Many works within the genre of horror writing are attempting to work out or deal with some underlying issue, often in a cathartic way—i.e. there is a sense of relief or release that comes from reading the story, watching the movie, etc. Oftentimes social anxieties that can’t be dealt with in any easy or acceptable way are instead handled through this kind of art. For example, although Cloverfield is about a big monster that wrecks New York, it can be seen as working on several other themes as well, though in a veiled or symbolic way. Lovecraft’s stories often deal with the alienating forces of modern life in a similar way: all our advances as a society bring us closer to the gulfs of madness that lie beyond the edge of what we can possibly know, all the while making us less able to deal with whatever irrational things we may stumble upon.
For the second paper, read one of the following stories, and discuss an underlying theme the author seems to be trying to explore or “work out” within the work.
Michael Bishop: “Within the Walls of Tyre”
Thomas M. Disch: “The Roaches”
Harlan Ellison: “The Whimper of Whipped Dogs”
Shirley Jackson: “The Summer People”
–Carefully proofread what you write. I am not a grammar Nazi, but at the same time repeated mechanical or grammatical errors will affect the final grade.
–Be sure to have a clear and direct thesis that comes at the end of the introductory paragraph. The thesis should be a single statement, and not a list of points.
–Do not summarize the work you discuss. Assume that your reader is familiar with the story in question, and spend your time (and the reader’s) supporting and explaining your position on the matter.
–Be sure to properly cite any works referred to and/or quoted in either MLA or APA format—including both in-text citations and a works cited page at the end.
–It would be a good idea to review your topic sentences (the first sentence of each body paragraph) to make sure that they are stating your ideas, rather than facts about the work in question. A factual statement in a topic sentence gives the reader the impression that you are going to be describing something, summarizing it, or telling a story, which isn’t really what we’re about here (unless by “describe” we mean describing our idea and how/why we came to it).
–Although the essay will of course be your personal opinion or interpretation, avoid using “I” statements, as these tend to make the essay about ourselves more than the work in question.
–Be sure that your finished essay is at least 1500 words. Coming in short of this will also affect the grade.
This paper will be graded on a combination of depth and clarity. By “depth” I mean that the discussion of the work goes beyond summary; “clarity” here means that the ideas are written in English that clearly and adequately expresses complete thoughts. Although you will not be held accountable for every obscure grammatical rule in existence, papers that show repeated problems with basic mechanics will be penalized.
Although class discussions are often “wide-ranging” (a polite euphemism for “going all over the place”), and tend to end up in odd territory, it would be a grave mistake to assume that the same informality applies to these papers. A paper that begins talking about H. P. Lovecraft, and then veers into a discussion of U2, or Star Trek Deep Space 9 won’t fly here.
