Literary english essay

Midterm Exam

Here it be, the mid-term exam. Que spooky music.

Don’t sweat it, it’s not that difficult. Attached is Joe R Lansdale’s infamous short story “Godzilla’s 12 Step Program.” It’s surreal, brilliantly stupid, moronically intelligent, funny little ditty chuck full of sex, violence, racial slurs, alcohol abuse and a few other unsavory things, so heads up. If that kind of stuff is going to offend, just shoot me an e-mail and I’ll assign you a different story. Some people wanted weird, some people wanted uplifting – so I tried my best to find a story that I think is both.

That said, the mid-term…

Read “Godzilla’s 12 Step Program” and in no less than 3 pages dissect it to get to the core of what Lansdale is trying to say. Look at plot, character, setting and POV. How do these lead to the theme of the piece? What is the theme? What does this story say about humanity through the character of Godzilla. Use direct quotes from the text to back your points and make sure to cite them. If you use outside sources I’ll need citations and a bib. (Good luck with that one, not many Lansdale scholars out there).

Here’s the link: http://www.revolutionsf.com/fiction/godzilla/01.html

Solution Preview

Godzilla’s 12 Step Program

Joe R. Lansdale’s story Godzilla’s Twelve Step Process takes the audience through different activities in which Godzilla engages through his day, all in an effort to keep away from burning things in his environment. Lansdale makes it clear that Godzilla is undergoing a form of rehabilitation program that intends to help him resist the urge to breath fire and crush on other objects in his environment.

(837 words)