- What does Shklovsky define as the purpose of art and the task of the artist? Against what extant definitions is he working?
- How is art a device? What does it do and how?
- Is “Pkhentz” an allegory? Of what?
- What is the role of reading, writing and words in “Pkhentz”? Mark all the places texts appear in the story.
- How might we compare the description and function of the sexual grotesque in Sinyavsky’s and Baldwin’s stories?
In "Art as Device", Shklovsky presents "defamiliarization" as a contrast to "algebrization". How are these two techniques different, when both of them seems to involve a certain degree of abstraction and re-representation?
ReplyDeleteWhile reading PKhentz at first i found it peculiar,before finding out what he was, his disgust toward the female body, it seemed odd and particular, because he describes it in a way that is repulsive and unattractive, why would he only do that to describe the female body? why not the male? what is it about distorting a female body that is more powerful to the reader than that of a man?
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ReplyDeleteAndrei Kazimirovich makes it clear that he does not what to reveal his true identity to humans, most likely in fear of rejection. What does this imply about humanity?
ReplyDeleteAndrei interacts with Leopold and says, "I thought he hadn't pulled himself together yet, and that from inertia he was wearily keeping up the pretense of being something other than his true self." With this in mind, what does Sinyavsky suggest about his feelings towards Soviet society and his own experiences?
ReplyDeleteAndrei is clearly joyous to see that he has found another one of his kind but sadly comes to realize that Leopold is a human. If Leopold would have turned out to be like Andrei, would Andrei have exposed himself to the humans or would it have made no difference?
ReplyDeleteHow does defamiliarization in a literary art form use the readers' curiosity to allow for a deeper understanding of the piece?
ReplyDeleteWhile being seen as an "abnormal ugly freak" in the human society, Andrei seems to be equally disgusted by humanity, to an extent that he regards humans as his enemies. What exactly causes such hatred?
ReplyDeleteIn what ways might Shklovsky see the writings of Sinyavsky as distinctly artistic, and how does "Pkhentz" act within that device to question the society and ideals which "Andrei Kazimirovich" observes?
ReplyDeleteA prevalent theme in the story is Andrei's dependence on water. What does this theme say about humanity's interacting with itself?
ReplyDeleteIs the only reason why Andrei refuses to be with Veronica because she's normal and he isn't? Or is there something else thats going on?
ReplyDeleteAccording to Shklovsky, in order to enjoy the "sensation of life", one has to defamilarize the habitual aspects of his/her experiences.
ReplyDeleteHow might the artistic sensations found during first time experiences compare to those found during the defamiliarization of habitual objects?
How about those aspects that aren't customary in ones life? Does that mean they have reached the point sensation with these aspects already?
Why is experiencing the art of these aspects more important than the aspect itself?
What Shklovsky says for Tolstoy’s technique of describing battles and why is that important for the story that Shklovsky is telling us?
ReplyDeleteGreat questions, folks. Remember that anything posted after 10 am is considered late and given only partial credit.
ReplyDeleteShklovsky notes that an image's purpose is to form a perception and not a meaning. Is this contradictory to the idea of "defamiliarizing"? Because once a form has become defamiliarized, we attempt and put more effort into clarifying the unknown in to the known.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the significance of Andrei's inability to express his native language in Russian?
ReplyDeleteSorry. I did not know we had to comment on this blog by 10am to be on time. =(
ReplyDeleteIn "Art as a Device", Shklovsky differentiates between the rhythm of prose and the rhythm of poetry. The rhythm of prose is "automatic...done unconsciously"
while the rhythm of poetry is "a disordering of rhythm that can not be predicted". Do you agree or disagree with this distinction? Do you think the historical context(1917)played a role in Shklovsky making this distinction