PART I: TAKE-HOME ESSAY QUESTION, due at the start of the exam (Counts 2/5). The essay should be word processed, in the same format as your course essays, and should be no longer than 1000 words, but not much shorter either. It is a “synthesis” essay, meaning that it draws on writings from three of the five global regions named in the syllabus (i.e., East Asia, South Asia, Middle East, Africa, Latin America). These works can be compared and/or contrast in meaningful ways, in the same manner as in the second-course paper. You should realize that the assertions made in the topics shown below are not necessarily correct. As a result, you should feel free to refute all or part of your chosen essay topic, or to accept it with qualifications, instead of supporting it. However, if you agree that the question is valid, you can back it up with convincing reasons. Whatever your approach, the essay should include brief but telling and specific evidence. Like your course papers, it should have a title and an effective introduction and conclusion. Since coverage of the three works mentioned in the questions will require at least one rather detailed paragraph (or two shorter ones), you should plan to write essays with at least 5 paragraphs, and perhaps as many as 8. Pick from the following topics: 1. Coined in 1947, less is more was a watchword for modern architecture. Does this idea also apply to world literature since 1950, in the sense of having several important meanings packed into a single short work? 2. The worlds cultures have different rituals to mark a persons death. Yet when a ritual is disregarded, readers can be shocked, even if the culture is not their own. How well does this point apply to the funeral in Oba Waja (not in Soyinka), to how Telume reacts to Elies approaching death and then his death in The Bridge of Beyond, and to the plans for Fahmys funeral as experienced by his father? In each situation, how are expectations for a proper funeral violated, how does the author convey a mood of shock, and does any of the situations stand out as notably jarring? 3. Disruption within families is often a major literary theme. This issue certainly arises with the title character in Sizwe Bansi is Dead, with Mary Oraon in The Hunt, and with Toussine and Jeremiah in The Bridge of Beyond. In discussing this issue, be sure to define the distinctive nature of the disruption in each characters family, to illustrate the issue with telling examples, and to explain which disruption seems the most severe or tragic, and why.
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