COURSE PAPER: HUMANITY AND DYSTOPIA

Select one of the following options and write a 5-7 page paper (1,750-2,450 words), using 1-2 of the novels we’ve read. If you work with two novels, you will need to bring your reading of each together in some way. In order to receive credit for your paper, the novel(s) you select cannot include 1984 or the novel you were a discussion leader for. The prompts are designed to give you ideas for the kinds of things you might cover in writing on the given topic. Do not feel that they need to be treated as a checklist; some questions may not even apply to one of the novels. What is most important is that your response is pointed toward a deeper understanding of the text(s) and/or how the text(s) comment on the themes as they appear in the real world. In other words, your ultimate goal is to explain what larger critique or commentary the author is making.

Consider including the literary terms we have been discussing where appropriate, but do not feel that you need to cram in as many as possible. Keep them on your mind, and bring them up to serve a larger purpose rather than for their own sake. Dystopia What has gone wrong in the author’s view? In other words, what is he or she warning us about our current way of living? Conversely, in what ways are readers given hope in the face of the darkest circumstances? How might these moments of hope comment on humanity? Environment What kinds of environmental damage do we see in the novel(s)? What caused it? How has it altered human existence? What kind of commentary or critique of our own world is offered? Religion Each of the novels has strong themes regarding religion (you could include God, faith, spirituality, etc. here as well). Discuss where we see religion in the novel(s), how it might have changed from how we understand it today, the characters’ relationship to it, and/or how the novel(s) are commenting on it. Rebirth After the end of the world, what new beginnings are offered? How are these new beginnings, their success/failure, or the questions raised with regard to them a commentary on our current situation or the human condition?