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Reading and Writing: Spring 2006 (C period) Shakespeare Hamlet 3/6/06 Essay 1 Carson Anderson Action involving scheming, plotting, and/or entrapment controls much of what happens throughout the play. Focus on such instances and explore what themes these attempts reinforce within the play as a whole. To begin, you might consider Horatio’s final words regarding “purposes mistook,” the Player king’s speech, and Polonius. Essay 2 Ally Baxter Laertes and Fortinbras are often seen as literary foils to Hamlet. Making concrete references to the text, discuss the roles played by these two characters and show how they help us to a fuller understanding of the “sweet prince.” Essay 3 David St. Charles Apply the following to Hamlet: “A Man who wished to make a profession of goodness in everything must necessarily come to grief among so many who are not good. Therefore, it is necessary for a prince, who wishes to maintain himself, to learn how not to be good, and to use this knowledge and not use it, according to the necessity of the case.” The Prince Machiavelli Stoppard Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead 3/9/06 Essay 4 John Casavant Discuss the role of the Players in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. What issues seem to be particularly brought into focus by the episodes in which they appear? You want somehow to articulate their centrality to the play as a whole. Essay 5 Hunter Morgan Tom Prideaux writes that “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern proves to be an apt expression of our dilemmas and doubts. . . . Uncertainty is a sign not necessarily of a weak and wavering mind but often of a venturous mind prying out truths not simple to assess.” Discuss this statement in relation to the play as a whole. Essay 6 Rachna Patel Discuss the following statement in relation to the play: “Man . . . is a minor character in a drama which he cannot understand, dependant for recognition on people who do not even control their fate and forces which may not even exist.” Conrad Heart of Darkness 3/31/06 Essay 7 Devin Mathis Many critics claim that Heart of Darkness has two competing heroes. Make the case for either Marlow or Kurtz as the true “hero” of the book. Essay 8 Ray Boaz Discuss the framing story that structures Heart of Darkness. Why is it important to narrate Marlow in the act of telling his story? Essay 9 Michael Levine Discuss the role or function of women in Heart of Darkness. 4/5/06 Essay 10 Devin Arp From the very opening on the Thames in Heart of Darkness, when day mixes with night, Conrad uses images of light and dark. Traditionally, light represents “good” and dark represents “bad.” What use does Conrad make of these possible interpretations? What do his constant references to light and dark suggest about Marlow’s story? Essay 11 Sara Watson Kurtz’s dying words are a cryptic whisper: “The horror, the horror.” What “horror” could Kurtz have been talking about? Is there more than one possibility? Why do you think Conrad made this scene so ambiguous? Essay 12 Anushri Desai Why does Marlow lie to Kurtz’s fiancée about Kurtz’s last words? Why not tell her the truth, or tell her that Kurtz had no last words, rather than affirming her sentimental and mundane ideas? Reading and Writing: Spring 2006 (F period) Shakespeare Hamlet 3/6/06 Essay 1 Diana Villa From his first interchange with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, in which he contends that man is a “quintessence of dust,” Hamlet grapples with what it means to be a “man” (see Iv.iv.33 ff.) Consider these various grapplings and discuss their centrality to the play as a whole. Essay 2 Kirk Vernegaard Explore the various parallel and contrasting scenes in the play. By looking at the incidents and the speeches that accompany them, explore the purpose they serve. Stoppard Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead 3/9/06 Essay 3 Kacey Weddle Tom Stoppard has remarked on his own work, “I tend to write through a series of small, large, and microscopic ambushes—which might consist of a body falling out of a cupboard, or simply an unexpected word in a sentence.” Write a paper discussing this remark in relation to his practice in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Can you identify different kinds of “ambushes” in this work? Do the characters get “ambushed” as well as or in the same way as the audience? Essay 4 Jessica Williams Discuss the Player’s statement that every exit is an entrance somewhere else as a central theme in the play. Conrad Heart of Darkness 3/31/06 Essay 5 Caitlin Taber Describe the use of “darkness” both in the book’s title and as a symbol throughout the text. What does darkness represent? Is its meaning constant or does it change? Essay 6 Matt Clemmer Discuss the framing story that structures Heart of Darkness. Why is it important to narrate Marlow in the act of telling his story? 4/5/06 Essay 7 Vihra Groueva "What is so elusive about [Conrad] is that he is always promising to make some general philosophic statement about the universe, and then refraining with a gruff disclaimer.... Is there not also a central obscurity, something noble, heroic, beautiful, inspiring half-a-dozen great books, but obscure, obscure?... [He] is misty in the middle as well as at the edges, ... the secret casket of his genius contains a vapour rather than a jewel..." (E.M. Forster, Abinger Harvest) Why might there be this obscurity? Assuming that the work is not a series of failures to make a profound moral statement, explore it rather as a work which generates other ways of meaning? Essay 8 Alex Prebul Why does Marlow lie to Kurtz’s fiancée about Kurtz’s last words? Why not tell her the truth, or tell her that Kurtz had no last words, rather than affirming her sentimental and mundane ideas?