Megan Alexander

1
Time's Arrow

• Presented by
• Megan Alexander
• Tyler Brinker
• Gary Pucciano

Story of Amis
2
Purpose of Criticism

• This essay starts by discussing the authors
  background. Knowing the background of the author
  will help the reader further understand how he
  writes.
• Next his other books are discussed in full detail
  with criticism from critics. The books show
  another side of Amiss writing, allowing readers
  to compare and contrast of his different
  techniques and also see the similarities of his
  writing style.
• The last two pages are devoted to Times Arrow
  discussing the symbols and themes of the novel.
  This can help the class better understand the
  novel and bring out points that would not
  normally stand out. The essay also helps clarify
  a few of the main themes that are confusing and
  have multiple meanings.

3
Symbols

• There are many symbols in the story that come
  from Tods dreams that the essay points out, such
  as
• Souls become stars in the night sky
• Souls of babies with power
• The wooden shed
• Which foreshadows Tod working at Auschwitz
• Excreting human bones
• Symbolizes the mass extermination of the Jews
• Some symbols that Amis uses for irony
• Tod means death in German
• Friendly meaning in America as forgiving and
  forgetful
• Unverdorben meaning uncorrupt, innocent in
  German

4
Themes

• The thought of creation vs. destruction is a
  major theme and creates a lot of irony in the
  story as it is told in reverse
• Dr. Friendly acts as a savage doctor in America
• Then in Auschwitz he performs miricales on his
  Jewish patients
• This is why the narrator becomes one with Odilo
  and uses the first person to describe both of
  them
• He is so naive to the fact that he really is not
  doing a good service to people, but really
  mutilating and destroying their humanity

5
Further into the purpose of the Criticism

• The author of this essay seems to be trying to
  educate the readers about the essay by showing
  the themes and symbols of the novel
• He does this in a clear and concise manner to
  debate the issue
• But one thing that is confusing is a factual
  error
• This mistake occurs near the beginning of part 3
  of the essay and the author claims that Tod died
  from the automobile accident that occurs in the
  book

6
The main focus of the author

• The author has several main focuses in the essay
  by first telling of Martin Amiss background in
  his life and with his other books.
• Second he focuses on the two of Amiss more
  famous novels Money and Times Arrow
• Readers are able to see how the two books tie in
  with one another in the writers sense
• The style of writing is very similar
• Ex. In Money the author of this essay describes
  Amis using numerous puns and literary allusions
  which he also uses in Times Arrow
• In Times Arrow the focus is upon how Amis got
  the idea to write this compelling novel and he
  also places emphasis upon the symbols and writing
  characteristics

7
The arguments and persuasion of the author

• Most of the authors arguments and assumptions
  come from his other critics and from Martin Amis.
• This is told from the quotes that are used and
  the works cited part at the end of the essay
• Though he does throw in a few of his own
  arguments to help persuade the readers into
  thinking how he does
• The quotes also help make the arguments
  believable because they show proof in what he is
  arguing

8
Thesis Statement

• We believe the thesis statement is from the first
  paragraph and is
• Many of the features that characterize Amiss
  subsequent fiction are already discernible in
  this book its scatalogical and satiric
  treatment of sex, its comic description of the
  indignities of bodily life (spots, smells, toilet
  habits, sexual infection and the like), and above
  all its inventive deployment of language.
• This quote describes the authors main points in
  his essay to describe the writing characteristics
  of Amis.

9
Argument Organization

• The author organizes by creating 3 different
  sections
• 1. in the first section the author discusses
  about Amiss writing style and many different
  books at which Amis wrote.
• 2. In the second section the author goes
  over ideas about one of Amiss main novels Money.
• 3. Finally, in the third section the author
  goes over the novel which we are currently
  discussing, Times Arrow.

10
Argument

• The main argument that can be pulled from this
  article is the techniques Amis uses as he writes
  his stories. The author discusses how Amis breaks
  free from traditional writing styles, and creates
  comedy on ideas which would not have not been of
  a comic nature.

11
Personal Reaction

• Our reaction is that Amis is one of the more out
  there authors to which one can read. All the
  books discussed in the text seem to follow the
  same standings as Times Arrow. Therefore the
  author of this essay was successful in his
  writings by showing the connections between
  Amiss works of literature.