lit 201: Mid Term Exam

Lit 201 Mid-Term Exam
Due: Oct 31/Nov 1

Answer one question from each group. Use specific references from the works we’ve covered. Be sure to be thorough and complete. Each response should be about two pages in length. Write it in MLA format and be sure to cite the works you discuss.

Group A
1) Discuss Mary Shelly’s narrative structure in Frankenstein. Why did she choose to use at least three clear narrators? How does this affect how we read the novel? How to the narrators differ? How is this similar to the structures of works like The Time machine?
2) How do the early writers we covered deal with the “Sci” of “Sci/Fi”? In what ways do Shelly and Wells focus on scientific theories while also ignoring some basic scientific laws? How can a book like Armageddon 2419 AD be considered “Science Fiction” while simultaneously lacking any basic science?

Group B
1) How do The Time Machine and “All You Zombies” seem to deal with time travel differently? Why do Wells and Heinlein present such contrasting views of the future? In what ways does the Time Traveler get surprised by what he finds in the future? How does “All You Zombies” relate to the “Grandfather Paradox”?
2) How do The Time Machine and Armageddon 2419 AD integrate characters who don’t belong into the society? In what way is Tony Roger’s relationship with Wilma similar to that of the Time Traveler with Weena? How do other works we’ve covered seem to deal with characters who are out of their elements?

Group C
1) What are Asimov’s three “Laws of Robotics”? How does LVX-1 seem to contradict them? How do they relate to other works we’ve covered that deal with robots? In what ways do the robot stories seem to be commenting on subjectivity and individuality in general? What might they be saying about idea like “Free Will” or “Human Rights”?
2) How do works like The Time Machine, “The Nine Billion Names of God,” and “The Tunnel Under the World” deal with the problems of technology? In what ways do they seem to be suggesting that we are becoming tools for the technology just as it was created to be a tool for us? In what ways do we see the characters reacting against the rise of technology?

Group D
1) Discuss the futuristic worlds of We and A Clockwork Orange. In what ways are the authors using dystopian stories to comment on the times eras in which they were writing? How do they present different views of the future? In what ways might they be commenting on free will and individuality?
2) Why did burgess choose to use a first person narrator in A Clockwork Orange? How does this affect the nature of the book? In what ways does this influence how we interpret The Ludovico Technique? How is this similar to what happens to D-503 in We?