Captain Kopacz
American Literature
Evil and Supernatural Essay:
Literary Analysis of Short Stories.

To date, we have read or will read in the next week the following pieces of literature that deal with evil and/or supernatural forces:
“The Crucible” –Arthur Miller
“The Devil and Tom Walker” – Washington Irving
“The Masque of the Red Death” – Edgar Allan Poe
“Young Goodman Brown” – Nathaniel Hawthorne
“Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” –Nathaniel Hawthorne
“A Rose for Emily”- William Faulkner
“The Slaughtering of the Lamb”-Roald Dahl
In a tidy little essay, explain how these stories use the supernatural as a source of evil. You will want to consider the literary elements of each story—look for similarities and differences. Here are some ideas to get you started (DO NOT ANSWER ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS… THEY ARE TO GET YOUR CREATIVE JUICES FLOWING):
! What about the protagonists? Did bad things happen to them? Did they deserve their fates?
! Were the supernatural elements in these stories entirely evil? How do people respond to supernatural situations?
! Is there a “logical” explanation for the supernatural phenomena occurring in these stories?
! By using supernatural elements in their stories, what are these writers trying to tell us?
I googled a few quotes dealing with evil and/or the supernatural. Feel free to use some as food for thought:
|
· “Battle not with monsters lest ye become a monster and if you gaze into the abyss the abyss gazes into you.” -- Friedrich Nietzsche |
|
· “The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” – Joseph Conrad |
|
· “No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks.” – Mary Wollstonecraft |
|
· “The world is all the richer for having a devil in it, so long as we keep our foot upon his neck.” – William James |
|
· “Evil will always triumph over good because good is dumb.” – Dark Helmet |
|
· “The supernatural is the natural not yet understood.” – Elbert Hubbard |
|
· “It's not a monster movie. It's a supernatural thriller.” – Ed Wood |
|
· “Some cast the blame on supernatural powers - the planets, the stars, God, or even witches. Galenists claimed that the pox came from corrupted air, or even, like lovesickness, from an excess of black bile.” – Peter Lewis Allen |
|
· “As a musician I tell you that if you were to suppress adultery, fanaticism, crime, evil, the supernatural, there would no longer be the means for writing one note.” – Georges Bizet |
|
· “Man can know his world without falling back on revelation; he can live his life without feeling his utter dependence on supernatural powers.” – Christopher Dawson |
|
· “Belief in the supernatural reflects a failure of the imagination.” – Edward Abbey |
|
·
Dr Ray Stantz:
“Gozer the Gozerian... good evening. As a duly designated
representative of the City, County and State of New York, I order
you to cease any and all supernatural activity and return forthwith
to your place of origin or to the nearest convenient parallel
dimension.” |
This will be a literary essay, which means it is based on the three-part format. However, you have a bit of freedom within your choice of topic and body organization.
Honors Class: 4 pages minimum typed, double spaced, size 12 font (this is size 12 font), title page, and a works sited page.
Regular English Class: 3 pages minimum typed, double spaced, 12 font (this is size 12 font), title page, and a works sited page.
*A rough draft of this essay is due ____April 2__and is worth 50 employability points.
*The final draft is due __April 4th_ and will be worth 100 points. You must cite three of the seven stories and one “outside” source using MLA
http://www.owt.com/rhs/smithm/amlitcalendar.htm