Essay Questions for Short Paper Option

Assignment due February 17

Here are two broadly stated The questions are designed for you to choose your own thesis and you should not go and answer all the individual parts of the question. You may create a question of your own if you prefer. The papers should be 3-4 pages in length.

1. In general terms, the Enlightenment is seen as introducing reason to overcome superstition and advance European society. How do Swift and Voltaire differ on the importance of reason? How do the authors propose limiting reason? Swift and Voltaire write fictional satires about the impact of reason, but Kant, Sieyes and Diderot see reason being applied in practical terms. Is there a relationship between practically applied reason and their depiction in the fictional works? Where does Shelley see the need to limit reason?

2. Gulliver's Travels and Candide are both travel narratives involving a utopian scene - the Houyhnhnms on the one hand and El Dorado on the other. Are they, in fact, utopias? What do the two utopias say about the authors' visions of the nature of man? Are Voltaire and Swift really so far apart? What is the function of the travel narrative in this effort? Related to question two, how does this relate to the problem proposed by the monster in Frankenstein in terms of what makes someone, or something, human?

Please note that while I do penalize papers for being late, I am generally flexible if you have extenuating circumstances or if you are having some difficulty in finishing the assignment in a satisfactory manner. I would rather have a good paper a day or two late than a bad paper on the day of the assignment. That being said, I would prefer that you let me know in advance if you need an extension. Showing up on the due date with a lame excuse and no paper won't get you anywhere.