Monsters and Society
Choose one of the three prompts below to answer. Answers should take the form of a short essay, at least 750 words (roughly 3 pages, though longer is fine!); you should have a clear thesis statement (what is your overall answer to the question?) no later than the end of your second paragraph, and then provide examples from at least two primary source texts to support that thesis. You do not need direct quotes, but your answers should demonstrate your knowledge of the texts, use specific examples/scenes/evidence for support, and make a clear argument.
You should use at least one primary source text from after the midterm (so: Frankenstein, “Bisclavret,” “Familiar,” “Robin Hood & Guy of Gisborne,” the War Poets (Owen, Sassoon, Tolkien), and X-Men). The other primary source (or two) may come from after or from before the midterm (Titus Andronicus, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or from an outside source, perhaps another film or television show or novel or video game—but be sure you can give specific examples/evidence!
Prompt #1: Monsters and Society.
Elizabeth Young suggests that the Frankenstein story can function as a metaphor: symbolically representing any creation of a monster that then grows out of control, and becomes potentially dangerous, because the creator did not take proper care of it. Monsters, according to this argument, help draw attention to larger social and cultural concerns—that is, monsters aren’t simply single individual beings, but represent larger social problems, like Young’s three examples of the culturally created monsters of slavery, or the United States helping to put political dictators into power, or genetically modified foods. (Frankenstein, for instance, is in part about the monstrosity of a parent abandoning a child, and also about the monstrous potential of new scientific discoveries. Another example might involve how the War Poets of World War One use gruesome and vivid language to depict war itself, and/or a failure of leadership, as a type of monster.) Using at least two primary source texts for support, discuss the ways in which monsters can represent larger cultural fears and concerns. What kinds of monsters do we see in the texts you’ve chosen, how are they described, and what larger social problems and fears do they represent? You should have a clear thesis, no later than your second paragraph, that provides your overall answer to the prompt question, then use your body paragraphs for evidence and support from the texts you’ve chosen. I do not expect you to have memorized exact quotes or page numbers, given the time limit; I do expect you to have a good general knowledge of plot points and important characters and concepts, so that you can give examples.
