ENC 1102 Sweatshops Definitions History and Morality Summary

Note: this is the place on D2L where you submit your Academic Summary 2. Below this, I’ve copied/pasted some information meant to help you decide which option for Summary 2/Paper 3 sounds more interesting to you. That’s because you have two options (Option A and Option B) for Paper 3 and the Academic Summary attached to it (and due the week before, again). So, you need to choose eitherOption A or Option B for your Summary 2 + Paper 3 combination. Both options call for the same type/length of Summary (250-350 words) and Paper (cultural/literary analysis, at least 1200 words, same number of sources), but they are simply on two very different pieces of literature and corresponding secondary sources.

Don’t be overwhelmed with the details below, I just had to be thorough and make sure you have plenty of information upon which you can base your decision.

Long story short, though, here’s what I think: If you enjoyed writing about the horror film “White Bear” or you just love horror films/stories, then consider choosing option A, because you will most definitely love that story/audiobook and its accompanying secondary sources (basically everything about Option A is full-on METAL). On the other hand, if you found it more enjoyable/interesting to write about Danielle’s Evan’s social-commentary fiction (“Boys Go To Jupiter”) in the previous unit, then consider choosing option B, because that story is an absolute classic and is likely closer to your tastes than more horror would be.

Find the following attachments, in the following order, at the very bottom of these directions:

1) Option A, Summary 2 + Paper 3 (assignment directions for Option A)

2) “The Devil” by Darrell Schweitzer (Option A/Summary 2 source to summarize; it’s an article similar to the one about cancel culture)

3) Option B, Summary 2 + Paper 3 (assignment directions for Option B)

4) “Sweatshops: Definitions, History, and Morality” by Matt Zwolinski (Option B/Summary 2 source to summarize; it’s an article similar to the one about cancel culture)

Summary 2 + Paper 3: Brief Description of Your Two Options (see attached files for complete instructions for options A and B):

You will choose one of two options for the Summary 2 Paper 3 combo: option A or option B. Both options will get you to write the same style of Summary and Paper; both options have the same word count; whichever option you choose, you will develop the same writing/analytical skills. Option A and B are different mainly because each focus on a different literary work (story/fiction) and corresponding secondary source (academic article/nonfiction). So, pick whichever option you think is more interesting, because it will determine your focus for Summary 2 and Paper 3.

To help you choose, here is a brief description of both options:

Option A is about a horror story called “The Quiet Boy” by Nick Antosca. Its horror element is demonic in nature, and the story fits within the specific subgenre of horror stories about bargaining with the dark side, or demonic pacts/Faustian bargains (in other words, those horror stories about making a deal with the devil, or selling your soul to the devil, as well as horror fiction about summoning demons and/or demonic possession in general).

So, Antosca’s “The Quiet Boy” would be your primary source. The other source you would use for this option is an article called “The Devil” by Darrell Schweitzer (and you would use this source in the same way you used Mishan’s “Long and Tortured History of Cancel Culture” in Papers 2 and 3). So, your Summary 2 will be about Schweitzer’s article, focusing mainly on those few paragraphs where he discusses stories about bargaining with the powers of evil and/or making deals with the devil. Just like you focused on a social problem/issue in Paper 1 and 2 (cancel culture), for this Paper 3 option you will focus on the social problem/issue of drug/alcohol addiction. And, just like with Paper 1 where you analyzed the horror element of “White Bear” for how it works as a metaphor for cancel culture, for this Paper 3 option you will explain how you see the horror element in “The Quiet Boy” working as a metaphor for addiction. (More specifically, how making a deal with the devil, or bargaining with the forces evil, appears in “The Quiet Boy” as a big-huge metaphor for addiction.)

Another source you will use for this paper 3 option is a documentary called Oxyana (2013), which is about the devastating impact of the opioid epidemic on one particular town/county in West Virginia. (And “The Quiet Boy” is set in a fictional West Virginia town that is basically identical to the real-life town of Oceana in the documentary). You would use this source in the paper to help you make any connections you think are relevant in terms of how we see the literary motif/theme/symbol of bargaining with the dark side—which we see in stories about making a deal with the devil (and/or stories about demonic possession)—working as a metaphor for addiction in Antosca’s demonic possession/deal-with-the-devil story, “The Quiet Boy” (for which I’ve made an audiobook, btw). So, you will use at least these 3 sources for this Paper 3 option.

Option B is about a very unique (and very short) story called “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” (1973) by Ursula Le Guin. It is not easy to classify the genre of this story; it does not exactly qualify as an example of horror fiction, but there is definitely something very horrifying at the center of the story. For our intents and purposes, however, it fits within a subgenre of fiction we could call utopian fiction, or better yet dystopian fiction; in other words, it is not unlike all those stories about seemingly “perfect” societies (usually set in the future) where there is something rotten at their core, like they have some type of horrifyingly violent tradition (like Hunger Games or Shirley Jackson’s famous short story “The Lottery”).

So, Le Guin’s story “The One Who Walk Away From Omelas” would be your primary source. another source you would use for this option is an article called “Sweatshops: Definitions, History, and Morality” by Matt Zwolinski (and you would use this source in the same way you used Mishan’s “Long and Tortured History of Cancel Culture” in Papers 2 and 3). Therefore, your Summary 2 for this option will be about Zwolinski’s article. Just like you focused on a social problem/issue in Paper 1 and 2 (cancel culture), for this Paper 3 option you will focus on the social problem/issue of sweatshop labor/unethical labor practices. And, just like with Paper 1 where you analyzed the horror element of “White Bear” for how it works as a metaphor for cancel culture, for this Paper 3 option you will explain how you see the horrifying element in “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” working as a metaphor for sweatshop labor/unethical labor practices.

The other secondary sources for this paper 3 option, which you are not required to quote but will help give you some background knowledge, are YouTube videos about sweatshops and the unethical labor practices of companies like Nike and Wal Mart.

So, maybe approach it like this: before you choose, listen to the audiobook I made of “The Quiet Boy” and then read the very short story, The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,” and decide which one you like better. Then, go back and read the directions for each option and see if you think the option for the story you liked best is also the best Paper 3 option for you as a writer.

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FYI: both options require about the same amount of work/energy from you, so don’t base your decision on which option “seems” less time-consuming at first. Pick whichever option you feel would be easier or more interesting for you, based on your own experience and interests. Here’s some of the basic differences between option A and B, though, to help you a little more:

OPTION A: The audiobook of “The Quiet Boy” (story for option A) is about an hour long, so you can read and follow along. The article “The Devil” is long, but you’re mainly focusing on the stuff Schweitzer says about Faustian bargains/deals with the devil. The documentary Oxyana is about an hour long, too, but it is very easy to incorporate its material into your paper (so, that’s a couple paragraphs worth of space in your paper, if you are counting them in your head).

OPTION B: the story “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” is very short (so I do not provide an audiobook) but you’ll end up reading it more than once (because it only takes 10-20 minutes to read). Just like with the other option, for this option B you are required to use/quote two other secondary source you are required to use for this option; one is an article (for summary) and the other two are short videos on YouTube (a mini-documentary and an interview/lecture).