Oral Correction gr B

 QUESTIONS préparation de l'entretien

1. What is your favourite document ?

My favourite document is X, it's my document, I like it because I like the artist.

Ici, il s'agit de profiter d'une question facile pour aborder des points qu'on a pas eu le temps de traiter pendant l'exposé.

In my file, my favourite document is X because XXX. BUT I really hesitated with another one that I positively LOVE. It's X (et vous déroulez). 

2. Is there a relation between Poe's life and his work ?

Ici, la réponse attendue tourne autour de vos connaissances à propos de l'auteur, et de son oeuvre en général.

Having married is 13 year old cousin and lost all the important women in his life, Poe certainly had a certain vision for female characters in his work. He wrote that the "most poetic topic is a young woman, dying." On the other hand, his idea of the perverse doesn't seem to be linked / correlated to his life. 

3. How did you choose your document ?

 First X  / as regards to my question... movie... upset... N. Bates as the perfect guy... HPL : moreover ...

Véa : How is your image Gothic ?

Inspiration : Gothic artist. A bestiary from Bosch.

réponse attendue : Middles Ages / Gothic Age

 

Pauline : If the unknown is scary, how about what is known, familiar ?

What's known is what we know, we are used to it, like our family, contrary to what's unknown.

Réponse attendue : essayez de changer de perspective. Par exemple : what's familiar can be terrifying (Body Snatchers, any zombie movie...).

Jade : Why is the "eye of the vulture" essential ?

The vulture - > trouble for the narrator. specifically, it caused the murder. 

The eye of the vulture : symbol of death (vulture = carrion). Whose death. 

Jade² : Can you talk about the difference between innocence and experience ?

 réponse attendue : si vous n'avez pas de réponse à une question trop complexe, ne vous contentez pas de I don't know, revenez sur les termes de la question, prenez un bout de la question, évoquez à nouveau un point déjà vu, demandez éventuellement une reformulation, une aide.

innocence vs experience W. Blake ROMANTIC.

Ellyjah : Do Poe's characters have a choice ?

Maybe / It's Poe's decision / could have made another decision.

Réponse attendue : l'examinateur a un point de vue différent du vôtre, et essaye de vous tester. 

It's a character, and Poe created it to make a point. Basically, he has to have a tragic fate, he has no choice (cf. Achilles, or Camus' characters : they have to suffer or make people suffer to reveal who they really are).

Solène : to what extent are houses characters in your documents ?

The house in FHU = characters, or even more. Windows = eyes.

Réponse attendue : en gros, l'examinateur souhaite que vous approfondissiez un point. Dans ce cas, évitez de répéter à l'identique ce que vous avez déjà dit, et préparez une réponse plus étoffée. 

Joris : could  you explain the concept of "the perverse ?"

Perversity is like when the narrator plays with their enemies (cops sitting on the dead body). It adds craziness to the narrator, and makes him terrifying.

réponse attendue : bien être au fait des grands concepts derrière l’œuvre (par ex. dystopie dans 1984, ou le gothique dans Northanger Abbey). 

For Poe, the perverse is a thought that is not controlled by the character, and that will lead to his demise (destruction). We could compare it to the demon sitting on the shoulder of cartoon characters, giving them awful advice (the ghost in Hamlet). 

Rachel : Have you watched Psycho ?

Yes, I had a little knowledge about that movie / cinema class. .../... I liked it.

réponse attendue : ne jamais répondre uniquement par yes / no y compris pour les questions fermées.

Rachel² : Is Psycho Lovecraftian ?

I think that it does / Bloch, youth, influenced by Lovecraft. Also by serial killers. N. Bates' psychology / Lovecraft.

réponse attendue : soignez la préparation en amont pour toutes les références que vous ferez pendant votre exposé. Veillez notamment aux auteurs, à leurs idées, à leurs principaux livres. Il y a aussi les courants de pensées correspondant à leurs époques.

Sophia : Have you read The Great Gatsby ?

I watched the movie, and I have the book, but I haven't read it yet. 

Réponse attendue : cf. Rachel.1 

Sophia² : Is madness necessary for writers ? 

I think all writers need a little bit of madness. It is necessary to create a whole world and a true atmosphere.

réponse attendue : vous pouvez prendre le temps de la réflection quand on vous propose une alternative à votre problématique.

.../... What's more, Romantics and Gothic writers are sometimes said to be Dionysian, that they are under the tutelage (patronage) of Greek god of madness and darkness Dionysus. As such, madness is as much character as the narrator.

Andy : Is Romanticism Gothic ?

 réponse attendue : d'une manière générale, évitez d'évoquer les concepts que vous maîtrisez mal / peu, sans les avoir revus, retravaillés au préalable.

Léa : To what extent is Nature connected with the artist ?

Nature / food chain / plays an important role for Poe, and death and survival in a vicious world... Characters are crazy and it reinforces their perversity / topic of death = essential. Survival of the fittest (C. Darwin).

Nature / Romanticism (Pathetic Fallacy, the artist's inner life is mirrored in the weather). Nature is the only way artists can express their inner feelings. It is also connected to darkness, and a freedom that can be dangerous and wild.

WHAT IF...

• the question you prepared doesn't show up ?

Try and pay attention to questions that could be related. Example : you have a nifty answer for What's your fav. document. But the questions all revolve around the notion of Romanticism. You can try to start with a proper answer, and then, as-a-matter-of-factly, mention that document you really love.

• you're asked an off-topic question ?

Take your time to collect your thoughts, and to give an appropriate question. You can also try and go back to a topic you master. Don't hesitate to talk about elements you learnt about in other classes.

finally, you should take a look at books about general knowledge before the oral. 

Précis de Culture Générale, Ellipses, Collet Francis

• you don't understand the question ?

Don't hesitate to ask for clarifications. You should understand the question perfectly clearly. Rephrase the question to check your understanding.

• you simply don't know the answer ?

Just say it.