The Man Who Laughs, according to Ayn Rand, was the best novel ever written by Victor Hugo, her favorite novelist. Together, we will see why she was right. In our course, we will analyze its structure, relish its descriptive style, and appreciate the integration of the suspenseful plot with the theme, colorful drama, and razor-sharp character portrayals. We will focus especially on the dramatic set-up, key turning points in the hero’s life, the crucial conflicts and contrasts, the moments when the “man who laughs” becomes the man who acts, and speaks—and, of course, the scene Ayn Rand said was the one scene, in all world literature, she wished she had written.
In this course, we will read the novel in parts, with no more than 100 pages per week, and sometimes less. If you are reading the novel in English, I recommend the only complete English translation in print, The Laughing Man, translated by the award- winning James Hogarth, published by Kennedy and Boyd in 2008 (ISBN 1 904999 84 3). (Other in-print or electronic editions have some omissions, though they do render the narrative.) If you are reading the novel in French, the two-volume Nelson edition has the full text and is the edition in Ayn Rand’s library.
Prerequisites or Corequisites: 100-level courses have “Objectivism through Ayn Rand’s Fiction” or the “Intensive Seminar on Objectivism” as a corequisite.
Level: 100 Start Date: April 7, 2025 Live Class: Mondays, 8-10 am PT Quarter: Q3
Selective Bibliography: Selective Bibliography
Live Classes:
You can join the live class on Zoom using this link: Zoom Meeting Link.
(Meeting ID: 896 0576 2116 | Passcode: 664828)
1-1 Office Hours:
With Shoshana Milgram (30 Minutes) Mondays, 10:15-12:15 am PT / 1:15-3:15 pm ET: Book Page.
Note: One-one-one appointments must be booked by 7 am PT / 10 am ET on the Monday of the appointment. Graded Students can schedule appointments up to 14 days in advance. Auditors can schedule appointments up to 3 days in advance. If you have been unable to book a 1-1 office hour slot for consecutive weeks, please let us know at aru@aynrand.org. We will try to arrange a slot for you.
Guidelines:
- Each student may only book a maximum of one 30-minute appointment per week, to ensure appointment availability for other students.
- Please ensure that office hour bookings are made solely for discussing course content, i.e. Victor Hugo’s The Man Who Laughs.
Participants are strongly encouraged to attend classes live for the best experience. However, we are aware this is not always possible and recordings of live classes are posted on the course website and on the ARU App/ARI Campus website, usually within an hour or two after the conclusion of each live class. Contact aru@aynrand.org if you have any issue accessing a recording.
If you attend class live, please turn on your camera unless you are in a setting with a distracting background or your device is not on a stable surface. It makes for a much better experience for all participants when faces are visible.
Course Announcements:
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ARU Discord:
ARU Discord Server
Course Communication Logistics:
- Course announcements are posted in the Announcements tab of the course website and automatically emailed to all participants. Please make sure you are receiving these emails and that they are not going to your spam folder. If you join after the start of class, be sure to check the Announcements tab for anything you may have missed.
- For questions about course content, structure or schedule, please ask during the live class or in the course channel on the ARU Discord server (see the Discord tab of the course website).
- Questions about your assignments and grades should be directed to the teaching assistant.
- For personal administrative issues (e.g., website problems), email aru@aynrand.org.
- If you have a technical issue preventing submission of an assignment, email your assignment to the TA and cc aru@aynrand.org to troubleshoot the matter.
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