* Stasiland is a physical place put forward by Funder.
* The Wall is capitalised into a Proper Noun to magnify its importance and establish it as an active participant in the narrative.
* The idea of a 'guide', Alice in Wonderland/Anna in Stasiland analogy.
* The book is a historiography (historical body of work on a specialised topic) : factual/non-fiction....however deviates from this category in that Funder casts judgement and her voice explored and elucidates consequences.
* There are 3 Anna's - visitor, interviewer and narrator.
* Funder's voice :
1st person active -"I" conversations
3rd person omniscient voice- evidence/facts/transcripts
AND Anna disappears, allows characters to voice their story.
Funder interviews 6 men associated with the Stasi:
* Herr Winz
*Herr Koch
*Herr Boch
*Herr Bohnsack
*Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler
*Herr Christian
Interdispersed with other vignettes/bookends - Julia, Klaus, Sigrid Paul, Torsten, Charlie and Miriam.
Brainstorm
Funder presents individual and societal polarities:
Individual level
* protagonists/antagonists
* victims/perpetrators
*surrenders/offenders
*unapologetic/apologetic
*indoctrinated/dissidents
Societal level
* ideological divisions (dichotomous East Germany)
* physical and psychological effects of 'The Wall'.
Word of the day:
despotic
adjective
- 1.of or typical of a despot; tyrannical."a despotic regime"
synonyms: autocratic, dictatorial, totalitarian, authoritarian, absolute, absolutist, arbitrary, unconstitutional,undemocratic, anti-democratic,
* Focus on HUMAN RESPONSE
* Focus on not only the WHAT but the HOW.... (conceptual and construction)
eg WHAT has Funder written - themes/characters/ideas
BUT also the
HOW: setting, time, place, narrator, voice, imagery
BUT now....to CONTEXTUALISATION......
No comments:
Post a Comment