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Mid-Term Paper: The Original vs. The Myth (due March 9)

English 2653

Mid-Term Paper: The Original vs. the Myth

INTRO: One of the most common statements a reader can make upon encountering Frankenstein, Sherlock Holmes¸ or Alice in Wonderland in the original is, “I didn’t know it was like this!” Even though both are iconic works of literature that have spawned dozens of ‘sequels’ in books, films, comics, and elsewhere, relatively few people experience the original—or know how it differs from its modern-day mythology. And yet, the book is what remains, and what we ultimately have to return to so we can understand who these characters are and why their stories so captivated their audiences’ imaginations.

PROMPT: For this paper, I want you to explore the difference between the original and the myth with at least ONE of these works. To do this, consider what you knew, or thought you knew, about the work before you read it, and what surprised you, excited you, or confused (even annoyed) you about the real thing. Compare this to at least ONE of the modern-day adaptations so we can understand how they willfully (or ignorantly?) interpret the characters and give people a different twist on the iconic stories. You might consider films, shows, fan fiction, and other popular culture depictions that are today more visible than the books themselves.

ALSO: Also, find at least 2 articles that discuss some aspect of your novel: these could be critical articles about some aspect of the novel itself, or one of the characters, or the modern-day adaptations, or anything related to our understanding of the book. Bring this into your conversation, so we can understand some of the issues surrounding the original vs. the myth of your work.

AND: Be sure to CLOSE READ specific passages of the novel to show us important themes and ideas that might not make it into the myth, or that you feel are essential for understanding its importance. Quote too from your articles and from your other primary source, the film/show/comic, etc. The idea is to have a CONVERSATION about the myth vs. the work with several different ‘people,’ these being your primary and secondary sources.

 REQUIREMENTS

  • Page limit up to you, but no one-pagers, please! Double space, too!
  • At least 1 other primary source, and at least 2 secondary sources
  • Close reading from the novel (enough to establish some important ideas/passages)
  • In-text citations should loosely follow MLA format and include a Works Cited page
  • You must have fun with this! This is exciting—you’re educating people on how popular culture changes literature, and whether or not this is for the greater good. Be a teacher…some of you might use these ideas in a future classroom.
  • DUE THURSDAY, MARCH 9th by 5pm [no class that day]

 

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