ENG 335: SF as Social Criticism Summer 2016 Final Examination [400 Points]

Part I. 50 Quotations [Each Quotation is Worth 3 Points for a Total of 150 Points]

You will use the following key to match story titles presented in alphabetical order to the listed quotations. Please note that since there will be 50 quotes and only 32 stories, the same story will sometimes be the correct answer more than once.

A. / “Adam and No Eve” by Alfred Bester
B. / “Algorithms for Love, The” by Ken Liu
C. / “All You Zombies” by Robert Heinlein,
D. / “Arena” by Fredric Brown
E. / “Bloodchild” by Octavia Butler
F. / “Blood Music” by Greg Bear
G. / “Burning Chrome” by William Gibson
H. / “Country of the Kind, The” by Damon Knight
I. / “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes
J. / “Gostok and the Doshes, The” by Miles J. Breuer
K. / “Helen O’Loy” by Lester Del Rey
L. / “Liar!” by Isaac Asimov
M. / “Mars is Heaven!” by Ray Bradbury
N. / “Martian Odyssey, A” by Stanley Weinbaum
O. / “Mimsy Were the Borogoves” by Lewis Padgett
P. / “Nine Billion Names of God, The” by Arthur C. Clarke
Q. / “Persistence of Vision, The” by John Varley
R. / “Rappaccini’s Daughter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
S. / “Recording Angel” by Ian McDonald
T. / “’Repent, Harlequin!’ said the Ticktock Man” by Harlan Ellison
U. / R.U.R. by Karel Capek
V. / “Sandman, The” by E.T.A. Hoffmann
W. / ”Second Variety” by Philip K. Dick
X. / “Slow Life” by Michael Swanwick
Y. / “Start the Clock” by Benjamin Rosenbaum
Z. / “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang
AA. / “Terminal Beach, The” by J.G. Ballard
BB. / “Twilight” by John Campbell
CC. / “Vaster Than Empires and More Slow” by Ursula K. Le Guin,
DD. / “Vintage Season” by C.L. Moore
EE. / “Weapons Shop, The” by A.E. van Vogt
FF. / “When It Changed” by Joanna Russ

Sample Questions:

1. ______I ordered it to make a machine which would have what man had lost. A curious machine.

2. ______We went trout fishing for a day, where she proved to be as good a sport and as sensibly silent as a man.

Part II. Four Essays [Each essay is worth 60 Points for a Total of 240 Points.]

We covered six thematic areas according to Heather Masri’s designations: “Alien Encounters,” “Artificial Life,” “Time,” “Utopias and Dystopias,” “Disasters and Apocalypses,” and “Evolutions.” Your task will be to pick the four thematic areas most interesting to you, decide which two assigned stories in each area most successfully developed the designated theme, and write a commentary on each of the two stories justifying your choices. Of course, each of your four essays must begin with a thesis statement explaining the criteria that you used to select the two stories.

Please note that we placed John Campbell’s “Twilight” in the Time area, but Masri placed it under Evolutions. If you choose “Twilight” as one of your stories, you may place it in either area. Here are the six thematic areas and the relevant stories in each:

Alien Encounters: “A Martian Odyssey” by Stanley Weinbaum, “Arena” by Fredric Brown, “Mars is Heaven!” by Ray Bradbury, “Vaster than Empires and More Slow” by Ursula K. Le Guin, “Bloodchild” by Octavia Butler, and “Slow Life” by Michael Swanwick.

Artificial Life: “The Sandman” by E.T.A. Hoffmann, R.U.R. by Karel Capek, “Liar!” by Isaac Asimov,”Second Variety” by Philip K. Dick, “Burning Chrome” by William Gibson, “The Algorithms for Love” by Ken Liu, and “Helen O’Loy” by Lester Del Rey.

Time: “The Gostok and the Doshes” by Miles J. Breuer, “Vintage Season” by C.L. Moore, “All You Zombies” by Robert Heinlein, “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang, “Start the Clock” by Benjamin Rosenbaum, and “Twilight” by John Campbell.

Utopias and Dystopias: “The Weapons Shop” by A.E. van Vogt, “The Country of the Kind” by Damon Knight, “’Repent, Harlequin!’ said the Ticktock Man” by Harlan Ellison, “The Persistence of Vision” by John Varley, and “When It Changed” by Joanna Russ.

Disasters and Apocalypses: “Adam and No Eve” by Alfred Bester, “The Nine Billion Names of God” by Arthur C. Clarke, “The Terminal Beach” by J.G. Ballard, “Recording Angel” by Ian McDonald.

Evolutions: “Rappaccini’s Daughter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Mimsy Were the Borogoves” by Lewis Padgett, “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, and “Blood Music” by Greg Bear.