Homework: Analysis of Stephen King's Carrie
In-Class synchronous reading response
For one of the questions below, produce 500 to 750 words reading response. Remember: your homework must ANALYZE the text. Don't bother with summary; you won't have time. You can assume that your reader will be familiar with the text.
a. One of the most fascinating things about King's Carrie is that, through its epistolary structure and polyvocal form, the author forces readers to come to their own conclusions about the titular character.
So...who (or what) is Carrie? Is she a victim? A villain? An anti-heroine? A divine punishment for the inhabitants of Chamberlain? All of these? Something else?
Make an argument for how readers should interpret the protagonist of the novel. Why do you feel the way you do about Carrie-and why should we listen to you?
b. Poe has often been called a master of the macabre. Much has been made of the use of narrators in his stories (e.g., "The Black Cat" or "The Tell-Tale Heart") Analyze his use of narration in "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar."
c. Horror is a much-maligned genre; some have even claimed that it's inherently sadistic, immoral, and/or pornographic. In his work "why we crave scary movies," King writes: "The mythic horror movie, like the sick joke, has a dirty job to do. It deliberately appeals to all that is worst in us."
Defend OR refute King's statement using either Carrie or Poe's "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar." Be sure to provide evidence from the text.
d. In her work on Stephen King's novel Misery, scholar Kathleen Lant argues that King's representations of female characters are particularly problematic. (In fact, Lant heavily implies that the author is a misogynist.) However, some have viewed Carrie as a quintessentially feminist text. How feminist is King's book? How are women portrayed in the novel, and what can we take from this?
Format your homework according to the give formatting requirements:
a. The answer must be double spaced, typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
b. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the course title, the student's name, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
c. Also include a reference page. The references and Citations should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.