Department of English
Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University
Weekly 9
More study questions for M. Butterfly. Under construction.
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2202234 Introduction to the Study of English Literature Semester I, 2010 Wednesday, August 11, 2010 Weekly
9 Testing History and the Audience 1. Review your Eastern and Western Civ notes and scroll through this Vietnam War Timeline to get a sense of what France-Vietnam relations was like during the early 1960s, and also why China, through Comrade Chin in Act 2 Scene 4, might want to know "when the Americans plan to start bombing Vietnam" (47). What is at stake in the Indochina war that gives incentive for spying on the French? What is the Domino Theory and why is it a compelling backdrop for the international intrigue, which is in turn the backdrop for the personal drama of our characters? 2. Dramatic irony, you may recall from your literary dictionary, is that situation where you know more than the character about how things are. Analyze this frequent contrast between what the character knows and what we know, for example, “a woman who passionately listens” (49), “I think it’ll [the Chinese language] be important someday” (52), “No one has loved me like you” (65), “I want a scandal to cover the papers” (67). 3. “Why did you bring a doctor into this?” is Gallimard’s reaction to Helga’s fertility testing (49). It is almost an echo of his response in an earlier scene—“Why does she have to come in?”—when Comrade Chin enters just as he is about to approach Song (47). Why does Gallimard have such a problem with their entrance? 4. Loyalty and betrayal 5. Acting, roles, and fantasies 6. The business of diplomacy 7. The ideal audience
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Last updated August 19, 2010