Assignment
You must answer three of the questions below: the mandatory question and then two questions of your choice. You will answer each question separately. All of your answers should be written as short essays, meaning they should have a clear argument that takes up the questions posed to you and should be written with no grammatical or spelling errors. You must draw upon specific evidence from the text (be it a book, essay, or film) to support the claims you make. These answers are intentionally open ended; the goal here is to guide your thinking about these texts while also allowing you enough room to address the ideas and themes you are most interested in.
When using text from either the novel or the essay assigned, please cite the page number using MLA formatting. This means the author's last name followed by the page number the quote can be found on, all in parentheses before the final punctuation for the sentence. For example: (Hammett 6). You do not need to provide a works cited page unless you use any outside research (i.e. texts not listed below) to answer the questions.
Your answer for the mandatory question must be between 1 and 2 pages of written text. The answer Your essays should be written in 12-point Times New Roman font, double spaced. You only need to provide the number of the question; do not repeat the question in the body of your answer.
Besides the mandatory question, which can deal with any of the texts we read or viewed for class, the following are the texts this exam will cover: Bonnie and Clyde, Out of Sight (both novel and film), Clockers, and Gone Girl (both novel and film).
Question
1. This course takes as its central thesis that the genre of crime fiction tackles large issues that are important to American society and politics. Using three of the texts we have engaged with in class, make a claim as to what specific feature of American society or politics has been addressed through the crime fiction we have read. In other words, answer the question "why is crime fiction important to study?"
2. Both Out of Sight (the novel and the film) and Clockers address the issue of criminality and race in different ways. How do these texts present and address the supposed linkage between race and crime and what different conclusions does your interpretation lead you to regarding how race is central to any discussion of crime fiction?
3. Both Out of Sight (the novel and the film) and Gone Girl (the novel and the film) present their women characters in forms we have not yet seen in the other crime fiction we have read and viewed. What claims about gender are these texts making and how might these claims upend or otherwise challenge preconceived notions of femininity and the role of women in American society?
4. Several of the texts we have read or watched in the last two weeks have featured banks as targets of crime and market crashes and property foreclosures as justifications for crime. Using two or three of the texts from the last two weeks, discuss the role of banks and market forces in crime fiction and make a claim as to why banks are targets for criminal action.
5. Both Out of Sight and Gone Girl talk about "coolness" in different ways. What makes Foley cool and what makes the "cool girl" of Gone Girl cool, and how might these paragons of coolness be interpreted as reflections of cultural desires?
6. Using at least two of the texts of the last two weeks, talk about the role of the media and popular culture (films, music, video games, etc.) in our appreciation for and fascination with crime and criminality.