Imagination Challenge #1
English 301 Freud at the Bank, Marx on the Couch • Summer 2002

Borrowing somewhat from the intellectual imagination of Gore Vidal (and one can easily borrow ideas from lesser sources), one’s search into the fabulous history of the word "essay," an etymological foray into the labyrinth of essay’s past, will yield another word one might not have expected to run across. That word is "attempt." You see, most people think of an essay as a finished product--a dull, lifeless, inert textual body with a static introduction, an "A-B-C-D" body, and a clear let’s-tie-up-all-the-pieces conclusion. You will NOT write this kind of essay, opting instead to produce something that is less product and more process. That’s right, I am asking with no little nostalgia to return to the origins of the term essay. Your only task is to make a sincere attempt to produce a set of ordered reflections, a group of carefully arranged tasty words which respond in some way to the novels, films, short critical treatments and lectures you have worked through and will continue to work through in the coming weeks.

Are you writing for Bill Nericcio?

In a way, of course you are. But in order to do well on this assignment, you must forget about your peculiar if affable intellectual guide. The only people who really count are the readers you write for: the audience for your paper. Who are they? Well, they are a lot like you. They are impatient and easily bored. They like specific details; they love direct, succinct quotes woven carefully into the fabric of an essay. If you are going to write about an image, they want to SEE a reproduction of that image. They hate misspellings and passive verbs. They like tangy language which is fresh and not filled with clichés. Like you, they RESENT having their time wasted. Recall that the title of this challenge is "Imagination Challenge " so USE your imagination.  While you are not required to use secondary criticism or outside resources on this first essay challenge, a good starting place for published scholarly approaches to the materials in this class are the Modern Language Association Bibliography and the ProQuest Research Library available through Love Library's LION SYSTEM.

You should take no less than 3 and no more than 5 pages (double-spaced typed, carefully proofread, with a dynamic, suggestive title) to complete your task. No cover sheet or folder-cover is necessary and late papers will NOT be accepted. The completed essay is due under my office door, Adams Humanities 4117 on Friday June 14, 2002 under my office door at noon, AH 4117.

Select ONE of the following challenges:

1. Film and Lit
Define the theme that best yokes together and/or fuses the literary/cinematic interests of Franz Kafka and Darren Aronofsky?  Be sure to reference scenes, characters, and specific quotes that were NOT discussed in class.

2. Psychopathology
Contrast two stories written by Franz Kafka as you explore the singular writer's range of interests and curiosities.

3. Marx and Freud
In the library, locate short essays written by Marx and Freud (a good starting place is to page through the index of their collected works) that allow you to better explore the work of Franz Kafka, Darren Aronofsky or Sinclair Lewis.  Write an essay that fuses these literary/cinematic talents with the findings of Herr Marx and Herr Freud.

4. Sexy Psyches
Speculate as to the connection between psychology and sexuality in the work of Sinclair Lewis.

5. Design your own Thesis.
Design your own thesis incorporating two or three works we have completed!  Email your paragraph-length proposal to me by 5pm, Monday, June 10, 2002.

6. Dreamy Protagonists
Explore the significance of dreams in any TWO of the works we have completed this semester.

7. Power and Desire
Using notions adapted from the thought of Marx and Freud, compose a meditation on the function of Power and Desire in the work of Aronofsky and Lewis.