Below are the prompts for the take home part of the midterm. Choose only one prompt. The essay will be due to me by Monday, August 16The picture above is of Arthur Hughes' "La Belle Dame Sans Merci," yet another British artist's response to Keats' poem.
1. Must the protagonist of a story, poem, or film from the second part of the session (from Songlian onwards) follow the hero's journey (Joseph Campbell's monomyth)? In what ways does he *not* follow this monomyth? How does this affect the plot of the story, the character's coherence and believability, and the genre of the work? How does this affect the audience's response? Consider alternate models for narrative: tragedy, naturalism, Achebe's depiction of society, etc..
2. How does the presence of works NOT originally written in English (Candide, Raise the Red Lantern, Leopold Sedar Senghor's poems, Baudelaire's "The Albatross," the stories by the Brothers Grimm, Ruben Dario's poems, Nosferatu, Petrarch's sonnets, Hans Christian Andersen's story) affect your definition of world literature? Which works are you comfortable reading? Which works are you uncomfortable reading? Why? How comfortable should you be in a course like EN 202? Consider the impact of translation, genre, and readers' expectations here. Note that technically Fitzcarraldo was filmed in English although we saw the German version.
3. Discuss the role that masculinity and/or femininity play in up to four of the works we've read so far. (At least two works must be from the second part of the session, which began with Raise the Red Lantern.) Consider the role that history, culture, and even genre play in defining what appropriate masculinity and femininity are. Consider the impact of the author or filmmaker's gender. Also, consider your viewpoint as a 21st century man or woman.
4. Comment on Chinua Achebe’s statement: “Art is more than just good sentences; this is what makes this situation tragic. The man is a capable artist and as such I expect better from him. I mean, what is the point in that book? Art is not intended to put people down. If so, then art would ultimately discredit itself.” How does it apply to up to three of the works we've read or watched this session? How does it not apply? Consider the purpose of satire. Does Achebe's statement apply to Candide? Should it apply?
5. How do you define literature? Support your definition with four separate works from various genres and cultures. Two works must be from the second part of the session. Also, be sure to consider what is NOT literature. You may discuss the folktale as a genre of literature. Consider the role that orality, performance, and audience may play. Should it matter that today's storytellers' audiences are often children? You may also discuss the idea of film as literature. Again, consider the role that print, audience, and performance plays. Note the distinction between silent film and movies with sound. Does it matter whether a film is based on an earlier work of literature? Or whether this piece of literature is worthwhile? I encourage you to discuss poetry as literature, considering the role of form, rhyme, meter, and translation.
6. This session we are watching a number of older, more slower-paced films without CGI as well as reading older works (18th & 19th century). These films and texts also come from cultures other than America's. How are these films and texts different from the films and texts that you are used to? How are they similar? What do they add to your understanding of films and film history? to your understanding of world literature? Be sure to justify your reasons with examples from the movies that we have seen. At least one film must be Raise the Red Lantern or Nosferatu. At least one text must be from the second part of the session.
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