CVSP 111 Final, Fall 2003

Final Examination C.S.111 Youth & Rebellion in Modern Literature Time: 2 hours Jan. 2004 Student's Name: Prof. M. Amyuni Student's Number: Your exam is in 3 parts. Answer clearly each part. Focus well and remember that you only have 2 hours. Therefore be concise. Don't lose yourself in useless details. A) Excerpt from Death in Beirut by T. Y. Awwad (40%) Permeating these activities was a mixture of enthusiasm, desire for revenge, bitterness and the recklessness and naivete of youth. These were given added impetus by the diverse currents flowing from four universities with disparate syllabuses, languages and a variety of sects and nationalities. Within a few days, however, the movement had lost its first purity. It was polluted by all kinds of dregs that brought their mud with them. Every wind that blew brought vapours from places where fanaticism and extremism were manufactured and the dust of the street mob began to rise. The traditional political bosses and those who dealt in influence had infiltrated the ranks of the students. They now urged them to do what they wanted them to do, in the interests of their own factional aims and objectives and their personal goals. They plunged themselves into the cauldrons of ideological dyes which ranged in hue from extreme left to extreme right. a- Discuss the Beiruti Scene as described above. b- Why does the author choose to describe this scene in this way? What is his intention in doing so? What does it lead to? What is your own. personal reaction to the overall picture described in this novel? Excerpt from Return to Beirut by Andrée Chedid (40%) Once more silence. Kalya has reached the end of her journey. Her heart no longer knows what to hold on to, one after the other her muscles give way. She slowly collapses. On the ground, she is nothing but an inert mass. A few seconds ago, her arms open to receive Sybil,, she saw the child hit, stopped in mid-flight. A fatal, irreversible moment, that suddenly blotted out her C) own life. Her vigour and strength abandon her. She does not Struggle, no longer wants this breath lingering on the edge of her lips. Everything happens very quickly. Mario, he does not know how, suddenly finds himself there kneeling at Kalya's side, trying to make himself heard: ‘I’ ve found Georges. Everything's settled.' He persists. He lies. He hopes his words will reach her: ‘Sybil will fly out tomorrow. Everything's settled. Everything's settled.’ ‘Everything's settled’ echoes; rings incessantly in her ears. Kayla would like to shake her head, but the words persist. They mingle with TU find you again one day.' With other words spoken, with those of Slimane and Sybil, who sang together: 'The water goes the water comes.’ Nouza's smile tries to break through the mists. Men, women, rush into the square. Shutters open. Doors open. Cries, shouts rise up all around; this indiscriminate violence cannot, will not last. Tomorrow, the apocalypse, a sea of madness? Tomorrow, peace? A little boy, who saw it all, looks at the square and the people there. In his mind, things have begun to stir. The yellow scarf, stained with blood, flaps in the breeze It retains in its folds the tenacious brightness of the morning. The piece of cloth rises, billows, fails, rises again, takes off, flutters; falls once more then flies off, even higher... 1, Analyze the main ideas in this excerpt. 2. Interpret this ending, this conclusion to the novel. 3. What is your own personal reaction to the overall picture described in the novel? State briefly as a conclusion to the whole course, what kind of rebellion was closest to your heart and for what reason(s)? (20%)