Assignment Paper

Please read the following instructions carefully:
Please write all responses in a Microsoft Word document, using 12 pt., Times New Roman
font. You may either single- or double-space your responses, and do include a heading in the top
left-hand corner, as you would for essays. Be sure to answer every question, clearly indicating
which question you are answering as you proceed.
To submit your midterm exam, upload your Word document to Blackboard. There is a
submission link under “Assignments” in Module 1, where you find the exam itself. You will be
able to submit your exam directly as an attachment. Double-check to make sure you attach the
correct document.
Exam questions should be answered thoroughly. They are designed to be short essay-style, but
not essays, meaning that you do not need a formal introduction with a claim and conclusion. But as short essay-style questions, a general guideline to follow is that each response should be at
least 2-3 full, well-argued paragraphs; more if you need the space to properly answer the
question. There is no upper limit to your response length. Please note that for each question, you
are required to support your responses with close reading and analysis. A tip: please make sure
you are specifically answering what the question is asking, rather than providing general
information about the topic or text at hand. Partial credit for responses is possible.
The questions as written are lengthy, because each question provides context for the actual
questions being asked, which are in bold. In this way, they follow the general format of the
questions posted each week in the Community Board Posts. Make sure your answer directly
addresses the bolded questions. As is true of your posts, there is no one correct answer, but your
response will be evaluated on your comprehension of the course materials as well as on your
ability to think critically about and make connections between course ideas.
The deadline for submission is Friday, March 19, by 11:59 p.m. As this is an exam rather than
an essay assignment, late submissions will not be accepted unless previously arranged. Any
indication of the usage of materials or sources pulled from the internet or elsewhere
without proper citation will be understood as plagiarism and will result in a failing grade.*
* You may use text from my course notes in your responses, just indicate when you are doing so through
parenthetical citations: (Lee).
1. You have learned that the origins of fables actually date back to ancient Greek culture, when
they were used in rhetorical exercises. Used as a source of debate in order to foster logical
reasoning and the principles of argumentation, fables were an important source of adult, rather
than children’s, education. As a result, fables do not have set lessons or morals; rather, they are
purposely ambiguous, in order to encourage the development of logic. Using “The Tortoise and
the Hare,” explain three distinct ways in which the fable can be interpreted, and explain
how determining these interpretations is an exercise in logic and critical reasoning. Use at
least one quote and analysis to support your answer. To do this, you should consider how we
might understand very different and sometimes, even competing or contradictory lessons from
the fable, and how the comprehension of these perspectives facilitates critical thinking skills. (20
points)
2. As you have seen, fairy tales are not universal stories, but are instead adapted to their time,
contexts, and audiences. While the basic features of a given fairy tale might be the same in its
different versions, its details will differ depending on when, where and for whom it is written,
and acknowledging these differences is crucial for understanding the development of children’s
literature as a genre. Using two of the three versions of “Little Red Riding Hood” we have
studied, explain how the figure of the wolf is specific to and adapted for each respective
fairy tale’s context and audience. Use at least one quote from each, and analysis, to support
your answer. To do this, you should consider how the wolf is represented differently in each
version you choose, and explain how and why these differences are indicative of the lessons and
audiences of each distinct fairy tale. (20 points)
3. “It was all very well to say, ‘Drink me,’ but the wise little Alice was not going to do that in a hurry. ‘No, I’ll
look
first,’ she said, ‘and see whether it’s marked poison or not,’ for she had read several nice little stories about
children
who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts, and other unpleasant things, all because they would not
remember
the simple rules their friends had taught them: such as, that a red-hot poker will burn you if you hold it too
long; and
that, if you cut your finger very deeply with a knife, it usually bleeds; and she had never forgotten that, if you
drink much from a bottle marked ‘poison,’ it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later” (13-14).
As is evident from the quote provided, Lewis Carroll is certainly aware of the solidifying genres
of children’s literature in the nineteenth century, as well as of their didactic natures. However,
his Wonderland provides a contrast to such straightforward lessons, because the lessons of
Alice’s education are understood by her as facts, regardless of context or applicability—this is
most evident in the scene where she falls down the well, reciting to herself facts that are either
incorrectly understood or completely out of context for the situation. According to Carroll, most
other forms of children’s literature replicate or encourage uncritical thinking. How and why
does Carroll seem to critique the children’s literature that precedes his book, and how and
why is nonsense his answer to those critiques? Use at least one quote and analysis to
support your answer. To answer this question, you should consider how Carroll seems to
understand and dislike the way children’s literature tends to operate, and why he offers nonsense
as an alternative. What does he hope children learn from children’s literature? (20 points)
4. In A Little Princess, Frances Hodgson Burnett shows us the power of storytelling, which is
one of Sara Crewe’s chief strengths. While this is an admirable skill, the course lectures and
podcasts have also discussed the ways in which storytelling is a privilege, one which those who
are less fortunate than Sara, such as Becky, does not have the education to read or understand,
much less tell, the stories that Sara can. Furthermore, Sara’s storytelling makes romantic horrible
situations, which means that she can cope with her life in ways that Becky cannot on her own.
How does A Little Princess reveal storytelling as one of the many advantages that separate
people according to class? Use at least one quote and analysis to support your answer. To
answer this question, you should consider how Sara Crewe’s strengths are not merely products of
her personality, but also, products of her class. In this context, how is storytelling and its
romanticizing potentially problematic? (20 points)
5. As you have learned, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island repurposes several old
sources—including medieval romances, shipwreck tales, and British Boy stories in order to
tackle what he sees as a dwindling or misguided English masculinity in the late nineteenth
century. In doing so, he takes the traditional heroes from these stories and, by focusing instead
on pirates and specifically, on Long John Silver, Stevenson suggests that heroes are not always
those who conquer foes, but are redefined as men of principle, even when those men are looked
down upon by society. How and why does Stevenson define Long John Silver as the hero
figure of the story, and how is this redefinition a critique of British upper-class society? Use
at least one quote and analysis to support your answer. To answer this question, you should
consider the character and life circumstances of Long John Silver and the other pirates, as well as
the character and life circumstances of the upper-class figures in the novel. (20 points)