Synthesis Discussion Board: HPPoA, Absolutely True Diary, and Feed.
Class, Status, and (Adult) Authority in Prisoner of Azkaban, Absolutely True Diary, and Feed.For this synthesis response on our first three novels, I would like you to choose one of the following questions to examine:1) What purpose do the adult characters serve in these three novels? How many of the adult characters are benevolent influences? Which ones? How do they nurture or help the main adolescent characters of the novels? Which adult characters carry the most authority, and do they use it for good or evil? In any of the novels, do the adults seem completely ineffective at protecting or parenting the adolescents? Are the adult characters able to function as mature people in the society they live in, or are they portrayed as more childish and immuature than the teens? Are there any of the novels in which the adults are not the main sources of authority and law, and if so, which one? What is the main source of authority in that novel?Some of the characters you might talk about include: Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Hagrid, Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, Mr. and Mrs. Spirit, Grandma Spirit, Mr. P., Eugene, Coach, Tituss parents, Violets father, and the President.2) How do class and/or status make a difference for the characters in these novels? How does having more money or less money, or being of one status or another, change a characters ability to function in their world? What differing problems are highlighted through characters of one class or another? What are Anderson, Rowling, and Alexie trying to tell us about class and status?Some examples you might consider include:The Wealseys are pureblood wizards but poor, while Hermione has no wizard ancestry (is a Muggle-born), but her family is comfortably middle-class. Harry is a pureblood, but has been brought up by Muggles (people with no magical ability at all).Lucius Malfoy is both a pureblood and has a great deal of money. Remus Lupin is a werewolf and therefore shunned by most of wizarding society. Hagrid is a half-giant.Arnolds family and the families of most of his friends are quite poor, while the kids at Reardan have very well-off parents and families, but even Reardan families are not problem-free.Violet and her father seem to be poor in the world Anderson creates, while Titus and his family seem to be something akin to middle-class, and Link is wealthy. However, Anderson implies that Violet, and possibly Titus, are rich in things besides money.Whichever essay topic you choose, I expect you to talk about each book at least once, and provide an example from each book at least once. The point behind synthesis is that you consider a common theme across texts, and think about how that theme is approached, translated, and illuminated differently in each text. Dont forget your citations, and as usual, please respond to two of your classmates.