The black humour of Perfume

Jean-Baptiste or John the Baptist! (Both John the Baptist and Grenouille’s mother were decapitated – Suskind’s dark irony).

Starter: Find the best line to highlight each of these ridiculous

demises of almost all of the people who touch Grenouille’s life

Madame Gaillard

Grimal the tanner

Baldini

Druot

Marquis de La Taillade-Espinasse

Can hubris (excessive pride, ambition or arrogance that eventually leads to a character’s ruin) be applied to any of these characters?

Grenouille’s encounters with Jeanne Bussie and

Father Terrier• Two groups (Chapter 2 – JB and Chapter 3 –

FT)

• Create a performance of your respective chapter placing particular emphasis on the intended comedy that comes from Suskind’s dark humour.

• Ensure everyone in your group has a speaking role.

• Explicitly use a number of lines taken directly from your respective chapter.

• Get creative!

Reflection

Identify the top 5 things you’ve learnt about Suskind’s darkly humorous writing style during this lesson.