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Essay Instructions: In this research essay, I will be analyzing a text (a book, film, play, a musical performance or album) that responds to the TRADITION of one of the works we have read in class. We have read Beowulf, Ovid's Metamorphoses, Kafka's The Metamorphosis, Gardner's Grendel, Ai's Vice, and Fellini's La Strada. What does the text chosen and the text we read in class agree with each other about? What do they disagree on? What theoretical concepts inform the works? Why is recognizing the connection between these two texts significant?

You may need to research the tradition you choose and identify other major works that operate in it; however, your main focus should be on comparison between the text I have read in class and the text you chose. This is an essay so please provide a thesis to unify all the various elements of my essay.

Finally, this essay needs 10 sources where 5 come from somewhere other than online. Thanks.

Essay Instructions: Books:
Grendel by John Gardner
The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski
Cat''s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut


Respond to the topic below in a philosophy paper of at least 5 pages. The paper should be well planned and clearly written. Read the topic carefully and make sure that you understand it before you begin:

Philosophy studies many aspects of human behavior but it is primarily concerned with human knowledge. Knowledge differs from fiction in that knowledge is developed from the validity and certainty of reality, while fiction is composed of the unreal and imaginary.

From the works of fiction that you have read this semester choose two that seem the most philosophical to you and demonstrate:

1. How they are concerned with the development and validity of knowledge.

2. Whether knowledge gained from fictional sources has any validity in attempting to understand what it means to be human.

Papers must be in standard MLA format and include references and bibliography. Remember that philosophy papers are strongest when they present a thesis that is supported by either argument or relevant research.

All written assignments are judged on several criteria, namely;

? Clarity of presentation

? Demonstration of knowledge of subject matter

? Effectiveness and depth of analysis

? Cogency of arguments

? Persuasiveness of conclusions

? Development of arguments

? Overall quality of writing

Essay Instructions: textbook (Norton Anthology of World Literature, Second Edition, Books A-C)
.
__Homer, “The Iliad”
__“The Odyssey,”
__The Aeneid
__Beowulf
__Everyman
__Niccolo Machiavelli, “The Prince”
__Paradise Lost
__William Shakespeare, “Othello”
__The Canterbury Tales
General Prologue
The Miller’s Prologue and Tale
The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale

WRITE THE SECTION TWO CONSIDERING THE WORKS THAT ARE MENTIONED ABOVE.

PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CARFULLY.thanks







Section I: Short Answer (ONE PAGE FOR THIS SECTION)
For each of the five pairs below, determine what they have in common. These may be characters, ideas, or groups. Answer in about three sentences, demonstrating your understanding of the characters, stories and ideas noted.
1. Grendel and Lucifer
2. Enkidu and Patroklos
3. Kyklops and Othello
4. Priam and Brabantio
5. A handkerchief and a tapestry


Section II: Essays (THREE PAGES FOR THIS SECTION)(ONE AND HALF A PAGE FOR EACH ESSAY.YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE TWO OF THEM SO WILL BE THREE PAGES)

Select TWO of the following essays. You should write enough to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the subject. Do not use the same works in more than one essay. Also, you may only use ONE from the following list: The Iliad, The Odyssey, and The Aeneid. I also expect that you will use DIRECT quotes from each source you reference.

1. It’s often the case that our worst enemies are ourselves. We certainly see that in several works this semester. So select two characters and demonstrate how their internal demons bring them down as surely as any outside foe.
2. With only a few notable exceptions, women are often second-class citizens in these works. Demonstrate how certain women are more powerful than they might initially appear—pick two women and show how they actually do possess deep strength.
3. You’re told that these works are classics, and hey, you might even accept that they are. But why? What is it about these works that makes them worthy of study several millennia after some of them were written? Pick two works and describe why they continue to be worthy of study in the present day(for example:Paradise Lost and William Shakespeare, “Othello”)

Essay Instructions: (beginning of paper already started, in response to question 1, and provided as a guide for writer in desired writing style)

Each brief essay answer should be a minimum of two double-spaced pages, for a total minimum length of four (4) pages.

1.) Beowulf presents a classic epic hero, engaged in typical hero-behavior in order to bring peace to his people. The re-telling of Beowulf’s story in the novel Grendel, however, presents a different version of the epic hero—the monster as epic hero. Using John Gardner's Grendel as a resource, discuss ways in which Grendel goes through much of what an epic hero endures (separation/initiation/return), and paradoxically gives to “his” people the kinds of “boons” or benefits that an epic hero gives.

2.) Several of the major characters in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon go through what might be read as an epic quest, for various goals: power, love, transcendence, honor. Using Ang Lee's film as a resource, discuss ways in which Ang Lee's movie might be read as a contemporary epic quest story. Consider especially the ways that questions of gender roles and heroism are interrogated by this film.

(beginning of paper already started, in response to question 1, and provided as a guide for writer in desired writing style)

In short, it could quite possibly be said that Grendel is simply the retelling of the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf from the alternate perspective of Grendel. However, Grendel’s adventure is a standalone epic all to itself, as it casts the antihero’s role not merely in plain opposition to the heroic character Beowulf, but in fact totally independent and separate. The character Beowulf himself does not even emerge until the very end of the book, all the while the antagonist Grendel is paralleling timelines and events found in the original Norse epic. This tale-spinning new twist of Beowulf in the form of Grendel makes for quite an interesting take on the historical epic poem.
As in all epics, we are at first presented with the separation of Grendel.