Character Development

Boualem Yekker is a book store owner who is an outcast to society. Books and art are against society because any creativity or imagination is against the new world order. Books would make people question too many things and questioning anything is questioning God. Gradually his life begins to fall apart. It starts with being stoned and ridiculed by children and adults every time he sees the light of day. He looses the love of his family day by day, and he eventually gets kicked out of his very own society and his book store is forced to shut down. This shows how strong minded of a person Yekker was, because no matter what happened to him he stuck to his beliefs and stuck to his morals and would never changed just because a group of people think he should.

Art in Last Summer of Reason

In most societies there are certain aspects that influence the people apart of the population and create individuality...such as art, music poetry, writings, books, and the preforming arts. Unfortunately this is not the case in the novel, with the "new world order" in full swing all forms of self expression and anything that could lead society astray and lose sight of god are either banned or frowned upon. Art in particular is not mentioned much except for the instances when Boualek Yekker is talking about all that is banned as a whole,other wise it is rare. One aspect of art that does come out however is the art that is in Boualek's head. On numerous occasions he gives colorful descriptions of places and situations and even people, although this does not come across as the typical art that we think of, it is a very strong aspect when all other forms have been abolished.

Music & Poetry in the Novel

In the topic of of music in poetry, the novel doesn't do much to highlight them. Despite these blatan drawbacks, it does give us a clue as to what they represent. To Boualem Yekker, these are the things he holds near and dear to his heart. To take away these things is to take away his right to be happy, his right to think freely. The level of high thinking and mental stimulation that comes from music and literature is the essence of societal stability. This is displayed by the deep understanding that is portrayed by Boualem himself. Music and poetry are, in a sense, Boualems sanctuary. They are his way of escaping the trivial issues of his life. They elevate him to a state of perpetual genious. Music and poetry in the novel are thematic and symbolic representations of Boualems Yekkers freedom and self content.

Double Bubble by Andy Woit

Setting

The book bases its setting off of Algeria. But it is a fictional setting. The picture on the right is a picture of the green motorcycle that the Vigiliant Brothers drive. It is a sight that intimidates people, especially women, because they never know what is going to happen to them when the V.B's come along.
The city they live in is a city that is contolled by people that make it impossible for people to express themselves. Alot of the book takes place in Yekker's book store, which is also frowned down upon by the public.
Another place he describes is the camp ground that he and his family traveled to during "the last summer of reason." He makes it sound like a beautiful place, but then again everything sounds wonderful compared to the "new order" world that they live in now.

Science, Religion and Philosophy in the Novel

These three topics are ever present throught out the novel arising throughout the conflicts and the main events of the book. Religion, Philosophy and Science are all presented through the belifes of the fundamentalists. They want to digress society back to the way they want, using their relgion, philsophies and sciences. They use their influence to get the public to help inforce their rules and regulations to form their new society. Meanwhile Boualem is trying to fightand resist this change by sticking with his beliefs and philosophies. The main purpose of this book is to show how the beliefs and philosophies of a tyranstic power can hurt and severly damage a society. This hurts Boualem a lot because he is not used to having his beliefs changed and manipulated he wants to think his own thoughts. The fundamentalist change everything and hurt Boualem but he still keeps on goin despite all he faces. He survives but the world he knew did not.

About the Author

Tahar Djaout was an Algerian journalist, poet, and fiction writer. He was born in Azeffoun, in the relatively secular Kabylie region. He was assassinated by the rebel Armed Islamic Group because of his support of secularism and opposition to what he considered fanaticism. He was attacked on May 26, 1993, as he was leaving his home in Bainem, Algeria. He died on June 2, after lying in a coma for a week. The main reason for his assanation besides his beliefs was his ability with the pen to project and sway people with his writing. His death drew attantion to his writing and he became a internationally acclaimed author. With his most renowned book being The Last Summer of Reason.

http://www.abc.net.au/compass/series/1997/shooting.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahar_Djaout

Brief Plot Summary

The book starts off with Boualem Yekker, a book store owner, talking about how the world as we once knew it has now ended and a whole new world has begun.

The story is told by Boualem Yekker, it a serious of memories that he has. It starts off with him telling about the actual "last summer of reason," it was when he and his family went out on a camping trip.
Yekker ends up killing his son because he can hardly control himself anymore with his thoughts. The main plot of the book is Boualem telling about how corrupt the new world is. How many things have changed such as art being destroyed, and seperating male and female. Females are greatly looked down upon by society.
If anything is ever questioned, it means you are questioning God, and you get looked down upon as well. Even spare tires are outlawed because if God wanted your car to break down there must be a reason for it.
Boualem does not agree with anything that is going on and people from all ages despise him. He gets stoned by little children even. Eventually he gets a letter telling him that he is being kicked out of the society, and his book store shuts down. The book ends with Boualem wonder if anything will ever go back to normal.

Assignment Breakdown

Group Comment on Which part of the assignment you want to do. (Patrick has already called the frist 3)

1. Brief plot summary Patrick
2. Setting--details, connection to themes, and artist or poetic representation Patrick
3. Character development Patrick
4. Biographical information about the author and historical context information that is relevant to your book. Didier
5. Poetry’s connection to your novel Marcos
6. Hour 2 students should include connections between your novel and the other ones being read during this world literature choice unit. Refer to the double bubble maps in your notebooks. Andy
7. Discuss music’s connection to your novel Marcos
8. Discuss art & your novel Dean
9. Discuss the role of science, religion, and philosophy in the lives of the characters in your novel Didier
10. Other Themes Dean