy reading dystopian literature? You know, like Yevgeny Zamyatin's We, Ayn Rand's Anthem, or George Orwell's 1984? That's just to name three I've read (the first in class this year, the latter two for my EE that I'm writing). I really enjoy dystopian literature and I was just wondering if anyone else on here does. It really gives insight into what is wrong with the world, and what will happen if that doesn't change.
Last reply by Lynxarin, -
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Hello, For my written task 2, I chose this question: How does the text conform to, or deviate from, the conventions of a particular genre, and for what purpose. In that I want to do the study and analysis of author's reworking of fairy tales. I alway seemed to get confused with the question. For example: I take a certain fairy tale, and depict that it is being re-written in the form of graphic novel, which is deviating from its original convention, which is first person narrative. Can someone give me tips on how to the answer the "How" in the question? Thank you
Last reply by TheSstudios, -
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Hey guys, working on my works in translation ( for final hand in to IB). In class, we talked about psychological setting briefly when discussing short stories. It was basically tone, mood and atmosphere. But im unsure because we only touched upon it. However, in my essay, I want to use it. I searched it up to clarify the meaning of this type of setting but can't find anything. Do you guys know what psychological setting is in literature? I want to know for sure. Thanks!
Last reply by stealthyfighter, -
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I might be alone on this subject but for a while I have kinda been going through an age crisis of my own. I don't know, maybe it's because of some kind of empathy towards my dad (who is 50 years old now) but anyway I have kinda been pretty "oh my god I'm only gona be young only once how am I gona spend this precious time of my life omgomgomg" (okay fine not in a such a radical way but anyway). A book that I would really recommend to all of you for this would be Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. I found it truly interesting and fascinating and I belive it managed to portray a vivid image of the youth obsessed culture that has been a part of us for a while now. I'm…
Last reply by Tilia, -
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Hi there, I just joined this forum after I have been reading it for like 2 months, Tomorrow I have an IB paper 2 test for English. I will write the essay about The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. I gathered some quotations and information about the book. I read through some websites explaining what the paper 2 is all about, but I still have some questions. Let's say, the essay question is about the transition from childhood into adulthood. I've gathered some key events from the book which have to do with this transition, or at least to do with either childhood or adulthood. What do you need to write in one body paragraph? My teacher told me a few times what to…
Last reply by Arrowhead, -
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Death of a Salesman, along with Pygmalion and Othello, are the Dramas I've studied for Paper 2 (which is in two days time ) but I cannot seem to pick out relevant quotations from Death of a Salesman. I've used Shmoop and Sparknotes but they are useless to me. Does anyone have any theme related quotations, or even ones that can be applied to pretty much any essay question?
Last reply by BJD, -
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Was there a book that inspired you to develop passion in literature? For me, it all began with Lee Young Do's fantasy novel, Dragon Raja. I still thank my friend who recommended that book to me, because without reading that book, I would not have realized how fascinating literature can be, earlier. How about you?
Last reply by mechnight, -
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Am considering this book for EE, but was told it was studied in Gr. 9 at some schools and so would not be ideal. Did you study this book at your school? What year did you study it in? And what kinds of things did you learn about it? Thanks a bunch!!!
Last reply by SilvaShadow, -
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I love Shakespeare! Which one is your favorite and why? Be detailed! I want to know cause I haven't read all his plays and you could really open my eyes to his other work. By the way, if you want to recommend any classic literature you can too! I am a huge bookworm!!!!
Last reply by Avan:), -
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I am doing mt museum project on the symbol of the balcony in The Visit. Can anyone help give ideas as to how and what the balcony is a symbol for?
Last reply by Arrowhead,
