Whiny Woolf

A male student said that Virginia Woolf’s essay A Room of One’s Own is whiny because J. K. Rowling managed to make a lot of money and become a great writer.

7 responses to “Whiny Woolf”

  1. David Bellamy Avatar

    Does this make any sense at all?

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  2. musteryou Avatar

    Well then she killed herself for purely subjective reasons –i.e. those that no capitalist could ever understand. So, I think your student was right.

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  3. el Avatar
    el

    If by “a great writer” he means “made a lot of money,” he is right. Otherwise, not so much.

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  4. FD Avatar
    FD

    Well, there’s a lovely example of a reader and writer with diametrically opposed viewpoints.

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  5. NancyP Avatar
    NancyP

    He is in need of an education, not least of which would be an education in history. Furthermore, did it ever occur to this clueless teen that the Harry Potter books were published under INITIALS concealing the gender of the author, because the publisher did not think that boys would be willing to read books written by a woman author?

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  6. Jones Avatar
    Jones

    I don’t know why the idea of assigning Evelyn Waugh’s “The Loved One” and then having the students write an essay about it on the back of a postcard gives me a perverse joy, but I’m sure of one thing …

    Everyone who truly didn’t read the book wouldn’t get the joke, so it would be blissfully simple to grade the examination postcards.

    Extra points would go to anyone who “addresses” the postcard correctly, including a proper return address. 🙂

    Does this really follow? Not really, but then again, I think it’d fit within your “short form” programme rather amusingly …

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    1. Clarissa Avatar

      I haven’t read the book, so I can’t fully appreciate the idea but it sounds very interesting. I now want to read it.

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