Fictions et réalités

REMARQUES PRÉLIMINAIRES SUR LES ÉPREUVES DU CAPES RÉNOVÉ

ÉPREUVE ÉCRITE 1 : L’ÉPREUVE DE COMPOSITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

“FICTIONS ET RÉALITÉS” : CADRAGE DU B.O. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

THÈME ET AXE D’ÉTUDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

STRUCTURE ET INTÉRÊTS DU PRÉSENT OUVRAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

ENJEUX ET PROBLÉMATIQUES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

CONSEILS MÉTHODOLOGIQUES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Appréhender les textes et aboutir à une problématique . . . . . . . . . .19

Gérer son temps et s’appliquer à la mise en forme . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Les attentes du jury : écueils à éviter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

INTRODUCTION

FICTIONS ET RÉALITÉS / FICTIONS AND REALITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

A DEFINITION OF FICTION THROUGHOUT THE AGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

MYTHS, LEGENDS, AND BELIEFS

BIBLICAL, GREEK, AND CELTIC MYTHS AND BELIEFS

THE MYTH OF CREATION, LIGHT VERSUS DARKNESS,

THE FALL OF MAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

THE MYTH OF THE FLOOD AND THE USE OF THE WATER IMAGERY . . . . .49

THE NOTION AND PURPOSE OF SACRIFICE, DEATH,

AND REBIRTH IN THE MYTHS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54

THE MYTH OF THE END TIMES, THE SECOND COMING

AND THE AFTERLIFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71

THE MYTH OF THE AMERICAN DREAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79

UTOPIA AND DYSTOPIA

WORLDS CREATED TO IMAGINE AN IDEAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105

WORLDS CREATED TO REFLECT SOCIAL REALITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117

HEROES, SCIENCE FICTION, AND SUPERHEROES

THE TRAGIC HERO, THE BYRONIC HERO, AND THE ANTI-HERO . . . . .125

THE RISE OF MODERN MYTHICAL HEROES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133

TUTELARY FIGURES, NATIONAL SENTIMENT,

AND MONUMENTS

HISTORICAL FIGURES OF THE SOUTH AND THEIR HERITAGE . . . . . . . .145

THE DEFEAT OF COLONISATION

AND THE RISE OF A NEW BRITISH IDENTITY

IRISH DECOLONISATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163

The Great Irish Famine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166

The Easter Rising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .172

The Troubles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174

INDIAN DECOLONISATION AND THE PARTITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176

“WIND OF CHANGE”: DECOLONISATION IN AFRICA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183

THE “WINDRUSH GENERATIONS”

AND THE DECOLONISATION OF THE WEST INDIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196

APPENDIX

SAMPLE FILES

FILE A — MYTHS, BELIEFS, AND LEGENDS:

THE MYTH OF THE AMERICAN DREAM

Document 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .209

Document 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211

Document 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .213

CORRECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215

Document 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215

Document 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215

Document 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215

FILE B — UTOPIA AND DYSTOPIA

Document 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217

Document 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .218

Document 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .219

CORRECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221

Point 1: Utopia and Dystopia:

“The Imaginary” encounters “The Real” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221

Point 2: A certain frame of mind?

Perspective and Voice in Utopian and Dystopian visions . . . . . . .222

Point 3: The notion of time: a meshing of futuristic vision

and understanding of the signs of the times. Are the creators

of Utopias and Dystopias fortune tellers or simply chroniclers? . .224

FILE C — TUTELARY FIGURES AND NATIONAL SENTIMENT

Document 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227

Document 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .228

Document 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .230

CORRECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231

Point 1: The act of memory voiced as a duty —how present-day

individual voices can taint memories of the past tutelary figures

and national sentiment of the Native Americans . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231

Point 2: How time and place affect the national sentiment on past

events today — appearances of the past and the reality of the present

for the tutelary figures and identity of Native Americans . . . . . . .232

BIBLIOGRAPHY

GENERAL WORKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .235

MYTHS, LEGENDS AND BELIEFS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .235

UTOPIA AND DYSTOPIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236

HEROES, SUPERHEROES AND ANTI-HEROES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237

TUTELARY FIGURES, NATIONAL SENTIMENT, AND MONUMENTS . . . . . .237

Jennefer Cole est agrégée d’Anglais, chevalier dans l’ordre des Palmes académiques, coordinatrice de la section bilingue et enseignante au collège Sévigné. Elle y a enseigné en préparation à l’agrégation interne d’anglais, au CAPES externe d’anglais, ainsi qu’en section OIB américaine au lycée.

“For students wishing to have a more focused description on the notion “Utopia and Dystopia”, they should consult Utopies, Dystopies, by Françoise Clary, Atlande, 2020. Here, in this chapter, we will focus on the notion of Utopia and Dystopia in regards to the main axis, Fictions and Realities.

We must remember the meaning and etymology of the words themselves: “fictions” and “réalités”, which we have given in the introduction of this work, and keep in mind that “fiction” means based on the imagination while “reality” is meant to reflect a truth, usually based on historical facts. Most works of fiction around the theme of utopia and dystopia are offered as a reaction to a historical truth, spread over time from such monumental elements as changes of governments, toppling of dominant religious orders, and war, famine or climatic destruction. The starting point of the link between history and fiction goes back all the way to the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.) for Plato and his Republic, to the battles between Catholics and Protestants under the reign of Henry VIII for Thomas More, beheaded for treason, and his Utopia, to scientific discoveries, to wars, taking us all the way to today’s Afghanistan and 9/11, and the list goes on. Most recently, the influence of climate change has taken over dystopian literature with elements mixing the Biblical stories of Armageddon and recent climatic disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 tsunami, wild fires, world pandemics such as Covid-19, just to name a few! Needless to say, authors of fiction have a plethora of factual resources to use as a basis for their works. With that in mind, our focus here will be on the utopian and dystopian works of fiction which reflect social and historical realities according to two perspectives: how authors create imaginary worlds to present an ideal and how authors create imaginary worlds to criticise social realities.”