The Painted Veil by W Somerset Maugham and the book Critical Theory A User-Friendly Guide by Lois Tyson Second EdiitionPaper details:
Remember you are using Chapter 10 in Lois Tysons book Critical Theory Today A User-Friendly Guide First, explain in your own words the queer theory concept that human sexuality is socially constructed. Next, consider the fact that Maugham wrote his novel The Painted Veil while living with his male partner of 30 years and that the novel is based upon their visit to China together. Earlier in his life, Maugham had affairs with both men and women and was married to a woman for a period and fathered a daughter; but later in life, he lived with two long-term male partners and had affairs exclusively with men. In your essay response, consider the manner in which this knowledge of Maughams private life and sexuality might alter our reading of his novel. Some questions you might consider are: Are there heterosexual relationships in the novel that might be thought usefully of as coded homosexual relationships that is to say, a fictive transformation into an acceptable heterosexual norm of a real-life homosexual relationship that Maugham might have been using as a basis for his story? How would our suspicion of such coding change our understanding of the novel? Are there any of the characters that you suspect of being secretly gay or lesbian? Would such a sexual identity of one or more of the characters change our reading of the novel? If so, how? Considering that Maugham lived most of his life as a marginalized homosexual man, might it be possible to read Kittys progress toward sexual liberation and fulfillment as an implicit plea for societal tolerance of non-normative sexual behavior and identity? How would such a reading of the novel work in terms of coded homosexuality? Please remember that you only use these two books or resources in your response,

The Painted Veil by W Somerset Maugham and the book Critical Theory “A User-Friendly Guide” by Lois Tyson Second Ediition

Paper details:
Remember you are using W Somerset Maugham book, The Painted Veil and Chapter 9 in Lois Tyson’s book, Critical Theory Today, A User-Friendly Guide, Second Edition To write this essay and nothing else. First, explain in your own words the new historical and cultural criticism concept that “power circulates in all directions, to and from all social levels, at all times.” Second, Next discuss an example from Maugham’s novel of power circulating to and from social levels. For example, you might want to look at the manner in which a colonial official is constrained by his official position of power and authority in terms of his private life and behavior. Or you might want to look at the manner in which a man’s legal and financial power over his family in the novel obliges him to behave in certain ways that give his family power over him as the head of the family. Or you could look at the manner in which a charitable organization such as the Catholic convent is constrained by its ethos to serve those in society who would not otherwise have power over it. These are just some examples. You may choose one of them to explore or choose your own from the novel. The important issue is to question through your analysis the “old historical” notion that a power structure only works in one direction – downward, from those in authority to those beneath.

The Painted Veil by W Somerset Maugham and the book Critical Theory “A User-Friendly Guide” by Lois Tyson Second Ediition

Paper details:
Remember you are using W Somerset Maugham book, The Painted Veil and Chapter 9 in Lois Tyson’s book, Critical Theory Today, A User-Friendly Guide, Second Edition To write this essay and nothing else. First, explain in your own words the new historical and cultural criticism concept that “power circulates in all directions, to and from all social levels, at all times.” Second, Next discuss an example from Maugham’s novel of power circulating to and from social levels. For example, you might want to look at the manner in which a colonial official is constrained by his official position of power and authority in terms of his private life and behavior. Or you might want to look at the manner in which a man’s legal and financial power over his family in the novel obliges him to behave in certain ways that give his family power over him as the head of the family. Or you could look at the manner in which a charitable organization such as the Catholic convent is constrained by its ethos to serve those in society who would not otherwise have power over it. These are just some examples. You may choose one of them to explore or choose your own from the novel. The important issue is to question through your analysis the “old historical” notion that a power structure only works in one direction – downward, from those in authority to those beneath.