ENGL 1666: Gothic Tales of Terror
Final Examination Part One: Take Home Essay
Dr. Sigler

Write ONE detailed short essay (no less than two and no more than three pages, word-processed, double-spaced, 1" margins, using a standard 12-point font ) on any ONE of the following topics, writing for no more than 90 minutes. The take-home essay must be free from mechanical errors, and printed on clean white paper in best-quality ink. E-mail submissions will not be accepted.

The take-home essay portion of the exam covers class material from the entire semester and is worth 10% of your grade for the class (100 points). The in-class portion of the final is also worth 10% of your grade for the class, so the total value of the final exam is 20% of your course grade.

You may use your class texts, handouts and notes while writing the take-home essay, and I encourage you to use specific details and quotes to illustrate and concretely support your answers, but be sure to document correctly. To write a really good essay you should, of course, extend beyond what we did in class, and demonstrate your ability to think on your own. In other words, this essay should be an original analysis, not a transcription of class notes. Do not use secondary sources while writing your exam. Your essay will be read for the quality of its composition, as well as the depth and breadth of the knowledge of class readings it contains. (In your essay, you should also, of course, only discuss texts on our class reading/viewing list.)

 Bear in mind:

• These are deliberately open-ended questions, so be sure to begin with a clear main idea/thesis; don't just respond with a list of examples.
• As these are comparative questions, keep in mind that organizing your answer in terms of your analysis is much more coherent than discussing each text separately.
• Use plenty of examples, quotes and specific details; don't rely on generalizations. (Remember: one of the main objects of the exam is to enable you to display the range and depth of your knowledge of the class material.)
• The films viewed in class are considered "works of fiction" like the novels and short stories read for class. For our exam purposes, we will consider the directors the "authors" of the films.
• Your completed essay is due at the beginning of the final exam period (4.00 p.m.) on Tuesday 19 December 2006. Late work will be marked down 1 letter grade per day, and can not be accepted at all after 4:00 p.m. on 20 December. Essays not submitted at the beginning of the exam period will be considered late.
• You will take the in-class portion of the final on Tuesday 19 December 2006 from 4:00 noon to 5:55 pm in H403. For a guide to the in-class portion of the exam click here.

1. Compare the use of childhood as a symbol by analyzing THREE Gothic narratives, one of which must be 'Salem's Lot or Interview with the Vampire. What specific characteristics are childhood and the child character(s) used to represent? What important theme(s) in these works do child characters represent? To what extent is childhood innocence portrayed as having power (e.g. to resist, reform, or punish) over sinister events and/or individuals in each story? Consider the importance of the subject of childhood in each work as a whole.

 2. What qualities make for great Gothic literature? What are the criteria you apply in deciding which Gothic stories are better than others? Describe your criteria in detail, by analyzing THREE relevant texts from the class syllabus, one of which must be 'Salem's Lot or Interview with the Vampire.

3. Many critics have argued that since the nineteenth century there has been a separate Gothic tradition called the Female Gothic. What specific concerns or issues have women used the Gothic genre to address? Why is the Gothic genre particularly suited to expressing these concerns? Develop your argument by analyzing THREE examples from the class syllabus.

 4. You are an instructor in the English department of a large Minnesota high school (congratulations!) that is currently undergoing revision of its outdated class offerings, and you have been asked by your Department Head to write a memo to the school's Curriculum Committee making a case for the inclusion of a new class on Gothic horror literature. Write this memo, arguing why the study of Gothic literature would be beneficial for high-school students by analyzing THREE works from our syllabus (one of which must be Dracula) as part of your argument.

5. Is humor antithetical to horror? Does humor diminish or increase the horror? Analyze the reasons for the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of humor in Gothic literature, using relevant examples from THREE different works from our syllabus (one of which must be Salem's Lot or Interview with the Vampire) as part of your argument.

6. Have vampire narratives and characters changed significantly since the 1897 publication of Bram Stoker's influential novel Dracula? Which themes and/or genre characteristics have persisted in the hundred years of literary history we have covered, and why? Choose one theme that you have seen reoccur consistently and analyze its significance, as well as any changes or developments you see occurring in the 20th century, using examples from at least THREE works from the class syllabus: one of these must (obviously!) be Dracula .