imaginative journey essay help!!!! (1 Viewer)

[blondechik]

Hey can anyone help me with this essay topic??
"More than anything else, imaginative journeys are about the process of speculation. Do you agree? Argue your point of view."
In your answer, refer to your prescribed text (Frost at Midnight by Samual Taylor Coleridge), ONE text from the prescribed stimulus booklet, Journeys (The Ivory Trail book cover) and at least ONE text of your own choosing (The Matrix film).
Please help me. Im not sure where to start!!!
thanks
jess

 

[Mel_b]

The best place to start is to consider the speculative elements in your texts. Remember, when you're creating an argument, that your texts are your evidence - so you need to think of ways in which speculative process play a role in each text, and the extent to which they do.

The Matrix defintely falls under the Speculative Fiction heading, and the creation of an alternative reality is essential to the plot. I'd use this one as an example of the importance of speculative processes when we consider the way the imaginative journey challenges our perceptions of reality.

Similarly, the Ivory Trail book cover invites speculation from the viewer. The ambiguity of 'Not all journeys have an ending' combined with the exotic imagery is suggestive of adventure and exploration - fueled by a curiosity that is basically speculative in its imagining of the possiblities of unknown worlds.

I'm not familiar with the Coleridge, but hopefully this will give you a start.

Remember to refer to the rubric - speculation is mentioned with inspiration and something else (I'm finally starting to forget!) as a key element of the imaginative journey. Unless you've got three texts that are textbook examples of speculative fiction (which you don't) it's probably easier to argue against the question. If you do this, remember to refer back, and compare the role that other elements play with the importance of the speculative processes, so that you stay on track in answering the question.