English 99
J. Roth In-Class Essay—The Inner
Light
Rough Draft
Today—Please turn in all work before you leave.
Final Draft
Tomorrow—At the beginning of tomorrow’s class, I will hand back your rough
draft work. You have the class period
to edit submit a final copy.
The Star Trek: The Next Generation
episode The Inner Light is an
elegant account of one civilization's attempt to communicate their existence to
another civilization. Simply put, they
wanted to make a connection so that they would not be forgotten.
To succeed in being remembered, the alien civilization had to make
the following decisions:
• They had to decide what qualities of their
civilization they would most want to share with another world.
• They had to decide what type of person
would best understand and share their message by living a "lifetime"
as one of them.
SHORT ESSAY
CHOICES
CHOICE
#1:
If our 2001 earth civilization faced the same fate, what qualities
of our world would you most want to share with another civilization?
• In a short
essay, identify and discuss the two or three qualities of our 2001 earth
civilization you would most want to share with another world to give them a
sense of what we were really like.
CHOICE
#2:
Assume that a civilization from another world wants to share a
message such as this with us on earth.
• What person,
living or dead, would you select to receive a message such as this from another
civilization? In a short essay, name
the person you would select and give reasons for your selection.