English 190C
Mr. Tanaka

FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS

These questions need to be answered in a large blue book (you might need two)
following the guidelines outlined in class.  Please follow these directions
carefully.  If you plan to take the examination, please notify me in writing
by Friday 8 December.  In your note, please mention the day and time you
would like to take the test during finals week.  You should go to the
English Department office at the time you have selected.  You will be given
a brown envelope containing the exam question.  You will have two hours and
thirty minutes to find a quiet place to write and then complete and return
your essay.  The exam itself should take two hours.  Please enclose the blue
book in the envelope and return.  You do not have to include your notes.
Please include a SASE so that your exam can be returned to you.  I will be
looking for only two things: 1) a basic proficiency in written English, 2)
evidence that you have read and thought about the books you have chosen to
discuss.  You may use your texts and the outline forms handed out in class.
However, do not simply recopy your essay from your notes.  You may also use
a dictionary.

QUESTIONS:

1) Compare Johnnie M the film with JM the short story.  You should refer to
Gibson's other novels in your discussion.  (The film will be shown during
the time of our designated final on Monday.)

2) In 190C, we have been emphasizing conceptual learning as opposed to the
acquisition of new facts or skills.  What new concepts have you been
introduced to during the course of this semester?  Be as specific as you can.

3) We presented a handout in which presented Stephen Hawking's general
analysis of the concept of space and time.  Apply this analysis to one or
more of the novels.

4) We have seen a number of films during the course of the semester,
including two that are not on a traditional science fiction theme.  Discuss
the ways in which THE BIG GREEN and/or COURAGE UNDER FIRE directly
contributed to your understanding of one or more of the novels read in
class.

5) Some critics believe that science fiction novels, like all great novels,
invite their readers to ask significant questions regarding the human
condition.  One such question would be the meaning and/or cause of evil in
our society today.  Discuss the ways in which the novels and/or films we
have presented during the semester have made you think about the existence
of 'evil.'

6) We have said that each reader's interpretation of any novel, whether it
been Gibson or Jane Austen, can be seen as a function of a general set of
variables: class, gender, race and age.  We also suggested that the 'default'
reader for most novels taught in universities is 1) upper-middle class, 2)
male, 3) Euro-American, 4) 18 and above.  Discuss the ways in which your own
reading of a text or texts presented in class was 'uniquely' affected by one
of these variables.