The Dark Knight

Choose one question from below as a prompt for Essay 3. Your essay will be 10-12 FULL pages (not including Works Cited), drawing from at least 6 outside sources. The essay will be worth 300 points. You CAN also come up with your own "Dark Knight" essay topic, but it must be approved by me.

Essay Prompt Questions (Choose ONLY one)

1. When Harvey Dent says, “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain”—how true is that statement? Can you apply this statement to any real-life historical figure?

2. Extremists are usually created by the society that failed them. How has Gotham City—or the world at large—failed people like Bruce Wayne, the Joker, Selina Kyle, Ra's Al Ghul, and Bane?

3.) Ra's says to Batman, "You are defending a city so corrupt we have infiltrated every level of its infrastructure." Can we mirror Gotham’s compromised society with our own?

4. Speculate how the Joker came into existence by drawing upon his motives and actions in The Dark Knight.

5. Explain why Batman cannot kill the Joker. What's so special about their relationship compared to Batman's relationship with other villains?

6. How do the 3 Batman films apply to our post-9/11 world? What is Nolan trying to say about terrorism and revolution?

7. Examine the religious symbolism in the three films.

8. Discuss how the collapse of the family structure can greatly affect the individual. Draw your conclusions from the life of Bruce Wayne, Ra’s Al Ghul, Talia Al Ghul, the Joker, Harvey Dent, John Blake, etc.

9. Discuss the problems with social class in our world and how they mirror what we see in Gotham City.

10. Discuss the significance of the word "Rise" in The Dark Knight Rises. What does it mean? Who does the word apply to in the film?

11. Innocent people continue to die at the hands of Batman's enemies because Batman cannot bring himself to kill the wrongdoer. Do you think this choice of his is wise and morally justifiable?

12. Examine the journey of one of the leading characters in the Batman films and how he/she changes throughout the story or the arc of the film(s).

13. Psychoanalyze Bruce Wayne or any of the Batman characters. What do mental condition do you think he is suffering from?