ENG 215 Essay #2
3 pages, double spaced, MLA Guidelines
NO CLASS NEXT WEEK (11/27)
I’ll be in my office (1137) on Dec 4th from 10-12 to look at drafts
FINAL DRAFT DUE MONDAY DEC 11TH (NO LATE PAPERS)
Pick one of the following topics and be sure to use TWO RELIEABLE OUTSIDE SOURCES!
ecceng215fall17.blogspot.com
The Road
1) One man they meet on the road says "There is no God and we are his prophets." What does he mean by this? Explain the role of God and faith in The Road. As always, use direct references to the text as your proof.
2) Describe the relationship between the boy and his father. What do they feel for each other? How do they maintain their affection for and faith in each other in such brutal conditions? How do they support each other during the tougher times of the novel?
3) What does The Road ultimately suggest about good and evil? What separates the “good guys” from the “bad guys”? How do we as readers know this?
4) Use the idea that the boy is symbolic of a religious figure or “the one” and explain how his role changes over the course of the novel.
5) Compare any of the themes we’ve discussed at length when looking at these post-apocalyptic novels to what we see in the The Road. Maybe compare how the characters in The Road and Blindness react similarly or in different ways to the breakdown of society. Or the psychological effects seen on the main characters in The Road and The Drowned World. You can come up with your own ideas here—just run it by me.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
1) After years of polite submission to her male counterparts, Janie gains her voice in Chapters 7 and 8. Prior to her defiance of Joe, Janie observes the way Daisy, Mrs. Bogle, and Mrs. Robbins are treated by the men. For this essay describe how each woman is treated in the novel.
2) What happens to Janie after “she tore off [her] kerchief... and let down her plentiful hair” (Chapter 8)? How does her hair reflect her womanhood? How does she change when we see her take off the kerchief?
3) Janie finds herself in two marriages with men that greatly differ from each other. These two men go by the names of Joe Starks and “Tea Cake”. They both have very different impacts on Janie’s path to achieve her life goals. Compare and contrast the two characters.
4) The hurricane makes the characters question who they are and what their place in the universe is. How would you explain this idea?
5) How has Nanny’s experience as a slave stamped her worldview with a strong concern for financial security, respectability, and upward mobility? What is she most concerned about when it comes to Janie?
6) We have discussed in class the idea of African American women as “the mule” of society at this time. In this essay explain what role it plays in the novel (and perhaps other novels). In other words, define exactly how this metaphor works.
