Description
For your first paper, I’d like you to choose between one of two approaches:
- Conduct a character study of one of your favorite characters in the series. I’d like for you to begin by talking a little bit about what kinds of expectations for or assumptions about Fantasy as a genre you may have harbored before reading/watching Martin’s series, as well as what kinds of characters you expect to inhabit fantasy worlds. Then, I’d like you to spend some time examining one of your favorite characters in the series, considering especially how that character, his/her world view, his/her notions of ethics (or “honor” perhaps) or morality (“good” and “evil”), and his/her actions, either comport with or subvert the expectations for fantasy that you brought to the series. You should ask yourself how Martin’s fantasy world might be different from other fantasy worlds, as well as how it is, in other ways similar. You should ask yourself whether the character you are writing about is a hero and, if so, does calling him/her such demand that we reconsider what a hero is, what the hero of a fantasy is, whether there are heroes as such in Martin’s series at all. Justify your answers to these questions with references to specific moments or passages in the text. Be sure to use at least one scene in the show or novels as grounds for the arguments you make, citing specific details or dialogue. Organizing your paper around a thesis pertaining to these kinds of questions, you should formulate a coherent and compelling argument about what one of your favorite characters in the series can tell us about Fantasy as a genre, heroes as an ideal, and/or what it means to be human in a broader sense.
- Evaluate and analyze a prominent theme in the series. I’d like for you to begin by talking a little bit about the theme you’ve chosen and how you think it is conventionally featured, if it is usually featured at all, in other Fantasy literature (think Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, etc) citing examples if possible. Examples of themes that feature prominently in Martin’s series, though not necessarily in conventional ways, could include things like “honor” or “chivalry,” “heroism,” “villainy,” “bravery,” “family,” “blood,” “love,” “good vs. evil,” “corruption,” “power,” “wealth and poverty,” “vengeance,” “magic,” “death,” “childhood,” “loyalty” and “treason,” etc. You should ask yourself how your theme of choice has been represented in other Fantasy (or even in other literature more generally if you prefer) and then try to pinpoint details that shed light on how you think the work of Martin, the showrunners, and perhaps even the boardgame makers has something different to say about it. Ask yourself how Martin’s universe troubles our ability to understand it in binary terms, how it problematizes assumptions we make about how themes will develop. Be sure to make abundant reference to specific moments/passages/scenes in the text or show, perhaps honing in on one or two scenes in particular and being sure to cite plenty of specific details or dialogue. Organizing your paper around a thesis pertaining to the theme in question, you should formulate a coherent and compelling argument about how Martin’s universe asks us to rethink classic Fantasy themes in new ways or ways that surprise us.
Sample Solution
