LIT 3180, Final Examination
BEFORE you begin this assignment, watch the following videos to help you understand what the prompt is asking you about this term's readings:
This final assignment builds upon the type of reading and writing that we have done throughout the semester. By this point in the term you should feel confident in your abilities to read, analyze, and interpret a text.
The final exam will consist of ONE ESSAY QUESTION.
Begin your answer with a general statement that answers the question presented (this is your claim/thesis).
Support this statement with examples from the text(s) under discussion and analysis of each example (Support your assertions with evidence from each text and explain each example’s relevance to your claim/thesis). Be sure to cite quoted lines and complete a works cited page. Write in complete sentences shaping your response in essay form.
PROMPT: In U.S. popular culture, monsters have historically served as metaphors for and warnings against transgressing gender, sexual, racial, or class cultural boundaries (what a culture determines is "appropriate" or "inappropriate," "acceptable/unacceptable," or perhaps "moral/immoral"). Those who determine what these societal rules ("the norms") are, are the majority power group. In the West, this has historically been cisgender heterosexual wealthy white males. Historically, this group made the rules and others were expected to fall in line (patriarchy).
With these ideas in mind (and those from the videos above), argue how monstrous figures of “otherness” in MY FAVORITE THING IS MONSTERS uphold, complicate, or undo cultural norms of these socially-constructed identity (what it means to be male/female, straight/or anything other than straight, white/any race/ethnicity other than white) as well as what you see as each author's purpose in doing so.
By "uphold" here, think "reinforce" cultural norms; by "complicate," think "rebel against" cultural norms; and by "undo," think "destroy or deconstruct" what the
cultural norm is.
In your argument, you must include quotes from a minimum of two of the following:
This will require you to make connections between the ideas found in these texts and My Favorite Thing is Monsters.
INVENTION WORK (BEFORE YOU BEGIN WRITING)
In question form, then, here's what you are to directly answer:
Are characters in My Favorite Thing is Monsters that are not white, hetero, cisgender males presented as metaphorical monsters in any way and how do they either uphold, complicate, or undo, the socially-constructed ideas of what the majority culture tells them that they are supposed to be and why do you think the writer of each text presented them this way?
Answer this in one sentence. This becomes your overall claim.
Next, take this overall claim, and develop at least 4 or 5 sub-claims (these are reasons that your claim is true). Support each sub-claim with specific examples from the texts we've read.
Complete your claim and sub-claims before you begin writing your essay.
NOTE: you must support your assertions with quotes and analysis of specific images from the texts and explain how those quotes/images illustrate the point you are attempting to make as well as how they connect to your overall claim (thesis). Refer to Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud for methods for analyzing images.
Please give your essay a title. All answers should be typed and double-spaced, a min. of 4 FULL pages up to 6 pages (this does page requirement does not include the works cited page).
Your answers should be presented in formal essay form with an introduction, body, and conclusion. What you are presenting is formal literary criticism, so all the rules that typical apply to that type of writing apply here as well (no first person, no contraction, no personal pronouns, no plot summary, etc.). See the specifics below about purpose and audience.
NOTE: THE IDEAS FOUND IN THIS PAPER MUST BE YOUR OWN. YOU MAY NOT USE OUTSIDE SOURCES!
What is Literary Criticism and How Do I Write a Paper of This Nature?
At its very basic definition, literary criticism is a written evaluation of a work of literature that attempts to enlighten a reader about the underlying meaning of the text, whether it is a play, poem, short story, novel, or graphic novel.
Purpose
In this type of paper a writer is forming an academic argument. As the writer you are arguing that your interpretation of the text is a valid - not the only interpretation - in an attempt to aid the reader in “seeing” the text in a new light or from a different perspective that perhaps may be different from their own.
Audience
Your audience is made up of academics, scholars, literary critics, professors, and students (who are academics, scholars, and literary critics). You should assume that they have read the text and are familiar with its contents. Because of this you would never merely retell the story because your audience is already familiar with it. This would also conflict with the purpose of this type of paper. You are to discuss underlying meaning, not retell the events of the story.
Because your audience is a scholarly one, your paper must be presented in a formal manner. You should use high diction and avoid first person, personal pronouns, and contractions.
GRADING RUBRIC:
Your grade for this assignment will be determined as follows:
Total Possible Points: 50/
Final Draft, evaluated on the following criteria:
Focus (14 points): Does essay have a clear purpose? Overall claim stated in intro and restated in conclusion? Focus on a single idea or aspect of the literature? Is it clear how examples in body are related to the overall claim? Does the writer explain the broader implications of this claim to the text as a whole? Are the sub-claims clearly related to the claim? When read together, do the intro and conclusion form one idea?
Development (14 points): Does writer support interpretation with evidence from text? Avoid giving a plot summary? Does writer explain for the reader how the evidence supports interpretation (and as a result the claim)? Does writer quote accurately from the source, including citing specific page numbers?
Organization (14 points): Do first few sentences arouse the reader’s interest and focus their attention on the subject? Are readers expectations set and clearly met? Do paragraphs have clear focus, unity and coherence? Effective transitions? Does the writer guide the reader from beginning to end?
Style (4 points): Is language clear direct and readable? Are sentences clear, concise, and easily read by intended audience? Is word choice appropriate for audience? Do sentences reveal and sustain appropriate voice and tone? Does writer use the literary present tense to describe events in the story?
Mechanics (4 points): Are there obvious errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar? Are there patterns of error?
NO REFLECTION (-4 POINTS)
Grading scale:
A 45-50
B 40-44
C 35--39
D 30-34
F 0-29
