Season Essays:
Throughout the semester, you will write an Essay for each season of Breaking Bad. Your Essay
for each season must refer to all of the episodes you watched during each season of the series. For
example, your Season One Essay must refer to all seven episodes from Season One, and your
Season Five Essay must refer to all sixteen episodes from Season Five.
For each Season Essay, you must analyze the story Vince Gilligan and his creative team told
about Walter White and the pursuit of the dream he established for himself in the series pilot
episode. Pay attention to the ways that Walters pursuit of that dream hits unforseen obstacles and
Spring 2020 Syllabus AST 217OL 9
transforms him as well as the other characters on the show. Assess whether Walters dream is
transforming into nightmare for him and his family and whether Walters pursuit of that dream
bring happiness or misery to other characters on the show. Additionally, look for the ways that
Walters pursuit of his dream awakens something in him that he had buried. What story/message
does Vince Gilligan and his creative team tell through those developments? Do Vince Gilligan and
the creative team seem to be telling a broader story about the pursuit of the American dream?
As you write each of your Season Essays, refer to specific scenes from the episodes you
watched in that particular season. You may use ONLY the episodes to write your Essay. The use of
any additional sources will result in a grade of 0 Points for your Essay and may result in an
Academic Honesty Violation.
Your Season Essays must be typed, double-spaced, written in a twelve-point font, and use
Chicago Manual of Style citations. Your Essays also must include between 500 and 800 words and
contain a minimum of three paragraphs. I will grade your Season Essays using the American
Studies Writing Rubric, and you can earn up to 140 Points toward your Semester Grade by writing
each of your Season Essays. You can earn up to 700 Points toward your Semester Grade by writing
all of your Season Essays. You will submit your Season Essays on our Cabrini Learn page by the due
dates listed on the Class Schedule and our Cabrini Learn page.