German Literature

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German Literature

Question One

Wassily Kandinsky was an influential art theorist and painter from Russia. He is recognized for his role in making the first purely abstract painting. Kandinsky was part of the Der Blaue Reiter group of art. Some of Kandinsky’s paintings include Blue Rider, Composition IV, Black and Violet, and Moscow I.

Question Two

When Hans goes skiing, he experiences psychological turmoil. This turmoil is a form a predicament he received from a dream.

Question Three

Joseph K has an obligation of touring an Italian client around the cathedral. The client however does not show up. When he is about to leave, Joseph is summoned by a priest he does not know. The priest tells Joseph a story (Before the Law). Joseph and the priest the discuss the interpretations of the story before he leaves

Question Four

Dadaism in Berlin was counteractive measure to World WAR I, its iconoclasm that appealed to artists such as Max Ernst, Kurt Schwitters, and John Heartfield. Dadaism in Berlin was also a counter active measure to the dreadfulness of the war by expressing bitter criticism. On the other hand, Dadaism in Zurich was propelled by political militantsim. It was involved in spartakist revolution and social upheavals.

Question Six

Paula Becker’s art flourished mainly because of post-impressionism influence. Her art was inspired by simplified forms and intense colors by Pauk Gauguin and Vincent Gogh. She lived an average life as a third child with six siblings. At age 22, she completed her teacher training lessons and began taking art lessons. She joined Berlin Women Artists in 1896.

Question Eight

The peculiarities of Joseph’s execution are that the trials required that he be imprisoned. This was supposed to give him an opportunity of brining out his spiritual identity. Joseph was longing for vindicate himself. He was tired of his routine existence. Executing him was therefore a peculiar sentence.

Question Nine

Paula Becker was painter from German and was regarded as one of the most influential symbol of early expressionism. She had a brief art career that was cut short by embolism. She created various revolutionary paintings of great intensity.

Question Ten

The relationship between Doris and Ernst is dysfunctional. Ernst treats her badly and rejects her in the end for another woman. Ernst states he desires to marry a virgin.

Question Eleven

Hannah Hoch was a Dada artist from Germany. She is recognized for her contributions in the Weimer Period as one of the photomontage founders.

Question Twelve

“Hour of great contempt” by Nietzsche is a way of describing the point where person realizes that his or her previous ideals were mean and petty. At this point, one seeks higher ideals

Question Thirteen

Through his art, Hans Arp was able to found the Dada movement in Zurich. His art was a way of generating political militantsim in the early 19^th century.

Question Fourteen

Kattrin sacrifices herself for the sake of her family. After being kidnapped by soldiers, she sneaks and starts playing a drum to alert her village. Death threats from the soldiers do not deter her from playing the drum. She eventually gets shot and drops dead.

Question Fifteen

The Cabinet of Dr. Cagliari is a representation of the early expressionist movement in Germany. This movement occurred in the 1920s after the German army was defeated in World War I and underwent change by the American government.

Question Seventeen

The priest tells Joseph K the parable of the doorkeeper; it is about a country in a quest to obtain law. There is no law but a system of undefined governance in a bureaucratic society.

Question Eighteen

The first scenes portray workers revolting converged in the machine rooms. They revolt is stylized because it lacks a sense of realism. Their form of revolution is different to how Russians would have done in reality.

Question Twenty

In terms of problems, Doris struggles to succeed in a world deteriorating both socially and economically. This is coupled with an adverse family atmosphere and negative relationship with both her father and husband.

Question Twenty-One

In Civilization and Its Discontents, gilt plays the role of making individual submit themselves to negative emotions. These emotions are a result of their aggressive instincts and should be repressed.

Question Twenty-Two

Franz Marc was a member of the expressionist art movement. This movement encouraged modern thinking ways through Marc’s paintings. Marc’s work was used to express the views of this movement.

Question Twenty-Three

The idea of knowledge comes through in terms of Castorp’s quest for information regarding disease and health. According to this book, imaginative literature enhances a person’s understanding.

Question Twenty-Five

In The Blue Angel, the clown plays the role of foreshadowing the character Professor Rath is about to assume. Additionally, the clown is seen to have been in a similar situation to that Lola.

Part 2

Question 2A

The idea of time in The Magic Mountain connects the themes of life and death. The entire book discusses the aspect of time. The author debates whether the novelty and interest shortens or dispels the content of time. He also discusses how emptiness and monotony hinder the passage of time. The characters are also used to reflect on narrative and the time consumed by the events described in the narration. Mann also delves into the relationship between space and time. He insinuates that time tends to pass slowly when one is traversing through space. This aspect of the novel mirror scientific debates that state time and space cannot be separated.

Question 4B

In Duino Elegies, angels are used as a symbol for Christianity and salvation. However, this symbolism is converse to classic Christian interpretations. Angels are used to bring out the insufficiency and limitations of fractured human consciousness and human condition. Through this, Rilke reveals the nature of humanity. He states that humanity is brief glimpse of beauty beyond human conception but is terrifying as well. Rilke uses angels to explain this concept stating that they represent that glimpse of beauty that cannot be comprehended by humanity. It is worth noting that his use of angels involves a secular one that is separate from common religious doctrine.

Part 3

Topic B

Sexuality plays an important role in the literature piece The Artificial Silk Girl. Through this book, the audience understands how sexuality was a major determiner of social roles and privileges in Germany and other regions. In the 19^th and early 20^th century, women had to endure more problems as they segregated by their gender. Doris in the book embodies this premise. In Berlin, Doris and other girls dealt with many problems because of their gender. In particular, Doris had to endure rejection from her father and abuse from Ernst her husband. Despite attending to her social and marital obligations, she was divorced as Ernst decided to elope with another woman. The author in this novel intended to spread the challenges that women had to endure in that period.

Love as an aspect is revealed in the book Mother Courage and her Children. Love comes through Mother Courage’s love for her children. Mother Courage stands out in a multitude of common people through her vices and virtues. Even though she came out greedy at times, the author used this vice to reveal the idea of love and sexuality. This greed is the reason why she decides to go to the battlefield; a place dominated by men. As such, she shouts repeatedly “Long live warfare”. Her actions embody love for her children. In a society where women are downgraded by gender segregation, she decides to act contrary.

The film Cabinet of Dr. Caligari reveals the idea of love through the intense scene of Cesare and Jane. In this scene, the audience understands that Cesare is under the Caligari’s order to kill Jane with a knife. Jane at this scene is lying in bed unconscious under the mercy of Cesare. At this moment, that the author introduces the aspect of love and influence it can have on personal values. As Cesare leads forward to stab Jane, he becomes overcome by an unfamiliar emotion. He drops the knife and strokes Jane’s hair as he admires her beauty. Cesare is no longer under Caligari’s command. Rather he is now mesmerized by Jane’s sexuality and discovers innate emotions he never thought existed.

Topic C

            The director of Cabinet of Dr. Caligari uses the film to comment on the bourgeois society in early Germany. The fight between Francis and the bourgeois doctor reveals this aspect. In a bourgeois society, the middle class values are common among the majority and any attempts to change it amount to nothing. This system in this case holds Francis crazy for his actions. Caligari on the other hand is the maniac but the system portrays him as a man committed in the fight against the wealthy.  In reality, Caligari is a wealthy man who represents the bourgeoisie. This is proven by his ability to influence social and political matters by bribing government officials.

The First World War cut short Mann’s work on his book The Magic Mountain. The aftermath and conflict of this war led Mann to undertake an examination of the bourgeois society, including the vicious destructiveness of the willful. Mann uses this book to attack the European political system filled with the bourgeoisie. This society was plagued by social issues such as illness, health, mortality, life, and sexuality. Mann felt compelled to make radical revision and expansion of the bourgeois society in Europe.

As a form of art, Dadaists used their resources to air their sentiments regarding the German social and political systems. The used various forms of art such as poetry and paintings. Their motive was a negative reaction towards the First World War and its implications. They formed a movement that prioritized intuition and irrationality at the expense of reason and logic. In addition to acting against warfare, Dadaists were against the interests of the bourgeois, colonialists and nationalists.  This movement felt that these interested fueled war, and conformity towards culture and intellect.