ENG 335: SF as Social Criticism Spring 2010 Mid-Term Examination[250 Points]

Your mid-term, as discussed in our course policies, will occur on Thursday, March 3. The examination will cover thirty matching questions and two essay questions. You may use your books when writing the two essays. Note that if you present quotations from any of the assigned readings, you must document, using MLA style. See the link to our paper assignment in week five of our syllabus for examples of in text MLA documentation. The specific format of the examination follows.

Section I: 30 Matching [3 points each = 90 points].

Place the letter of the alphabet corresponding to the correct story title in the blank preceding each item. The stories are presented in alphabetical order and assigned a letter of the alphabet below.

A. “Act of God” by Jack McDevitt
B. "All You Zombies" by Robert Heinlein
C. “First Commandment” by Gregory Benford
D. “Helen O’Loy” by Lester Del Rey
E. The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
F. “Microcosmic God” by Theodore Sturgeon
G. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein
H. “The Nine Billion Names of God” by Arthur C. Clarke
I. “The Quest for St. Aquin” by Anthony Boucher
J. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
K. "Time Shards" by Gregory Benford
L. “Twilight” by Joseph Campbell

Here are some sample questions:

A. "Act of God" Jack McDevitt

B."Microcosmic God" by Theodore Sturgeon

C. "The Quest for Saint Aquin" by Anthony Boucher

__ __1. The highly developed Martian chest expansion and the highly developed American breasts made a spectacular combination.

_____2. "I don't see anything here we'll want to toss out. So let's call them the Eleven Commandments."

_____3. So he instituted a rule of fear. The most trivial departure from what he chose to consider the right way of doing things resulted in instant death of half a tribe.

Section II. Two Essays.

You will be asked to define a concept that we identified as central to SF and illustrate the concept by discussing how it is important to two stories. I will name the concept and list a few stories, and you will select two stories for your analysis. You should be able to complete each short essay response in 15-20 sentences depending on how direct and concise you are in your answers. These questions, of course, require that your answers contain three significant parts:

  1. An opening paragraph that introduces your subject [the Wells novel and the selected short story for II A. and the issue in Heinlein's novel for II B.] and then narrows to a clear thesis statement.
  2. A clearly stated, concise thesis statement [It may be more than one sentence.] that establishes a basis for comparing the two stories in your response to II A. and that answers the question about Heinlein's novel for your response to II B. Of course, a strong thesis statement also lists the topics that you will cover to support and develop the thesis.
  3. A discussion of the stories or of Heinlein's novel that supplies specific details and plot events to develop your argument.

For each of these essay responses, you may bring a 4 X 6 note card with your thesis paragraph written out and a list of supporting details that you intend to use to write your response. These cards will help you to outline your response; the note cards must have your name on them, for they will be submitted with your answers.

II A. Comparative Essay [80 points]

Throughout the semester, we have been discussing how science fiction breeds science fiction, often commenting on how a more recent story seems to respond to an earlier one or to extend and further develop concepts covered in an earlier story. As a corollary to this idea, we have also relied on John Clute's idea of Deep SF, the notion that some SF is so reliant on prior texts that we need to be familiar with the earlier piece of writing to fully appreciate and understand the more current one. Respond to ONE of the following questions. Be sure to provide a definition of Deep SF, to establish how the idea emphasized in the question [playing god or hubris] is developed in the H.G. Wells novel, and to demonstrate how the short story of your choice can be seen as reliant on concerns earlier established by H.G. Wells. Strong answers will supply specific, concrete details as supporting evidence.

Write about EITHER #1 OR #2.

  1. Discuss how the protagonist violates moral and ethical boundaries by playing god in The Island of Dr. Moreau and ONE of the following stories: "Microcosmic God" or "Act of God." Your goal here is to illustrate the concept of “Deep SF” by discussing how the more recent story to some extent reflects on and extends concepts developed by H.G. Wells in The Island of Dr. Moreau. Be sure to illustrate your points with specific examples from each narrative.
  2. Discuss how the concept of travel allows the author to comment on hubris, on excessive pride, in The Time Machine by H.G. Wells and ONE of the following stories: "Twilight," "Time Shards," or "All You Zombies." Again, your goal here is to illustrate the concept of “Deep SF” by discussing how the more recent story to some extent reflects on and extends concepts developed by H.G. Wells in The Time Machine. Be sure to illustrate your points with specific examples from each narrative.

II B. Essay on The Moon is a Harsh Mistress [80 points]

Write an essay responding to ONE of the following questions about Heinlein's novel. In your opening paragraph, be sure to begin with a brief overview of how the issue is relevant to Heinlein's novel and then to narrow to a direct answer to the question in the form of a thesis statement that outlines your answer. Then proceed to develop your response by supplying specific supporting details from throughout the novel. Remember, respond to ONLY ONE of the following questions:

  1. Is Professor de la Paz a hypocrite?
  2. Clearly, Mike develops self-awareness, but does he develop the equivalent of human consciousness? In other words, does Mike become human?
  3. How would you characterize Heinlein's presentation of women in the novel? In your view, is he able to break free of the stereotypical views of women prevalent in his day, or does he simply replicate the stereotypes?
  4. Professor de la Paz seems to be the political voice of the novel, but he dies and Mannie, the novel's protagonist, survives. How would you characterize Mannie's politics? By the novel's end, do Mannie's positions counter or support those expressed by the Professor?