Comparative Analysis # 1

Short Fiction

For your first comparative analysis, please choose one of the following assignments:

Compare Ursula K. LeGuin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” with Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”; Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron”; or any of Paolo Bacigalupi’s three assigned stories, on a common anthropological-critical reading in dystopian perspective. Do this with true-dystopian, anthropologically-authoritative emphasis on a common, underlying theme of human-sacrifice (ritual or otherwise) at Moloch’s altar, as you may resonate with any accessory sources as follows: Biblical passages from the Books of Jeremiah and Micah; Robinson Jeffers’ “Shine, Perishing Republic”; Steve Earle’s “Amerika V. 6.0 (The Best We Can Do)”or “Ashes to Ashes”; NIN’s “Right Where it belongs”; and/or The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy For the Devil” (refer to links as well as any of the non-fiction handouts issued or resonant links posted so far into the mix.) Develop and support your thesis with specific quotations, observations, and analysis of scene and detail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgnClrx8N2khttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ntkjp5rdIAYhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpr9aY178Gohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkw0C7vt5B8http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=jeremiah+7%3A30-34&version=ESVhttp://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=micah+3%3A1-12&version=ESVhttp://www.counter-currents.com/2012/09/shine-perishing-republic/https://www.marxists.org/archive/lu-xun/1922/12/03.htmhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/26/dystopian-stories-margaret-atwood-walking-dead-zombieshttps://www.wired.com/story/dystopia-isnt-sci-fi-for-me-its-the-american-reality/

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jan/24/ursula-k-le-guin-margaret-atwood-tributehttps://kmgarcia2000.blogspot.com/2018/01/ursula-k-le-guin.htmlhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et9Nf-rsALkCompare any two assigned stories (listed in 1 above) as dystopian fiction, in each’s development of a common, underlying theme of totalitarianism—the human cost of “security,” the nature of a centralized, controlling executive administration or bureaucracy, and the essence of life lived under such a regime (“locking down” in the broom closet or scurrying through the lottery, or “hunger games” so to speak). Develop and support your thesis with specific quotations, observations, and analysis of scene and detail. You are welcome to resonate additional sources, such as those added above or otherwise, with the stories you compare.

Compare Ursula K. LeGuin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”, Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, or Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” with Paolo Bacigalupi’s “The Fluted Girl”, “People of Sand and Slag”, or “The Tamarisk Hunter” on a common, underlying theme of dystopian setting and dynamics as a challenge to—as an incubator of—the reader’s empathy: a challenge to the reader to flex the empathic muscles. Develop and support your thesis with specific quotations, observations, and analysis of scene and detail. You’re welcome to resonate additional sources (as those added above) with the stories you compare.

Compare Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” with Paolo Bacigalupi’s “People of Sand and Slag” (considering all characters as engineered and programmed) or “The Fluted Girl” (considering the character dynamics between Stephen and Lydia) on a common, underlying theme of literacy as community; and / or, conversely, illiteracy as dystopian meltdown— political, economic and social machinery run cannibalistically amok. Develop and support your thesis with specific quotations, observations, and analysis of scene and detail. You’re welcome to resonate additional sources (as those added above) with the stories you compare.

Compare Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” with Paolo Bacigalupi’s “The Fluted Girl”, “People of Sand and Slag”, or Ursula K. LeGuin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” on a common theme such as you could crystallize in the following quote: “It seems feasible that over the coming century human nature will be scientifically remodelled. If so, it will be done haphazardly, as an upshot of struggles in the murky realm where big business, organized crime, and the hidden parts of government vie for control.” (John Gray. Straw Dogs. 2002)

Compare Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” with Paolo Bacigalupi’s “The Fluted Girl”, “People of Sand and Slag”, “The Tamarisk Hunter”, Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, or Ursula K. LeGuin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” on a common theme such as you could crystallize in any of the following three quotes: (1) “To destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.” (Theodore Roosevelt. 1913, as written in his autobiography)

(2) “No longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and the duress of small groups of dominant men.” (Woodrow Wilson. 1914)

(3) “This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. . . .Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. . . . In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” (Dwight D. Eisenhower. 1961, Farewell Address) *Note—the three foregoing quotes can be accessed from these two links: https://consortiumnews.com/2020/09/12/the-idea-behind-wikileaks-julian-assange-as-a-physics-student/https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=90#Compare Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” with Paolo Bacigalupi’s “The Fluted Girl”, “People of Sand and Slag”, “The Tamarisk Hunter”, Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, or Ursula K. LeGuin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” on a common theme such as you could crystallize in any of the following four current articles: (1) Tom Meltzer—”Robot doctors, online lawyers and automated architects: the future of the professions?” https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jun/15/robot-doctors-online-lawyers-automated-architects-future-professions-jobs-technology(2) Richard Susskind and Daniel Susskind—”Technology Will Replace Many Doctors, Lawyers, and Other Professionals”  https://hbr.org/2016/10/robots-will-replace-doctors-lawyers-and-other-professionals(3) Michael T. Klare—”US Military Robots on Fast Track to Leadership Role” https://consortiumnews.com/2020/08/27/us-military-robots-on-fast-track-to-leadership-role/(4) Kristen Millares Young—”What should I teach my children to prepare them to race with the robots?” https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/oct/18/what-should-i-teach-my-children-to-prepare-them-for-jobs-in-their-eraYou may work comparatives on your own thematic-conceptual initiatives out of your close reading of stories assigned (whether discussed in class or not) and your attentiveness to what is discussed in class. Develop and support your thesis with specific quotations, observations, and analysis of scene and detail. You are welcome to resonate additional sources, such as those added above or otherwise, with the stories you compare.

Follow the writing process in all of its essentials, leaving ample time for drafting, revision, editing, and production of a final draft of 800-1200 words, double- spaced and in 12 point font (Courier or Times New Roman). Format and document your paper according to MLA guidelines as detailed in The Norton Introduction to Literature, Chapters 27-32; and as detailed in A Writer’s Reference.

Due Date: see course outline in your Syllabus