my prevalent theme in house of the spirits is the theme of magic. The theme of magical realism through out the book. The idea that Allende would have believe that there is simple magic in the air when in fact the instances are extreme but not completely out of reach of the imagination. i.e. the dog who never stops growing, this could be explained as just a large bread of dog for the dog dies as a puppy.

OP topic (Cody)

during my oral presentation i am going to discuss the constantly conflicting issue between religion and science. this argument has an affect on many characters, specifically Alba and Jaime. these two characters get thrown into this at a young age and develop their characters with these influences the whole time.

Oral Presentation topic

I am going to discuss feminism against patriarchy. I will focus on the Latin American society that Allende writes about and how that affects her characters. I also will show the change of feminism in the book and how that is related to the politic and to the country in general.

Tony's OP Topic

In my OP topic I'd like to talk about child birth and fear. I plan to focus on Clara, Esteban Trueba, Ferula, Blanca, and Alba by talking about how they deal with their fear for others or for themselves.

For my oral presantation I will seek to answer why Allende chooses to keep Estaban Trueba alive while most of his family dies around him through the years.

Bon's OP topic

I will be discussing the theme of magic and mysticism in the text. I want to discuss its effects on the characters and the plot. I will discuss how it was used and why it works to weave a believable story. I want to focus on two things. First, from a technical view- how Allende utilizes this element. Second, how the the characters utilize this and how they are manipulated by it. I also will to discuss how Allende contrasts the theme of magic by combining it with modern ideas and methods, as well as non-magical characters. I think I want to approach the topic from a anecdotal point of view and then lead into a discussion about the HOS... If I have a good story.

Thea's op topic

i will discuss the on going theme of realism vs fiction. I will demonstrate how each characters life experiences are apparent to the "magical" world . Clara is effected from the beginning because of her knowledge of the future, this is clear when she stops speaking after predicting her sisters death. Even though some characters don't have certain ability's themselves, they are still effected by the ones who do. Esteban Trubeba is a good example of this after being married to two of the few people among the society who have those abilities. I will also discuss the reasoning behind the authors choice to use a hybridity such as this one.

James OP

I will be discussing fear through the novel. I plan to describe why fear is used through the novel and how it effects characters. The characters of the novel experience fear through the whole story. The effect of it on characters develops the story. Allende uses fear to show deeper emotions in people, leading them to have to change drastically to survive. Fear is a illusion of the mind used to shield one from facts that changes ones own body. The main focus will be on Estaban Truebas has his own fear of many things including His daughter and granddaughter. His fear is of love between two different classes of people that he feels will destroy his family name and everything he has worked towards. This causes him to react to try and change things that he can't.

For my OP topic, I will discuss Old World Tradition vs. Modernity and Socialism in House of the Spirits. I will then compare Tradition and Modernity from the book to reality, and why some people want to cling on to Tradition and why others want change.

Josh's OP topic

I will discuss the unavoidable nature of one's fate. Fate is an ongoing theme in House of the Spirits. The characters appear to be victims of circumstance that have been created as a result of their actions. Clara's marriage to Esteban seems to be predetermined. Their union was tragically established as a result of Clara's sister's death, as Esteban was originally engaged with Rosa. Alba's relationship with Miguel is the result of a series of twists and turns which eventually reunites the two. Blanca's connection to Pedro begins during childhood on a chance encounter, and evolves into a deep romantic relationship which grips the two through out their years.

Ninas OP Topic Yay

I plan to discuss the novel's descent from the saturation of cultural magic and tradition into a reality that more resembles our own. This is a key theme that represents of the dilution and loss of traditionalism from the forced integration of modernization (both of technology and ideology) of the country of Chile creating a hybridization where one entity slowly over comes and destroys the other.

Nathan's OP

I plan on doing my O.P. on the concept of lust within the novel. It has an extremely powerful effect on all of the characters involved and I will discuss the role and changes it forces upon them as the story progresses.

Alex's OP topic

I plan to discuss the importance of love and family through House of Spirits. I will be comparing the families of the novel to those of Allende's family to attempt to draw a reason of why Allende portrays family as so important throughout her novel.

Isa's OP topic

My OP topic will focus on how the reader is driven to believe in what is being said. In the sense of how the magical and mysterious aspects of the novel don't contradict the technical part (such as politics and science) and what are the techniques that Allende use in order to not only make the reader feel sympathy for the characters involved on it, but also, the story as a role.

Rikki's OP Topic

I am going to discuss class struggles in House of the Spirits. I will focus on the Latin American society that Allende writes about and how that affects her characters. I will also look at the viewpoints of the characters who come from aristocracy (such as the del Valles and Truebas) and those who come from peasantry (such as the Garcias) and the conflict that these class struggles bring along

Dany's OP Topic

I choose to discuss the power struggles in the book, such as the rise of socialism in the politics of Chile and also at Tres Marias. I plan to examine how the residents of Tres Marias escape Esteban Trueba's 'monarchy', and also how a 'socialism' (Estaban not having power) emerges even at the House on the Corner. I then plan to explain how the transitions in Tres Marias and the House on the Corner are inevitable due to the actions of certain characters in the book, most obviously Esteban Trueba.

Hayley OP topic

I am going discuss the role passion plays in the novel. There are many different kinds of passion, romantic passion, lustful passion, political passion, spiritual passion and vindictive passion. I will select characters and relationships in the novel to exemplify these passion and how they rule opinions and sometimes destroy individual lives.

Nick's OP Topic

I will talk about the concept of a mother being the anchor of a family. I will evaluate the evidence of this so far in The House of The Spirits, and I will compare it to evidence that I will pull from Allende's own life and current statistics. This is to see if Allende chooses to portray mothers as the ones who hold together families to make a feminist point, to see if its a representation of her life, or to see if it is simply used coincidentally.

Eric's OP topic

I intend to investigate how Estaban Truaba's later life foreshadows the political fate of Chile in the early 1970's. First by showing how Estaban loses everything that he had worked for all of this life, and then by explaining how this rise and fall mirrors the election of "the candidate" or President Salvador Allende and then the coup and the rise of General Augousto Pinochet.