ENG 240 Final, Spring 2003

FINAL EXAM ENGL 240: LITERATURE AND EMPIRE Thursday, June 5th, 2003 Dr. Syrine C. Hout Time Allowed: 2.5 hours Choose one of the following three comparative essay questions. Write argumentatively, creatively, and crisply. Proofread carefully! 1. In Orientalism Edward Said writes (pp. 1-2): “{T]he Orient has helped to define Europe (or the West) as its contrasting image, idea, personality, experience.” If one were to reduce the Orient specifically to the desert in The Sheltering Sky and in “The Guest” and to Phuong in The Quiet American, would this statement still apply? Why or why not? British Prime Minister and author Benjamin Disraeli wrote: “The East is a career”. How does this colonialist dictum apply differently to Pyle, Port, and Daru? Karl Marx wrote that Eastern peoples “cannot represent themselves; they must be represented”. Which characters from Tie Sheltering Sky, “The Guest”, and The Quiet American would (partly) disagree with this generalization and why? How do they voice their (partial) opposition? GOOD LUCK!