Frankenstein
(Pick One)
Essay
1) Some scholars have used Frankenstein as a central piece in their argument
against the development of cloning technology. Others argue that the problem
was not with Victor Frankenstein’s scientific methods but with his responses
to his creation—that we should develop cloning technology, but use it wisely.
Debate whether the novel is either “for” or “against” cloning. Support your
argument with passages from the book.
2) When Frankenstein was first published in 1818, it had mixed reviews. Not
everyone understood or enjoyed it. Today, however, we think of the book as a
classic. Speculate about why some important pieces of literature aren’t
treasured right away, while others that are immediately popular eventually
fade away.
3) One of the tragedies of Frankenstein is the refusal of other characters in the
novel to recognize the monster as a full human being. Brainstorm a list of the
qualities that make us human. Which of these qualities does the monster
have? Which does he not have?
4) Discuss the role that nature plays in Shelley’s novel. Include examples that
support your answer.
5) Analyze Mary Shelley’s use of setting throughout the novel. Why, for
example, does she use the Arctic as the setting for Victor Frankenstein’s final
confrontation with his creation?
6) Compare Victor Frankenstein with the monster he created. In what ways are
their life experiences similar? In what ways are they different?
Wuthering Heights
(Pick One)
Essay
1) Why do you think Emily Brontë chose to unfold the story through the secondary
sources of Ellen's narrative, Mr. Locoweed's two visits, and Catherine's diary?
How would the story have differed if it had been told chronologically? Do you
trust the narrators' versions of the events that took place? Or are they, from time
to time, a bit unreliable?
2) When Heathcliff visits Catherine for the last time before she dies, she says to
him, "You have killed me--and thriven on it, I think." Nearly twenty years later,
when Heathcliff is approaching death, he says, "I have to remind myself to
breathe--almost to remind my heart to beat!" Did Heathcliff and Catherine believe
the only way they could be together was in death? Did they, somehow, will
themselves to die?
3) Compare Catherine's love for Heathcliff with her love for Edgar: What are the
defining characteristics of each relationship? Do you think Catherine regrets her
choice of husband?
4) The characters in the novel have a great capacity for violence and hatred, and
revenge is one of Heathcliff's greatest motivations. Is Heathcliff justified in the
revenge he takes on Hindley? Do you think Heathcliff's childhood experiences at
Wuthering Heights contributed to his monstrous behavior as an adult?
5) One critic stated that Wuthering Heights is "truly a novel without a hero or
heroine." What do you think of this statement? Is Heathcliff a hero or a villain?
Pride and Prejudice
(Pick One)
Essay
1. Mr. Bennet's honesty and wry humor make him one of the most appealing
characters in the book. Yet, as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that he has
failed as a father. In what ways does Mr. Bennet let his children down? How does
his action, or inaction, affect the behavior of his daughters? His wife? The course
of the story?
2. Is Mrs. Bennet a better parent? Why or why not? Consider the relationships
between Mrs. Bennet and her children, especially Elizabeth and Lydia.
3. Pride and Prejudice is a novel about women who feel they have to marry to be
happy. Taking Charlotte Lucas as an example, do you think the author is making
a social criticism of her era’s view of marriage?
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Charlotte doesn't marry Mr. Collins for love. Why does she marry
him? Are her reasons valid? Are they fair to Mr. Collins? What do
we learn from and about her? What effect does all this have on
and for Elizabeth?
Compare Darcy's two proposals.
Compare the two proposals made to Elizabeth, with particular
heed to the discourses (types of language) employed:
emotive/subjective, economic, social, moral.
4. For most of the book, pride prevents Darcy from having what he most desires.
Why is he so proud? How is his pride displayed? Is Elizabeth proud? Which
characters are not proud? Are they better off?
5. How is craven materialism represented in Pride and Prejudice? Who are the
most materialistic characters?
6. What is the significance of revising, rethinking, and reviewing one's past?
Elizabeth's startling and resonant statement--"Till this moment, I never knew
myself" (159)--is only the most dramatic instance of her conscious selfexamination, a pattern that deepens from the middle of the book onward. (Darcy
and Mr. Bennet also review self-critically the consequences of past behavior.)
Both Elizabeth and Darcy undergo transformations over the course of the book.
How does each change and how is the transformation brought about? Could
Elizabeth's transformation have happened without Darcy's? Or vice versa?
The Importance of Being Earnest
(Pick One)
Essay
1. Explain the pun of the title. Who is being Earnest in this play? Do
Gwendolen and Cecily prefer having husbands named Ernest to having
earnest husbands?
2. Analyze the gender reversals in this text. Does the feminized Lord
Bracknell foreshadow what Jack and Algernon may become? Are males
or females more passive/dominated in this play?
3. How does dramatic irony create humor in The Importance of Being
Earnest? Identify a handful of instances in which the audience members
know more about what is going on than the characters on stage. Why
does this create humor?
4. What is the role of textuality in this play-do letters and diaries have a
stronger reliability or ring of truth than conversation?
5. Analyze the various times that the characters eat in this play, primarily the
cucumber sandwiches and the muffins. Does eating serve a primarily
social or anti-social function?
6. Does Wilde prevent any version of true love? Does the extent to which
Gwendolen and Cecily are self-centered affect your analysis?
7. Algernon observes that: "Women only call each other sister when they
have called each other a lot of other things first." How does the
development of the relationship between Cecily and Gwendolen bear out
this remark? What causes them to bond together? What causes them to
behave competitively?
8. What does the common classification of The Importance of being Earnest
as a "comedy of manners" refer to? Could this play operate in a classless,
non-hierarchical society?
9. How do words take on a life of their own in this play? How does this relate
to why it is it so easy for Prism to substitute her manuscript for a baby?
Analyze diaries as a source of power and truth-making.
10. Analyze the role of class in Lady Bracknell's worldview. If she more
impressed by land, by nobility, or by wealth?