Posted: September 16th, 2017
journey to the west
Choose one of the four questions and answer it in a response paper of 500 words (approximately 2 pages typed):
1. In the story of the Cock-Crow Kingdom (chapters 18-20) how does Monkey motivate Pigsy to do what he wants and how does Pigsy get back at Monkey? What do you think the significance of the fights and teasing between Monkey and Pigsy are for the larger allegorical scheme of the novel?
2. In the chapters on the Cart-Slow Kingdom (chapters 22-24), how is cooperation between Monkey and Tripitaka central to how they defeat the three Taoist immortals? What is the result of their victory and how might this story fit into the allegorical scheme of the novel?
- What are the significant character traits of Tripitaka shown in his biography in chapters 8-13? Is there any change in Tripitaka’s character from the beginning of the story to the point when his journey ends and he retrieves the scriptures? How do the changes in Tripitaka’s character relate to the message of the novel?
- Discuss a scene in the novel in which monsters are actually the servants of the Buddha or bodhissatvas in altered form. What is the significance of these prearranged calamities that the pilgrims face? Are these encounters, while not totally real, somehow useful to the pilgrims’ spiritual progress?
Grading and turning-back of response papers:
Please turn in your response papers on Friday, Nov.8 at the beginning of lecture section. Papers should be typed, double-spaced, and there should be inch margins on both sides for comments. Quotations should be cited by giving the page number in the course packet in parenthesis immediately following the quotation. For example:
The Daodejingstates, “The Way that can be named is not the constant Way” (Coursepacket, p.7).
Don’t forget to type your name, course title (EALC 275: Masterpieces of East Asian Literature), and the date on your paper. Give your short paper a title; sometimes this helps you focus clearly on your thesis. Your teaching assistants will return all response papers by Friday, Oct. 18 with a score out of 5 points. Late reaction papers will not be accepted. And, finally, have fun with it.
(5=A+, 4.5=A, 4=B, 3.5=C, 3=D, 2.5=F)
Expert paper writers are just a few clicks away
Place an order in 3 easy steps. Takes less than 5 mins.