Monday, September 12, 2011

Prompts for Thursday's Assignment

Reminder:  See the syllabus for details of expectations, evaluation, etc.  The very compressed version is this:  you should write a 2-3 page focused essay on one of these topics.  An essay is an argument; you are not summarizing what you have read, or exploring a variety of topics.  You are taking a position, and providing evidence for that position (primarily from the text, usually).

Prompt 1:  In class, one of our topics will be the way in which Frankenstein is narrated; you'll want to remember this discussion when responding to this topic!  Take a single passage (as little as a sentence or as much as a paragraph) which reveals Victor Frankenstein, or Walton, or the monster, as being untrustworthy.  Explain in detail why we can't trust the narrator in this passage and then discuss, in detail, what this untrustworthiness means.  In other words:  show where and how the narrator is untrustworthy, then explain how it matters.

Prompt 2:  Is the monster human?  Answering that question is your topic.  There is nothing simple about the short question, though.  You should make clear both what you mean by "human," and why your definition is a good one.  Then you should give a detailed reading of the text, citing multiple relevant passages, justifying the position you take.

Prompt 3:  Pick a single one of Ward's illustrations for Frankenstein.  Discuss in detail what interpretation he is making of the text with that illustration, and then evaluate that interpretation.  It should be clear to the reader why this interpretation matters:  in other words, you should pick an image which makes a kind of argument, then evaluate that argument.

No comments:

Post a Comment