The+Old+Man+Who+Read+Love+Stories

The Old Man Who Read Love Stories.

Ways into the text
Reading: Discuss your earliest memories of reading and explore your feelings about reading. Consider;
 * What materials are considered ‘acceptable’ throughout school and more broadly within their social circles?
 * How often is reading discussed and in what context?
 * What types of stories are valued within our society? Connect to the 100 lists that have been released etc. How many of those texts have they read?
 * What is their favourite book or text and why? What makes it so special?

Love: “It was… a kiss to remember their lives by”. Explore the grand ‘love story’.
 * Name some of the great lovers from literature and history.
 * What makes a great love story?
 * How would they characterise love?

Activism in South America
 * Research Simon Bolivar – what attributes do we see being reflected in the character of Antonio Bolivar?
 * Explore current discussion about the Amazon and the impact deforestation is having both locally and globally. What tensions exist around this industry?
 * From the film, how would you describe the jungle? Compare and contrast this with imagery of deforestation.

Indigenous people and customs in South America
 * Explore the traditional peoples of South America, their beliefs and customs.
 * o Create a Venn diagram illustrating the similarities and differences between their lives and those of the colonists to highlight the tensions between the cultures.

Discussion questions
Practice Essay Prompts. __ 2012 Exam questions: __
 * What are the differences between the physical appearance of the Shuar and the inhabitants of El Idilio?
 * Consider Rubicondo and his attitude towards being caught with another man’s wife. What does this suggest about his character? Would you describe him as a good or bad man? Why?
 * How is the spiritual world represented throughout the text?
 * What impact do Antonio’s memories have on the ‘flow’ of the hunt?
 * Watch Antonio’s first reading of Lovers of the Forgotten Garden. What does his continual grappling for meaning illustrate about his character?
 * At which moments does Nushino appear in the film? What function would you suggest he plays in the text?
 * What makes a ‘good’ man?
 * i. ** ‘Antonio is an exile from both of the worlds depicted in //The Old Man Who Read Love Stories//.’ Discuss.
 * OR **
 * ii. ** How does de Heer use Antonio’s memories in //The Old Man Who Read Love Stories//?

Antonio is the light in the darkness. Discuss.

“In the jungle, the one who survives is the one who moves.” How is this illustrated through //The Old Man Who Read Love Stories//?

// The Old Man Who Read Love Stories // represents the battle between two champions in a brutal world.

// The jungle rots everything, even your memory. // To what extent is Antonio’s quest driven by his desire to make peace with his memories of the jungle?

Antonio is able to defeat the Jaguar as he has learnt to live in harmony with his environment. Do you agree?

In //The Old Man Who Read Love Stories//, to what extent are masculinity and brutality entwined?