Lit 201 Final Exam

Here is the first three groups of questions for the final exam. Respond to one question from each group. Be thorough and complete while citing the works we covered. There will be fourth group in class on the final exam period.


Group A
1) How does Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep confront the issue of the “Simulacra” (the simulation or copy of reality)? In what ways are the animals used to blur the line between origin and proxy? Why might Dick be focusing on this line between the two? How have other works like The Lathe of Heaven dealt with this issue?

2) In what ways does Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? seem to be commenting on religion? How is religion used in a similar way in Kindred and The Handmaid’s Tale? Why does religion get used by the power structures in these books as a way to control people? How was religion dealt with differently in works covered earlier in the semester?

Group B
1) In what ways might The Handmaid’s Tale and Kindred be seen as feminist works? How do they confront issues of gender and sexuality differently than earlier works we’ve covered? In what ways might it be possible to read other works we’ve covered from a feminist perspective?

2) How do Kindred and The Lathe of Heaven deal with issues of race? Why is this so different than earlier works like Armageddon 2419? How might this relate to the concurrent issues of class and economics at play in these works?

Group C
1) How do works like A Clockwork Orange and How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe use the narrative structure to comment on the themes of the novels? In what ways are these worked placed in the category of Post-Modern fiction? How might other works we've dealt with also fit into this category?

2) How might works like How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe be using traditional science fiction themes like time travel metaphorically? Why are writers choosing this metaphorical approach rather than being more straight forward? How might this be seen in other works we've covered this semester?