Moon Palace

Paul Auster

MOON PALACE

Roots and Legacy in Exploration and Adventure

index

1. A writer

and a novel

2. Discovering the protagonists

and the plot

3. Scenery and characters: two places, two personalities

4. A painting

5. American mythology: Native Nations

6. On the road...

Paul auster

Paul benjamin auster (born February 3, 1947, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.A)

American novelist, essayist, translator, screenwriter, and poet whose complex novels, are often concerned with the search for identity and personal meaning. Auster lived in France after his studies, where he translated French writers and wrote his own stories for American journals. He gained renown for a series of experimental detective stories published collectively as The New York Trilogy (1987). Because much of Auster’s fiction explores ideas of the self—and often features the author in variously explicit and veiled incarnations—critics frequently speculated on the extent to which he employed elements of autobiography. Auster’s first novel in seven years, 4 3 2 1, was published in 2017. The book offers four variations of each chapter, so that its main character, Archie Ferguson, experiences four alternate lives. Additionally, Auster wrote screenplays for several films, including Smoke (1995), and he wrote and directed the films Lulu on the Bridge (1998) and The Inner Life of Martin Frost (2007). (abridged from Britannica https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-Auster)

Paul auster

"STORIES HAPPEN TO THE PEOPLE WHO TELL THEM" Watch the video and find out more about the writer. 1 - Why does Paul Auster always have a pencil in his pocket? 2 - What is a good day's work to him? 3 - What helps generating new ideas? 4 - What does beauty come from in work? 5 - Why is writing a difficult job? 6 - What is the ultimate pleasure you can find in books? 7 - Why should a writer put blanks in a book? 8 - What is the conclusion of the anecdote told at the beginning?

ViDEO

Back to questions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLhVjsczcb8&ab_channel=LouisianaChannel

book covers

This novel was first published in 1989. Click on the covers and say what you can infer from them.

This image conveys...

This picture can make the reader think...

This photo is related to...

This collage puts forward...

This cover triggers the idea of / that...

Who are the main characters?

First find out about onomastics...

Now click on these characters' names to learn more...

Emily Fogg

Thomas Effing

Kitty Wu

Uncle Victor

Zimmer

Solomon Barber

Marco Stanley Fogg

Finally explain or draw the characters' relationships (you may add the ones you have discovered when reading about the main ones).

marco stanley fogg

Here you can find hints about this central protagonist.

Here you can find an extract of an article dealing with M.S. Fogg

Here you can find a quick overview of Marco's quest for identity.

Now you now enough to write your own presentation of Marco (about 10 lines)!

marco stanley fogg

Marco’s life is also largely determined by chance. This often bereaves him of his inner equilibrium and drives him into emotional outbursts. Only towards the end is he able to cope with blows of fate „ he has learned to bear them and cope with them. What made him lose his temper in the past gives him now the determination to follow his way. As Auster writes in „The invention of solitude“: „Like everyone else, he craves a meaning. Like everyone else, his life is so fragmented that each time he sees a connection between two fragments he is tempted to look for a meaning in that connection. The connection exists. But to give it a meaning […] would be to build an imaginary world inside the real world and he knows it would not stand.“ Marco has left behind the initial flight into an imaginary world (with uncle Victor for example), he has arrived in the real world, in a reality whose meaning is not obvious and whose main characteristic is chance and coincidence. Yet he doesn’t despair of it, he is ready to face up to it and to give it his own meaning: „I understood that chance had taken me in the right direction […] and knowing that I had a purpose, that I was not running away from something so much as going toward it, gave me the courage to admit to myself that I did not in fact want to be dead.“ (extract from https://mattenklee.com/tag/marco-stanley-fogg/)

solomon barber

Solomon Barber is Marco's father and Effing's son. He is extremely fat (which contrasts to Marco's period of starvation) and didn't know his father nor that he has a son. He inherits most of the fortune of Effing. He meets Marco after the death of Effing to learn about his father and finds a son. Marco, in the family cyclic pattern, doesn't know that Barber is his father. Barber had a relationship with one of his students, Emily, and never knew she was pregnant. Marco learns the truth when he sees Barber crying in front of Emily's grave.

zimmer

Character reliable, trustable, devoted, vulnerable brilliant, hard working, conscientious serious, thoughtful lonely and alone, inhibited generous (his finances are not so solid, wants nothing in return from Fogg) modest

Facts studies comparative literature at Columbia, has a scholarship writing strange poetry is important to him passion for obscure and forgotten books was just left by his girlfriend (waits everyday for letters from her) best friend of Fogg Fogg lives with him in his apartment for over a month makes Fogg talk to Kitty Wu later he has a family

Appearance small curly black hair contained upright posture metal ringed glasses growing a beard -> looks like a young rabbi(t)

emily fogg

She is Marco's mother and she was killed in a traffic accident when she was but a young woman. She loved taking Marco to the pictures but she was rather melancholic. She never told Marco anything about his father nor did she keep any photo of him. She is Victor's sister.

uncle victor

Uncle Victor - the brother of Marco's mother - is a "spindly, beak-nosed bachelor" of forty-three who earns his living as a clarinetist. Although he lacks ambition, Uncle Victor must have been a good musician because for some time he is a member of the famous Cleveland Orchestra. Like all Foggs, he is characterized by a certain aimlessness in life. He does not settle down, but is constantly on the move. Because of a thoughtless joke, he has to leave the renowned Cleveland Orchestra. Then he plays in smaller combos: the Moonlight Moods and later the Moon Men. In order to earn a sufficient living, he also gives clarinet lessons to beginners. His last job is selling encyclopedias. Uncle Victor is given to dreams, his mind restlessly shifting from one thing to another. He is interested in baseball and in all kinds of sport. His rich imagination and creativity allow him to invent playful activities for his nephew Marco. Uncle Victor carries out his guardianship for Marco in a responsible way, but he does not exercise adult authority over Marco. He forms a relationship based on sympathy, love and friendship. Marco loves his uncle's easy-going lifestyle, his humor and his generosity. Uncle Victor is also quite open-minded, likes movies and is fairly well-read, with 1492 books - a number obviously meant to remind us of the year when Columbus discovered America.

Kitty Wu

Kitty is a girl with Chinese roots who falls in love with Marco and helps in searching for him during his central park period. This scene is a reference to the novel Around the World in Eighty Days, where the hero, Phileas Fogg, rescues an Indian woman from death; it can also be considered a reference to Pocahontas. Like Marco she is an orphan as her parents had died when she was a child. After Effing's death they move together, having an impassionate relationship. But Marco leaves Kitty when she decides to have an abortion, and does not contact her until his father dies. But Kitty refuses to live with him again.

thomas effing

Thomas Effing, father of Solomon and grandfather of Marco, was born as Julian Barber. He was a famous painter who lived in a house on a cliff. He was married to Elizabeth Wheeler, a young woman who, after the marriage, turned out to be frigid. Julian Barber eventually wanted to travel to the West and as his wife got scared he wouldn't come back, she spent one night with him. He undertook the expedition anyway and lived as a hermit in the desert for a little bit over a year. Since he never returned home to his pregnant wife, everybody thought that he was dead. He decided to be 'dead' and changed his name to Thomas Effing. The first name Thomas was chosen by Julian Barber because he admired the painter Thomas Moran. The surname Effing echoes the inappropriate word f-ing (*fucking*). He adopted it to indicate that his whole life was "fucked up". He started a new life as Thomas, and was then attacked which resulted in an accident that caused him to become paralyzed. He travels to Paris, where he stays until the beginning of the Second World War. Next he moves into a big New York apartment with his housemaid 'Mrs Hume' and his assistant Pavel Shum, a Russian student he met in Paris. Effing later learns that he has a son, an obese history professor, but never contacts him. After Pavel died in a car accident Effing employs Marco, his grandson, as his new assistant. Marco must read all kinds of books to him, describe the Manhattan scenery to the blind man while he takes him for walks in his wheelchair, and eventually has to write Effing's obituary.

"what's in a name?"

Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act II, sc.2

"Marco" refers to Marco Polo, the western explorer who reached China (Later M.S. "discovers" Kitty Wu and Uncle Victor gives him 1492 books, like the year of the discovery of "The New World" by Columbus). "Stanley" refers to the reporter Henry Morton Stanley, who found Dr. David Livingstone in the heart of darkest Africa. This could be related to the fact that he finds or discovers his father and grandfather. "Fogg" originally comes from Fogelmann (probably, deriving from German "Vogel" - "bird" and "Mann" - "man"), which was changed to Fog by the immigration department. The second "g" was added later. Marco says about his last name: "A bird flying through the fog, a giant bird flying across the ocean, not stopping until it reached America" (this resembles the American Dream). "Fogg" refers to Phileas Fogg, the protagonist in the novel of Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days. "Around the World in Eighty Days" is also referred to in the book as Marco happens to see the 1956 movie adaption twice. "M.S." Uncle Victor tells Marco "M.S." stands for manuscript, a book that is not yet finished (everybody is writing his own life, his own story). "MS" also refers to a disease: the multiple sclerosis. Marco quite appreciates this strangeness in his name.

characters'relationships

A relationship can be friendship, love, hatred, work or family. Write a short paragraph or draw a diagram with arrows to show what you know about the characters of the novel (include as many characters as possible).

The story chapter one

reorder the summary by clicking on the queston marks in the right order

After his uncle's death, in 1967, Marco falls in a deep personal crisis. His financial situation grows more and more difficult but he refuses to work and goes on studying at college. He also starts reading all the books his uncle bequeathed him. He therefore acquires a vast literary knowledge.

"It was the summer that men first walked on the moon". Marco soon recalls his childhood and tells about it: he is Emily Fogg's son and after his mother's death he went to live in Chicago with his uncle Victor, a clarinetist.

The day before he is evicted, he tries to contact Zimmer, his only friend at college. He goes to his flat but instead of Zimmer, he finds a group of young people among which he meets Kitty Wu. They both feel strangely attracted to each other. To thank his hosts for the lunch he has had, Marco tells stories of journeys to the moon. Kitty kisses him good-bye and he leaves. He is forced to leave his appartment, it is late August 1969.

After three years at a boarding school in New Hamphire, Marco starts college at Columbia University in New York. After his freshman term, he moves into an apartment overlooking the neon sign "Moon Palace" of a Chinese restaurant. It reminds him of his uncle's band, the Moon Men.

He ekes out a living selling the books after he has read them, one after the other. His condition becomes dire, he does not eat properly, he cannot pay his rent anymore, his electricity is cut off, he loses weight and, finally, he is told he has to leave his appartment.

The story chapter one

reorder the summary by clicking on the queston marks in the right order

After his uncle's death, in 1967, Marco falls in a deep personal crisis. His financial situation grows more and more difficult but he refuses to work and goes on studying at college. He also starts reading all the books his uncle bequeathed him. He therefore acquires a vast literary knowledge.

After three years at a boarding school in New Hamphire, Marco starts college at Columbia University in New York. After his freshman term, he moves into an apartment overlooking the neon sign "Moon Palace" of a Chinese restaurant. It reminds him of his uncle's band, the Moon Men.

The day before he is evicted, he tries to contact Zimmer, his only friend at college. He goes to his flat but instead of Zimmer, he finds a group of young people among which he meets Kitty Wu. They both feel strangely attracted to each other. To thank his hosts for the lunch he has had, Marco tells stories of journeys to the moon. Kitty kisses him good-bye and he leaves. He is forced to leave his appartment, it is late August 1969.

"It was the summer that men first walked on the moon". Marco soon recalls his childhood and tells about it: he is Emily Fogg's son and after his mother's death he went to live in Chicago with his uncle Victor, a clarinetist.

He ekes out a living selling the books after he has read them, one after the other. His condition becomes dire, he does not eat properly, he cannot pay his rent anymore, his electricity is cut off, he loses weight and, finally, he is told he has to leave his appartment.

The story chapter one

reorder the summary by clicking on the queston marks in the right order

After his uncle's death, in 1967, Marco falls in a deep personal crisis. His financial situation grows more and more difficult but he refuses to work and goes on studying at college. He also starts reading all the books his uncle bequeathed him. He therefore acquires a vast literary knowledge.

He ekes out a living selling the books after he has read them, one after the other. His condition becomes dire, he does not eat properly, he cannot pay his rent anymore, his electricity is cut off, he loses weight and, finally, he is told he has to leave his appartment.

The day before he is evicted, he tries to contact Zimmer, his only friend at college. He goes to his flat but instead of Zimmer, he finds a group of young people among which he meets Kitty Wu. They both feel strangely attracted to each other. To thank his hosts for the lunch he has had, Marco tells stories of journeys to the moon. Kitty kisses him good-bye and he leaves. He is forced to leave his appartment, it is late August 1969.

After three years at a boarding school in New Hamphire, Marco starts college at Columbia University in New York. After his freshman term, he moves into an apartment overlooking the neon sign "Moon Palace" of a Chinese restaurant. It reminds him of his uncle's band, the Moon Men.

"It was the summer that men first walked on the moon". Marco soon recalls his childhood and tells about it: he is Emily Fogg's son and after his mother's death he went to live in Chicago with his uncle Victor, a clarinetist.

The story chapter one

reorder the summary by clicking on the queston marks in the right order

He ekes out a living selling the books after he has read them, one after the other. His condition becomes dire, he does not eat properly, he cannot pay his rent anymore, his electricity is cut off, he loses weight and, finally, he is told he has to leave his appartment.

The day before he is evicted, he tries to contact Zimmer, his only friend at college. He goes to his flat but instead of Zimmer, he finds a group of young people among which he meets Kitty Wu. They both feel strangely attracted to each other. To thank his hosts for the lunch he has had, Marco tells stories of journeys to the moon. Kitty kisses him good-bye and he leaves. He is forced to leave his appartment, it is late August 1969.

After three years at a boarding school in New Hamphire, Marco starts college at Columbia University in New York. After his freshman term, he moves into an apartment overlooking the neon sign "Moon Palace" of a Chinese restaurant. It reminds him of his uncle's band, the Moon Men.

"It was the summer that men first walked on the moon". Marco soon recalls his childhood and tells about it: he is Emily Fogg's son and after his mother's death he went to live in Chicago with his uncle Victor, a clarinetist.

After his uncle's death, in 1967, Marco falls in a deep personal crisis. His financial situation grows more and more difficult but he refuses to work and goes on studying at college. He also starts reading all the books his uncle bequeathed him. He therefore acquires a vast literary knowledge.

Try again!

Try again!

Try again!

Try again!

well done!

The day before he is evicted, he tries to contact Zimmer, his only friend at college. He goes to his flat but instead of Zimmer, he finds a group of young people among which he meets Kitty Wu. They both feel strangely attracted to each other. To thank his hosts for the lunch he has had, Marco tells stories of journeys to the moon. Kitty kisses him good-bye and he leaves. He is forced to leave his appartment, it is late August 1969.

After his uncle's death, in 1967, Marco falls in a deep personal crisis. His financial situation grows more and more difficult but he refuses to work and goes on studying at college. He also starts reading all the books his uncle bequeathed him. He therefore acquires a vast literary knowledge.

After three years at a boarding school in New Hamphire, Marco starts college at Columbia University in New York. After his freshman term, he moves into an apartment overlooking the neon sign "Moon Palace" of a Chinese restaurant. It reminds him of his uncle's band, the Moon Men.

"It was the summer that men first walked on the moon". Marco soon recalls his childhood and tells about it: he is Emily Fogg's son and after his mother's death he went to live in Chicago with his uncle Victor, a clarinetist.

He ekes out a living selling the books after he has read them, one after the other. His condition becomes dire, he does not eat properly, he cannot pay his rent anymore, his electricity is cut off, he loses weight and, finally, he is told he has to leave his appartment.

The story chapter two

reorder the summary by clicking on the queston marks in the right order

During the day he looks for food, meets people, keeps up with political events and sports news, and thus leads a ‘busy’ life full of variety, in which chance seems to decide his moves and experiences. He is basically at ease with himself and the world.

A change for the worse occurs when, following a storm, Marco gets some kind of fever. In the end he is completely exhausted, famished, but too weak to move or eat and finally lapses into delirious visions about the Moon Palace sign and Indians in Manhattan before being miraculously found by his friends. When he sees Kitty, he calls her Pocahontas. Zimmer just calls him ‘a dumb bastard’.

He discovers that Central Park offers him refuge, because people allow you a certain kind of freedom to act as you wish. Whereas he is forced to see himself as others see him on the streets, he can return to his inner life in the Park. Moreover, people help him by giving him food and allowing him to participate in a ball game.

Marco wanders the streets of New York, heading south of Columbia University. As he has found a $10 bill, he treats himself to a good meal and a movie, Around the World in 80 Days. His spirits are up one minute and down the next.

He is fearful of sleeping on the streets, where he might be attacked, is repulsed by the idea of staying in a flophouse, and realises that he could not sleep in the subway, and so he turns his back on the city and discovers that Central Park is an ideal place for his roamings, especially at night when he finds shelter under bushes and later in a cave.

The story chapter two

reorder the summary by clicking on the queston marks in the right order

During the day he looks for food, meets people, keeps up with political events and sports news, and thus leads a ‘busy’ life full of variety, in which chance seems to decide his moves and experiences. He is basically at ease with himself and the world.

A change for the worse occurs when, following a storm, Marco gets some kind of fever. In the end he is completely exhausted, famished, but too weak to move or eat and finally lapses into delirious visions about the Moon Palace sign and Indians in Manhattan before being miraculously found by his friends. When he sees Kitty, he calls her Pocahontas. Zimmer just calls him ‘a dumb bastard’.

He discovers that Central Park offers him refuge, because people allow you a certain kind of freedom to act as you wish. Whereas he is forced to see himself as others see him on the streets, he can return to his inner life in the Park. Moreover, people help him by giving him food and allowing him to participate in a ball game.

Marco wanders the streets of New York, heading south of Columbia University. As he has found a $10 bill, he treats himself to a good meal and a movie, Around the World in 80 Days. His spirits are up one minute and down the next.

He is fearful of sleeping on the streets, where he might be attacked, is repulsed by the idea of staying in a flophouse, and realises that he could not sleep in the subway, and so he turns his back on the city and discovers that Central Park is an ideal place for his roamings, especially at night when he finds shelter under bushes and later in a cave.

The story chapter two

reorder the summary by clicking on the queston marks in the right order

During the day he looks for food, meets people, keeps up with political events and sports news, and thus leads a ‘busy’ life full of variety, in which chance seems to decide his moves and experiences. He is basically at ease with himself and the world.

He discovers that Central Park offers him refuge, because people allow you a certain kind of freedom to act as you wish. Whereas he is forced to see himself as others see him on the streets, he can return to his inner life in the Park. Moreover, people help him by giving him food and allowing him to participate in a ball game.

A change for the worse occurs when, following a storm, Marco gets some kind of fever. In the end he is completely exhausted, famished, but too weak to move or eat and finally lapses into delirious visions about the Moon Palace sign and Indians in Manhattan before being miraculously found by his friends. When he sees Kitty, he calls her Pocahontas. Zimmer just calls him ‘a dumb bastard’.

Marco wanders the streets of New York, heading south of Columbia University. As he has found a $10 bill, he treats himself to a good meal and a movie, Around the World in 80 Days. His spirits are up one minute and down the next.

He is fearful of sleeping on the streets, where he might be attacked, is repulsed by the idea of staying in a flophouse, and realises that he could not sleep in the subway, and so he turns his back on the city and discovers that Central Park is an ideal place for his roamings, especially at night when he finds shelter under bushes and later in a cave.

The story chapter two

reorder the summary by clicking on the queston marks in the right order

During the day he looks for food, meets people, keeps up with political events and sports news, and thus leads a ‘busy’ life full of variety, in which chance seems to decide his moves and experiences. He is basically at ease with himself and the world.

A change for the worse occurs when, following a storm, Marco gets some kind of fever. In the end he is completely exhausted, famished, but too weak to move or eat and finally lapses into delirious visions about the Moon Palace sign and Indians in Manhattan before being miraculously found by his friends. When he sees Kitty, he calls her Pocahontas. Zimmer just calls him ‘a dumb bastard’.

He discovers that Central Park offers him refuge, because people allow you a certain kind of freedom to act as you wish. Whereas he is forced to see himself as others see him on the streets, he can return to his inner life in the Park. Moreover, people help him by giving him food and allowing him to participate in a ball game.

He is fearful of sleeping on the streets, where he might be attacked, is repulsed by the idea of staying in a flophouse, and realises that he could not sleep in the subway, and so he turns his back on the city and discovers that Central Park is an ideal place for his roamings, especially at night when he finds shelter under bushes and later in a cave.

Marco wanders the streets of New York, heading south of Columbia University. As he has found a $10 bill, he treats himself to a good meal and a movie, Around the World in 80 Days. His spirits are up one minute and down the next.

well done!

A change for the worse occurs when, following a storm, Marco gets some kind of fever. In the end he is completely exhausted, famished, but too weak to move or eat and finally lapses into delirious visions about the Moon Palace sign and Indians in Manhattan before being miraculously found by his friends. When he sees Kitty, he calls her Pocahontas. Zimmer just calls him ‘a dumb bastard’.

He discovers that Central Park offers him refuge, because people allow you a certain kind of freedom to act as you wish. Whereas he is forced to see himself as others see him on the streets, he can return to his inner life in the Park. Moreover, people help him by giving him food and allowing him to participate in a ball game.

During the day he looks for food, meets people, keeps up with political events and sports news, and thus leads a ‘busy’ life full of variety, in which chance seems to decide his moves and experiences. He is basically at ease with himself and the world.

Marco wanders the streets of New York, heading south of Columbia University. As he has found a $10 bill, he treats himself to a good meal and a movie, Around the World in 80 Days. His spirits are up one minute and down the next.

He is fearful of sleeping on the streets, where he might be attacked, is repulsed by the idea of staying in a flophouse, and realises that he could not sleep in the subway, and so he turns his back on the city and discovers that Central Park is an ideal place for his roamings, especially at night when he finds shelter under bushes and later in a cave.

Try again!

Try again!

Try again!

The story chapter three

reorder the summary by clicking on the queston marks in the right order

That is how he got to leave Zimmer's appartment, having been "chosen" for a job for which, he learnt later on, "I was the only person who had applied fo the job".

But when Marco has to go for his army physical, he is still rated unfit because of his poor physical and mental state. Marco feels very bad about living at Zimmer's expense, so he finally persuades Zimmer to let him do a French translation for him to earn some money.

Gradually Marco becomes his former self again and learns from Zimmer that Kitty Wu’s feelings for him go beyond those of mere pity. Zimmer informs him of Kitty’s life story: she too is an orphan and has lived through an odyssey of political exiles, moving from China to Taiwan and Tokyo and finally to America.

Zimmer takes care of Marco during his period of convalescence and shares his small apartment and funds with him. Marco discovers by chance that he is due to report to the drafts commission.

So, when Kitty comes to see him again, he responds to her with passion. They become lovers and from then on, life gains a new quality for Marco. She makes him feel confident and comfortable. He is now ready to stand on his own two feet again and finds a job as a live-in companion to an old man in a wheelchair.

Try again!

The story chapter three

reorder the summary by clicking on the queston marks in the right order

That is how he got to leave Zimmer's appartment, having been "chosen" for a job for which, he learnt later on, "I was the only person who had applied fo the job".

But when Marco has to go for his army physical, he is still rated unfit because of his poor physical and mental state. Marco feels very bad about living at Zimmer's expense, so he finally persuades Zimmer to let him do a French translation for him to earn some money.

Gradually Marco becomes his former self again and learns from Zimmer that Kitty Wu’s feelings for him go beyond those of mere pity. Zimmer informs him of Kitty’s life story: she too is an orphan and has lived through an odyssey of political exiles, moving from China to Taiwan and Tokyo and finally to America.

Zimmer takes care of Marco during his period of convalescence and shares his small apartment and funds with him. Marco discovers by chance that he is due to report to the drafts commission.

So, when Kitty comes to see him again, he responds to her with passion. They become lovers and from then on, life gains a new quality for Marco. She makes him feel confident and comfortable. He is now ready to stand on his own two feet again and finds a job as a live-in companion to an old man in a wheelchair.

The story chapter three

reorder the summary by clicking on the queston marks in the right order

Gradually Marco becomes his former self again and learns from Zimmer that Kitty Wu’s feelings for him go beyond those of mere pity. Zimmer informs him of Kitty’s life story: she too is an orphan and has lived through an odyssey of political exiles, moving from China to Taiwan and Tokyo and finally to America.

That is how he got to leave Zimmer's appartment, having been "chosen" for a job for which, he learnt later on, "I was the only person who had applied fo the job".

But when Marco has to go for his army physical, he is still rated unfit because of his poor physical and mental state. Marco feels very bad about living at Zimmer's expense, so he finally persuades Zimmer to let him do a French translation for him to earn some money.

Zimmer takes care of Marco during his period of convalescence and shares his small apartment and funds with him. Marco discovers by chance that he is due to report to the drafts commission.

So, when Kitty comes to see him again, he responds to her with passion. They become lovers and from then on, life gains a new quality for Marco. She makes him feel confident and comfortable. He is now ready to stand on his own two feet again and finds a job as a live-in companion to an old man in a wheelchair.

The story chapter three

reorder the summary by clicking on the queston marks in the right order

That is how he got to leave Zimmer's appartment, having been "chosen" for a job for which, he learnt later on, "I was the only person who had applied fo the job".

Gradually Marco becomes his former self again and learns from Zimmer that Kitty Wu’s feelings for him go beyond those of mere pity. Zimmer informs him of Kitty’s life story: she too is an orphan and has lived through an odyssey of political exiles, moving from China to Taiwan and Tokyo and finally to America.

But when Marco has to go for his army physical, he is still rated unfit because of his poor physical and mental state. Marco feels very bad about living at Zimmer's expense, so he finally persuades Zimmer to let him do a French translation for him to earn some money.

Zimmer takes care of Marco during his period of convalescence and shares his small apartment and funds with him. Marco discovers by chance that he is due to report to the drafts commission.

So, when Kitty comes to see him again, he responds to her with passion. They become lovers and from then on, life gains a new quality for Marco. She makes him feel confident and comfortable. He is now ready to stand on his own two feet again and finds a job as a live-in companion to an old man in a wheelchair.

well done!

That is how he got to leave Zimmer's appartment, having been "chosen" for a job for which, he learnt later on, "I was the only person who had applied fo the job".

Gradually Marco becomes his former self again and learns from Zimmer that Kitty Wu’s feelings for him go beyond those of mere pity. Zimmer informs him of Kitty’s life story: she too is an orphan and has lived through an odyssey of political exiles, moving from China to Taiwan and Tokyo and finally to America.

But when Marco has to go for his army physical, he is still rated unfit because of his poor physical and mental state. Marco feels very bad about living at Zimmer's expense, so he finally persuades Zimmer to let him do a French translation for him to earn some money.

Zimmer takes care of Marco during his period of convalescence and shares his small apartment and funds with him. Marco discovers by chance that he is due to report to the drafts commission.

So, when Kitty comes to see him again, he responds to her with passion. They become lovers and from then on, life gains a new quality for Marco. She makes him feel confident and comfortable. He is now ready to stand on his own two feet again and finds a job as a live-in companion to an old man in a wheelchair.

Try again!

Try again!

Try again!

Try again!

The story chapter four

reorder the summary by clicking on the queston marks in the right order

Thomas Effing, Marco’s new employer, turns out to be a blind, despotic and rude man, unpredictable in his moods. Yet, he possesses a keen intellect and a broad general knowledge. While pushing Effing in his wheelchair, Marco is asked to describe the visible world to Effing; this becomes an intellectual exercise and challenge for Marco, who gradually learns to convey the essence of things around him with words.

Barber’s marriage to Elizabeth Wheeler results in failure and to get away, he sets off on an artistic expedition to the West with a young geologist, Byrne. Barber is fascinated by the landscape of the West. However, their guide leads them into a dangerous area and Byrne gets seriously injured. The guide abandons them, Byrne dies three days later. Barber is completely alone and believes he is about to go crazy.

It is also Marco’s job to read to Effing from his large library. They then turn to newspapers, especially the obituaries because Effing wants Marco to write down the story of his life, or rather that of his life as Julian Barber, his former identity. Born into a rich family in New York, Barber had embarked on a successful career as a painter.

Before getting started on the actual story, Effing sends Marco on a journey to the Brooklyn Museum, where he is to study a specific painting by Blakelock called “Moonlight” a moonlit landscape with an Indian encampment, which Marco comes to see as a memorial for a bygone period in American history.

Effing begins the narration of Julian Barber. As a young painter he has an artistic kinship with romantic painters like Blakelock and Thomas Moran. Moreover, he is fascinated by the inventor Nicola Tesla, who seems to represent the progressive spirit of the time.

The story chapter four

reorder the summary by clicking on the queston marks in the right order

Barber’s marriage to Elizabeth Wheeler results in failure and to get away, he sets off on an artistic expedition to the West with a young geologist, Byrne. Barber is fascinated by the landscape of the West. However, their guide leads them into a dangerous area and Byrne gets seriously injured. The guide abandons them, Byrne dies three days later. Barber is completely alone and believes he is about to go crazy.

Thomas Effing, Marco’s new employer, turns out to be a blind, despotic and rude man, unpredictable in his moods. Yet, he possesses a keen intellect and a broad general knowledge. While pushing Effing in his wheelchair, Marco is asked to describe the visible world to Effing; this becomes an intellectual exercise and challenge for Marco, who gradually learns to convey the essence of things around him with words.

Before getting started on the actual story, Effing sends Marco on a journey to the Brooklyn Museum, where he is to study a specific painting by Blakelock called “Moonlight” a moonlit landscape with an Indian encampment, which Marco comes to see as a memorial for a bygone period in American history.

It is also Marco’s job to read to Effing from his large library. They then turn to newspapers, especially the obituaries because Effing wants Marco to write down the story of his life, or rather that of his life as Julian Barber, his former identity. Born into a rich family in New York, Barber had embarked on a successful career as a painter.

Effing begins the narration of Julian Barber. As a young painter he has an artistic kinship with romantic painters like Blakelock and Thomas Moran. Moreover, he is fascinated by the inventor Nicola Tesla, who seems to represent the progressive spirit of the time.

The story chapter four

reorder the summary by clicking on the queston marks in the right order

Barber’s marriage to Elizabeth Wheeler results in failure and to get away, he sets off on an artistic expedition to the West with a young geologist, Byrne. Barber is fascinated by the landscape of the West. However, their guide leads them into a dangerous area and Byrne gets seriously injured. The guide abandons them, Byrne dies three days later. Barber is completely alone and believes he is about to go crazy.

Thomas Effing, Marco’s new employer, turns out to be a blind, despotic and rude man, unpredictable in his moods. Yet, he possesses a keen intellect and a broad general knowledge. While pushing Effing in his wheelchair, Marco is asked to describe the visible world to Effing; this becomes an intellectual exercise and challenge for Marco, who gradually learns to convey the essence of things around him with words.

Before getting started on the actual story, Effing sends Marco on a journey to the Brooklyn Museum, where he is to study a specific painting by Blakelock called “Moonlight” a moonlit landscape with an Indian encampment, which Marco comes to see as a memorial for a bygone period in American history.

It is also Marco’s job to read to Effing from his large library. They then turn to newspapers, especially the obituaries because Effing wants Marco to write down the story of his life, or rather that of his life as Julian Barber, his former identity. Born into a rich family in New York, Barber had embarked on a successful career as a painter.

Effing begins the narration of Julian Barber. As a young painter he has an artistic kinship with romantic painters like Blakelock and Thomas Moran. Moreover, he is fascinated by the inventor Nicola Tesla, who seems to represent the progressive spirit of the time.

The story chapter four

reorder the summary by clicking on the queston marks in the right order

Barber’s marriage to Elizabeth Wheeler results in failure and to get away, he sets off on an artistic expedition to the West with a young geologist, Byrne. Barber is fascinated by the landscape of the West. However, their guide leads them into a dangerous area and Byrne gets seriously injured. The guide abandons them, Byrne dies three days later. Barber is completely alone and believes he is about to go crazy.

Thomas Effing, Marco’s new employer, turns out to be a blind, despotic and rude man, unpredictable in his moods. Yet, he possesses a keen intellect and a broad general knowledge. While pushing Effing in his wheelchair, Marco is asked to describe the visible world to Effing; this becomes an intellectual exercise and challenge for Marco, who gradually learns to convey the essence of things around him with words.

Before getting started on the actual story, Effing sends Marco on a journey to the Brooklyn Museum, where he is to study a specific painting by Blakelock called “Moonlight” a moonlit landscape with an Indian encampment, which Marco comes to see as a memorial for a bygone period in American history.

It is also Marco’s job to read to Effing from his large library. They then turn to newspapers, especially the obituaries because Effing wants Marco to write down the story of his life, or rather that of his life as Julian Barber, his former identity. Born into a rich family in New York, Barber had embarked on a successful career as a painter.

Effing begins the narration of Julian Barber. As a young painter he has an artistic kinship with romantic painters like Blakelock and Thomas Moran. Moreover, he is fascinated by the inventor Nicola Tesla, who seems to represent the progressive spirit of the time.

well done!

Thomas Effing, Marco’s new employer, turns out to be a blind, despotic and rude man, unpredictable in his moods. Yet, he possesses a keen intellect and a broad general knowledge. While pushing Effing in his wheelchair, Marco is asked to describe the visible world to Effing; this becomes an intellectual exercise and challenge for Marco, who gradually learns to convey the essence of things around him with words.

Barber’s marriage to Elizabeth Wheeler results in failure and to get away, he sets off on an artistic expedition to the West with a young geologist, Byrne. Barber is fascinated by the landscape of the West. However, their guide leads them into a dangerous area and Byrne gets seriously injured. The guide abandons them, Byrne dies three days later. Barber is completely alone and believes he is about to go crazy.

It is also Marco’s job to read to Effing from his large library. They then turn to newspapers, especially the obituaries because Effing wants Marco to write down the story of his life, or rather that of his life as Julian Barber, his former identity. Born into a rich family in New York, Barber had embarked on a successful career as a painter.

Before getting started on the actual story, Effing sends Marco on a journey to the Brooklyn Museum, where he is to study a specific painting by Blakelock called “Moonlight” a moonlit landscape with an Indian encampment, which Marco comes to see as a memorial for a bygone period in American history.

Effing begins the narration of Julian Barber. As a young painter he has an artistic kinship with romantic painters like Blakelock and Thomas Moran. Moreover, he is fascinated by the inventor Nicola Tesla, who seems to represent the progressive spirit of the time.

Try again!

Try again!

Try again!

Try again!

The story chapter five

reorder the summary by clicking on the queston marks in the right order

Effing and Marco distribute a total of $20,000 in cash to total strangers. The idea is to return the Greshams’ money to the people. On the last night on which they are to hand out the money, Effing exposes himself to the rain, catches pneumonia and finally dies on the predestined day. His ashes are scattered over the Hudson River and Marco is left with an inheritance of $7,000

He is soon visited by an Indian who takes him for the dead man and finds out that the he had been involved with a gang of outlaws whose return is only a matter of time. Barber ambushes them and kills them; he finds a large amount of money in their bags. He then begins a new life as Thomas Effing in San Francisco; by investing the money wisely he soon becomes very rich.

Once Effing has finished his story, Marco draws up three versions of Effing’s, a short one for the newspapers, a longer one for an art magazine, and finally the longest and fullest account for Solomon Barber, a historian, who turns out to be Effing’s son. His existence was only discovered by Effing by chance. Marco is to send the long version of the obituary to Barber after Effing’s death, the date of which is set by Effing himself for May 12th.

Barber discovers a cave at the top of a cliff. The interior is fully equipped with supplies; a dead man is lying in the bed. He decides to adopt the dead man’s identity and lives in the cave. A period of deep happiness and extraordinary artistic productivity begins. He starts to paint again and becomes immersed in his work, covering all his canvases and, when they run out, his furniture and then the cave walls.

Feelings of guilt become so strong that he seeks oblivion in opium, women and gambling. One night he is attacked by an unknown assailant and loses the use of his legs. He sees his fate as a kind of punishment and decides to move to Paris for a few years, then he moves back to the USA just before the outbreak of World War II. The remaining years of his life seem uninteresting to Effing.

The story chapter five

reorder the summary by clicking on the queston marks in the right order

Effing and Marco distribute a total of $20,000 in cash to total strangers. The idea is to return the Greshams’ money to the people. On the last night on which they are to hand out the money, Effing exposes himself to the rain, catches pneumonia and finally dies on the predestined day. His ashes are scattered over the Hudson River and Marco is left with an inheritance of $7,000

He is soon visited by an Indian who takes him for the dead man and finds out that the he had been involved with a gang of outlaws whose return is only a matter of time. Barber ambushes them and kills them; he finds a large amount of money in their bags. He then begins a new life as Thomas Effing in San Francisco; by investing the money wisely he soon becomes very rich.

Once Effing has finished his story, Marco draws up three versions of Effing’s, a short one for the newspapers, a longer one for an art magazine, and finally the longest and fullest account for Solomon Barber, a historian, who turns out to be Effing’s son. His existence was only discovered by Effing by chance. Marco is to send the long version of the obituary to Barber after Effing’s death, the date of which is set by Effing himself for May 12th.

Barber discovers a cave at the top of a cliff. The interior is fully equipped with supplies; a dead man is lying in the bed. He decides to adopt the dead man’s identity and lives in the cave. A period of deep happiness and extraordinary artistic productivity begins. He starts to paint again and becomes immersed in his work, covering all his canvases and, when they run out, his furniture and then the cave walls.

Feelings of guilt become so strong that he seeks oblivion in opium, women and gambling. One night he is attacked by an unknown assailant and loses the use of his legs. He sees his fate as a kind of punishment and decides to move to Paris for a few years, then he moves back to the USA just before the outbreak of World War II. The remaining years of his life seem uninteresting to Effing.

The story chapter five

reorder the summary by clicking on the queston marks in the right order

Effing and Marco distribute a total of $20,000 in cash to total strangers. The idea is to return the Greshams’ money to the people. On the last night on which they are to hand out the money, Effing exposes himself to the rain, catches pneumonia and finally dies on the predestined day. His ashes are scattered over the Hudson River and Marco is left with an inheritance of $7,000

Barber discovers a cave at the top of a cliff. The interior is fully equipped with supplies; a dead man is lying in the bed. He decides to adopt the dead man’s identity and lives in the cave. A period of deep happiness and extraordinary artistic productivity begins. He starts to paint again and becomes immersed in his work, covering all his canvases and, when they run out, his furniture and then the cave walls.

He is soon visited by an Indian who takes him for the dead man and finds out that the he had been involved with a gang of outlaws whose return is only a matter of time. Barber ambushes them and kills them; he finds a large amount of money in their bags. He then begins a new life as Thomas Effing in San Francisco; by investing the money wisely he soon becomes very rich.

Feelings of guilt become so strong that he seeks oblivion in opium, women and gambling. One night he is attacked by an unknown assailant and loses the use of his legs. He sees his fate as a kind of punishment and decides to move to Paris for a few years, then he moves back to the USA just before the outbreak of World War II. The remaining years of his life seem uninteresting to Effing.

Once Effing has finished his story, Marco draws up three versions of Effing’s, a short one for the newspapers, a longer one for an art magazine, and finally the longest and fullest account for Solomon Barber, a historian, who turns out to be Effing’s son. His existence was only discovered by Effing by chance. Marco is to send the long version of the obituary to Barber after Effing’s death, the date of which is set by Effing himself for May 12th.

The story chapter five

reorder the summary by clicking on the queston marks in the right order

Effing and Marco distribute a total of $20,000 in cash to total strangers. The idea is to return the Greshams’ money to the people. On the last night on which they are to hand out the money, Effing exposes himself to the rain, catches pneumonia and finally dies on the predestined day. His ashes are scattered over the Hudson River and Marco is left with an inheritance of $7,000

Barber discovers a cave at the top of a cliff. The interior is fully equipped with supplies; a dead man is lying in the bed. He decides to adopt the dead man’s identity and lives in the cave. A period of deep happiness and extraordinary artistic productivity begins. He starts to paint again and becomes immersed in his work, covering all his canvases and, when they run out, his furniture and then the cave walls.

He is soon visited by an Indian who takes him for the dead man and finds out that the he had been involved with a gang of outlaws whose return is only a matter of time. Barber ambushes them and kills them; he finds a large amount of money in their bags. He then begins a new life as Thomas Effing in San Francisco; by investing the money wisely he soon becomes very rich.

Feelings of guilt become so strong that he seeks oblivion in opium, women and gambling. One night he is attacked by an unknown assailant and loses the use of his legs. He sees his fate as a kind of punishment and decides to move to Paris for a few years, then he moves back to the USA just before the outbreak of World War II. The remaining years of his life seem uninteresting to Effing.

Once Effing has finished his story, Marco draws up three versions of Effing’s, a short one for the newspapers, a longer one for an art magazine, and finally the longest and fullest account for Solomon Barber, a historian, who turns out to be Effing’s son. His existence was only discovered by Effing by chance. Marco is to send the long version of the obituary to Barber after Effing’s death, the date of which is set by Effing himself for May 12th.

well done!

Effing and Marco distribute a total of $20,000 in cash to total strangers. The idea is to return the Greshams’ money to the people. On the last night on which they are to hand out the money, Effing exposes himself to the rain, catches pneumonia and finally dies on the predestined day. His ashes are scattered over the Hudson River and Marco is left with an inheritance of $7,000

Barber discovers a cave at the top of a cliff. The interior is fully equipped with supplies; a dead man is lying in the bed. He decides to adopt the dead man’s identity and lives in the cave. A period of deep happiness and extraordinary artistic productivity begins. He starts to paint again and becomes immersed in his work, covering all his canvases and, when they run out, his furniture and then the cave walls.

He is soon visited by an Indian who takes him for the dead man and finds out that the he had been involved with a gang of outlaws whose return is only a matter of time. Barber ambushes them and kills them; he finds a large amount of money in their bags. He then begins a new life as Thomas Effing in San Francisco; by investing the money wisely he soon becomes very rich.

Feelings of guilt become so strong that he seeks oblivion in opium, women and gambling. One night he is attacked by an unknown assailant and loses the use of his legs. He sees his fate as a kind of punishment and decides to move to Paris for a few years, then he moves back to the USA just before the outbreak of World War II. The remaining years of his life seem uninteresting to Effing.

Once Effing has finished his story, Marco draws up three versions of Effing’s, a short one for the newspapers, a longer one for an art magazine, and finally the longest and fullest account for Solomon Barber, a historian, who turns out to be Effing’s son. His existence was only discovered by Effing by chance. Marco is to send the long version of the obituary to Barber after Effing’s death, the date of which is set by Effing himself for May 12th.

well done!

Effing and Marco distribute a total of $20,000 in cash to total strangers. The idea is to return the Greshams’ money to the people. On the last night on which they are to hand out the money, Effing exposes himself to the rain, catches pneumonia and finally dies on the predestined day. His ashes are scattered over the Hudson River and Marco is left with an inheritance of $7,000

Barber discovers a cave at the top of a cliff. The interior is fully equipped with supplies; a dead man is lying in the bed. He decides to adopt the dead man’s identity and lives in the cave. A period of deep happiness and extraordinary artistic productivity begins. He starts to paint again and becomes immersed in his work, covering all his canvases and, when they run out, his furniture and then the cave walls.

He is soon visited by an Indian who takes him for the dead man and finds out that the he had been involved with a gang of outlaws whose return is only a matter of time. Barber ambushes them and kills them; he finds a large amount of money in their bags. He then begins a new life as Thomas Effing in San Francisco; by investing the money wisely he soon becomes very rich.

Feelings of guilt become so strong that he seeks oblivion in opium, women and gambling. One night he is attacked by an unknown assailant and loses the use of his legs. He sees his fate as a kind of punishment and decides to move to Paris for a few years, then he moves back to the USA just before the outbreak of World War II. The remaining years of his life seem uninteresting to Effing.

Once Effing has finished his story, Marco draws up three versions of Effing’s, a short one for the newspapers, a longer one for an art magazine, and finally the longest and fullest account for Solomon Barber, a historian, who turns out to be Effing’s son. His existence was only discovered by Effing by chance. Marco is to send the long version of the obituary to Barber after Effing’s death, the date of which is set by Effing himself for May 12th.

Try again!

Try again!

Try again!

Try again!

The story chapter six

Now it's your go! Finish the sentences... you may use the help or not.

Marco and Kitty move into a flat in Chinatown and experience a period of extreme happiness living together. The newspapers and periodicals turn down Effing’s obituaries, but Solomon Barber... We learn that Barber had been a history professor at Emily Fogg’s college in Oldburn, Ohio, but was dismissed when he and Emily... His attempts to contact Emily again were rebutted, first... Solomon’s own childhood... At the age of 17 he wrote a novel, Kepler’s Blood, which reveals... When Marco meets Barber again... However, Kitty finds out that she is pregnant, and decides...

onto next (and last) chapter

The story chapter six

word box

respond meet physical description of Solomon relationship with Marco

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The story chapter six

word box

in bed give birth teach in minor colleges

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The story chapter six

word box

Emily Uncle Victor fear

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The story chapter six

word box

unknown father mother's instablility

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The story chapter six

word box

abortion Marco's reaction

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The story chapter seven

and for the last chapter, here is a translation exercise!

Marco moves in with Solomon Barber, but cannot get over his separation from Kitty. Barber makes several unsuccessful attempts to reconcile the two but fails and finally persuades Marco to go on an expedition to the West with him to look for Effing’s cave. They first drive to Chicago, where Marco wants to visit the graves of his mother and uncle. Barber breaks down in tears beside Emily Fogg’s grave, and Marco begins to realize who his father is. His immediate reactions are so hostile that Barber backs away and falls into an open grave. Seriously injured, Barber is taken to hospital, where he spends his last two months. An intimate relationship then develops between the two men, and Barber tells him the story of his life (which is told in Chapter Six). After Barber’s death, Marco buries him next to his mother and sets out on the planned trip in search of Effing’s cave alone. He is as impressed as his grandfather was with the immense emptiness of the landscape of the West. However, he learns that the area where the cave must have been was flooded many years earlier to create the artificial Lake Powell. He hires a boat and cruises along the lake, but when he returns to his car, he finds that it and most of his money have been stolen. Angry and disillusioned, he starts walking and continues for the next three months until he reaches the Pacific coast, where he feels the sand on his feet and watches the moon rise: "It was a full moon, as round and yellow as a burning stone. I kept my eyes on it as it rose into the night sky, not turning away until it had found its place in the darkness." (p.254)

Thomas Effing VERSUS Marco s. fogg

Read the excerpts linked to each character and answer the questions on the yellow side Marco Stanley Fogg Thomas Effiing

• 1 - Who is the narrator of the extract? Where is he?
• 2 - Describe the scenery with words from the excerpts.
• 3 - Can you find any figures of speech in the excerpts? If yes, quote and name them.
• 4 - Account for the character’s ordeal in terms of feelings and physical changes.
• 5 - How much does the scenery affect the character’s attitude (does it match his attitude, does it make it change…)?

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Marco s. fogg - 1 -

on to M.S Fogg - 2 -

"If I eventually chose Central Park, it was only because I was too exhausted to think of anything else. At about eleven o’clock I found myself walking down Fifth Avenue, absently running my hand along the stone wall that divides the park from the street. I looked over the wall, saw the immense, uninhabited park, and realized that nothing better was going to present itself to me at that hour. At the very worst, the ground would be soft in there, and I welcomed the thought of lying down on the grass, of being able to make my bed in a place where no one could see me. I entered the park somewhere near the Metropolitan Museum, trekked out toward the interior for several minutes, and then crawled under a bush. I wasn’t up to looking any more carefully than that. I had heard all the horror stories about Central Park, but at that moment my exhaustion was greater than my fear. If the bush didn’t keep me hidden from view, I thought, there was always my knife to defend myself with. I bunched up my leather jacket into a pillow, then squirmed around for a while as I tried to get comfortable. As soon as I stopped moving, I heard a cricket chirp in an adjacent shrub. Moments later, a small breeze began to rustle the twigs and slender branches around my head. I didn’t know what to think anymore. There was no moon in the sky that night, not a single star. Before I remembered to take the knife out of my pocket, I was fast asleep. I woke up feeling as though I had slept in a boxcar. It was just past dawn, and my entire body ached, my muscles had turned into knots. I extricated myself gingerly from the bush, cursing and groaning as I moved, and then took stock of my surroundings. I had spent the night at the edge of a softball field, sprawled out in the shrubbery behind home plate. The field was situated in a shallow dip of land, and at that early hour a speckle of thin gray fog was hanging over the grass. Absolutely no one was in sight. A few sparrows swooped and chittered in the area around second base, a blue jay rasped in the trees overhead. This was New York, but it had nothing to do with the New York I had always known. It was devoid of associations, a place that could have been anywhere. As I turned this thought over in my mind, it suddenly occurred to me that I had made it through the first night. I would not say that I rejoiced in the accomplishment—my body hurt too much for that—but I knew that an important piece of business had been put behind me. I had made it through the first night, and if I had done it once, there was no reason to think I couldn’t do it again." p54-55

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Marco s. fogg - 2 -

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on to M.S Fogg - 3 -

"I felt that I was blending into the environment (...)" p.56 "If I was able to maintain the proper balance between desire and indifference, I felt that I could somehow will the universe to respond to me. How else was I to judge the extraordinary acts of generosity that I experienced in Central Park?" p.57 " The weather had been with me from the start, so much so that I had stopped thinking of it as a problem. Almost every day was a repetition of the day before: beautiful late-summer skies, hot suns parching the ground, and the air then drifting into the coolness of cricket-filled nights. During the first two weeks, it hardly rained at all, and when there was rain, it never amounted to more than a sprinkle. I began pushing my luck, sleeping more or less out in the open, by now conditioned to believe that I would be safe wherever I was. One night, as I lay dreaming on a patch of grass, utterly exposed to the heavens, I finally got caught in a downpour. It was one of those cataclysmic rains: the sky suddenly splitting in two, buckets of water descending, a prodigious fury of sound. I was drenched by the time I woke up, my whole body pummeled, the drops bouncing off me like buckshot. I started running through the darkness, frantically searching for a place to hide, but it took several minutes before I managed to find shelter under a ledge of granite rocks, and by then it hardly mattered where I was. I was as wet as someone who had swum across the ocean." p.63

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Marco s. fogg - 3 -

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"The rain continued until dawn, at times slackening to a drizzle, at times exploding with monumental bursts—screeching battalions of cats and dogs, pure wrath tumbling from the clouds. These eruptions were unpredictable, and I did not want to run the risk of getting caught in one. I clung to my tiny spot, dumbly standing there in my waterlogged boots, my clammy blue jeans, my glistening leather jacket. My knapsack had been subjected to the same soaking as everything else, and that left me with nothing dry to change into. I had no choice but to wait it out, shivering in the darkness like a stray mutt. For the first hour or two I did my best not to feel sorry for myself, but then I gave up the effort and let forth in a spree of shouting and cursing, putting all my energies into the most vile imprecations I could think of—putrid strings of invective, nasty and circuitous insults, bombastic exhortations against God and country. After a while, I had worked myself up to such a pitch that I was sobbing through my words, literally ranting and hiccuping at the same time, and yet through it all managing to summon up such artful and long-winded phrases that even a Turkish cutthroat would have been impressed. This continued for perhaps half an hour. Afterward, I was so spent that I fell asleep copy where I was, still standing up. I dozed for several minutes, then was roused by another onslaught of rain. I wanted to renew my attack, but I was too tired and hoarse to scream anymore. For the rest of the night I just stood there in a trance of self-pity, waiting for the morning to come." p.63-64

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Thomas Effing - 1 -

On to T. Effing - 2 -

"That was the moment when Julian Barber was obliterated: out there in the desert, hemmed in by rocks and blistering light, he simply canceled himself out. (...) After Byrne’s death, he said, he howled almost constantly for three days, smearing his face with the blood that came trickling out of his hands—which had been lacerated by the rocks—but given the circumstances, this behavior did not strike me as unusual. I had done my fair share of screaming during the storm in Central Park, and my situation had been far less desperate than his. When a man feels he has come to the end of his rope, it is perfectly natural that he should want to scream. The air bunches in his lungs, and he cannot breathe unless he pushes it out of him, unless he howls it forth with all his strength. Otherwise, he will choke on his own breath, the very sky will smother him. On the morning of the fourth day, with his food gone and his canteen holding less than a cup of water, Effing spotted what looked like a cave at the top of a nearby cliff. It would be a good place to die in, he thought. Out of the sun and inaccessible to vultures, a place so hidden that no one would ever find him. Mustering his courage, he began the laborious trek upward. It took him almost two hours to get there, and when he arrived, he was at the end of his strength, barely able to stand. The cave was a good deal larger than it had appeared from below, and Effing was surprised to discover that he did not have to crouch to enter it. He pulled away the branches and twigs that blocked the opening and went in." p.141-142

est. 2019

The painter

the painting

DESCRIBE

moonlight by Ralph albert blakelock

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Thomas Effing - 2 -

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"He would take on the hermit’s life and continue to live it for him, acting as though the soul of this man had now passed into his possession. (...) There he discovered the most remarkable thing of all: a small oasis thirty or forty feet below the level of the cave, a lush area with two towering cottonwood trees, an active brook, and innumerable shrubs whose names were unfamiliar to him. It was a miniature pocket of life in the midst of overpowering barrenness. As he buried the hermit in the soft earth beside the brook, he realized that everything would be possible for him in this place. He had food and water; he had a house; he had found a new identity for himself, a new and utterly unexpected life. The reversal was almost too much for him to comprehend. Just one hour before, he had been ready to die. Now, he was trembling with happiness, unable to stop himself from laughing as he flung one shovelful of dirt after another onto the dead man’s face. Months passed. In the beginning, Effing was too stunned by his good fortune to pay much attention to the things around him. He ate and slept, and when the sun was not too strong, he would sit on the rocks outside his cave and watch the bright, multicolored lizards that went flitting about his feet. The view from the cliff was immense, encompassing untold miles of terrain, but he did not look out at it very often, choosing instead to confine his thoughts to the immediate vicinity: his trips to the stream with the water bucket, the gathering of firewood, the inside of his cave. He had had his fill of scenery, and for now he was content to ignore it. Then, very suddenly, this sense of calm abandoned him, and he entered a period of almost unbearable loneliness. The horror of the past months engulfed him, and for the next week or two he came dangerously close to killing himself. His mind swarmed with delusions and fears, and more than once he imagined that he was already dead, that he had died the moment he entered the cave and was now the prisoner of some demonic afterlife. One day, in a fit of madness, he took out the hermit’s rifle and shot his donkey, thinking that it had been turned into the hermit himself, a spectre of wrath who had come back to haunt him with his insidious braying. The donkey knew the truth about him, and he had no choice but to eliminate this witness to his fraud. After that, he became obsessed with trying to uncover the identity of the dead man, systematically ransacking the interior of the cave for clues, looking for a diary, a packet of letters, the flyleaf of a book, anything that might reveal the hermit’s name. But nothing turned up, he never found the slightest particle of information." p.143-144

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Thomas Effing - 3 -

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"Still, he knew that it would not be to his advantage to rush things. The longer he kept himself hidden, the safer it would be when he finally left. He therefore set about organizing his life in the strictest possible way, doing everything he could to stretch out the time he would spend there: limiting himself to one meal a day, laying in an ample supply of firewood for the winter, keeping his body fit. He made charts and schedules for himself, and each night before going to bed he wrote down meticulous accounts of the resources he had used during the day, pushing himself to maintain the most rigorous discipline. In the beginning, he found it hard to achieve the goals he had set, often succumbing to the temptation of another slice of bread or another plate of canned stew, but the effort in itself seemed worthwhile, and it helped to keep him alert. It was a way of testing himself against his own weaknesses, and as the actual and the ideal gradually came closer together, he could not help thinking of it as a personal triumph. He knew that it was no more than a game, but a fanatical devotion was required to play it, and that very excess of concentration was what allowed him to keep from slipping into despondency. After two or three weeks of this new, disciplined life, he began to feel the urge to paint again. One night, sitting with a pencil in his hand and writing up his brief report of the day’s activities, he suddenly started to sketch out a little drawing of a mountain on the opposite page. Before he even realized what he was doing, the sketch was finished. It took no more than half a minute, but in that abrupt, unconscious gesture, he found a strength that had never been present in any of his other work. That same night, he unpacked his art supplies, and from then until his colors finally ran out, he continued to paint, leaving the cave every morning at dawn and spending the entire day outside. It lasted for two and a half months, and in that time he managed to finish nearly forty canvases. Without any question, he told me, it was the happiest period of his life. (...) Even as he painted his pictures, it was as though he could feel the landscape vanishing before his eyes." p.144-146

Go to this website to learn more about the painter. Read at least three of the biographies posted (only available on Fridays) and take notes to be able to tell about the painter. Your aim is to make this biography as mysterious as possible

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Description of the painting by the narrator, p.119 to 121

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A perfectly round full moon sat in the middle of the canvas—the precise mathematical center, it seemed to me—and this pale white disc illuminated everything above it and below it (...) I got so involved in studying these obscure details in the lower part of the picture that when I finally looked up to study the sky again, I was shocked to see how bright everything was in the upper part. Even taking the full moon into consideration, the sky seemed too visible. The paint beneath the cracked glazes that covered the surface shone through with an unnatural intensity, and the farther back I went toward the horizon, the brighter that glow became—as if it were daylight back there, and the mountains were illumined by the sun.

Description of the painting by the narrator, p.119 to 121

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The sky, for example, had a largely greenish cast. Tinged with the yellow borders of clouds, it swirled around the side of the large tree in a thickening flurry of brushstrokes, taking on a spiralling aspect, a vortex of celestial matter in deep space. How could the sky be green? I asked myself. It was the same color as the lake below it, and that was not possible.

Description of the painting by the narrator, p.119 to 121

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(...) a large tree with spidery branches, and the low mountains on the horizon. (...) The tree behind him was fifteen or twenty times taller than he was, and the contrast made him seem puny, insignificant. (...) There were a few small trees with the same spidery branches as the large one (...)

Description of the painting by the narrator, p.119 to 121

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On the left bank, there was an Indian teepee and a campfire; a number of figures seemed to be sitting around the fire, but it was hard to make them out, they were only minimal suggestions of human shapes, perhaps five or six of them, glowing red from the embers of the fire; to the copy of the large tree, separated from the others, there was a solitary figure on horseback, gazing out over the water—utterly still, as though lost in meditation. The tree behind him was fifteen or twenty times taller than he was, and the contrast made him seem puny, insignificant. He and his horse were no more than silhouettes, black outlines without depth or individual character.

Description of the painting by the narrator, p.119 to 121

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On the other bank, things were even murkier, almost entirely drowned in shadow. There were a few small trees with the same spidery branches as the large one, and then, toward the bottom, the tiniest hint of brightness, which looked to me as though it might have been another figure (lying on his back—possibly asleep, possibly dead, possibly staring up into the night) or else the remnant of another fire—I couldn’t tell which.

Description of the painting by the narrator, p.119 to 121

Back to the painting.

Once I finally noticed this, I began to see other odd things in the painting as well. The sky, for example, had a largely greenish cast. Tinged with the yellow borders of clouds, it swirled around the side of the large tree in a thickening flurry of brushstrokes, taking on a spiralling aspect, a vortex of celestial matter in deep space. How could the sky be green? I asked myself. It was the same color as the lake below it, and that was not possible.

defining identity

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Here is the Merriam Webster dictionary definition: read it and explain in your own words what identity is for you.

Read the whole desription again then choose another work by Blakelock and describe it in Marco's style for Moonlight. Note the use of adjectives and the way he makes the reader "travel" in the painting from one element to another. The work can be done with a partner, you will have to read your description aloud to the class.It should last between 45 and 90 seconds.

An American mythology

New York

Utah

Native Nations

Defining identity Contrasting landscapes The question of belonging

contrasting landscapes

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Onto next set of pictures

Central Park, Manhattan, in May

Homeless in Central Park, NYC

contrasting landscapes

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Onto next set of pictures

Walking to Monument Valley

Behold Monument Valley

contrasting landscapes

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Hiker exploring ‘The Wave’ in Paria Canyon, Utah-Arizona border

Water for Camp, painting by Charles M. Russell (early 20th century)

the question of belonging

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1 - What / where / who do you belong (to)? You must consider the places, the communities and the nation you feel you belong to. Post your answers on the padlet .

2 - Native nations and the question of belonging: watch the video and determine why and how land, community and nation hold meaning for Native People and Nations of the Northern Plains.

3 - Is the link between landscape and characters in Moon Palace a metaphor for the link Native Peoples have tied with the land? Read this short text and consider the question in a paragraph (to be handed in).

on the road...

name surname

NAME SURNAME

NAME SURNAME

NAME SURNAME

Dennis Hopper, Easy Rider, a movie, 1969

Jack Kerouac, On the road, a novel, 1957

Ridley Scott, Thelma and Louise, a movie, 1991

Cormac McCarthy, The Road, 2008

on the road...

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name surname

- to know more about the writer, it's here! Watch the video and take notes.

- Now read this article and compare myth and reality! get ready to tell the class about this famous writer.

- considering what you know about marco and about kerouac, how can you compare them?

Jack Kerouac, On the road, a novel, 1957

on the road...

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NAME SURNAME

- watch the beginning of the movie and note down your impressions. are there any similarities with either effing's or marco's travel?

- go to the 8th paragraph and read the essay to the end. explain who the hell's angels are and how the characters of the film meet with marco's quest for identity.

Dennis Hopper, Easy Rider, a movie, 1969

on the road...

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- Watch the movie trailer you will find on the webpage and note down your impressions about the movie. now, read the article and: - give as quick a summary of the film as in the review. - The latest sentence of the article reads "The greatest legacy of Thelma & Louise is a reminder not to settle." would you say it can be applied to moon palace and why?

Ridley Scott, Thelma and Louise, a movie, 1991

on the road...

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On the website you can reach here, you have a few articles about the novel and a plot summary. Read the summary, and the first article named "Identity". Then answer the following questions: - Give a quick summary of the plot; - According to the essay, what truly defines our identity for McCormac? - In Moon Palace, pick actions which, according to you, could define Marco's identity.

Cormac McCarthy, The Road, 2008

that's all folks!