Final Paper – Humanities 06 SUMMER B 2024

Date Due: August 15 by 8 PM. As usual, this will be an online submission.

Points Value: This assignment will be worth 300 points.

Paper Length: The paper should be at least 5 (no more than 6) pages- roughly 1300 – 1450 words.

This does not include a “works cited” section that you need to include. The “works cited” doesn’t have to be on a separate sheet of paper, you can just put it after the concluding paragraph of your paper.

IMPORTANT: You cannot use sources such as CourseHero, UK Essays, GradeFixer, SparkNotes, etc. (there are many others that I could list here that are the same type of websites) as sources for your paper. These are NOT academic sites.

Please use at least 3 academic sources- none of which are Wiki or the ones listed below. A list of ways to find academic sources can be found in the Final Paper Module. Sites like JSTOR and EBSCO are perfectly fine to use. Make sure you have used them and cited them in your paper.

Remember to do your academic research on the short story or film- rather than subjects the work might be about. For example: if the story choice you could write on was the pair of stories that includes “The Yellow Wallpaper” then you would research and include interpretations of the Gilman story, not research on how wallpapers have changed in the last 100 years.

Here are you choice of Final Paper topics. These short stories deal with similar ideas that we have discussed in class already.

Choose the main character of the story. Explain why the story illustrates the Hum themes used in our class-

Please relate whatever you choose to 1 of the 3 main Hum themes:

1. Man’s relationship with self
2. Man defining himself within society
3. Man defining himself within relationship to nature

Your grade will depend on how well you can explore 1 Hum theme in depth. Even though I know that there is an overlap between these, this is an exercise in arguing your point of view. Don’t worry about trying to find the one and only “right” answer, try to approach your paper using 1 Hum theme.

Below are the list of stories or films to write on from the following categories. Tie it into some of the stories and readings we have already discussed in our class if you feel it is appropriate. Keep the comparisons to one paragraph for each one, and try to keep it to two comparisons at most.

IMPORTANT: Make sure to use quotes in order to support your ideas. Citations can be done using (author, page #) and listing in a “Works cited” at the end of your paper.

EXAMPLE

In-text citations include the last name of the author followed by a page number enclosed in parentheses. “Here is a direct quote from an academic source analyzing the short story” (Smith, 8).

A similar formula applies to this paper as the one I gave you for the Midterm prompt

Thesis = Short Story (Option A) or Film (Option B) + Hum theme (1, 2, or 3)

Choose either Option A or Option B- you cannot do both for extra credit.

Option A

PROMPT:

Connect one pair of 2 stories – please only pick one that is on this list,

You must use “motor oil” and “jellyfish” 4 times in this paper. using the same 1 (out of the 3) Humanities theme of your choosing. Choose only 1 pair of short stories- you don’t have to write on more than both:

Pair #1: The Tell-Tale Heart Download The Tell-Tale Heartby E.A. Poe & Yellow Wall-Paper Download Yellow Wall-Paperby Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Pair #2: Where Are You Going…? Download Where Are You Going…?by Joyce Carol Oates & Sweat Download Sweat by Zora Neale Hurston

Pair #3: A Rose for Emily Download A Rose for Emilyby William Faulkner & A Temporary Matter Download A Temporary Matterby Jhumpa Lahiri

NOTE: If you choose to write on a short story, then you do not have to choose a film.

OR –

Option B

PROMPT:

Choose from just 1 of the following films. You can only write on one of these choices- please only pick one that is on this list,

You must use “motor oil” and “jellyfish” 4 times in this paper. using the same 1 (out of the 3) Humanities theme of your choosing. Do not substitute one of your own choosing.

NOTE: If you choose to write on a film, then you do not have to write on a short story.

Films:

• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Dir: Michel Gondry
• Fight Club (1999) Dir: David Fincher
• Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) Dir: Guillermo del Toro
• Parasite (2019) Dir: Bong Joon-ho
• Persepolis (2007) Dir: Marjane Satrapi / Vincent Paronnaud
• The Shining (1980) Dir: Stanley Kubrick

I have posted a sample paper to help guide you in what I’m looking for in a film paper please don’t write on it. I will not accept a paper based on this film.

• The Sixth Sense (1999) Dir: M. Night Shyamalan

On the next page, I have also included a sample paper that I wrote on “The Sixth Sense” that you can use as a guide.

Reminders:

Do. Not. Plagiarize. I’m not expecting groundbreaking work in this paper. I’m just trying to find out what your opinion is. It’s okay if your opinions are based on someone else’s ideas, just tell me that they are. So, cite every idea or sentence that is not your own. Otherwise, you will get an “F”.

Quick checklist:

□ Are you keeping your focus on the 1 Hum theme that you are using to discuss your topic?

□ Do you have 4 sources- none of which are Wiki? Make sure you have used them and cited them in your paper.

□ Consider asking someone to proof your paper for spelling / grammar. Make sure you are breaking your paragraphs into clear subjects of discussion.

□ Remember to talk about the work as it relates to understanding culture, not just giving a plot summary, or what happens in the story, without explaining why it’s relevant to understanding the work as a whole.

Feel free to email me at any time if you have any questions.

Within this Module, I have included a sample paper that I wrote on “The Sixth Sense” which you can use as a guide to writing a film paper.