ENG 115 / FINAL ASSIGNMENT

Section 1 – 20 marks
Answer any two from the following questions in 350-400 words each:

1. Women are used as motifs in The Lottery (Jackson). What do they symbolize?
Why do you think so?

2. How is the use of cultural gap and/or misunderstanding used to highlight the
characters’ suffering in Interpreter of Maladies (Lahiri) and Management of Grief
(Mukherjee)?

3. Zima Blue (Reynolds) is a critique of memory and choice. How is this emphasized
through Zima’s actions?

4. Nosedive (Brooker and Jones) handles topics that are now major issues in
contemporary society. Analyze how high and low comedy have been used to
satirize these issues.

5. Discuss how uncertainty and doubt cloud our judgment of characters in A Good
Man (O’Connor) and A Very Old Man (Marquez).

Section 2 – 20 marks
The following question is based on Ex Machina (Alex Garland, 2014). You can find it on
streaming sites; I’ve also attached a copy of it in Google Classroom.

Ego plays a massive role in the film. All three characters – Nathan, Caleb, Ava – have
scenes where they highlight their sense of entitlement or self-importance. For example,
when Caleb asks Nathan why he built Ava, he responds by saying “Wouldn’t you if you
could?” Another example of ego is when others manipulate Caleb to do what they want
by appealing to his sense of self-worth.

Analyze the theme of ego in the film, dissecting it from all three characters’
perspectives, in an essay of 500-600 words.