ENGL 2020 The Fantastic Tradition Exam 2: The Book of Three, The Dark Is Rising, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s (Sorcerer’s) Stone Choose one—and only one—of the topics below and write a 750-1100 word thoughtful, insightful, and well written essay (free from grammatical and spelling/mechanical errors) that argues a strongly worded thesis. Be sure your thesis is strongly worded and conveys an opinion. Carefully follow the directions for each topic! You must include a Works Cited page (use parenthetical citation please—this means you must include page numbers for each quotation). You must indicate which topic you are responding to and your essay must have a title. At the end of your paper, just beneath your final paragraph (but before the list of Works Cited), indicate how many words are in it (use the Tools>Word Count command in Word). Your typed essay is due in class on Friday, 6 April. Follow MLA guidelines regarding documentation and works cited. All pages should have a 1-inch margin; in the top right corner of every page should appear your last name followed by a space followed by the page number. Use 11- or 12-point Times New Roman font. Do not justify the right margin—it should be jagged. The entire paper, from your name in the upper left corner to the last entry on the works cited page, should be double spaced: there should be no single spacing whatsoever. The first page should have your name, the course (ENGL 2020.039), and the date, all beginning in the upper left hand corner one inch down from the top edge and in from the left edge, and each on its own line. Following the date, on the next line (double-spaced of course) should be your title, which should include the title of the work(s) you’re writing about. The title should be centered, but do not use bold, italics, or underlining, for your title, though the title(s) of the work(s) being written about should be properly formatted according to MLA guidelines. Your paper will receive an automatic F if it lacks any of the following: a title, a works cited page, parenthetical citations with page numbers, and/or the required number of quotations. It will also receive an F if you frequently misspell an author’s and/or character’s name. You have been warned. Each of these novels begins with a main character who either is 11 years old (Harry Potter, Will Stanton), or right around that age (Taran). Why do you think these authors chose an 11-year old protagonist? Does the choice of such a young main character mean that the books are intended solely for that age group? What is special/unique about that age in human development that caused the authors to make the protagonist that age? In your response, include at least two substantive quotations (10-30 words each) each from two novels (so a total of four quotations). Be sure your thesis is strongly worded and conveys an opinion. Choose one of the novels and argue for what you think the theme (purpose, main idea, main message the author is trying to convey) is of the novel. Be sure your thesis is strongly worded and conveys an opinion. Include at least three substantive quotations (10-30 words each) from the novel. Some critics/writers have argued that in each of these novels the respective authors are teaching their protagonists—and through them the readers—some major life lessons. Assuming that argument is true, choose one of the novels and discuss/argue what you think are at least three major life lessons the author wants his or her readers to learn from the experiences of the protagonist. Be sure your thesis is strongly worded and conveys an opinion. Include at least three substantive quotations (10-30 words each) from the novel.