Assignment:  You are to write a paper on one of the topics given below.  I will expect the paper to include critical sources (at least two, NOT including your text nor a reference work [eg. your text, the Bible, an encyclopedia or dictionary] and only one of which may come from the internet), to show the analytic ability of an upper division major, and to be relatively free of problems of form (poor organization, immature prose, incorrect spelling, punctuation, etc). The paper may contain endnotes and must contain a bibliography.  Consult the grading sheet I distribute to ascertain the base level of writing that will be expected for a given grade.  Feel free to consult with me especially about the analysis to see if you are on the right track.  The paper should take at least two-three weeks of significant work to be in its polished form.  You would want to begin finding sources in enough time to use interlibrary loan if need be. 

 

Due Date: Monday, November 28--final draft accompanied by at least one other draft significantly different from the final one.  There is a mandatory draft workshop on Monday, November 21, by which time the paper should be in its almost completed form.

 

Length:    10 to 12 typed pages (about 2500 words)

1.  Focus on several aspects (theme, imagery, character, structure, setting) of one of the longer stories we have read or of your novel to argue for your interpretation of the text(s).  You must use at least two critical sources to support your thesis.  If those sources contradict the meaning at which you arrive, you must find a critical source that supports your interpretation.

2.  Compare or contrast at least 2 and at most 4 of the short stories to consider how they comment on one another.  If you contrast the stories, they must have at least one significant similarity (theme or time period or gender concerns, etc).  If you compare them, you must show the significance of their similarities. The comparison must be point-by-point.  That is, you canÕt focus on one story for the first part of your paper and the second for the second part.

 

3.   Apply one critical theory to your novel, a long story, or several short stories to argue for a specific interpretation.  You are not claiming that a single interpretation exhausts the meaning of the text, but you will claim that all aspects of the text(s) can be used to support the meaning you give it (them).  You may use your references to expound on the critical theory you use, or to show how a critic supports your reading, or to show how your reading works against that of a critic from a different critical school.

4.  Analyze a text or texts with respect to how it or they reflects or refutes a particular cultural, historical, scientific, or political idea of its time.  What are the main concerns that emerge?

 

5.  Design your own topic but you must have it approved by me during office hours (that is, not at the end of class when I am rushed and not very attentive). You must get my approval before November 14.

Format:    Please do not include a title page.  All papers must be typed.  Pages should be double-spaced and numbered. The upper right hand corner of the first page should have your name, my name, the date, and the course number.  Standard margins are 1" top, bottom, and sides.  Please do not right justify.  Left justify only.  Also, please give the paper a title and consult a handbook for the bibliography if you use outside sources.