STRANGE EPISODES AND AWAKENINGS:
Melville, Kafka, and Conrad - (No Longer Available)
Strange and prophetically modern are “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” The Metamorphosis, and Heart of Darkness, a trio of short masterpieces that set in motion the existential arguments and narrative experiments of twentieth century fiction. We’ll enter this universe of ghosts, nightmares, and monsters and take up the overarching themes of identity, power, empathy, and justice. Will we find ourselves in a world of subversion? Will these stories reveal to us the limits of our social and political beliefs? Our humanity? What solace can we take from disquieting dreams? We’ll discuss these and other questions as we explore these extraordinary stories by Herman Melville, Franz Kafka, and Joseph Conrad.
“…[T]O HIM THE MEANING OF AN EPISODE WAS NOT INSIDE
LIKE A KERNEL BUT OUTSIDE, ENVELOPING THE TALE WHICH
BROUGHT IT OUT ONLY AS A GLOW BRINGS OUT A HAZE….”
– Joseph Conrad
LEADER
David Schmitt is an architect in
Evanston, Illinois, where he helps
his clients create a better built
environment. He is working on his first
book, tentatively titled To Build or Not to
Build: Questions of Ethics and Quality in
Architecture. For two decades he has
been involved as leader and participant
in Great Books discussions, and thinks
of Melville, Kafka and Conrad as old
friends. They think of him as material
for their unsettling works, if they think
of him at all. Oh, the horror!
BOOKS
Participants are required to obtain the
specified editions in order to facilitate
the group’s ability to find and cite
portions of the text during discussion.
Herman Melville, “Bartleby, the
Scrivener” from Billy Budd and
Other Tales
Paperback
Signet Classics (2009)
ISBN-10: 0451530810
ISBN-13: 978-0451530813
Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis
Paperback: 224 pages
Bantam Classics (1972)
ISBN-10: 0553213695
ISBN-13: 978-0553213690
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness &
The Secret Sharer
Paperback
Signet Classics (2008)
ISBN-10: 0451531035
ISBN-13: 978-0451531032
DISCOUNTS – one per registrant
- Register before January 1, 2010 and receive a complimentary Soulpepper theatre ticket
- St. Michael’s College blue card holders receive a CAD $50 discount
- Participants who have attended Toronto Pursuits at least five times receive a CAD $150 discount
- Register with a friend, and if one or both are first time participants, each receives a CAD $150 discount
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