FINAL EXAM ESSAY QUESTIONS

On Thursday, May 5, 2022 at 10:30 AM until 12:30 PM, we will have our final exam in our classroom. There will be two sections: the Quotation Identification section and the Essay section.

The Quotations section will give you ten quotes. Pick five, identified the author and title, and explain why the quote is significant in the context of the source. Be very specific: your answer needs to indicate a working knowledge of the source document's plot and theme. You may identifie the title or author of the remaining five for 1 point each of extra credit. All quotes used in the exam will be on the Quotation Guide for the final exam.

The Essay section has five possible questions. You will answer ONE of the following questions below. All will be on the test, so whichever essay question you choose to prepare is guaranteed to be on the test. Please prepare an outline of your answer ahead of time as part of your exam card preparation that you will turn in with the final exam, including quotes from the texts you plan to write about. Do not write out the essay word for word in your outline. You will need to copy and paste the outline into your exam, so make sure you do this.

Your essays are expected to be five to six paragraphs long with a traditional introduction that includes the authors and titles of the texts you plan to use in the essay, a clear thesis you plan ot argue, and a list of the key points you plan to include in the paper. Remember to read your chosen essay topic carefully and answer all the expectations of the essay.

Essay topics (pick one):

1.  Science fiction as a genre allows writers and readers to look at thorny social, political, or philosophical issues in relative safety by creating a hypothetical representation of reality that provides a peek into a potential solution or philosophical position.  Using at least two major novels or films, trace a specific issue to show how the author offers a warning, alternative approach to a social problem, or philosophical position in response to that issue.

2.  In the first half of the semester, we considered the alien as "other": a group that is different from ourselves.  While such a perspective is useful in exploring the prejudices some groups have against others, science fiction allows readers to move beyond the view of the other and actually look through the eyes (or other means of perception) of the alien, in essence giving us the vicarious approximation of seeing the world in a fundamentally different way.  Using three characters from any of the texts we read this semester, show how they perceive the world in different ways that force us to confront completely different ways of seeing the world.

3.  Controlling the general population or specific groups within a population is a theme that appears in many of the works that we read this semester.  Using three texts, trace the method of control used by a specific group and analyze both its effectiveness and it morality. 

4. One of the central questions of any philosophy is the individual's place in the universe: who are we? What forces control our lives? Why do we exist? From these questions, different thinkers have founded religions and philosophies, offering explanations that range from the theological to the absurd. Using three different texts from the course, trace three of these explanations and offer one up as a preference, explaining why that one of the three appeals to you the most.