EN12: INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE
Fall Semester 2005
Second Essay Assignment
The second essay is due at the beginning of class on Thursday, November 3. The paper should be about 5 pages long.
In this paper, as in the first essay, you should carefully compare and contrast two fairy tales that we have studied. The tales you may choose from for this essay are:
You may choose two version of the same tale (such as "Cinderella" and "The Story of the Black Cow") or similar versions of different tales (such as "Donkeyskin" and "The Robber Bridegroom").
Be very careful in choosing the texts you want to write on, since you want to choose the ones most appropriate to your topic. You should have a precise topic focusing on a specific theme. I hope you choose the theme you are most interested in; some suggestions that seem particularly relevant to these tales are: women, assertiveness, passivity, independence, autonomy, men, sexual desire, fathers, mothers, sisters, family, home, security, marriage, nature, magic, money, violence, class.
Special Option: As I mentioned in class, you may, if you wish, choose instead a creative writing option. Re-write Perrault's "Donkeyskin" in the manner of Angela Carter. Don't feel obligated to imitate the style or even the philosophies of Carter, but do emulate her attempts to revise and (perhaps) recuperate fairy tales from a modern perspective. Or, write a contemporary re-setting of "Donkeyskin" in the manner that Margaret Atwood re-writes "Bluebeard" in "Bluebeard's Egg"-- or in the spirit of the creative writing assignment given to the character Sally in Atwood's story. (See pages 171-172.)
For class on Monday, October 31, bring a thesis for your essay. If you are choosing the creative writing option, bring an opening paragraph.