« first day (2021 days earlier)      last day (2627 days later) » 

12:25 AM
0
Q: Why did John le Carré choose a French pseudonym?

Rand al'ThorThe former MI5 and MI6 agent David John Moore Cornwell used the name John le Carré on his numerous spy novels. Wikipedia explains why he had to write under a pseudonym: he wrote the detective story A Murder of Quality (1962) and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963), as "John le Carré" (le...

 
 
2 hours later…
1:57 AM
@verbose Anyone else have an opinion? ...it's not quite a genre, more of a different medium
Am I really going to have to open a full-blown meta post for this? sigh
@Riker Kk :)
 
@Shokhet ...it's not like a chat decision replaces a proper meta post anyway.
Chat's not for making those kinds of decisions.
 
2:16 AM
Yeah, I guess you're right, @BESW
 
 
2 hours later…
4:12 AM
0
Q: Is there a specific tuition system that the University's was based on?

ShokhetIn Patrick Rothfuss' The Kingkiller Chronicle, students at the University are asked to pay a variable amount for their tuition per term, based mostly on their performance in an interview in front of the entire head staff, and partly on their performance during the previous term. For example, a st...

0
Q: Was Simon's hideout later used by Ralph?

Lianne CaranthirIn the end of the third chapter of Lord of the Flies, Simon goes to his hideout. It is described as having a great mat of creepers and being screened off by a few leaves. Later, when he is being hunted, Ralph hides in the bushes, behind "a wild tangle of creeper" forming a mat that kept out all...

 
5:00 AM
Why on earth do we get so many questions about Lord of the Flies and 1984?
 
user61230
@verbose They're popular books to teach in schools, probably.
 
7:43 AM
@Hambone I wrote an answer here that might give you some fodder for your developing answer re: authorial intent.
@Hamlet I mean, not @Hambone. Fucken autocorrect.
@Emrakul I guess that raises the follow-up q, why on earth are LoTF and 1984 such popular books to teach in schools?
 
8:45 AM
0
Q: Are questions related to literature award, libraries and any literature events on-topic?

Karan DesaiI was thinking of question which is related to Bob Dylan and Nobel Price for Literature as follows: "What impacts Bob Dylan have made in American Song culture that he was awarded Nobel literature price?" I was also thinking to ask about certain libraries which is the treasure house for literary ...

 
So I went ahead and implemented
4
A: How should we use [references]?

muruWe could split it up into sources (or maybe citation?) and allusions, which are unambiguous about which meaning of "references" they use. Of the four posts currently tagged references, I think three would fall under allusions: Are there any debated authorship references in Thursday Next series?...

 
 
1 hour later…
user61230
10:01 AM
@verbose It's mostly an arbitrary decision by people who choose what content is representative of the way we're "supposed" to think about literature.
 
user61230
There are many better books to pick than these, but they instill certain values that are agreeable to those people in charge.
 
user61230
It's hard to imagine them teaching, say, something like The Art of War, or A Call to the Women of Ireland, or... I don't know, something not from America. Anything.
 
It's also a self-reinforcing choice, as being able to quote, recognise, and reference certain books becomes a symbol of education. This creates a canon of books it's "necessary" to study simply by virtue of their being books that signify one's educated status--a kind of referential shibboleth.
 
user61230
That, too.
 
user61230
Same thing with Brave New World, or most dystopian fiction.
 
user61230
10:06 AM
(Most dystopian fiction is mental masturbation in order to validate the way we run our society right now and instill conservative (not meant politically) ideas toward change in our society. These works are very often selected to teach kids. Can you guess why?)
 
user61230
(And, the dystopian fiction that doesn't fall under that umbrella, e.g. The Handmaid's Tale, is never mentioned anywhere.)
 
0
Q: The Physics of the Dead - Luke Smitherd - Did the beast do this? [spoilers]

Pat DobsonIn The Physics of the Dead by Luke Smitherd, when Hart is discovering the 'exit', the beast is happily dismembering Bowler. Then we see that Hart is talking to Bowler and we discover that Bowler's broken body is next to the exit. Earlier on, the beast stated that he wasn't going to prevent Hart ...

0
Q: Is there any evidence that George Orwell read 'For whom the bell tolls'? Did Hemingway (later) read 1984?

Ne MoOrwell was familiar with Hemingway, who was already very famous by the 1920s. Mostly Orwell was quite scathing about Hemingway, because of his macho image. Hemingway was relatively favourable towards the official Communists, did this contribute to Orwell's antipathy towards him? Did he ever read...

0
Q: In Wind in the Willows, why is Mole's garden full of Italian heroes?

Matt ThrowerI recently noticed the passage in Wind in the Willows where Mole comes back to his old home contains this extraordinary quote. On the walls hung wire baskets with ferns in them, alternating with brackets carrying plaster statuary - Garibaldi, and the infant Samuel, and Queen Victoria, and...

 
10:42 AM
But @Emrakul, neither of those two books is from America.
(I mean LoTF and 1984)
 
user61230
@verbose I more so mean the anglosphere than America specifically.
 
10:57 AM
 
user61230
Deeefinitely not, I imagine.
 
No wonder it flows so quietly, then. No hordes of 'murikan schoolchildren trampling through the leaves.
*tramping. Fucken autocorrect.
Ah well. Night, all!
 
12:02 PM
0
Q: Is The Lord of the Flies set on a real island?

Beastly GerbilIt is a well-known fact that the author of Lord of the Flies William Golding was an officer in the Royal Navy, and that some of the sights he saw inspired him to write Lord of the Flies. The boys are stranded on an island. All we know about this island is that there are a mountain, trees and a l...

 
 
1 hour later…
1:11 PM
150
Q: Question title that doesn't describe the problem

Adam Davis Pre Edit 4: Pointing out that thread's popularity is a direct result of programming community interest in said subject, and that someone likely stands to become rich and/or famous by solving the problem none of the answers, save my own, came even close to resolving. Long salutation desc...

 
 
4 hours later…
4:53 PM
Not very active today
 
5:16 PM
@BeastlyGerbil Right. That's what going public does ;(
 
 
1 hour later…
6:33 PM
@Mithrandir It's been locked, but I wanted to leave a "What have you tried?" comment :D
 
@Shokhet *facepalm*
 
:)
 
6:50 PM
@verbose great, thanks, I stole the "intentional fallacy" for my answer, which I just posted.
0
A: How much weight is given to authors' intentions in literary analysis?

HamletAn author just wrote a book. I ask the author what the book is about, and she says, "it's about how anyone, if they work hard enough, can lead a fulfilling life". There's nothing left to talk about; the author explained the meaning and the case is closed. However, let's ask the author a differen...

Now that that's done, I can finally get to writing an answer to my question about Calvino (literature.stackexchange.com/q/1232/111)
 
@BeastlyGerbil I liked the answer you gave to my Princess Ida question, and I will accept it if you reactivate it.
 
@MatrimCauthon What does 'reactivate' mean?
Ah, undelete.
 
7:08 PM
@MatrimCauthon uh ok. Can't remember it but will fish it out of somewhere
 
5
Q: Was Princess Ida written as a negative commentary on women's education?

Matrim CauthonOne of Gilbert's more controversial librettos is Princess Ida, a story making fun of woman's education. I am asking this question in relation to how Princess Ida should be viewed as a text. If his opinions of learned women were positive, the libretto is probably simply a satire of something that ...

You've got a deleted answer.
 
Ah thanks
I was 'told' that I made too many assumptions, but undeleted now
I thought my assumptions were fair enough based on the evidence though
 
Yea I agree
 
Okay, I'm gonna tell you parts that need sources before I upvote, Darth.
 
Okay thanks
 
7:11 PM
> He also had three sisters, and was extremely close to them. He had many female friends, as well as working with several female theater managers, including Marie Litton and Priscilla German Reed, and he took part in amateur dramatics with Marie Wilton.
 
May take a while to fish up those sources but will try
 
I would never have had an answer if those the requirements I had.
 
> Furthermore, he asked female novelist Annie Thomas to marry him, showing he thought that a women with this job was totally acceptable, and though she refused they remained friends.
...
> His plays in order to be successful needed to be about that era, and if in all his plays he showed feminist views then the audience wouldn't be so interested or comfortable.
 
OK that last one was an assumption
 
Those three sections are [citation-needed].
 
7:12 PM
But I suppose I could find some evidence...
Ok, I'll have to try and do that while simultaneously pretending to do homework :P
 
heh.
I have to convince my parents that letting me mod is a good idea.
 
good luck with that
 
@Mithrandir :P I'm pro you btw
 
Thanks :D
They want an answer in 3 days, so that gives me a bit of time.
 
I wouldn't think of even applying but then I do have a lot of other stuff on
If I had more time then maybe
 
7:15 PM
That's why you declined.
 
1
A: Accepting nominations — Who should moderate this site?

MithrandirDECLINED Notes: This nominee would be a good choice because they have proven themselves to be a good user, with a good grasp of the site's workings. Admittedly, they aren't that active in Meta, but that can always change ;) They are fairly active on the main site, with over 1100 rep. They...

 
Though I wouldn't mind having a go one day
This site or puzzling...
 
Maybe after graduation.
Or next election.
 
How long between elections?
 
7:16 PM
Depends.
SFF had one almost every year, Mi Yodeya had one in 2012 and the next was 2017.
 
Puzzling was 3 years I think
 
Puzzling had its first in 2016.
Pro-tem isn't an election.
 
Stack Overflow is yearly, but SO doesn't count as an SE site because if we counted it then 99.9% of the network wold be made up of it
 
When Doorknob, Emrakul, and Kevin were up, they were protems. Deus, Emrak, and GPR are elected.
 
OK, haven't been round any site long enough to know the difference
 
7:19 PM
Supper time now. Adios.
 
(Lit is getting pro-tems.)
2
 
@verbose I just nominated you to be a moderator for the site: meta.literature.stackexchange.com/a/505/111
@BESW I just nominated you to be a moderator for the site: meta.literature.stackexchange.com/a/506/111
 
he's already said he didn't want to
BESW
 
@Riker whoops
 
7:34 PM
iirc
leaving it there is fine
just a warning, I'm almost certain he'll decline
Jan 25 at 12:07, by BESW
I'm flattered, but I'm of most use to a Stack community as a vocal, active citizen.
Jan 25 at 12:08, by BESW
Moderation is a different tenor of thing, and I'm not really suited for it.
 
Also, @BESW here's my authorial intent answer, let me know how it looks: literature.stackexchange.com/a/1760/111
 
@MatrimCauthon done.
Heh exactly 1.5k rep
Found some pretty neat evidence there too. Especially the bit of an assumption one, found some good evidence to back it up
 
8:29 PM
@BeastlyGerbil Yep. You received your +1 ;)
 
Thanks :P
 
57
Q: Can a machine be taught to flag spam automatically?

AndyTL;DR: We did it, so... yes. What is this? Charcoal is the organization behind the SmokeDetector bot and other nice things. This bot scans new posts across the entire network for spam posts and reports them to various chatrooms where people can act on them. If a post has been created or edite...

^interesting for people
 
Hmm @Hamlet is there anything you think I specifically still need to do?
 
@Hamlet Thank you, I appreciate the vote of confidence.
Unfortunately both my IRL situation and my temperament stand in the way of my being a good moderator for any Stack. I've been asked before, and given it some hard consideration.
 
@BeastlyGerbil I think part of the problem is that the question is actually quite difficult to answer.
 
8:41 PM
(My antagonistic relationship with Anglosphere critical traditions makes me doubly unsuited as a mod for lit.se; it's kind of like finding an atheist who's studied Catholicism in order to argue against it more effectively, and trying to make him a priest.)
 
Well like I said there isn't anything that exactly answers it. I do have to make a lot of assumptions from partially related evidence
Tried to explain the he was still a vic part
Will try and find some Princess Ida stuff later
 
Heh, my flair says 29k now. Still buggy.
16
Q: Should my flair include sites with less than 200 reputation?

MithrandirI took a look at my profile, where I stuck my flair. Here's the flair: However, I don't have 28k rep. According to chat, I have 19.7k. Note: I know about the combined flair - I've had this in my profile for at least a year. It had been showing me the same as in chat, now it isn't. What is g...

 
9:27 PM
lol
 
@Riker ??
 
at the bug
 
Oh.
 
"omg I have more rep"
> is tagged bug
 
9:30 PM
yeah I see the bug
 
>.< I have to send a response to SE in 3 days. My father said we'll be done discussing it by Wednesday. >.<
 
9:49 PM
0
Q: In "Love," who is Junior's "Good Man," and what does that imply about her?

StandbackLate in Toni Morrison's Love, Junior starts referring to her "Good Man": And her Good Man agreed. As she knew from the beginning, he liked to see her win. They recognized each other the very first night when he gazed at her from his portrait. But it was in dream they got acquainted. No ...

 
10:10 PM
*yawn* I should go to bed before I lose my keys again...
 
@Mithrandir I was in the same situation as two a bit over two years ago, before I started as a mod on HSM. Part of my rationale, talking with my parents, was that I was interested in what the site was about, and I was really learning a lot from it. I had the spare time - you don't need much, on most beta sites - and it was a way for me to take a break from school, which is what SE has been about for me.
2
 
0
Q: Is there a "Romeo and Juliet / Romen and Junior" connection drawn in "Love"?

StandbackTwo major characters in Toni Morrison's Love are local youth Romen and street-smart Junior, who carry on a love affair while both are employed at the Cosey household. In a 2003 review, Elaine Showalter describes them thus: That love is mirrored by a sadomasochistic affair between a local boy...

 
@HDE226868 Thanks, I can use that. I am learning from Lit, I am definitely interested, and I have the time (no school :P). Thanks!
@Standback stop posting questions and go to bed, it's a quarter after midnight o_o
 
@Mithrandir That was my thought too, but I've been putting this off, and I need to give the book to somebody at book club tomorrow :P
All done now. :)
 
:P
8 mins ago, by Mithrandir
*yawn* I should go to bed before I lose my keys again...
 
10:19 PM
@Mithrandir The caveat, though - and this is the deal I made with my parents - is that if SE has the potential to interfere with schoolwork, it's fine to take a break. The Moderator Vacation button isn't there just for real vacations.
That agreement made them say yes, because I knew I had to be responsible with time management.
 
@HDE226868 Y'see, SE is my schoolwork. Advantanges of homeschooling :P
 
@Mithrandir Oh, I forgot. . . Nice.
 
10:32 PM
1
Q: What makes L unique in "Love," and what is her significance?

StandbackToni Morrison's Love is narrated by L, who lives on the beach, and seems to be the only person around who truly understood Bill Cosey. I pay attention and I know all about him. That kind of understanding can only come from practice, and I had a lot of that with Mr. Cosey. You could say I fath...

 
O_O Net gain of +1 for this guy's answer. Score of -63.
 
I've seen worse.
 
10:52 PM
such as?
@Mithrandir is that seriously all you have to do? :(
rip me, I have 2 essays to write
 
@Riker nah. It just happens to be that SE is what I've been spending my time on.
 
ah ok
@HDE226868 wait there's a mod vacation button? or is that metaphorical
 
@Riker Eeeeeek @HDE is giving away mod secrets! :P
 
@Riker While it doesn't have quite the sheer numbers, this RPG.SE answer has a total net rep "gain" of -44.
 
@Standback bed! :P
I'm going to sleep now too. Adios!
 
11:09 PM
lol night!
@Mithrandir oh noes
@BESW it's pretty close as far as it goes
 

« first day (2021 days earlier)      last day (2627 days later) »