GERM 1025/1026 Final Exam
Due Date: December 15 (to be uploaded via Brightspace)
The test consists of you writing two essay responses to the following themes. As you will see, the themes are broad, so a big part of your response involves you creating a clear, specific thesis about your themes and discussing them in relation to two of the works that we have discussed in class. And so, I would like you to discuss two authors per essay, e.g. one on Schnitzler and Remarque and one on Remarque and Kafka. As we did more than one work by Kafka, your range is a bit more open in regards to what you can choose from him. Each essay should be approximately 1,250 words. Each essay is worth 50% of the total grade.
Here are the themes:
Power and Powerlessness
The Corruption of Society
Authority and Anti-Authority
Love and Hatred
Love and the Abuse of Love
The Role of Class
The Family
Generational Conflict
Morality and Immorality
The Role of Irony
Justice and Injustice
Literature and History
Learning and Failing to Learn from Experience
For example, you might look at the themes of power and powerlessness in “The Penal Colony” and in All Quiet on the Western Front; the role of class in La Ronde and All Quiet on the Western Front; the tensions within the family in ‘The Metamorphosis’ and All Quiet on the Western Front; corruption in La Ronde and All Quiet on the Western Front; etc. Some of these essays will inevitably be compare and contrast in structure; when it comes to such essays, structure your paper in terms of ideas instead of discussing one work for half the essay and another work for the other half. As with your previous essays, you must use proper essay structure: a clear introductory paragraph that closes with a specific, strong thesis; paragraphs organized around topics that support your thesis and that are structured in a clear, logical way; a sense of transition from point to point; evidence from the text that supports your thesis and/or supporting points; and, finally, a strong conclusion.
For the exam, you should use your books, as I would like you to quote directly from the primary texts. As with previous essays, points will be gained or lost on the basis of how you use the texts to support your argument. While you do not need to make use of the kind of critical secondary material that you used for Essay 3, you can quote from the lectures as a potential secondary source. As with previous essays, points will be gained or lost on the basis of how you use the texts to support your argument. Be sure to include the bibliographic information for the texts (print or online) that you have used at the end of the exam.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions.
