In The Skin of a Lion thread! (1 Viewer)

[glitterfairy]

:S Have briefly looked through this forum and have found no threads on this book, so thought I might start one of my own. Just like the RFTG thread on the Eng Ext 1 forum, let there be an ITSOAL thread!!!

To start off all discussions- to any that have read or studied the origonal Epic of Gilgamesh, how well do you think it ties into In the Skin of a Lion?

And for any who did English Patient last year- did you feel ITSOAL was even more fragmented and 'elliptic' (ah, buzzword!!!)?

And finally, who else completely flipped out when there were no avaliable online study guides for this novel?

Best wishes! (and anxiously awaiting any and all replies)
glitterfairy

 

[ToO LaZy ^*]

yes i did SOAL in term 1
and yes, i briefly know the story of gilgamesh
*that reminds me...gotta look at that again*

 

[glitterfairy]

Wow! After seeing nothing about ITSOAL on this forum and having no replies, I was starting to think that no-one else had done it (ah, you don't know what you missed... really!).

A friend of mine (not related to school) sent me Gilgamesh to read, I've only touched on it but it's quite insightful to draw links between the two- I really wished it had been brought up in school though, I was so, so SO confused when we were studying the book in school... it made no sense then, and it's not making huge sense now...

 

[cakes]

i studied in the skin of a lion last year!
i did a postcolonial and postmodern reading..... didnt read the epic of gilgamesh so i dont have anything to say about that, lol except, i guess you coudl talk about ondaatje's use of intertextuality, and he also refers to conrad's Heart of Darkness, and some other well known writers throughout the book.
I remember my teacher saying something about the epic of gilgamesh when someone asked a question about an aesthetic humanist reading...erm..haha sorry, im no help..

 

[beverly]

my favourite module and text so far!

i feel like i know the text inside out and Ondaatje's writing just makes it all the more enjoyable. ive read the relevant part of the epic of gilgamesh and it is quite an issue in relation to Patricks role

 

[olay]

ohh my gosh. i love this book to bits!!!! we're only starting it this coming term though, but i read it in the summer hols. i've dubbed it my favourite book....its so beautifully written.

sorry, i'll post something more constructive after we've gone thru it in class, just had to mention how much i loooove it

 

[teh winnar!]

ANY BOOK WITH LUMBERJACKS IN IT KICKS MORE ASS THAN A SAWN OFF SHOTGUN WITH SPEEDHOLES DRILLED INTO THE BARREL

 

[miss_pie]

ah its a pretty great book!
all i found online was a few random articles. theres a couple of things on the csu website, looking at readings. but yeah i got frustrated with the lack of resources because i wanted to know if i was heading in the right direction... its hard to know with this book because you can go in a million different directions with it. and the get smart guide is crap!

 

[beverly]

yeh if didnt have the few pointers from people that i did before i read it, i wouldve been very lost! but if you have any issues why dont you ask in here!

 

[Lainee]

I'm just wondering what readings every here is doing. In our class we were told not to 'read against the text' so the readings I can think of are PM, PC and humanist readings (because a Marxist reading would be reading against the text, somehow).

What has everyone chosen?

 

[mayhemily]

i haven't even been told to do extra readings related to skin. why do we need to, the question will be targeting that novel specifically?

 

[dollparts]

lynn, you're a freak! in the skin of a lion is the silliest book in the world but hey at least i didn't completely screw that assessment over. anyway all i can say is i'm glad we're on to something else... although transformational texts don't quite excite me either.

mwahaha i bet you have no idea who this is, but i'll give you a clue... i'm in your english class!
more clues later

 

[Lainee]

Originally posted by mayhemily
i haven't even been told to do extra readings related to skin. why do we need to, the question will be targeting that novel specifically?

By 'readings' I meant what 'perspectives' will people be choosing. As in, a postmodernist perspective, or a postcolonial perspective etc.

 

[olay]

Originally posted by Lainee
I'm just wondering what readings every here is doing. In our class we were told not to 'read against the text' so the readings I can think of are PM, PC and humanist readings (because a Marxist reading would be reading against the text, somehow).

What has everyone chosen?

ermm.... from what my teachers been saying, a marxist reading is excellent for this text - esp considering the huge focus upon the place of the working class v.s. upper class in society. The book is almost a homage to the working class!!!

 

[lifeinmydalek]

Can someone please help me with how ITSOAL links to the Epic of Gilgamesh?