How do medieval texts dealing with superhumans and posthumanism like “Bisclavret” and “Yonec” inform more contemporary works like “Ex Machina”? How might we benefit from looking at either text in terms other than period canonicity?
Unlike much work in the English Studies department, which often attributes a text’s age to our understanding of it, my paper with put two texts of similar subjects in direct conversation with one. The term, chronohybridity, refers to the idea that the premodern and contemporary may co-exist in a matter of hybridity, rather than working as an exemplification of evolution or metamorphosis. The core texts of my paper, the premodern “Bisclavret” and the contemporary television series “Being Human” will then exemplify the perpetual state of the werewolf and how our representation of the werewolf continues to reinforce our thoughts and fears about humanity.
Even through centuries of change, the instillation of monsters in literature has conveyed a timeless message questioning the boundaries of humanity and personhood. Through analysis of both texts, as well as secondary sources, I hope to compare the representations of the werewolf and what either do in a larger conversation about how we perceive ourselves as human. While I am challenged with the idea of chronohybridity in literature, I have also tasked myself with a subject that personifies the idea of hybridity. Throughout the paper, I will analyze the representations of a divine/human hybrid such as the werewolf or Christ as well as the ideas involving humanity and humanism these creatures challenge.
How does Eddie’s use of NZT-48 compare to an extension of the body such as the Surrogates or a prosthetic arm? What would Hayles say about the use of such a drug that modifies consciousness to a superhuman capacity?
Upon discovery that Steeplejack is a surrogate himself who is trying to disable the rest of his kind, we also find out that his creator is the man who created the first surrogate, Lionel, and believes that the human race’s dependency on them is unhealthy. How can previous texts from class help lend us an argument either for or against Lionel’s deactivation?
By the end of the novel, it is revealed that Hailsham was a failed attempt to show the clones (post/humans) more humanity due to a change in peoples attitudes towards them. Furthermore, Kathy and Tommy’s goal of getting a deferral was denied although they were clearly in love. What do you think these dystopian endings for the characters reveal about the book and what the author is trying to convey?
In Part One of Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, the narrator primarily focuses on flashbacks, some of which she doesn’t even remember many details of. Throughout these retellings, Ishiguro utilizes the second person, often calling us [the reader] to attention. What is the purpose of this stylistic choice and what significance do you think telling these stories first bear?