Group Presentations: Day 1

Group 4: The World as Myth and Dream

This was my group's presentation. We decided at the first meeting that we wanted to somehow include a "dream" in our presentation, and after some discussion we decided that we wanted to do out presentation in the form of a play/skit. We discussed the different characters/personas from the novels that we have read throughout the class, and kind of decided which ones we definitely wanted to include. First on the list, of course, was Dr. Sexon. Others included a Santiago like character (John), an Ariel like character (Bizz), as well as a Prospheous like character (Zach). After making some basic decisions on the story line and what we wanted to include, Lisa did the wonderful job of coming up with the script. From there, bits and pieces were added and edited out. Each of us chose or were assigned a character for the play, and after a couple practices we presented. Basically, our play started out as if we were ending our presentation. In the last few moments, John falls asleep and awakes (along with the class) in a dream world. He is confronted by Ariel, King Prospheous' messenger, and embarks on a journey to end a horrible feud between two kings (Tweedle Shem and Tweedle Shaun). Throughout his journey he must face a number of obstacles, and in doing so discover his inner self. The catch is that once he has found the "stopping water" and given it to the warring kings, he is told that the feud was in fact a play, and not real. So there is kind of a fiction, within a fiction, within a fiction in our play...illustrating the difficulties of deciphering what is "reality" and what is not. At the end, John takes a pill (which was taken from "The Matrix"), and awakening from his slumber, returns back to class. Each character, exluding Dr. Sexon (perhaps) was based on one from one of the novels. Eliot's "You must go by a way wherein there is no ecstacy." was used as well. Not only did we try to incorporate characters from the different novels, but different themes as well.

Group 2: The 20 Minute Lifetime

Group 2's presentation was most definitely entertaining. I was amazed at how well the filming and editing of the film were. Zach's impression of Dr. Sexon was not only spot on in parts, but very funny as well. Their surrealist interpretation of the class in the form of a movie was very creative. I think the thing that struck me the most about the presentation was that it pretty much summed up the entire semester of Emergent Lit in 20 min, therefore holding true to its theme. Each part of the movie held so much significance to the class as a whole. Everything from the lists we wrote towards the very beginning of the semester, to Vico, Alchemy, the sucking stones, and even deja vu were covered. Quotes taken from "The Tempest," "The Four Quartets," and "Finnegans Wake" topped the whole thing off. I also thought it showed that a 20 min lifetime occurs in each one of Dr. Sexon's digressions in a fun and unique way. I was very impressed, and I liked that if left me thinking at the end. Like each text that we have read, every part contained a number of meanings and it was up to us to find and decipher them all.