Choose one question to answer.
1. During a trip to Antarctica, your plane is attacked by angry mutant penguins. The penguins take you hostage and decide to deposit you on a desert island, alone. The desert island has one big tree, and that’s about it. Before they leave you, however, they will allow you one last shopping trip at Sprawl-Mart. Sprawl-Mart has every single thing ever made in the entire universe. You are only allowed to buy five items though. What are they? You will not be able to escape, so don’t bother buying planes or teleport devices; they won’t work. Consider, then, that the issue is not survival—you’re doomed, and there’s no way around it. Enjoy yourself while you can.
Write an 800-1000 that convinces us that, with your five items, your island will be the place to be. Use elements of comparing and contrasting (you might debate between two particularly hard choices), personal narrative, argument, etc.
2. Improv Challenge: Write an 800-1000 word essay on any topic that follows these directions:
The essay must include at least six items from this list:
o a transformation
o a shoe
o the invisible hand
o a decision between two things
o two doors
o a pony
o a ventriloquist or ventriloquism
o a giant rock
o a giant robot
o a princess
o the Periodic Table of the Elements
o a long journey
o a game
o number two pencils
o A character who says, “And yes I said yes I will Yes” (Ulysses, by James Joyce).
o A character who says, “Oh, I see.”
o Film-making equipment.
o The Chuck-E-Cheez robot rock band.
o Kermit-the-frog
o The snorks
o A mermaid
o 2001 crackers
And the first line must be (choose from the list):
“As I awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, I found myself transformed into a giant insect.” [Adapted from The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka]
“Not so long ago, a monster came to the small town of Castle Rock, Maine.” [From Cujo, by Stephen King]
“124 was spiteful.” [First line of Toni Morrison’s, Beloved]
“Amoebae leave no fossils.” [First line of Tom Robbin’s, Even Cow Girls Get the Blues]
“You better not never tell nobody but God.” [First line of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple.]
“When Mrs. Frederick C. Little's second son arrived, everybody noticed that he was not much bigger than a mouse.” [First line of E.B. White’s, Stuart Little.]