Your final essay will discuss how Blindsight uses one of the following symbolic clusters to convey meaning:
1. Greco-Roman allusions. (How do they function? What characters or objects do they impact? How do they undermine or support the story?)
2. Judeo-Christian allegories (What plot points are modified by these references? How are characters aligned with their biblical counterparts?)
3. Narrative and structural features (Argue how ‘headquotes,’ the ‘message in a bottle’ storytelling format, the way language, the ‘imagine you are’ segments, and others impact the ‘chapters,’ the novel, etc.)
4. Disability and Body Anxieties (How are disabilities defined? How does the novel work through the problems associated with augmented human forms?)
5. Economic Engines and Occupational Futures (What is the novel saying about jobs? What about the affective dimensions of employment and how they impact social-emotional bonds in a future where everyone is connected through virtual tech and cloud-like systems?)
These parenthetical suggestions above are only a few suggested points of departure. Do not feel that you must list the above ‘cluster’ (or even feel like you need to call it a cluster at all!) or answer all or any of the parenthetical questions. Let your own interpretive work guide the document design and rhetorical logic of your essay.
Successful, passing essays will demonstrate interpretive analyses based on summaries of selected materials or plot points, close-readings of quoted passages and lines from the novel, plot points, extrapolations, and clear arguments related to your thesis. A solid understanding of the novel as a whole is absolutely necessary for you to succeed. For instance, if you select Judeo-Christian allegories, you should include notes about the crown of thorns, Christs on crosses, Heaven, etc. It is not sufficient to gesture at a few bits or pieces; you want to speak to the entirety of the novel.
Lastly, you must cite any outside sources that you draw upon (if you are quoting the King James Bible to explain a biblical reference, cite the edition per MLA. You are not permitted to use or rely on any sources that summarize, analyze, or otherwise discuss Blindsight.
Paper details:
1,100 1,200 words (final draft).
>Formatting. All essays (except those written/submitted in class) must be double-spaced (use one-inch margins on all sides) and typed (Times New Roman font, size 12).
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/13/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
>Works Cited
Include a page that gives the bibliographic information for your texts as well as parenthetical citations (for page numbers) within the body of your essay. All citations should be in the correct MLA format.
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