Paper #3: Enter If You Dare...

The first part of this assignment is the Book Cover Presentation, which is worth 10 of 30 points. Remember, you don’t have to turn in a paper for this part of the assignment—it’s completely oral. However, the remaining 20 points requires you to complete the assignment below which goes hand-in-hand with your cover conception.

As an English major/scholar, you have been commissioned to write a Student’s Introduction to the book from your cover assignment. The goal of this introduction is write an essay geared for students, like you, encountering this book for the first time. What do they need to know about the ideas, themes, and characters of this book? How does it relate to other Gothic literature—or modern literature/films? What did you most learn to appreciate about this book? What are its main difficulties, and why are they difficult for the modern reader? Don’t summarize the plot (beyond the basics, if necessary) or give us exhaustive detail about the characters, which the students can read for themselves. Instead, offer them context for reading and understanding the work so they can hit the ground running, and get more out the book than strange happenings, dated language, and confusing references.

A few things a good Introduction should do:

• Link the book to other works in class (at least one); be specific about these connections—show us why Dracula is like Frankenstein, for example.
• Suggest modern works, either books or films, that seem to be inspired by this novel, or related to it in some fashion. Be specific, but you don’t have to be as specific as with another book from class.
• Context for the book: some of the ‘big’ ideas of the era that seem to creep into the novel, and help shape the plot, characters, or ideas.
• A close reading of at least a scene or two to illustrate some of the above
• Use your cover art as a connection to the book: how does it help us see some of the above ideas? If the art is from the same period, suggest how they’re both channeling the ideas of their age.

You don’t have to be as comprehensive or knowledgeable as the Oxford World’s Classics Introductions; however, do think of your audience—other students not in this class. So don’t assume the students know what you know, or have spent a single day in our class (avoid statements such as, “as we discussed in class,” or “as Dr. Grasso explained,” etc.). Just imagine how you can help future students get more out of the text, or connect with a difficult or confusing book.

REQUIREMENTS

• At least 4-5 pages, double spaced
• Addresses all or most of the bullet points above
• Quotes significantly from the book in question, and at least from one other book in class
• Due Friday, May 4th by 5pm