DOMANDE:

Quali sono le analogie tra:

A)

La visione della lettura espressa da Silvia Avallone e quella che emerge dalla lettura del libro della Winterson?

La visione della lettura espressa da Silvia Avallone e quella che emerge dal libro della Winterson sono molto simili; entrambe ritengono che i libri permettano l'immersione in un nuovo mondo, completamente distaccato dalla realtà.

La prima, nel suo libro "Le donne che leggono sono sempre più pericolose", presenta la lettura di un libro come la creazione di un mondo altro in cui vi è un tempo e uno spazio differente. Basti pensare alla madre della protagonista che, durante le sue letture, è silenziosa, concentrata e non vuole essere minimamente disturbata.

La seconda presenta anch'essa la lettura di un libro come la creazione di un mondo parallelo, ma con una maggiore emotività. I libri per lei sono sempre stati dei luoghi di rifugio; essi la arricchivano culturalmente, le impartivano lezioni di vita, infondevano in lei speranza e sicurezza, erano l'unico appiglio nei momenti difficile nonché medicine che guarivano le fratture che la realtà creava nell'immaginazione.

B)

Sempre tenendo presenti le prospettive della Avallone e quelle della Winterson sulla lettura spiega perché "Le donne che leggono sono sempre più pericolose".

La lettura è da sempre una delle attività che permette un arricchimento culturale; essa è una delle strade per raggiungere la conoscenza e gli individui istruiti sono sempre stati nelle società i più "scomodi". Pertanto, una donna che legge è istruita, capace di formulare proprie idee e quindi più pericolosa di altre.

JEANETTE WINTERSON - WHY BE HAPPY WHEN YOU COULD BE NORMAL

CHAPTER 1

What happens within chapter  1?

Jeanette Winterson starts the book speaking about her mother and her book Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit published in 1985. Her mother was a woman with a lot of problems, for example a thyroid condition, an enlarged heart and when she was angry with her foster daughter she said ...The Devil led us to the wrong crib... She wanted that her foster daughter phones her in order to get some explanation about her book; for example why is the main character called Jeanette if it is a story. Indeed, as the novelist explains, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit is semiautobiographical, in that it tells the story of a young girl adopted by Pentecostal parents. The young girl is forced to leave home why she falls in love with a woman. Besides in the first chapter the writer explains something more about herself, for example she was a lonely girl who does not want friends and she thought that love was loss , her family, for example they were very religious, her mother does not sleep with his father in order to not make sex with him and hated her father's girlfriend because she was a medium and the terrible relationship with her mother who spoke always about my ghost brother Paul saying that he had always a good behavior.

What is its function?

The function of the first chapter is to introduce the story; the novelist introduced a lot of themes which she is going to develop for all the novel for example religion, love and the relationship with her mother.

Who are the main characters ?

The main character are the speaking voice, the mother, the father, the grandfather and his girlfriend, Paul and also an abstract character that is the Devil.

What narrative techniques does Jeanette Winterson adopted?

The narrator is a first person narrator and sometimes she uses cursive in order to underline some part of the narration, for example when she phones her mother: ...The pips - more money in the slot...

Historical events

Cold war: The Cold War, often dated from 1947-1991, was a sustained state of political and military tension between the powers of the Western world, led by the United States and its NATO allies, and the communist world, led by the Soviet Union, its satellite states and allies.

McCarthyism: McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from 1950 to 1954 and characterized by heightened fears of communist influence on American institutions and espionage by Soviet agents.

CHAPTER 2

What happens within chapter  2?

In chapter 2 the writer describes the place where she was born. She tells the reader about the geographical position of the city and its economical activities. Besides she speaks about the different system of thought which was spreading in Manchester like Radicalism or Utilitarianism. After she writes about the worker's terrible conditions and her desire to escape. What's more she lists the famous writers which took inspiration in Manchester like Charles Dickens, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. After she narrates about her mother and her adoptive family. Their conditions of living, their physical appearances, their religion and their activities are very detailed.

What is its function?

The function of the second chapter is to introduce and explain the place where the novelist was born, how it is and why it is so important.

Who are the main charactersin Chapter TWO ?

The main characters are the city of Manchester and also its landscapes and its workers, Jeanette's mother and Jeanette's adoptive family.

What narrative techniques does Jeanette Winterson adopted?

The narrator is a first person narrator. Since it is a biographical story the book will talk about Jeanette and her life. So she will put also personal judgements and the syntactical structure of a phrase will certain change as her emotion will change from page to page.

Besides just considering the title My Advice To Anybody Is: Get Born the reader can notice that it suggests the idea of a warning since you can find the use of the imperative. The writer seems to wake up all people sleeping. The word Anybody seems to introduce a sort of challenge between the reader and the writer.

Historical events

Peterloo Massacre: The Peterloo Massacre (or Battle of Peterloo) occurred at St Peter's Field, Manchester, England, on 16 August 1819, when cavalry charged into a crowd of 60,000-80,000 that had gathered to demand the reform of parliamentary representation.

Corn Laws: The Corn Laws were trade laws designed to protect cereal producers in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland against competition from less expensive foreign imports between 1815 and 1846.