Explain a concept from one of the secondary source
readings; you do not need exact quotes, but your answers should demonstrate your thorough knowledge of each author’s
Explain two elements of Machiavelli’s advice for princes (hint: some elements might include:
warfare & knowing the country/history, fear vs love, stinginess vs generosity, not keeping one’s word) and why he thinks
those qualities are important for a ruler.
Two: Explain three of Jeffery Jerome Cohen’s suggested theses about the seven functions of monsters, and provide brief
Explain Hsun Tzu’s distinction between the gentleman and the petty man, what he believes
people can do to improve themselves, and his reasons for believing that people have evil natures.
Four: In your own words, explain first the general reason Jefferson gives for proclaiming independence (that is, what
rights are people entitled to, in his view? what’s the role of a king or government in relation to those rights?) and then at
least two specific acts the king has done to violate those rights.
Five: Explain Aristotle’s definition of a “happy man,” and what’s required in order to consider someone truly happy.
Provide an example of a “happy man,” according to his definition, if you can come up with one—or, explain why this is
difficult to truly achieve!
Six: In your own words, explain Stephen King’s suggested reasons for why people like horror movies (there are at least
three), and indicate which one he believes is the most important for our mental health (you may use bullet points). Do you
find his reasons convincing? Why or why not?
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SECTION TWO: Concept Application: Short Essay
Choose one of the three prompts below to answer. Answers should take the form of a short essay, 500-750 words
(roughly 2-3 pages, though longer is fine!); you should have a clear thesis statement (what is your overall answer to the
question?) no later than the end of your second paragraph, and then provide examples to support that thesis. You do
not need direct quotes, but your answers should demonstrate your knowledge of the texts, use specific
examples/scenes/evidence for support, and make a clear argument. This section is worth 100 points.
Prompt #1: Monsters and the Other. Alexander Leggatt suggests that Titus Andronicus is a play that ultimately
dissolves boundaries between civilization and the wilderness, and that it makes us uncomfortable because it demands that
we “recognize in the self the evil that is too easily projected onto the Other” (249). In other words, the play asks us to
recognize the potential for evil within ourselves, under extreme circumstances, instead of evil that’s easily identifiable and
comes from some external body or threat—and he suggests that this idea is what makes the play uncomfortable to read or
watch. Using Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus and/or Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer for support, discuss the
ways in which fictional monsters ask us to reevaluate our own potential to become monstrous. Do you agree with
Leggatt’s claim about the purpose of Shakespeare’s depiction of evil in the play? (If you’re also including Buffy, do these
ideas still apply to a text written four centuries later?) You should have a clear thesis, no later than your second
paragraph, that makes a statement about the ways in which monsters in the play and/or television show might either
support or challenge the idea that monsters ask us to recognize our own potential for darkness, then use your body
paragraphs for evidence and support.
Prompt #2: Uncanny Monsters. Sigmund Freud suggests that “the uncanny” is distinct from being simply frightening
because it contains elements that should be familiar or recognizable but are distorted or made unrecognizable in some
way. Using Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus and/or Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer for support, discuss the
ways in which monsters support or challenge Freud’s idea. What kinds of monsters do we see in the text(s) you’ve
chosen, and do they reflect the idea of the uncanny, or not? In what ways? Are any specific types of monsters presented as
worse than others, and what does that tell us about larger cultural fears and anxieties? (For instance, if Titus gives us an
example of parental love, something that might be familiar, which then becomes distorted and monstrous, does that
suggest that this is an important source of anxiety)? You should have a clear thesis, no later than your second paragraph,
that makes a statement about who or what is “monstrous” in the play and/or television show and how those
monsters connect to the idea of the uncanny, then use your body paragraphs for evidence and support.
Prompt #3: Desiring the Monster. Jeffery Jerome Cohen suggests that monsters reflect our desires, especially desires
involving freedom, escape from restrictions, or the ability to make socially unacceptable choices. Using Shakespeare’s
Titus Andronicus and/or Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer for support, discuss the ways in which monsters can
function as symbols of desire. What kinds of monsters do we see in the text(s) you’ve chosen, and how do they reflect
the idea of desire? In what different ways might these monsters be attractive, and what does that tell us about larger
cultural desires and assumptions (for instance, the assumption that romantic love is important, or that social
