Essay Assignment
Using textual evidence (quotes) (at least four times per answer), answer two of the following prompts in thought-out essays of approximately 300 to 500 words each. For full credit, you'll need to use at least four quotes artfully (per answer) and answer the question completely, going beyond the obvious into analysis. Cite quotes in the text appropriately, but a works cited page is not needed. Please address at least three separate texts we've read or films you've seen in your answers (students that do not do this will lose 8 overall points on the exam).
• We've read works that have different narrative perspectives and points of view so far (first person, epistolary novel, third person narration, etc.). How does who is speaking impact the story? What does a first-person narrator add? What does it take away? Specifically in a vampire story, how does narration impact the tale? Use three examples.
• Vampires are almost always coded with sexual "deviance" of some kind. Give three examples of this happening, and explore what you think the author in question is doing by depicting alternative or transgressive sexual expressions specifically in a vampire story. Why might they be doing this?
• In many of the works we've read and seen, vampires are "Other" or "different." in some way. Give three examples of this occurring in the books we've read, and explain what you think the author is doing by painting vampires as outsiders. How do vampire narratives police and/or praise aspects of diversity? What statements about difference do these works center?
• Conversely, what happens when vampires are centered as the "norm"? Are humans ever outsiders? Give three examples of this happening, and answer what you think the author might be saying by painting monsters as less monstrous.
• We've encountered vampires that engage a variety of identity categories, including gender. Vampires, we've learned, can be men, women, and androgynous figures. How does vampire literature discuss and explore questions about gender? In what ways do vampires of different genders exemplify different or similar tropes?
• In three of the works we've read so far, what do you think vampirism symbolizes? Why?
• Vampire fiction is often invested in science, sometimes suggesting that scientific advances are a good thing and other times policing, as Cohen writes, the "borders of the possible." Give three examples from what we've seen or read in which vampirism and science collide, and explain what you think these stories are doing through this juxtaposition.
• Apply Cohen's essay on Monster Theory to three of the texts we've engaged with so far. Where do his theses apply? Where are they limited?
Format your assignment according to the give formatting requirements:
• The answer must be using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, typed, with one-inch margins on all sides.
• The response also includes a cover page containing the student's name, the title of the assignment, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
• Also include a reference page. The references and Citations should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.