Engl 231: Apocalypse & Dystopia

Course Review

consider the following questions as they apply to texts encountered

throughout the quarter . . .

Morality

does the distressed individual adhere to some hardwired ethical code when organized institutions of government, religion, education, and the family no longer exist to reinscribe traditional law and morality?

does religious faith provide a reliable refuge when one is under incredible stress?

Relationships & Gender

does love (romantic, familial, etc.) conquer all? Can it survive the pressures of a cataclysm that threatens to upend relationships and traditional, socially determined roles?

how do women and men each handle prolonged separation from the opposite sex?

consider female beauty and allure across our various texts; does a female’s sexuality tend to enable or disable her? Does it empower each character, or make her a target?

The Mind

does human reason prove itself more practical and reliable than human emotion amidst an apocalypse?

does the scientific method provide consistently useful and timely answers for life-threatening questions?

is the human imagination powerful enough to create convincing alternatives to reality—alternatives that provide either healthy escapism or actual modes of salvation?

Conflict & Control

does our species' love affair with conflict and violence survive dramatic changes to society, or does survivors recognize the impracticality of fighting among themselves when the human species itself is threatened?

does power—the ability to wield control over others’ destinies—help insure one’s own survival?

Nature

which characteristics most clearly distinguish humanity from the rest of animal life? Do these characteristics tend to grow, diminish, or transform under the pressures of large-scale, global catastrophe?

does Nature prove more of a friend or an adversary to those in great need?