Note that student work varies significantly from one assignment to the next, even within the
same mark range. The intent behind providing samples such as this one is to guide
students in recognizing key criteria of assignments and in assessing their own work.
SAMPLE INTRODUCTION – EXCELLENT
ESSAY QUESTION: Discuss the role of fantasy in Umberto Eco's novel, Baudolino.
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Strengths:
• A good effort is made to outline a progressive argument that has some complexity
(application).
Tips for Improvement:
• Consider specific effects of pursuing fantasy as a way to add depth to the thesis
(thinking).
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The Impossible Dream
Can insanity help to keep one's sanity? Some people cling to absurd and
unrealistic dreams and fantasies in an effort to cope with the harshness of life;
consequently, many may consider these dreamers to be delusional, or insane by virtue of
their nonconformist ideals. While an apparent disconnect exists between the dreamer and
society, upon closer examination it becomes evident that all members of society – to
some extent – share the aspirations of the imaginative minority. Most people are simply
too reluctant to share their secret longings. Examples from fiction, such as Don Quixote,
and history, such as Martin Luther King Jr., or more recently, Barack Obama, all serve to
illustrate the effect of dreamers on the masses. The aforementioned dreamers have a
significant impact through their portrayals of epic visions that unify a larger audience.
Thus, the dreamer plays an important role in society, eliciting hope for a world of endless
possibility. Fantasy plays a significant role in Umberto Eco's novel, Baudolino. The
novel's main character, appropriately named Baudolino, reflects this constant human
struggle in that he often seems to use insanity in the form of outrageous, absurd fantasies
– which he lives as though they were a part of his reality – to keep him fighting for what
he believes in, to keep him alive. Baudolino is not alone with his fantasies, though, as
members of his social circles also demonstrate the tendency to use fiction as an escape
from reality. Two of his fictions, the Grasal and the kingdom of Prester John, also
provide further parallels between Baudolino and humanity as represented by Baudolino's
acquaintances. Through the symbolism of their nonexistence and elusiveness,
Baudolino's fantasies reveal not only his ideals, but those of his peers as well. Therefore,
Baudolino's elaborate fantasies reflect the enduring human quest for unattainable goals
and aspirations through the element of escape from reality they provide him, the
symbolism and paradox of the Grasal, and ultimately, the meaning found in the
unreachable kingdom of Prester John.