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Write an essay of 4 to 5 pages, double-spaced (1200 to 1600 words) in length, in standard manuscript form. The essay should have a title, and the pages should be numbered in the upper right-hand corner. All references to the texts should follow the MLA in-text style of citation. Your essay should be argumentative in tenor; that is, it should state a definite thesis about the works in question and endeavor to demonstrate or prove that thesis with evidence drawn from the texts. You may write on one of the suggestions below, or on a topic of your own devising. In any case, be sure that your essay articulates and endeavors to prove a clear thesis. Cite passages from the primary texts whenever possible. The questions or statements following each topic are meant as suggestions to guide your thinking. You do not necessarily have to address each one, nor should you feel yourself limited only to those ideas. The important thing is to write a coherent essay that responds to the topic in a thorough and well thought out manner. Above all, do not treat the topic suggestion as a series of short-answer essay questions.

1. Compare the social system of the dystopian world in Ayn Rand’s Anthem with the social system in Ira Levin’s This Perfect Day. What sorts of family structures exist in each society? How are people’s mates and sex partners chosen, and how is it decided who is allowed to have children? How do those relationships affect people’s living arrangements? How similar or dissimilar are the social relations in each society to those of mid-century America? How does each novel represent self-chosen, pair-bonded families as a criticism of the social relations of the collectivized society?