To the Lighthouse: Crash Course Literature 408

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Күн бұрын

John Green teaches you about Virginia Woolf's modernist novel, To the Lighthouse. Let's face it. You're not reading To the Lighthouse for the plot. There's not a whole lot of plot, unless you count the tension about the beef stew. You're reading it because it's a pioneering literary work that explores point of view, narrative flow, and the nature of art, among other things. You're going to love it. I mean, part of the story is told from the perspective of a house.
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Пікірлер: 258

@Dachusblot 4 жыл бұрын

This book was hard for me to get into when I first started reading it, but once I got the hang of Woolf's style... I dunno, it _did_ something to me. That scene at the dinner party, when Mrs. Ramsay looks back on the moment and realizes it will never happen again, hit me like a cannonball. I remember immediately putting the book down so I could go call my parents and tell them I loved them. Even now just listening to you talk about this book, it makes me so emotional. It's amazing that a book where nothing much happens can still have such a big impact.

@allanolley4874 6 жыл бұрын

The thing I remember about To the Lighthouse is Mrs. Ramsay's statement "What passes for cookery in England is an abomination." The truth of this statement made it stand out to me.

@DarkAngelEU 5 жыл бұрын

lmao one hundred years later and still true!

@jamaicanmeangry4143 5 жыл бұрын

Wtf is cookery

@UltimateKyuubiFox 4 жыл бұрын

Anthony Weiner Preparing food for eating.

@LaceNWhisky 6 жыл бұрын

"Some people talk about visiting a lighthouse. They don't. Then they do." Well that was a short video.

@JimboCKW 6 жыл бұрын

I've always found Woolf writing unbearably beautiful. When I read To the Lighthouse it just blew me away. I didn't get Mrs. Dalloway the first time I read it, but upon rereading I just fell in love with it.

@PRDVP 6 жыл бұрын

Kinda felt that Lily had more than simply admiration for Ms.Ramsay and her cheerfulness/nourishment. Especially when she remembers her after finishing the painting. Something like a one sided romantic feeling.

@natural91LC 4 жыл бұрын

PRIDE she represented her mother. It’s more a parental/daughter live I think. She now appreciates both her father and mother for who they were. I think xD

@chinquapinliterarymagazine2253 4 жыл бұрын

That or she had romantic, lesbians for Mrs.Ramsay. There are other gay characters in Woolf’s novels (Neville in The Waves), and the author herself had a romance with a female journalist, Vita Sacksville West. So, I wouldn’t write off the possibility of Lily being in love with Mrs.Ramsay, or at least the possibility of her.

@Christian-vq3lr 4 жыл бұрын

Chinquapin UCSC I would agree with you, but there are quotes from Woolf where she says that the book and specifically Mrs Ramsay were largely a way of understanding/coming to terms with unresolved issues concerning her parents. The text itself is open to interpretation, but as long as you don’t go full Death of the Author, it’s hard to deny the mother-daughter relationship Woolf was writing about.

@layasreekumar9638 6 жыл бұрын

Please extend this to dramas too!!! I want to see a video on Waiting For Godot.

@brij5778 6 жыл бұрын

Or Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

@brandonbullock9846 6 жыл бұрын

Or death of a salesman or the crucible

@NeroIML 6 жыл бұрын

@Thejampacker 6 жыл бұрын

No Brandon, we’re pitching an entire CrashCourse subject based on European Absurdist Theatre, kicking off with Harold Pinter’s The Bithday Party.

@layasreekumar9638 6 жыл бұрын

Jack Holland that would be amazing 😍

@camilorodriguez5560 6 жыл бұрын

I'm really happy that CC has made a video about Virginia Woolf. A great writer, sometimes forgotten as a novelist because A Room for One's Own sells better. Love her work

@boyinjuly1 6 жыл бұрын

I always thought she was pretty prevalent in studying modernism.

@willhuey4891 5 жыл бұрын

its also sad that she killed herself in the end of her life.

@williams.5952 5 жыл бұрын

What are you talking about? Mrs. Dalloway and To The Lighthouse are more popular works.

@flufftronable 5 жыл бұрын

The school of life has a video on her

@TJokay 6 жыл бұрын

I'm going back and watching old Crash Course Literature videos and I just want to say thank you. I'm 25 years old and I feel like learning about Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath is filling a gap my high school missed. Even studying Literature at uni I missed a lot of these classics. So THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for creating such an amazing resource!

@callmeishmael3031 5 жыл бұрын

Woolf's "To the Lighthouse" becomes a major reference in the second half of of the 2018 science fiction film "Annihilation."

@maximumrandom7309 5 жыл бұрын

love how the subtitles just stop a <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="125">2:05</a>

@lindabeachy3318 4 жыл бұрын

In the novel" To the lighthouse" the theme I followed was the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey which I felt was key to the overall dynamic of the book. Mrs. Ramsey's demure, devoted wife and mother and overall personality (typical of women in that era) was very much responsible for the overall personality of Mr. Ramsey. She was an enabler of sorts for the domineering, controlling nature of Mr. Ramsey. ( Symbiotic relationship of interdependence on each other) This in turn was what hindered James in his own social development The death of Mrs. Ramsey later changed the dynamics of all the charact4ers in the book. Mr. Ramsey's trip to the lighthouse is where he finally finds himself and who he is as a whole person without the underlying influence of his wife

@EmilyTheOddOne 6 жыл бұрын

This is my favorite book, and the way you talk about it makes me want to pick it up again right now

@paranthamanc5396 5 жыл бұрын

Emily Polson please explain the novel in-depth

@ok-es6vd 6 жыл бұрын

I spent a full semester on just Woolf, it was such a great time to listen to my tutors and fellow students

@christineexe 6 жыл бұрын

Good to know it’s still true that if someone even says the words “Tuck Everlasting” I will start crying.

@gatb4387 4 жыл бұрын

I adore these episodes. They give so much perspective. Literary criticism deserves more credit.

@sophiemontecalvo7503 6 жыл бұрын

I had to read this book for class. It was so slow. Good at parts, but "stream of consciousness" is exhausting.

@Lucols4 6 жыл бұрын

It is a very tough read indeed.

@therabbithat 6 жыл бұрын

I read it 10 years ago and I still remember it like it was yesterday. incredible book. every word connects to every other word like a spiderweb

@HanakochanPrincess 5 жыл бұрын

I agree. I really hate stream of consciousness but I have to appreciate it from an artistic perspective.

@mattm6580 5 жыл бұрын

@@HanakochanPrincess No you don't. You don't "have" to. If you feel you "have" to that has nothing to do with artistic perspective and everything to do with peer pressure. No one wants to look dumb so they pretend they appreciate it but that in turn makes one look dumb because now you're a slave to peer pressure.

@HanakochanPrincess 5 жыл бұрын

Matthew Whatshisname No. I mean that I appreciate that what she was doing was new and innovative and can imagine that it took a lot of intelligence and creative ability to produce. I just found reading it tedious. I hate sports. That doesn't mean that I don't appreciate that really good sports players work hard and have talent. I just hate the product.

@MFToastable 6 жыл бұрын

I love this series. It introduces me to new things that I never would have known about! The Handmaid's Tale was great and I never even knew there was a slightly flaky tv series based on it. I plan on reading Parable of the Sower next. Thank you people so much for making such a great educational series available to everyone for free!

@Lucols4 6 жыл бұрын

I read The Lighthouse and The Sound and The Fury last year and both were the hardest books I've ever read in my life. I felt like I got very little out of them, which reinforces the idea of needing to reread modernist novels. Hopefully, this video will make my next reading of The Lighthouse more fruitful.

@bettytesfaye5004 6 жыл бұрын

"Have you ever heard of Tuck Everlasting, a literary classic?!" My heart soared. Yes John yes I have

@loveme7709 4 жыл бұрын

Short video with full message. Conveys full meaning. Well done .

@tehreemzahrakhan1743 2 жыл бұрын

super! thank you for helping!

@leahhiggins6577 6 жыл бұрын

you made this just in time! currently studying this and other Modernist texts at university, these videos are a great addition to my studies :)

@josieschoenberg6322 6 жыл бұрын

I can honestly say that this video brought me joy, thank you.

@kayahancalsr8212 4 жыл бұрын

While I was browsing to study about To The Lighthouse for my final exam tomorrow, I bumped into this video and after that, I watched the channel intro. The work you're doing here is amazing and I am, and forever will, be thankful for it. Exams come & go but this video, this channel will be there for those who's gonna need it after me. Crash Course, you got yourself a grateful subscriber! Go CC!

@serenarobinson589 4 жыл бұрын

Kayahan Çalışır my exam is in 9 hours I’m here for a quick revision

@kayahancalsr8212 4 жыл бұрын

@@serenarobinson589 I don't mean to make you feel any worse but my exam sucked lol, but that's entirely on me, this video and video alone was the one and only thing I've done for the exam. Unlike mine I hope yours will be much, much better!

@serenarobinson589 4 жыл бұрын

Kayahan Çalışır 😂😂 I feel you ,I think mine will suck too ,that’s what we get for last minute revision let me know if you pass though ?👍😂

@kayahancalsr8212 4 жыл бұрын

@@serenarobinson589 Hahah, sure! I'm %70 sure that it ain't gonna be pretty but still.. You let me know too!

@serenarobinson589 4 жыл бұрын

Kayahan Çalışır I sure will .

@FC-lx3cy Жыл бұрын

I think the influence of Virgina Woolf reflects in John's character, Augustus. He dreams of being immortal through his actions.

@flamencoprof 6 жыл бұрын

My impression of VW is that she is very good at describing the interior monologue we all have. Apparently, Yoga teaches how to still it. Maybe she would have foregone the pocketed stones with such knowledge.

@inesslt367 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much this came on time . I had studied this novel in British literature class & I didn't really understand it because it is so philosophical . Thanks thanks thanks John it is so helpful

@jellybeanium124 4 жыл бұрын

The true most ambitious crossover: John Green vs. CGP Grey arguing over immortality.

@krischell5792 6 жыл бұрын

ephemeral is in my top three favorite words. i am a happy person. thank you for doing this crash course

@randallpcrittenden 6 жыл бұрын

Per your open letter: I'd like to live forever. I don't care if there's anyone to share it with. So long as there is more time, there's more to learn.

@whiteflagstoo 6 жыл бұрын

Until there really isn't, because there is nothing.

@RilianSharp 6 жыл бұрын

If there's forever, there's more chance for good things to happen.

@alexandrusuteu9731 5 жыл бұрын

If the universe will ever end, do you think that at some point it will start again even if not the same? And maybe we'll still have something to learn? I'm asking this with the condition of one of us being immortal (like a vampire).

@steamysimmer 5 жыл бұрын

speaking of modernist literature you should do a video(s) about heart of darkness

@daffodils5575 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this amazing video. I really liked the part where you defined modernism.

@OctagonalGolbat 5 жыл бұрын

I've watched this video, like, 15 times this semester (damn modernists - so complicated) and now it's helping me survive exam season -- thank god for crash course

@solitudehour 4 жыл бұрын

‘...a quiz later.” pause and memorized the names 😂😂😂

@nessbareh 4 жыл бұрын

😂

@alexever17 6 жыл бұрын

Beautiful video, i don't think i will ever read the book, but i feel like i learned something from watching

@kevinyee9550 6 жыл бұрын

I have this craving for beef stew

@bobthecopywriter 6 жыл бұрын

Where can the John Green bobble-head be acquired? Patreon? Amazon? Where?

@Gamer45977 4 жыл бұрын

One of my favorite books.

@songofsunrise 6 жыл бұрын

So good! Wish I'd heard things like this in school. Or university, for that matter. Don't think I ever had a teacher who could make sense of a novel for me.

@hannahlyne486 6 жыл бұрын

i beg you guys to do videos covering An Inspector Calls and also A christmas Carol, theyre two of the gcse literature texts, and so half of england would massively appreciate you covering them

@therabbithat 6 жыл бұрын

dear thought bubble: it's an impressionist, possibly even abstract painting, Mrs Ramsey is a purple triangle

@kanyekubrick5391 6 жыл бұрын

this guy is actually hilarious

@leedent6796 6 жыл бұрын

Can't wait for Faulkner

@gailcbull 6 жыл бұрын

John! You spoiled the effect of the beef-stew nail biter! You should've given us a spoiler alert! Haha! Also you need to do an episode on Simone de Beauvoir's All Men are Mortal. I think I understood that book, but I'd like to know if there was anything that I missed or misunderstood.

@maitrimadiya5539 5 жыл бұрын

John you are already Immortal because of your Books......

@elizabethstranger3122 5 жыл бұрын

speaking of William Faulkner.. are you going to do a crash course on his works? :)

@kripa8849 6 жыл бұрын

this put my fragmented views together. great video

@jeffcherubin9073 6 жыл бұрын

Do Tuck Everlasting for Season 5 Literature

@rupendra79 6 жыл бұрын

It was part of my course. But didn't made any impact metaphorically speaking. Thanks CC. Why do we have literature courses anyway to become teachers & lecturers? Let only those who have flare for writing opt for it.

@Rocketboy1313 6 жыл бұрын

"Who wants to live forever? When love must die." -Freddy Mercury

@blinkxo6131 6 жыл бұрын

I want a part 2 this was amazing 💕

@pallantetechtalk 6 жыл бұрын

I'd love to see a Breakfast of Champions video.

@Billfredbobob 6 жыл бұрын

Do Heart of Darkness

@nitzans 6 жыл бұрын

Love this series, thank you!

@owbu 6 жыл бұрын

This sounds like a book, I could listen to you talk about for hours, but would never ever want to read :)

@sujathapn8578 5 жыл бұрын

Please don't watch

@rebeccaszarzynski6825 6 жыл бұрын

Wuthering heights please!

@doctorcardio1559 6 жыл бұрын

JOHN ISN'T DEAD! YES

@jaredblalock7365 5 жыл бұрын

i wasn’t able to make it past the first 10 pages :( i get lost every paragraph

@KajiXD 6 жыл бұрын

On the subject of inmortality, a much better refference is "the inmortal" by Jorge Luis Borges.

@philrobichaud3063 6 жыл бұрын

i could listen to John Green talk about any subject and find it fascinating! But of course literature and world history is where he shines... Virginia Wolf is one of those authors that i feel i "should" read but would have a lot of trouble getting through one of her books. Same thing happened with Don Quixote - 1/3 of the way through i was like "sorry this is where i have to get off"...

@nickmoon3400 6 жыл бұрын

Do Orlando or Mrs. Dalloway! Woolf is the best!

@Guru-om6lv 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks sir. It will help me better understand the novel.

@HK556 6 жыл бұрын

Now I REALLY want to see an episode on Ulysses. The Illuminatus Trilogy too.

@jilabella8917 5 жыл бұрын

Hello Mr green! Well I would like to thank you for this great overview and analysis , you make things more clearer . Well, i have a request , would you please make an overview and analysis of Virginia Woolf's the waves !? I am a master student and I am literally interested in this novel to work on for my memoir ....would you please help me , I hope you will be able to answer me as soon as possible , accept my regards sir ☺

@lillianb8762 6 жыл бұрын

John Green just told me to go play with metaphorical matches. :)

@Pfhorrest 6 жыл бұрын

It's really weird to me that "modernism" the art movement is anti-"modernism" the philosophical period. (As in the Enlightenment is the archetype of modern philosophy, but modernist art was anti-enlightenment and embraced a worldview that sounds more like postmodernism to my philosophical ear).

@valweinzweig5225 6 жыл бұрын

Postmodernism was a resurgence of the same thought common in modernism, so that totally makes sense

@Pfhorrest 6 жыл бұрын

What? Postmodernism is mostly a rejection of modernism. (Or as wiki describes it, a "departure from modernism". Either way...)

@etralo92 5 жыл бұрын

It was very hard for me to follow the narrative. the paragraphs was very long. :(

@megv7481 6 жыл бұрын

do you have any idea how cool it is to learn literature from my favorite author?!

@therabbithat 6 жыл бұрын

Meg'n no, they are all dead

@megv7481 6 жыл бұрын

therabbithat uh...?

@Yours_sincerely_thedreamer 6 жыл бұрын

Same😅

@alexandrusuteu9731 5 жыл бұрын

"May you keep Crash Course alive for a long life, but not forever. Best Wishes." - Alex.

@Tselel 6 жыл бұрын

At my university, we ended to know what John is calling "Modernism" as "Postmodernism". With modernism being the aim of thought based on the enlightenment ideals of finding certainty in indisputable facts where postmodernism embraces the idea that there is no absolute truth, only relativity. Just a pushback on terms.

@jameswaltz4276 6 жыл бұрын

I had a similar experience in my college days, having first learned the term "modernism" in reference to philosophy and then later in reference to literature and art. While I found it confusing and frustrating at first, the term refers to different concepts and movements in different fields. All that's just to say, I understand where you're coming from, but he's using the term correctly in reference to literary modernism. Philosophical modernism is a completely different thing.

@ArsenicFault 6 жыл бұрын

Regarding immortality and heat death, my thoughts on the two amount to “Huh. I exist and can make change, therefore I can prevent heat death/restart the universe”. I’d take it in a heartbeat.

@kawkawa7634 6 жыл бұрын

thank you . you just saved my life

@The-Random-Hamlet 6 жыл бұрын

Interesting that this comes up today. I have been developing a character who through a pursuing of art, inadvertently achieves immortality. Then after, out lives his wife and their students and when he finds himself becoming the father figure to another group of children starts to emotionally break down. As he puts it, "I never learned how to be immortal."

@taylorkoda8378 6 жыл бұрын

Jane Austin. Let’s just say I’m very hyped.

@aliceinpotterland 6 жыл бұрын

Literally where was this video 5 years ago when I was told I had to write my final essay for a college course on how Faulkner was a modernist author and I had no idea what modernism was and just bullshitted the entire thing

@MythicalFactory 6 жыл бұрын

great video on an excellent book. Thank you!

@adamwise1111 6 жыл бұрын

I'm waiting in anticipation for the day you do Julius Caesar. Definitely my favorite Shakespeare play.

@evielevin1221 6 жыл бұрын

Yall should do Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier!!

@KevTheImpaler 5 жыл бұрын

John Green made this sound quite interesting, but I read it a month or two ago, and it's not.

@nathangibbons9492 6 жыл бұрын

When are you are going to do Faulkner or Pynchon

@JKmeh 6 жыл бұрын

Great video

@luciofernandes366 6 жыл бұрын

You're eternal John!!

@SEBASTIANGARCIA-xc2qj 6 жыл бұрын

You should do a video on Catch-22 or All Quiet on the Western Front

@glimpses15 6 жыл бұрын

Please do a video on Dante!

@emi_lynn_mii 6 жыл бұрын

the background used to be so white you could hardly notice where the video ended and the rest of the screen started, i liked that a lot. you must've changed the lighting.

@Senf71 4 жыл бұрын

Why do people always focus on the silly parts of immortality. Of course it is impossible to be unable to die. But by immediately jumping to that issue you ignore the fact that curing old age and possibly living for thousands or billions of years is quiet likely to happen in the lifetime of many people alive today. And not just for a single person of course, but for most of humanity. Also disappointed that I did not see any other comments mentioning this. It is sad that so few people know about SENS foundation, and the other people doing the great work of fixing the world's biggest problem. Old age.