Assignment - Making An Argument

The stories "Tortoiseshell Cats Are Not Refundable," "Bridesicle," and "Small Medicine" all look at ways we could potentially cheat death or bring a loved one back. For Paper 2, you must choose one of the following questions to consider:

1. What similarities do you see between "Tortoiseshell Cats Are Not Refundable" and "Small Medicine?" Consider the reasons why characters are "brought back" in a different form, and how the people around them deal with the replacements.

2. Look at the problems the authors propose for using nanomedicine and cryonics in "Small Medicine" and "Bridesicle." What do the authors believe will happen? Do you agree that these are possible futures, and that we should be cautious with these technologies?

3. What do the three stories say about humans' relationship with death? Based on these stories and what happens to the characters, what lessons should we take away about how we should approach life and death?

4. Which force is more powerful: love, or fear of death? Use the events and actions of the characters in "Bridesicle," "Small Medicine," and "Tortoiseshell Cats" to defend your position.

Once you have chosen a question, you must develop a thesis that demonstrates your position. Your thesis must be a concise, specific statement of what you plan to explore in the paper. Your thesis should not be in the form of a question (like "Should we all have robot replacements?") or a general statement (like "Death is bad").