History
477
Spring
2013
Devine
Essay
Assignment #2
INSTRUCTIONS
Your
second essay is due Saturday, May 4th by
11:59 pm. If
you plan to work with a writing tutor on this essay, you must email your complete 5-page draft to the
tutor at time you email me your paper. The final draft will be due on May 12th.
You
may email your essay to me as an attachment (the preferred method), turn it in
to the History Department office (Sierra Tower 610) during business hours, or
hand it to me in person. Late essays will be penalized, so please turn your
assignment in on time.
HOW LONG SHOULD THE PAPER BE?
Papers
MUST be 1500 words and no
more than 1900 words.
HOW SHOULD I FORMAT THE PAPER?
• Typed,
double-spaced, 12-point font with one-inch margins all around.
• Please
number your pages by using the “insert page number” feature on your word
processor.
• Give
your essay a title that indicates what the paper is about. (Something more
revealing than “Essay #2” or “Disney”) Clever titles will be duly noted.
• Base
your essay entirely on the
assigned course reading. You do not have
to (nor should you) draw on any outside sources.
Don’t
forget to put your name at the top of page 1 of the essay before you email it.
(People actually forget to do this.)
]
HOW DO I CITE?
If
you are quoting directly from a source, cite the author and page
number in parentheses within the body of the text, i.e. (Watts, 47). All
direct quotes MUST be in quotation marks and must be cited. Paraphrases of
ideas drawn from the book MUST also be cited.
If
you have any questions or are in any way unsure about what you are being asked
to do, be sure to speak with me or James via email or in person.
HOW WILL I BE GRADED?
You
will be graded on:
1) focus
(do you have a thesis statement and does it answer the question asked?)
2) evidence
(do you back up your argument with specific information from the reading?)
3) coherence (is your
argument consistent and understandable throughout the piece?)
4) scope (does
your paper deal with the question in appropriate depth and breadth?)
THE ASSIGNMENT
Answer ONE of the following questions:
1. Why
would the novel Tarzan of the Apes
and the character “Tarzan” himself appeal to white middle-class men – like
Edgar Rice Burroughs – working within “the system” in 1914? What had happened to masculinity by the turn
of the 20th century? What had
“corrupted” it? Why was the embrace of
“primitivism” a potential remedy? How might various episodes in the novel have
– at least vicariously – reassured white male readers of their status in
American society?
[Beyond what was said in class, the essay
by Higham and Reading
Tarzan of the Apes with a Critical Eye handout (both posted on the web
syllabus) will be very helpful in giving you the historical context you will
need to engage this question. A
persuasive essay will cite specific passages from the novel to support its
points and make clear why the historical context of 1914 would help explain the
novel’s popularity among men.]
2. Both Tarzan and Rudolph
Valentino embodied different notions of “the ideal man.” Tarzan appealed more to men, Valentino to
women. Write an essay in which you compare and contrast these two idealized
versions of masculinity and indicate why men preferred Tarzan and women
Valentino. Taking into account the
historical context and shifting cultural values of this period, why would this
be so? What qualities made each figure
“ideal” in the eyes of his admirers? What qualities did they share? What
qualities made them different? Why did men admire Tarzan but denounce
Valentino?
[Beyond what was said in class and the novel itself, the Reading Tarzan of the Apes with a Critical
Eye handout the Higham essay posted on the web
syllabus will help you in your discussion of Tarzan. Draw on the essay by Gaynlyn
Studlar in your discussion of Valentino.]
3. Pick
TWO of the following themes from The Maltese Falcon study
guide – loyalty; truth and deception; masculinity; femininity; authority – and,
referring back to the questions raised on the study guide under each theme,
compose an essay that engages these questions and draws some overall
conclusions about Hammett’s approach to these themes.
[In the essay’s first paragraph
you should make clear to the reader which two themes your paper will discuss
and indicate what basic arguments you will make regarding both themes. Refer
to specific moments or incidents in the novel to illustrate the points. Whenever
you make an assertion, be sure you introduce evidence from the novel to show
the reader what you’re saying is true.]
4. Some
critics have dismissed Elvis Presley as “the white boy who stole the
blues.” Why is this characterization overly simplistic, misleading, and,
if one believes Robert Pielke and Michael Bertrand,
fundamentally wrong? Why do Pielke and Bertrand
think that Elvis was a far more significant figure in both the history
of music and of race relations?
[In
answering, be sure to describe the specific evidence that these two authors
introduce to make their respective cases. Also, be sure to address Elvis’s
significance to music and race relations.]
5. Why
did many young Americans – black and white – find rock’n’roll
music and musicians – particularly figures like Elvis Presley – so fascinating
while their parents considered Presley and his new brand of music a threat to
deeply held values – particularly with regard to race, sex, and the Protestant
work ethic?
[A thorough answer will not simply describe the music and behavior of Elvis
and others, but explain why
they were both fascinating and threatening. In answering, you should
explain how Presley and others’ brand of music challenged
specific values and prejudices of the time.]