Now that my final exams are over, I thought it might be fun to post the questions from some of them here. Keep in mind that my students are not (for the most part) native speakers of English, and in some of the classes, are not English majors, so the questions are often, well, a lot simpler than they might be in an American course.
British & American Culture: The Modern Fantastic in Britain & America
Short-Answer: Answer these questions with one or two complete sentences.
1. In “The Faery Handbag” (Kelly Link), why is the game Scrabble important?
2. In Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (Susanna Clarke), what social class are the members of York society of magicians?
3. What are some of the things that Galaad does to show Mrs. Whitaker that he is a good man in “Chivalry” (Neil Gaiman)?
4. At the end of “Troll Bridge” (Neil Gaiman), why does Jack give his life to the Troll?
5. What are some of the things about Arnold Friend which make us think that he may be the Devil, in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” (Joyce Carol Oates)?
6. In “Godzilla’s Twelve Step Program” (Joe R. Lansdale), what is a twelve-step program?
7. How is the America of “The New Atlantis” (Ursula K. Le Guin) different from today’s America?
8. How is the London of “Looking for Jake” (China Miéville) different from today’s London?
9. In “Objects of Desire in the Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear” (Harlan Ellison), why does the Boss worry about Jacobs (the main character)?
10. Why does the main character shoot the girl in “Crossing into Cambodia” (Michael Moorcock)?
Essay: Write a short essay (about one or two paragraphs) on the back of this sheet. Use examples from some of the stories to support your statements.
Compare the role of women in traditional fantasy stories or fairy tales, with the role of women in some of the modern fantasy stories that we read in class.
American Literature X: The American Gothic Story II
Short-Answer: Answer these questions with one or two complete sentences.
1. In “The Enormous Radio” (John Cheever), why does Irene become so upset?
2. In what way is the futuristic house in “The Veldt” (Ray Bradbury) gothic?
3. Why does the narrator of “Johnny Panic & the Bible of Dreams” (Sylvia Plath) worship Johnny Panic?
4. What causes the transformations in “Shattered Like a Glass Goblin” (Harlan Ellison)?
5. How does Vollmer change in “Human Moments in World War III” (Don DeLillo)?
6. In “The Temple” (Joyce Carol Oates), what is the temple?
7. How does Louis save the Freniere sisters in “Freniere” (Anne Rice)?
8. What does Stella finally do that she had long refused to do in “The Reach” (Stephen King)?
9. What are the creatures of “Replacements” (Lisa Tuttle) replacing?
10. Why are people disturbed by Lissy’s pregnancy in “The Girl Who Loved Animals” (Bruce MacAllister)?
Essay: Write a short essay (about three to five paragraphs) on the back of this sheet. Use examples from some of the stories to support your statements.
“Change” has been a winning political message recently, but in gothic stories, change is often a source of unease and fear. How is change used as a gothic element in stories we have read?
American Culture II: America & the Search for Utopia
Short-Answer: Answer these questions with one or two complete sentences.
1. Who would be the rulers in Plato’s utopia, and why?
2. In what way is Thomas More’s Utopia a utopian satire?
3. What are some of the utopian characteristics of the Land of Cockaigne?
4. Why did the Shakers keep men and women apart from each other?
5. Why did the Oneida Community practice “complex marriage”?
6. According to Marx and Engels, who are the proletariat and who are the bourgeoisie?
7. How did the narrator of Bellamy’s Looking Backward: 2000-1887 travel to the future?
8. What do the women of Gilman’s Herland think of the American practice of keeping dogs as pets?
9. What are the utopian characteristics of Odo’s philosophy in Le Guin’s “The Day before the Revolution”?
10. According to John Lennon in his song “Imagine,” how can we create a utopia?
Essay: Write a short essay (about three to five paragraphs) on the back of this sheet. Use examples from some of the things we’ve read to support your statements.
What is the use of utopias?
So, anybody want to take a crack at answering?