Literature Final Exam

English 2200: Introduction to Literature

Final Exam

Respond to both prompts below.

Avoid quoting lengthy passages, although it is acceptable to cite a short passage from a literary text. No outside research is permitted.

(50 points, 3 typed pages using 12-point font)

Your job in this essay is twofold: First, explain how and why Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea revises the narrative provided in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. In other words, what scenes/characters/perspectives from Bronte’s text does Rhys attempt to revise in her work and why do you think she does so? Provide specific evidence from the novels to support your claims. Second, in 1-2 paragraphs, discuss whether you think novels like Bronte’s should be left alone because they are “classics,” or whether revisions of literary classics (like the one Rhys provides in Wide Sargasso Sea) are worthwhile to the field of literary studies. Remember to explain your reasoning.

(50 points, 3 typed pages using 12-point font)

Both Jane Eyre and Pygmalion explore the notion of upward mobility. Write an essay that makes an argument about how these two literary texts represent this issue. What strategies does each author use in her/his exploration, and ultimately what does each text have to say about whether upward mobility is possible? Recounting what happens in these two texts will not be enough; be sure to make specific claims about upward mobility and support your claims with evidence from the novel and play.