13. Final: Epiphany

Post by class time, Tuesday, Dec. 9.

Length: 1500 – 2000 words

For the final assignment, the theme is “Travel Epiphany.”

Wikipedia explains the term in both its secular and religious contexts: think about both as you plan what to write.  (The religious angle may be relevant to the idea of travel as pilgrimage.)  You can write a short story (fiction or nonfiction), personal essay, academic paper, or magazine piece that fits in with the rest of the website—just be sure that the themes of travel and epiphany are there.

You might tell a travel story that turns on an epiphany, or write about epiphanies in the novels we read. Whatever the form you adopt, be sure that whatever you write reflects the readings and class discussions in some way. In the case of a short story, you might do this through allusions and quotation (as in Death in Venice and Comfort of Strangers), or by telling the story from the point of view of one of the characters in the novels, or borrow a plot device.

Just to get your thoughts going, here are a couple of things to read:  Paul Theroux entitled “Five Travel Epiphanies" by travel writer Paul Theroux, and a passage from Julia Child's autobiography about her first meal in France.  Click on the title of the assignment to find the pdf's.

As usual, include a picture.