PHIL 288

Take-home Exam due  by 

Thursday, May 8th, 4 pm (PDT)

• Submit both on the main class AND your discussion section Brightspace page (go to Activities-> Assignments)

• 6 pages maximum lenght, 12pt double-space, at least 1in margins - the name of your file won't matter, as it will be automatically processed by Turnitin (which will check for plagiarism and AI-generated content) when you submit

• Must be a .pdf file

Answer TWO of the three questions below. The maximum length for each answer is 3 pages; the minimum is 1  page. 

a. Love and Madness

Do the following:

1. Compare and contrast the treatment of this theme by drawing from 3 or 4 works from the syllabus

   • Describe the commonalities and the differences among the 3/4 works.

2. The 3 or 4 works you use must be of:

   • Different periods: maximum one work from any period among Classical time, Middle Ages, Early Modern, 1800s,  1900s, or contemporary

   • Different media types: one literary work and one movie (at least)

   • Different endings: one ending with the death of the protagonist(s) and one that doesn't (at least)

b. Love according to Existentialists

Do the following:

1. Compare and contrast the notions of erotic love and sexual relations in connection with the meaning of human existence in the works of Kierkegaard, Sartre, and Beauvoir. 

   • Describe the commonalities and the differences among the three accounts.

2. Decide whether any of the three authors has presented a fully accurate account of the nature of love.

If NO, describe what is lacking from their accounts.

If YES, explain why you regard the existentialist account(s) of love as superior to the others discussed in class.

c. Love and Marriage

Do the following:

1. Discuss the view on the relation between Love and Marriage as it emerges from the following works:

• Adulterous Love: two of The Lays of Marie de France and Tristan and Iseut 

• (Re)Finding Unity in Marriage: the movies L'Atalante, The Philadelphia Story, The Lady Eve.

2. In your discussion,  compare and contrast characters and situations among the texts and movies.

3. Explain which of these views of the relationship between Love and Marriage is, in your opinion, closest to being correct.

   • •  Say why it is so