Key dates

August 12 = Napoleon SAC

August 20 = Creative response due

Napoleon Lecture

Small matters first

1. Underline the title of the novella

In The Death of Napoleon Simon Leys blah blah

2. Ownership apostrophes

Napoleon’s journey

Leys’ novella

Words to describe Napoleon

Arrogant Stubborn Brilliant

Ambitious Proud Callous

Obsessed Passionate Extraordinary

He is also a tragic figure

Tragic = mournful or pitiable

A tragic flaw = a failing of character in the hero of a tragedy that brings about his downfall.

Napoleon scaled the greatest heights

He conquered most of Europe

He was worshipped by his followers

Some saw him as the saviour of France

But he also fell

His army was ultimately defeated

His Empire crumbled

He was sent into exile

“one could vaguely make out deep gorges, shadowy peaks, rows of cliffs and blue chasms”

The big question is ...

What is Napoleon’s flaw (or what are his flaws)?

What causes his downfall?

Possibility #1.

Napoleon is vain and arrogant.

He doesn’t heed the warnings of others because he believes he has reached “a higher plane of existence”

Other characters see what is happening to him and they try to make him see the folly of his actions (Nigger Nicholas, the Ostrich, the medical officer)

“The pursuit of a brilliant idea usually made him deaf to any comment that didn’t accord with his own views” 84

This is a great opportunity to talk about ...

Shifting narrative perspective

Leys employs a narrative style that enables him to explore the thoughts of minor characters. These characters provide the reader with a fresh perspective on the events that are unfolding. They often see or notice things that Napoleon has completely missed. In many ways, they understand his situation better than he does. They understand that he is a man of great intelligence and ability - “a different breed of man” – but they also understand that Napoleon is dead. As the medical officer warns, “It is too late”.

Possibility # 2.

Napoleon lacks vision

He has only one goal, one purpose in life. He is so fixated on restoring his empire, that he fails to see the beauty and wonder of the world that surrounds him. He has found the one thing that most people strive for their whole lives – happiness. Sadly, to Napoleon, happiness is a snare to be avoided on the path to greatness.

“Just concentrate on making your fortune in watermelons and your future will be a thousand times more enviable than you can imagine”

This is a great opportunity to talk about ...

Imagery relating to sight

Throughout the novel, Leys makes references to objects or landscapes that are blurred, shadowy or obscured. Through these images, the author suggests that Napoleon is no longer able to see things clearly. He is so focussed on his “vision of the future” that he is unable to see the reality of the present. By the end of the novella, Napoleon can barely even open his eyes.

“The mouth of the river was marked by flat mudbanks whose blurry lines were barely visible on the horizon” 18

“He could make out only the vague, pale shape of a tiny skylight above his head” 45

“Day was ending; the approaching night was lengthening the shadows; soon they would all blend into a single mysterious softness” 86

“Napoleon took out his watch, but could not make out the position of the hands against the dim whiteness of the dial” 88

“Other napoleons came and went around him; in the middle of the lawn, where a patch of white mist now hovered, one of them peered into the shadows through a cardboard telescope” 91

“He would like to open his eyes; he has been planning it for quite a while, like someone getting ready for a journey” 111

Possibility # 3.

Napoleon lacks restraint or self control

He allows his dream to become an obsession, and as a result, he is cut adrift from reality.

When Napoleon’s double dies, the medical officer takes Napoleon on his rounds with him. He is able to see first hand how his double’s death “had demobilised all [the] humble foot soldiers of the imperial cause, every one of them”. Despite this, he still itches to see action again and refuses to concede defeat.

This is a great opportunity to talk about ...

Imagery that relates to floating, falling and drowning

Throughout the novella, Leys suggests that Napoleon is detached from reality. He is likened to “a kite cut adrift from its line” – he is hanging in a halfway void. Leys portrays Napoleon as a desperate man, “he clings, and yet keeps plunging down, spinning around in a great whirl of fleeting lights and images”. All he has is a dream, and dreams are insubstantial.

Possibility # 4.

Napoleon is insecure

He is frightened by the prospect of dying in obscurity. He is frightened of becoming an ‘ordinary’ man.

He doesn’t want to admit that the curtain has been drawn on the Napoleonic era. Most importantly, he doesn’t want to accept the fact that France can survive without him.

This is a great opportunity to talk about ...

Images from the natural world

Leys uses imagery from the natural world to put Napoleon’s dreams and achievements into perspective. He uses images of sunrises and sunsets to suggest that there is an natural order in the world that exists outside Napoleon’s control, something genuinely powerful and eternal. Napoleon believes that France needs him, that the world needs him. In truth, “everything [is]in a state of suspense, waiting for the sun”. When Nigger-Nicholas reveals the glory of the sunrise to Napoleon, the deposed emperor experiences “an ecstasy that obliterated both his dream of glory and his present humiliating condition”. Time and again, Leys reminds the reader that the natural world is far greater than Napoleon and indifferent to his struggles; fruit ripens and decays, tides ebb and flow, birds sing. Leys suggests that life will go on when the name Napoleon has been completely forgotten.

• “The softness of the tropical azure giving way slowly to the velvet of night, and the glittering of the lonely stars which seem so close to us when they begin to shine in the dusk, left him perfectly cold”

• “The most fantastic cloud architecture one could possibly imagine”

• “The night breeze had erected huge unfinished palaces, colonnades, towers”

• “How vast the plain is! It is vaster than all the plains on earth, pale and shifting; it is the boundless sea, the sea without memory!”

• “And now a huge red sun emerges out of the mist, the sun that shines on victory mornings. It rises in the sky, a sky bright with rainbow coloured clouds”

Possibility # 5.

Napoleon is an extremely egotistical man

Napoleon expects people to obey him. He almost always puts his own needs ahead of the people around him.

Napoleon may claim to have the interests of the French people at heart, but in reality, his loyal followers were no more than “galley slaves of glory, chained together by a common dream that was perhaps an illusion”. When Napoleon’s double dies, they are “released from the double burden of loyalty and hope”. Leys describes them as being “free at last”, but Napoleon, still dreaming of empires, is reluctant to give them their liberty.

This is a great opportunity to talk about ...

Images of isolation

As the novella progresses, Napoleon becomes increasingly isolated. Although he is able to inspire people, his selfishness and lack of sympathy prevent him from establishing meaningful relationships. Leys likens Napoleon to “a forgotten chandelier in a ruined house” - he is grand, he burns brightly, but ultimately he is alone. Napoleon is convinced that he has reached new heights and “breathed deeply of an air so pure that it would have burned the lungs of ordinary men”, but in order to reach these heights, Napoleon left everyone else behind. Ironically, when he fails the test at the end of the novella, he finds it hard to breathe – “he chokes, his throat rattles, his body jerks uncontrollably”. The Ostrich holds his hand for as long as she can, but eventually the “last link slips from his grasp” and he is left to make his journey alone.

And a great opportunity to talk about ...

Napoleon’s tone of voice

Throughout the novella Leys gives the reader access to Napoleon’s thoughts. His interior monologue is very revealing. When Napoleon encounters an obstacle or a setback, he instinctively recovers “the language of the army”. Whether the problem is rotting melons or unpaid hotel bills, Napoleon thinks of things in military terms. When he finds out that his double has died “he [feels] intense annoyance at this idiot who, entrusted with a unique mission, had carelessly allowed himself to die at a time when he was still needed”. This imperial, contemptuous tone of voice reflects Napoleon’s attitude towards the people who surround him. To him, people are subjects. Towards the end of the novella Napoleon devotes all his time to his plan and ignores the Ostrich’s melon business. He understands that the Ostrich is suffering because of this, but he consoles himself by saying “sometime in the future a day would come when he could offer her a fair and honourable reward for her devotion”. This is hardly the language of a lover.

Shifting narrative perspective

Imagery relating to sight

Imagery that relates to floating, falling and drowning

Images from the natural world

Images of isolation

Napoleon’s tone of voice

What should I do now?

Ask yourself, what was Leys’ purpose when he wrote this novella?

Do empires really matter in the end?

What is really important in life?

Beauty, love, humility?

What is the price of greatness and ambition?

Practice writing introductions, conclusions and topic sentences

Plan your response

Topic sentence one =

Topic sentence two =

Topic sentence three =

Conclusion (what image or quote will I conclude with?)

Tip for a conclusion ... end with a really powerful quote

“he cannot fill this dreadful yawning gap in his soul”

“Nigger-Nicholas exults in his innocent triumph”

“[he] could not fight this terrible fire”

“He had been wounded by the dawn”

In The Death of Napoleon, Simon Leys emphasises the importance of humility and questions the worth of human achievements when weighed against the timeless splendour of the natural world.

The Death of Napoleon by Simon Leys is a nightmarish

vision of a man who is cut adrift from reality, floating in a world of doubt, suspicion and insecurity.

In The Death of Napoleon, Simon Leys reveals the sombre

truth that lies just on the edge of our vision, the knowledge that we are little more than passing shadows and that our struggles, our dreams and our victories count for little in the end .

In The Death of Napoleon, Simon Leys explores the murky world of a mind in crisis; one man’s struggle to reach a clear and accurate understanding of his true identity and purpose in life.

In The Death of Napoleon, Simon Leys explores the

concept of faded glory and asks what happens to great men when they are forced to endure obscurity.

In The Death of Napoleon, Simon Leys explores the great

sorrow that accompanies ambition and suggests that those who dream of building empires seldom notice the beauty that surrounds them.