Culture and Ethnic Studies Topic questions over the book: Metamorphoses.

 Remember to include an opening paragraph that outlines the structure of your paper and signposts the main points you will make. Do not simply repeat the language of the prompt, but briefly indicate the original arguments you will make in response to the prompt. First: Compare Hercules (as we see him in Alcestis) with Pentheus in the Bacchae, considering the following issues: Attitude toward Dionysus and intoxication Apparent failure to behave properly with respect to the gods and ritual custom Ability to recover from this failure and reestablish appropriate boundaries of self-house-city Second: Compare the sufferings of Pentheus, Glaucus, Actaeon, and Hermaphroditus, considering the following issues: Subordination to the feminine Confusion of gender Failure to control physical and emotional boundaries Location of the crucial events in their stories (in the city? in cultivated fields? In a wild landscape?) Finally, consider how the collective experience of these male characters challenges the key points of Ann Carson’s article, “Putting Her in Her Place: Women, Dirt, and Desire.”