Mid-term Exam

This exam has three parts: identification questions, short essay questions, and long essay question. It’s supposed to keep you writing, to make you think and help you learn by asking questions about things you’ve read as well as things we’ve reviewed in class. Write what you know and time yourself carefully. You want to be finished with the first two parts within 45 minutes of our 80 total.

Please type all responses within this document and upload to eCampus>Assessments>Assignments before the end of class. Good luck!

Part I: Identification (2 points per questions, 10 points total)

Is Shipwrecks a stable or unstable text and why?

This is a stable text because talks of how a family is trying to find food to eat at a time when it is very difficult. Therefore it focuses on the theme of hunger which is a thing which affects everyone and therefore the text remains relevant and stable.

Is “Bermudas” a stable or unstable text and why?

This is a stable text because it talks of how the adventures of the European people as well as the reasons for adventures. This is a common thing among people and therefore it follows that this will not change and this text remains relevant thus stable.

Are the various sea shanties stable or unstable texts and why?

These texts are unstable because in most of the times they talk of the experiences and the social life of the time they were written in and therefore are unstable to the current society.

Is The Female Marine a stable or unstable text and why?

This text is a stable text as it talks about a lady who had to pretend to be a man for around 3 years and she successfully did that. This is also a reflection of the current time when most individuals have to fake their identity to fit into the society.

How would you class each of the four texts mentioned within a cultural hierarchy (or ladder) that goes from lowbrow, to middlebrow, to highbrow literature?

Female marine is a middle bow literature because it talks of women and it is associated with middle class. It is also easily available in most book clubs.

The ‘shipwrecks’ is a lowbrow literature because it only talks of the experiences of the people and explains the story as the reader expects it.

‘Bermudas’ is a highbrow literature. This is because the culture expressed therein is a lot and it also portrays a lot of intellectual knowledge as of that time.

The sea shanties are lowbrow literature because they talk about the journey of the people of that time and they engage in songs and this therefore is what is expected by the reader.

Part II: Short essay questions on methods of analysis that we’ve studied. Write 2-3 sentences in response to each question (10 points per essay, for 60 points total).

Write a brief summary of Shipwrecks.

The shipwrecks which is a medieval novel talks of a young boy by the name Isaku who is from a family which is financially unstable and therefore he has to learn the skills of a grown man to support his mother to avoid death by starvation. His father already sold himself to debt bondage. The villagers hope and expect a ship to come their way by luring it when they light fires which burn and attract the ships. Even though they do not know what to expect they aleays expect something good. The first time for this to happen when Isaku was among them brought them rice since it carried rice while the next one brings destruction to the island since it is a plague ship. The novel describes through Isaku the ways a person fishes, how to collect barks, the process of making salt. It also teaches the rituals of festivals, ceremonies, funerals and everyday life.

Interpret this passage from Shipwrecks. You want to hone in on particular words and phrases to tell me what is going on in the passage. Relate it to what comes before and after the passage (i.e. locate it within your summary).

Rare though it might be, the coming of O-fune-sama was looked upon in the same light as unexpected schools of fish appearing near the shore, or unusually large quantities of mushrooms or mountain vegetables found in the forest. O-fune-sama was part of the bounty offered by the sea, and its deliverance just barely saved the people in the village from starvation. For Isaku’s village the shipwrecking of O-fune-sama was the happiest event imaginable, but for those in other places, such as the next village, it was an evil deed worthy of the supreme penalty. But if O-fune-sama had never graced their shores, the village would have long ceased to exist, and the bay would have been nothing more than an expanse of sea girded by a stretch of rocks. Their ancestors had lived there, and they themselves were able to continue on thanks only to O-fune-sama. (111)

This passage talks of the ship which came and this is the joy of Isaku because as he says if it had not brought them food to eat the island would have stopped to exist which means that they would have stopped living on the island due to death by starvation. Therefore this is a kind of appreciation to the ship (O-fune-sama) which came to bring them food to eat.

Write a brief summary of Andrew Marvell’s poem “Bermudas.”

This poems talk of the way the English colonists are happy that they arrived at the islands of Bermuda and this makes them happy. They start by first thanking God that they made it to the island as he is the one who directed and guided them through it all. One they get to the island they discover how the island provides an endless spring of natural abundance and this is one of their joys as they settle down in the island. They praise the fruits and they understand the island as a perfect place where God wanted them to be. Also in this place they keep time by the stroke of their oars.

Interpret this passage from “Bermudas.” You want to hone in on particular words and phrases to tell me what is going on in the passage. Relate it to what comes before and after the passage (i.e. locate it within your summary).

What should we do but sing his praise

That led us through the wat’ry maze

Unto an isle so long unknown,

And yet far kinder than our own?

Where he the huge sea-monsters wracks,

That lift the deep upon their backs,

He lands us on a grassy stage,

Safe from the storm’s and prelates’ rage

This passage is part of the song of praise sung by the colonist sailors who come to the island of Bermuda and they are praising God for bringing them this far. They exclaim him for leading them through the maze and they describe the place they were then as much kinder than the place they had been before. Therefore this is a song of praise thanking God for bringing them to the island of Bermuda.

Write a brief summary of The Female Marine.

The female marine discusses of a lady who had to impersonate a man for a period of three years. This lady is the story of Louisa Baker who travels from Massachusetts to urban degradation in Boston. The woman character in the novel dresses like a man and goes to war for the purpose of revenging the death of her lover and partner. Therefore this is a story whereby of a woman trying to live her life in the best manner possible probably because the society does not allow her or because the environment is not friendly to her and she decides to change the environment for her total productivity.

Interpret this passage from The Female Marine. You want to hone in on particular words and phrases to tell me what is going on in the passage. Relate it to what comes before and after the passage (i.e. locate it within your summary).

From the ship’s top I discharged my piece nineteen times, which, as I had not learnt to take pretty exact aim, must, I think, have done some execution. An accident soon after the conclusion of the engagement occurred, which was near betraying my sex to the whole crew of the ship: attempting to go below, I made a misstep, and fell from the shrouds overboard; not knowing how to swim, I sunk immediately; a boat was sent to my relief, but before they could recover me and get me on board, life had become nearly extinct. As soon as they succeeded in getting me on deck, (as I had not strength to do it myself) some of my shipmates were ordered to strip off my clothes and to furnish me with a dry suit, and they had nearly divested me of my out dress, when I mustered sufficient strength to beg of them to desist. (75)

This is a portion which talks of her desire and wish to protect her identity even though it is very difficult and she does not know herself anymore as she had drowned. In this part as she states she was about to reveal her identity but she found out that it was not possible and almost when the other crew members were almost removing her clothes she got the courage to talk to them. This is indicative of the society whereby we want to hide ourselves but there are so many challenges and struggles in doing this.

Part III: Longer essay on theoretical question. Please answer all parts of the prompt in 3 paragraphs minimum. Make specific references to plot, character, setting, etc. of the works you’ve read for the course (30 points total).

Based on what we’ve read so far this semester, what qualities define literature of the sea? How does this literature relate to your experiences near or on the sea? Describe your rationale, why you say what you say.

Literature of the sea is a type of literature which is based literally on the sea and there are sea features in the study of the sea of literature. Some of these sea features include ships, sea water, islands, drowning among many others which make it possible for a person to understand this literature of the sea. However these examples given above do not exist alone but exist together within the novels and other forms of literature like songs, poems and plays which talk about the sea, its features and components. Therefore the qualities which define the literature of the sea are the presence of sea features within a novel and the action of what is being written taking place next or in the sea.

This type of literature relates to me in a great manner. This is because I have had several good and bad experiences at the sea and therefore this makes the literature even more interesting as I try to compare the characters in the different texts with my experiences and what they could have done if they were in my shoes. First of all I once almost drowned in the water and this clearly relates with the female marine protagonist. I drank salty eater of the beach and therefore this novel reminds of those experiences. I have also visited an island and therefore when Bermudas and the shipwreck that applies to me. I also learnt how to avoid waves and swim in the sea at one point and it was a nice experience. Therefore it is a course which has a lot of connection with my personal life.

The reason as to why I have given the above is the fact that this course relates to me at a personal level and therefore this makes it interesting to learn and not just to stay in class and do normal assignments and exams like the other classes. This course therefore focuses on a very special and important part of most people’s lives and it opens a person’s eyes to see the sea, marine life and generally life around the ocean in a different way.

Extra Credit (2 points possible):

To what extent does cross-dressing define female vice and masculine virtue in The Female Marine?

In the female marine the protagonist dresses like a man and this makes her to be viewed as an intruder by the reader or the audience. This can depict the manner in which the females can be manipulative and coercive when they want something which is not freely available for them. This to some people is seen as a vice, however to others it is a lack of opportunity for equity and equality for women to work hand in hand with them.