Final Exam Paper: A Literary Time Capsule (due Wed. Dec. 11th)

Our main textbook, The Norton Anthology of World Literature is like a time capsule from another world—the world of our collective past.  Once opened (and I assume you opened it at least a few times this semester!) it revealed the hopes, fears, beliefs, values, and emotions of past civilizations, most of which have vanished into the mists of time.  I designed our course to cover three main themes in the ‘capsule’—love, heroism, and faith, themes I feel we still relate to and write stories, songs, and movies about today. 

For this assignment, I want you to create your own time capsule to another world—the world of our future.  You will compile your own anthology of the present world, the world of your generation.  I want you to pick at 5-6 works that you feel (a) represent the best, or most influential, or most representative aspects of your culture, and (b) relate to the themes of the class: love, heroism, and faith.  These works can be in any medium, from novels (or other books), poems, films, songs, works of pictorial art, comics, video games, or even web sites.  These are not works from the book, but works that you live with and have at home, on your ipod, phone, Kindle, computer, dorm walls, shelves, etc. 

Your paper will be a “Table of Contents” to the works included in the capsule for future generations to read.  Remember, these people will know very little about your world and may find it as remote and baffling as you find the ancient Maya or Shakespeare’s English.  Your goal in the paper is to introduce each work, explain its story, themes and ideas, and analyze some important aspect of the work.  By analyze, I mean quote its language, or closely examine some scene or passage in the work itself.  Help future generations ‘see’ its importance to your culture and how it embodies one of the chief themes of literature—love, heroism, or faith.   You should also relate the modern works, at times, to work of the past to make comparisons and illustrations.  For example, if you feel a modern work mirrors some of Shakespeare’s ideas, show us where and how.  After all, future generations might know Shakespeare much better than anything we have today (just as we read Shakespeare more than any other poet/playwright from the 17^th century!). 

REQUIREMENTS

• At least 5-6 pages, double spaced
• 5-6 specific works from any medium or genre
• A careful analysis/discussion of each work, explaining its importance to your culture and to the themes of the course (love, heroism, faith)
• Some reference to other works in class by way of comparing or illustrating your own

 DUE BY OUR FINAL EXAM DAY: Wednesday, December 11^th by 5pm