Take-Home Final Exam Questions

ENGL 3830: Literature for the Intermediate Reader

Final Exam

Due via email on April 21 by 4:45 PM.

Please answer two of the following questions. Remember to include a thesis statement in each response and to support your opinions with examples from the texts. Also remember that for our purposes, a “text” is anything we have studied, including short stories, films, and novels. Consult the study guide for additional rules and guidelines.

Please note the number of the question to which you’re responding in each answer.

1.      Do you think any of the fairy tales we have studied this semester contain problematic representations of gender? Explain your analysis using at least two texts. Be sure to include your definition of “fairy tale” in your answer, as it is a rather flexible term.

2.      Select one utopian or dystopian text we have studied and provide an interpretation of what it may reveal about the hopes, fears, and/or anxieties of children as they advance toward full participation in the adult world.  

3.      Hintz and Tribunella explain that fantasy and realism are often thought to exist in tension with one another in terms of merit and importance. Specifically, realistic texts are frequently thought to contain more sophisticated, “mature” ideas than fantastical ones. Using at least two texts to support your ideas, explain whether or not you agree and why.

4.      Hintz and Tribunella explain that the Harry Potter series met with censorship attempts not only because of its representations of “witchcraft,” but because of its representations of children who defy adult authority figures. Using at least two texts that contains similar representations of defiance, make an argument for why they should or should not be censored (i.e. banned from public libraries, school curricula, etc.).

5.      Several of the texts we have read/watched this semester deal with sexuality and romantic desire in children and young adults. Compare and contrast the representations of two characters from two different texts who experience sexual/romantic attraction. Then explain which text you would be more likely to assign/give to young readers and why.

Thanks for a great semester. Have a wonderful summer! 

Discussion Questions for April 10

Discussion Questions: Tangled, “Domesticity and Adventure,” Grimms’ “Rapunzel,” and “Maidens and Their Guardians”

Small Group Work/Class Discussion: Support your answers with at least one specific quote, scene, and/or example.

1.      Consider the descriptions of domestic and adventure fiction on page 195 of Hintz and Tribunella. Do you think Tangled counts as one genre more than the other? Why?

2.      Hintz and Tribunella state that “the home as a dangerous place” is a frequent theme in domestic fiction (198). How does this theme emerge in Tangled?

3.      Hintz and Tribunella also claim that “psychological complexity” is a marker of domestic fiction (203). Do you think the characters in Tangled are psychologically complex? Why or why not?

4.      Hintz and Tribunella state that in spite of all the action and adventure Tarzan contains, “Tarzan’s search for Jane and wish to mate with her means that domesticity is his and the novel’s ultimate goal” (215). Could the same be said for Tanged? Why or why not?

5.      How does Tangled differ from the Grimms’ version of “Rapunzel”? How is it similar? Discuss the rationale behind the alterations Disney made.

6.      Laura Getty discusses the ways in which the enchantress figure shifts to represent different forms of authority over females and young lovers throughout history. What do you think Mother Gothel might represent in Tangled?

7.      Do you find Tangled to be a feminist fairy tale? Why or why not? 

Supplementary Readings Updated

I've updated the supplementary readings to include information about the optional Un Lun Dun materials and the required Tangled ones. Please let me know if you have questions.

April 3 Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions: Un Lun Dun

Small Group Work/Class Discussion: Support your answers with at least one specific quote, scene, or example.

1.      Literary critic Kirsten Tranter explains that China Miéville  is associated with a literary movement called “the New Weird,” which she says is “distinguished by a signal blend of horror and fantasy, predominantly urban locations” and occasionally, a somewhat radical political subtext (418). Where do you see this manifesting in Un Lun Dun? (Note: Miéville is particularly concerned with class issues.)

2.      In his interview with Tranter, Miéville says he strives to represent a Freudian concept called “the uncanny” in his work. In its most basic terms, the uncanny is something familiar yet unfamiliar simultaneously and which is unsettling because of this strange quality. In Miéville’s words, “the uncanny represents the returned repressed, the unforgotten, that which has been unsuccessfully hidden from view” (424). How do you see this manifesting in Un Lun Dun?

3.      How do you see the idea of the uncanny playing out in Coraline? Discuss some points of comparison and contrast between Coraline’s “other” world and the city of UnLondon.

4.      In our section for today, elements of the fantastic that Miéville has established are intruded upon by the real. Most specifically, “armets” turns out to be “RMetS” and “Klinneract” turns out to be “Clean Air Act.” What effect does this have on your interpretation of the text? On its didactic content?

5.      In Wraithtown, objects and buildings are palimpsests—they have been “rewritten” numerous times as time has progressed, but they carry literal ghosts of their former selves. How might this tie into the book’s larger themes?

6.      Zanna and Deeba differ in terms of their priorities in several scenes. Compare and contrast their attitudes about the following:

a.      Their desire to go home

b.      Their duty to the citizens of UnLondon

7.      Literary critic Don Latham says that fantasy can cause child protagonists to “question the values and assumptions of the dominant society” (qtd. in Hintz and Tribunella 328). Do you see this happening in Un Lun Dun? In other texts we have read/watched?

8.      Literary critic Joe Sanders argues that Un Lun Dun encourages critical reading skills in young readers through its depictions of Deeba interacting with the written word. Identify at least one example of this and discuss the extent to which you agree with his idea.

9.      Community organizer Dave Meslin argues that the “chosen one” trope that appears in so much popular media runs the risk of making readers/viewers feel as though they are excused from involvement in activism and politics because they are repeatedly told someone else will fix society for them. To what extent do you agree with this idea? In what ways does Un Lun Dun subvert this tradition? 

Discussion Questions for April 1

Continuing with the discussion model we've been using since spring break, I'll give you some time to think of topics you'd like to bring up in class. That said, I do want to be sure to address these ideas.

Discussion Questions: “Fantasy, Realism, and Genre Fiction” and Un Lun Dun

Small Group Work/Class Discussion

1.     What are the distinguishing attributes of fantasy? Of realism?

2.     What is high fantasy? What are some examples of it?

3.     Literary critic Sophie Mills distinguishes between fantasy and realism by stating, “Either we are given a fantastic vision of the world in which we may escape change and pain, or we are shown that the change and the pain are necessary and beneficial for our development” (qtd. in Hintz and Tribunella 313). Choose at least three of our texts and discuss the ways in which they engage with and resolve this tension.

Remember, our texts include Anne of Green Gables, A Maze Me, American Born Chinese, Number the Stars, “The Little Mermaid,” “The Snow Queen,” Coraline, Boy Meets Boy, The Giver, and Un Lun Dun. You may also use The Snowy Day and And Tango Makes Three if you wish.

4.     Literary critic Eric Rabkin suggests that literature for young adults provides possible “means by which […] escape may be made possible” and that the pressures “escaped” by protagonists reveal insight into adult anxieties (qtd. in Hintz and Tribunella 316). For example, Peter Pan’s refusal to grow up signals the emphasis Victorian culture placed on maturing into responsible adulthood.

a.     Do you agree or disagree with Rabkin’s analysis? Why?

b.     Identify at least one protagonist, out of the texts we’ve read this semester, who seems to escape a specific pressure of the adult world and how he or she achieves this. Is the escape seen as sustainable, or inherently temporary?

5.     Hintz and Tribunella state that there have been debates over which genre children “need” more: fantasy or realism (325-326). What are the arguments for each side of this debate? Do you agree with one side more than the other? What genre of books were you drawn to as a child? Which would you be most likely to assign?

6.     Literary critic Don Latham says that fantasy can cause child protagonists to “question the values and assumptions of the dominant society” (qtd. in Hintz and Tribunella 328). How might fantasy accomplish this? Do you see this happening in any of our texts so far?

7.     Un Lun Dun engages with the common trope of “the chosen one.” What are some other examples of stories that use this trope? What might it suggest about power? 

Supplementary readings updated

I've sent out two readings that pertain to The Giver and Number the Stars. In addition, I will update the Supplementary Readings section of the blog.

Please note that the readings contain some spoilers. You may wish to wait until you finish The Giver to read them. These are optional readings, though we will discuss their most important points in class.

Mini extra credit assignment and "The Giver" trailer

Since a few people sounded interested yesterday, I'll offer 5 extra credit points to anyone who wants to experiment with the kind of "painting music" that Noah and Paul do in Boy Meets Boy. In other words, just put on some music you like and paint and/or draw and/or color along to it. Let me know what music you chose, too (writing the name on the back of your illustration is fine). The deadline for this is April 10, same as the rest of the extra credit.

You've all been working very hard this semester, so I hope this offers you a little fun if you choose to do it. :)

Also, here's the trailer for The Giver. I encourage you to check it out so we can discuss it in class! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJNNugNe0Wo