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Midterm Letters
1c. Create a project that explores the central conflict in any one of the stories in this chapter. What is the nature of the conflict? When, where and how does it develop or become more complicated as the story unfolds? How is it resolved at the end of the story? Why and how is that resolution satisfying?
One of the main conflicts in the novel Cinder is finding a cure for a disease known as letumosis. Nobody on Earth can determine the origination of letumosis or develop a cure for the disease. When Cinder’s favorite little sister Peony becomes infected, Cinder sets out to find a cure for her by contacting the head doctor at the palace, Dr. Erland. Dr. Erland discovers that Cinder is immune to letumosis after injecting her with the disease to see how she would react to the exposure. After learning of her immunity, the doctor begins running numerous tests on Cinder, trying to discover the reason for her imperviousness to the disease. Once Dr. Erland compiles all of his data concerning Cinder and her immunity, he concludes that she is likely the lost Lunar princess, Princess Selene. It was believed that the princess had been killed in a fire, but many believed she survived and was taken to Earth to heal. This revelation to her true identity makes Cinder the only hope to save both Earth and Luna from Luna’s current Queen Levana’s cruel reign. Levana is trying to become empress by marrying Emperor Kai, who is in love with Cinder. Through this marriage alliance, Levana will provide an antidote to the letumosis disease, but the marriage also ensures the ultimate death of Emperor Kai and any of his supporters. Since the cure for the disease is needed, as it has killed millions of people, Emperor Kai sees no other choice but to marry Levana, unless Cinder is able to take Luna’s throne back, as it is rightfully hers. The end of the novel has Cinder escaping to Africa to meet up with Dr. Erland after she has been declared an illegal Lunar fugitive. This resolution is satisfying only because it allows a hope that Emporer Kai and Cinder will eventually have their happily ever after, if Cinder is able to defeat Queen Levana and convince Lunar citizens that she is, in fact, the lost Princess Selene.
3a. Choose any story in your anthology in which a character changes because of the events that occur in the story. Create a project exploring exactly how, when, and why the character changes.
Cinder changes throughout the course of the novel, at first when her little sister is diagnosed with letumosis, then again when she develops feelings for Emperor Kai, and finally when she learns she is the Lunar princess Selene, whom everyone believed to be dead. At the beginning of the novel, Cinder is introduced as a kind, hard-working cyborg who is very loyal to her friends: the family’s android Iko and her younger step-sister Peony. Cinder does what is asked of her, with little to no complaining to her “evil” step-mother and step-sisters. She keeps to herself and works to help her family. However, when Peony is first found to have the deadly disease with no cure, letumosis, Cinder begins to show her true self to everyone: she is passionate, kind, and caring. She begins to learn that she has the ability to lead, which allows her to accept her position as the rightful heir to Luna and begin planning how she will retake her throne. She begins to overcome the discrimination that she faces throughout the novel, making her a stronger individual, which will shape her for her coming battles against her aunt, Queen Levana. Cinder is terrified of how Kai will react when he discovers that she is not only a cyborg, but a Lunar as well. “To retrieve it now would be to reveal herself to Kai and everyone around her” (Meyer 346). Cyborgs have always been considered “half-human” since they have manmade body parts, and Lunars become hated as they are associated with Queen Levana, who all Earthens believe to be a dictator.
3c. Create a project comparing and contrasting how past events in the story affect two main characters in a chosen fictional reading. How are these characters both similar and different? How does each character cope with his/her past? What role do minor characters in the story have on the main characters’ efforts to deal with their past?
Cinder and Emperor Kai, both would do anything for the people they love (in Kai’s case the people he rules over). Cinder volunteers for the “cyborg draft” in order to try to find an antidote to letumosis that was killing her little sister, Peony. The cyborg draft was created, to the public’s knowledge, as a way to find a cure and continue testing possible cures for the letumosis disease that was sweeping the Earth; it was really created as a way for Dr. Erland to find the lost princess Selene, who turned out to be Cinder. “With your help, we could save hundreds of thousands of lives. If you are what I think you are, we could – well, we could stop the cyborg draft, to start with” (Meyer 102). When Cinder first learns she is a princess, she has a hard time accepting it. She has difficulty wrapping her mind around ruling over an entire country when she had been discriminated against and hated by her family for as long as she could remember. She draws strength from Emperor Kai, who assumed the throne sooner than he had expected, after both of his parents died from letumosis. Prince Kai felt inadequate when he was told to begin preparations to assume the title of emperor: “The true emperor was there, in that bed. He was an imposter” (107). Prince Kai had the support of his father’s advisor, Konn Torin, to guide him into his new position as emperor; without Konn Torin, Kai wouldn’t have someone to help him make decisions regarding the welfare of his country and how he should proceed with Cinder. Torin acts as a father figure for Kai after Kai’s father passed away. Cinder’s support consists of Iko and later Dr. Erland as well as Emperor Kai. Iko is Cinder’s android who helps her around her shop and is always there for support and encouragement when Cinder needs it most.
5a. Create a project in which you explore the various meanings of the story’s major symbol and the way these emerge over the course of the story of your choice (in the anthology).
One of the major symbols in this story is that of discrimination. Cyborgs in Cinder’s society are greatly discriminated against and thought of to be lower than humans, since they weren’t fully human anymore; they had experienced a traumatic event or were in an accident that resulted in the loss of a limb or other body part. This discrimination is seen several times throughout the novel: as Cinder’s step-mother refuses Cinder any freedoms, despite the fact she is the only one who makes money for the family; Cinder is ashamed of her cyborg hand and foot and always makes sure she has both adequately covered up so nobody will see her metal body parts; she doesn’t want Emperor Kai to know she is a cyborg for fear of him no longer wanting her in his life; the cyborg draft that is created to continue research for a cure or antidote to letumosis, the deadly disease that nobody who has been diagnosed has survived. The research and testing has an extremely low survival rate, and the test subjects are required to have a certain percentage of non-living body parts in order to be selected. This selectivity is found favorable to the general public, as the public doesn’t care about the fate of cyborgs; this method is considered more humane. Towards the end of the novel, Cinder discovers that she is Lunar and the lost Lunar princess Selene. She then faces the discrimination from being not only a cyborg, but a Lunar as well. After the Lunar queen Levana proposes a marriage alliance between her and Emperor Kai, the people of Earth become extremely wary of all Lunars. Emperor Kai holds a royal ball at the end of the novel, where the world discovers that Cinder is not only Lunar, but a cyborg, and Queen Levana ensures that the world believes Cinder to be a dangerous fugitive.
Capstone Letters
1a. Who is the protagonist? Why and how so? Which other characters, if any, are main or major characters? Which are minor characters? What are the protagonist’s most distinctive traits, and what is most distinctive about his/her outlook and values? What motivates the character? What is it about the character that creates internal and/or external conflict? Which lines or stage directions reveal most about the character?
The main protagonist in Monsters University is Mike Wazowski, whose story the movie is about. James P. Sullivan (aka Sulley) is another major character; he is initially introduced as an antagonist, yet is later developed to become a major protagonist. There are several important minor characters, such as the headmaster Hardscrabble and the members of Oozma Kappa. Mike is very driven to succeed and reach his goal of becoming a Scarer for Monsters Inc., which has clearly been his dream since the first moment the movie begins. He outshines the other monsters in his scaring class with his knowledge of different scare tactics and willingness to put in the work necessary to reach his full potential. Initially, the Scarer that gives little Mike his Monsters University hat at Monsters Inc., is the inspiration for Mike to become a Scarer through the program offered at Monsters University. However, once the famed pupil, James P. Sullivan, insults Mike by saying “I mean, for scare students who actually, you know, have a chance” in reference to Mike’s status as a scare student in order to gain access to a fraternity party. This insinuation that Mike’s appearance is the only factor that will determine his success in the scaring program motivates him to prove to others that a monster can learn to be scary, despite his appearance. This sort of rivalry between Mike and Sulley drives Mike even harder than the audience saw before, and the audience sees Mike’s hard efforts are paying off when he receives and A+ on an assignment that Sulley receives a C- on. [SLO 1]
5d. Identify a conflict depicted in the play and state it in general terms or turn it into a general question, leaving out any reference to specific characters, setting, and so on. Then thing about the insight or theme that might be implied by the way the conflict is resolved.
Do the ends justify the means?
In Monster’s University, there are several instances of this quandary presented. Examples include: Mike accepting Sulley to be the last member of their team for the Scare Games, despite his extreme dislike for Sulley; Mike attempting to change the members of Oozma Kappa to better suit his needs, despite occasionally insulting them or hurting their feelings; and Sulley tampering with the Scare Machine at the end of the Scare Games to ensure Mike and the team would beat Roar Omega Roar.
When Mike accepts Sulley to be the last member of their team for the Scare Games, it is due to a desperate need to continue on in the Scare Program, as was his dream for as long as the audience is aware. It is clear that Mike has little to no respect for Sulley, as Sulley relied solely on his namesake and inherited “scariness” instead of putting in the time and effort to succeed as Mike was forced to do. After several scenes, the two finally begin to sort out their differences, accept their situation, and try to make the best of it together, especially since neither Mike nor Sulley are excited about the group they are forced to compete with, Oozma Kappa.
Since Mike desperately wants to graduate and complete the Scare Program to become a Scarer at Monsters Inc., he focuses more on that need and molding the members of Oozma Kappa to fit his ideal image of a Scarer than trying to find the strengths that each member brings to the group. It isn’t until after the second event in the Scare Games that the group begins to recognize each other’s strengths rather than focus on each other’s negative attributes.
DON: Mike, we appreciate everything you’ve done…but he’s right.
No matter how much we train, we’ll never look like them.
We’re built for other things.
[…Mike watches them go, helpless. Chet approaches holding a
mug with the photo on it]
CHET: (slurp) Sorry Squirt, some monsters just aren’t cut out for
the big leagues. (laugh) (Scanlon 93)
The beginning of the solution to this problem occurs when Mike organizes a break in to Monsters Inc., to emphasize the ability of monsters to play on their differences and turn them into unique strengths.
MIKE: there’s no ONE type of scarer. The best scarers use their
differences to their advantage. (96)
Finally, at the end of the Scare Games, each individual competitor, one from each team, is given a scenario and is “graded” on his or her ability to adapt and efficiently fill the scare can with scream energy. Sulley convinces Mike to go last, which he presents as a positive thing, but after the Games are over, the audience, and Mike, discover that Sulley’s true intentions were to tamper with the scare-tactic measuring device used to ensure that Mike won. Since Mike won, Mike and Sulley were allowed back into the Scare Program, and Mike’s confidence in his own ability was increased. However, he is crushed to find out that Sulley had changed the settings for his round. This conflict is resolved by the two being expelled from Monsters University, but the two make the best of the situation, and eventually become a Scare Team at Monsters Inc.
This conflict of the ends justifying the means is seen all throughout literature. One example can be found in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, when George kills his best friend Lennie after he is accused of raping a woman. Lennie has a difficult time telling the difference between right and wrong, as seen throughout the novel, and is constantly looking to be happy with his best friend George. In the end, George ultimately offers Lennie the means necessary to reach that happiness, by freeing him from the hate and prejudice against him that he receives from nearly every person he encounters, and also the almost certain slow and painful death the townsfolk would’ve ensured Lennie received as payment for raping a woman. [SLOs 3&4]