Homage to Catalonia Summer Reading Assignment Name______

IBAP Language & Literature H1

Before returning to school, you will need to read George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia and complete this assignment. The following pages will guide your reading and prepare you for the quiz on the first day of school, class discussions, and related assignments. YOU MAY USE THIS PACKET FOR THE QUIZ.

TYPE ALL RESPONSES in complete sentences (no fragments unless otherwise instructed). A HARD COPY OF THIS PACKET IS DUE THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS. A digital copy will be submitted to turnitin.com after your teacher provides the registration information.

Section 1: Definitions and Context

Task A. To get the most of out of Orwell’s book, a working definition for certain economic and political systems is necessary. Visit the following Web link. Read the document carefully. Write definitions for each term in your own words.

http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/engl_258/lecture%20notes/capitalism%20etc%20defined.htm

Capitalism:

Socialism:

Communism:

Fascism:

Task B. Another political faction central to Orwell’s narrative is the anarchists. To arrive at a working definition of anarchism, read the following historical quotes:

I heartily accept the motto, - "That government is best which governs least;" and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which I also believe, - "That government is best which governs not at all;" and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.

--Henry David Thoreau,

"On the Duty of Civil Disobedience"

Some writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins ... Society is in every state a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.

--Thomas Paine,

Common Sense

They [the Marxists] maintain that only a dictatorship -- their dictatorship, of course -- can create the will of the people, while our answer to this is: No dictatorship can have any other aim but that of self-perpetuation, and it can beget only slavery in the people tolerating it; freedom can be created only by freedom, that is, by a universal rebellion on the part of the people and free organization of the toiling masses from the bottom up.

--Mikhail Bakunin,

Statism and Anarchism

What values and ideas to these three men hold in common about the role of government in society?

Make a deduction. If these three men are expressing anarchist ideas about the role of government in society, then what do anarchists believe? Write this in your own words:

Task C. Homage to Catalonia is one man’s account of certain aspects of the Spanish Civil War. Visit this site (Spanish Civil War Maps) read the content, and look at the maps. You will have a better sense of the geography and setting for Orwell’s account. Based on these maps, fill in the blanks:

Map Site URL: https://www2.bc.edu/~heineman/maps/SpCW.html

A major city in the Spanish state of Catalonia is ______.

A major city in what was called “Republican Spain” is ______.

General Franco launched his invasion from what African country? ______.

Two European fascist leaders who offered military aid to Franco were: ______& ______.

Task D. Read the short biography of George Orwell on the back cover of the book. In your opinion, what personality traits and moral values did Orwell possess that made him pursue the particular career that is described? Explain your thinking.

Section 2: Paraphrasing Orwell’s Depiction of Warfare

Task A. From the back cover of the Harcourt edition: “Originally intending merely to report on the Spanish Civil War as a journalist, George Orwell found himself embroiled as a participant [..] fighting against the Fascists […] with a ‘democratic army.’” Using the following textual quotes as a point of reference, write a paragraph of elaboration for each. For example, for the first quote, you would specify the setting for this quote and summarize Orwell’s description of “the evil atmosphere.” This exercise is about your reading comprehension and your ability to paraphrase effectively.

“There was something of the evil atmosphere of war” (5)

“In trench warfare five things are important: firewood, food, tobacco, candles, and the enemy.” (23)

“There are rats, rats, / Rats as big as cats” (106)

“’Tomorrow we’ll have coffee in Huesca’ had become a standing joke throughout the army” (45)

Section 3: Analyzing Motifs

Task A. For each of the following motifs (you may find it necessary to look up words), provide two relevant textual quotes with MLA page citations. For each quote, provide a multi-sentence analysis of how Orwell develops the motif and how it is significant to the work as a whole. The first entry has been filled in as an example of expectations.

Motif: Boredom

Quote 1: “I ought to say in passing that all the time I was in Spain I saw very little fighting” (23)

Analysis: Readers expect war stories to be filled with life or death situations and characters undergoing tests of their courage. Orwell focuses a considerable amount of his account on the more tedious aspects of warfare, the long periods of waiting for something to happen. He communicates that fighting for a cause is not just about heroics, it is about long-term commitment and endurance.

Quote 2:

Analysis:

Motif: Futility

Quote 1:

Analysis:

Quote 2:

Analysis:

Motif: Luxury contrasted with squalor

Quote 1:

Analysis:

Quote 2:

Analysis:

Motif: The values and lifestyles of the bourgeoisie contrasted with those of the working class.

Quote 1:

Analysis:

Quote 2:

Analysis:

Section 4: Orwell’s Rhetorical Choices

Task A. In IBAP Language & literature, we will focus a great deal of our attention on the rhetoric of communication. Rhetoric can be defined as “the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques” (Google). In other words, rhetoric is using language to achieve a goal. Write thorough, multi-sentence answers to the following questions (you may need to look up terms or do some research; if so, acknowledge your sources). Explain your reasoning and draw on the text for each response.

What is the genre of Orwell’s book, Homage to Catalonia? Be as specific as possible.

What was Orwell’s purpose in writing this account?

Who was Orwell’s intended target audience (who did he imagine would read his account)?

Orwell was British. Was he qualified to write an account of the Spanish Civil War? How does he establish his credibility in the book?

What is the narrative point-of-view in Homage to Catalonia? How does this point-of-view influence the meaning of the work as a whole?

Section 5 Language in a Cultural Context

In IBAP Language & Literature, you will study connections between language and culture. Consider this definition from sociologist J. Useem: "Culture has been defined in a number of ways, but most simply, as the learned and shared behavior of a community of interacting human beings." Orwell writes about a number of cross-cultural interactions in Homage to Catalonia.

Task A. Throughout the text, Orwell attributes certain qualities to Spanish culture (they might even be considered generalizations or stereotypes). List three quotes that would serve as examples. For each quote explain how the quote works as an expression of a cultural value or idea. The first has been provided.

Quote: “How easy it is to make friends in Spain” (11)

Orwell is a fish out of water, the lone Englishman in the Lenin Barracks. However, he characterizes his comrades as warm and accepting, providing the sense that these are qualities rarely encountered in his native England. He is generally “overwhelmed with hospitality” and welcomed into the ranks.

Quote:

Explanation:

Quote:

Explanation:

Task B. Another culture in the book is the revolutionary culture that springs up in opposition to fascism. List three quotes that would serve as examples and explain how they express the values and ideas of this particular subculture. The first has been provided.

Quote: “Nobody said ‘Senor’ of ‘Don’ or even ‘Usted’; everyone called everyone else ‘Comrade’ and ‘Thou’” (5).

The revolutionaries reject language that reinforces social and economic hierarchy. They embrace language that is egalitarian. This culture values inclusion and camaraderie and has changed everyday forms of address accordingly.

Quote:

Explanation:

Quote:

Explanation:

Section 6: Defending a claim

Prompt. Orwell called the Spanish Civil War a “fight for common decency.” How would Orwell define common decency and how does this concept contribute to the meaning of Homage to Catalonia as a whole? First, write a sentence length thesis claim that expresses an opinionated claim in response to the above question. Then write an analytical defense of your claim using the text to substantiate your ideas, including MLA page citations. No fewer than 200 words.

Thesis/ claim:

Analysis: