Critical Reading & Writing I

English 100: Critical Reading & Writing I
C. McFadzean
Final Exam
You have until Dec 22nd at 11:59 pm to submit your final copy.
Please double space your writing and include both sections in the same document.
Important: have a good winter break.
PART I: Short Answer Questions (Total 25 marks)
Please answer five of the following questions in a single paragraph each. Try to be specific and
give examples from our readings to support your ideas. Remember to skip one of them.
1) What sort of effects can figurative language, such as simile or metaphor, have on a poem?
2) How might a story explore an unlikeable or unsympathetic character in a way that is still
interesting to the reader?
3) How do elements of setting (time, place, era) contribute to a story’s meaning?
4) Do you think there is certain subject matter that is better suited to a particular genre (poetry,
short story, personal essay, novel, etc.)? Give an example illustrating how the subject is either
better suited to its genre or how it could be depicted successfully in multiple ones.
5) Give an example of a fiction reading that takes a risk in its storytelling. In what way is the
choice risky, and do you think it pays off? A risk could be anything that potentially alienates or
‘loses’ the reader, whether that’s through language, style, a plot point, or subject matter.
6) What was a reading you didn’t like, and what didn’t you like about it? Can you think of
another poem/story/essay/novel exploring similar ideas that would be better suited on an ENGL
100 reading list (and why)?
Next page…
PART II: Essay Question (Total: 25 marks)
Choose one of the following prompts and write an essay discussing elements of Horrorstör by
Grady Hendrix. Make sure you answer the main question of the prompt. Draw support for
your claims from the novel, in the form of quotations and paraphrasing. Include a Works Cited
list with the primary text’s bibliographic info. You’re encouraged to focus your discussion on the
novel itself, but if you do bring in secondary sources, be sure to cite them, too.
1) Horrorstör’s ORSK is a very particular location which is explored and characterized in great
detail throughout its pages. How does this setting allow the novel to explore certain themes or
achieve certain effects (and what are these)?
2) In addition to following conventions of the horror genre, Hendrix also employs a lot of
comedic elements in his novel. How does humour connect to the more horrific or scary
aspects? Do you think it detracts from the book’s horror or do these two elements work
together?
3) Whether they’re on the page or the screen, supernatural stories are often used to explore more
realistic character struggles, sometimes even acting as allegory. What sort of broader struggles
or identity-based themes is Hendrix able to explore in his characters via the book’s
supernatural premise? Note: you may focus on one main character or analyze multiple
characters.
4) The esteemed Dictionary.com defines satire as “a literary composition […] in which human
folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.” To the extent that Horrorstör
contains satirical elements in its plot, setting, or characters, what sort of folly or vice is it
ridiculing? Do you think Hendrix’s social commentary is clearly defined, or is the message
more complicated/ambiguous than that?