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forum Order Description Experimental Literature: Social Realism & Surrealism Lessing's "How I Finally Lost My Heart" & Paz's "My Life with the Wave" - Whole Class Discussion - Part One Many modern writers have tried to shape new ways of expressing life. For many authors, life in the 20th & 21st centuries proved to be too unstable, too bizarre, too chaotic to be rendered by traditional conventions of realism. Many great writers have been rebels -- against the norms of society and the norms of fiction, doing away with plot and conventions of "realism." Breaking from the conventions of realism permits the use of fantasy or magical elements. One popular experimental technique used in fiction is surrealism, a blending of realism and dream, the mundane and the supernatural, the purpose of which is to reveal the unconscious. Breaking from the conventions of realism also permits writers to examine the process of fictionalizing, also known as metafiction. This technique allows the narrator the freedom to break out of "normal" narration to comment on the process of fictionalizing and the meaning of storytelling. As you analyze how both writers use experimental techniques as a tool for depicting human nature, consider how breaking from the conventions of realism may give readers a stronger sense of what is real. Please post an initial analysis of at least 500 words and here is the instruction for the second part. Experimental Literature: The Theme of Love Lessing's "How I Finally Lost My Heart" & Paz's "My Life with the Wave" - Whole Class Discussion - Part Two For this week's second whole-class discussion forum, I would like you to focus on the theme of love. Do you consider this week's stories to be "love" stories? How might they differ from more traditional love stories? How do the authors use symbolism, extended metaphor, and even allegory to depict the emotions of love? How do these experimental forms of expression shine a new light on the old theme of love?