ENGLISH 2307 ASSIGNMENT: ANALYTICAL ESSAY #1
If, in creating an interpretation, the writer of the essay has based the statements on the text, has provided evidence and not ignored contradictory evidence, has argued logically and clearly, and has done so in clear, concise language, then the interpretation is valid.
-- Harbrace Guide to Writing about Literature(4)
Due Dates: Workshop: 28 February 2013 Paper 1 Due: 7 March 2013
-- Harbrace Guide to Writing about Literature(4)
Due Dates: Workshop: 28 February 2013 Paper 1 Due: 7 March 2013
Critical/Analytical Essay:
An essay which interprets the meaning of a text by carefully considering such things as genre, structure, setting, characters, contexts, symbols, motifs, et cetera. The writer performs a close, careful textual analysis in order to develop a specific thesis which works to elucidate the meaning of the text.
Essay Workshop/Peer Evaluation (*Mandatory!*): Draft Due on 28 February 2013
Completed typed drafts of papers must be peer evaluated by the scheduled deadline for final versions of the assigned essay to be eligible for passing grades; therefore, attendance is required on the peer evaluation day. Students should bring two copies of a completed, typed draft, one for the peer evaluator and one for the instructor. The draft must be at least two pages in length (500 words). Students not attending the workshop will lose 10% off the final grade of their paper unless previous arrangements have been made with the instructor.
Essay Due: 7 March 2013 at the start of class
Length and Format:
Four to five pages in length (~1200 words); double-spaced; 1 inch for all four margins; 12 point font of New Times Roman; the essay must also follow the MLA format style, and must have a properly formatted Works Cited. Marks will be deducted for this essay if proper MLA Format is not followed.
Your essay should be held together by a paperclip. At the back of the essay, behind the Works Cited page, should be your Peer Repsonse Sheet that your reviewer completed for you during the class workshop.
Be sure to include the Integrity Statement, signed and dated by you. It can either be underneath your concluding paragraph of your essay, or at the bottom of the Works Cited.
INTEGRITY/ETHICAL STATEMENT: "By my signature, I declare that these are my words, my ideas, and my work and is not the work of another.” STUDENT SIGNATURE: ___________________ DATE: _______________________
Assignment Description:
This assignment involves an extended examination of Truth and Bright Water (TBW), or a comparative analysis Stephen Graham Jones's two stories, "Captivity Narrative 109" and/or "Discovering America." You are to write an analytical essay, developing a concise and persuasive argument (your thesis statement), backed up by textual evidence from the texts you choose to write on. Be sure to incorporate at least three direct quotations from the texts into your paper’s argument.
Keep in mind that essay prompts are the starting point for your thinking (*they are not the thesis statements!*), and that they tell you only the general area of investigation. Topics must be narrowed down into a tight, concise focus—the thesis of your paper. “Like the bull’s eye in the middle of a dartboard, the thesis statement is the center that holds your argument together. An essay succeeds because the point to be made is directly on target, and the significance of the point is firmly established” (Joanne Buckley, Fit to Print 6). Indeed, remember that the thesis statement is the center of your thought, the point of your paper. Therefore, your thesis statement should explicitly state WHAT you are going to examine and WHY an analysis of what you have chosen to examine is important in understanding the novel(s).
This assignment involves an extended examination of Truth and Bright Water (TBW), or a comparative analysis Stephen Graham Jones's two stories, "Captivity Narrative 109" and/or "Discovering America." You are to write an analytical essay, developing a concise and persuasive argument (your thesis statement), backed up by textual evidence from the texts you choose to write on. Be sure to incorporate at least three direct quotations from the texts into your paper’s argument.
Keep in mind that essay prompts are the starting point for your thinking (*they are not the thesis statements!*), and that they tell you only the general area of investigation. Topics must be narrowed down into a tight, concise focus—the thesis of your paper. “Like the bull’s eye in the middle of a dartboard, the thesis statement is the center that holds your argument together. An essay succeeds because the point to be made is directly on target, and the significance of the point is firmly established” (Joanne Buckley, Fit to Print 6). Indeed, remember that the thesis statement is the center of your thought, the point of your paper. Therefore, your thesis statement should explicitly state WHAT you are going to examine and WHY an analysis of what you have chosen to examine is important in understanding the novel(s).
POSSIBLE ESSAY #1 TOPICS:
1. Analyze the significance of the narrative structure and the choice of narrators in either Stephen Jones's stories or in TBW. For instance, how do these narrative and structural choices contribute to or impact the text(s)’s overall themes, issues, and concerns?
2. Discuss the representation of historical colonial legacies in either Jones's stories, or in King's novel.
3. Analyze the role and development of one of the main characters over the course of King's novel.
5. Discuss the role of Lucy Rabbit in TBW.
6. Discuss the role of Rebecca in TBW.
7. Discuss the theme of redemption and forgiveness, or of love and loss in King's novel.
8. Examine the role and importance of the literary allusions in Jones's fiction.
9. Examine the role of historical allusions in King's fiction.
10. Explore any of the following: What is the role of the costumes in TBW? What is the role of art and the artist? What is the role of music and television/film? What is the role of the literary allusions? What is the role of nature and the natural world?
12. Discuss the role of setting in King’s Truth and Bright Water. What is the importance of the bridge and the description of the town and reservation in TBW? How does King employ the setting for purposes of symbolism—that is, how does the setting act symbolically in order to contribute to the greater meaning or themes of the TBW?
13. What is the role of art and the artist in Truth and Bright Water? Discuss the role of Munroe Swimmer, for instance.
14. What is the role or the importance of the inclusion of the popular culture references in TBW? And/or what is the role and the importance of the inclusion of the past (Rebecca, Trail of Tears, etc.) in King's novel?
15. Discuss the importance of the buffalo in TBW. Keep in mind Lum's assertion that "garbage [... is] the new buffalo."
16. Discuss the role of dogs -- both Soldier and The Cousins -- in TBW.
17. Examine the theme of restoration (re-storying) in TBW and/or in Jones's fiction.
-- A topic of your choice, which must first be approved by the instructor before beginning to write.
2. Discuss the representation of historical colonial legacies in either Jones's stories, or in King's novel.
3. Analyze the role and development of one of the main characters over the course of King's novel.
5. Discuss the role of Lucy Rabbit in TBW.
6. Discuss the role of Rebecca in TBW.
7. Discuss the theme of redemption and forgiveness, or of love and loss in King's novel.
8. Examine the role and importance of the literary allusions in Jones's fiction.
9. Examine the role of historical allusions in King's fiction.
10. Explore any of the following: What is the role of the costumes in TBW? What is the role of art and the artist? What is the role of music and television/film? What is the role of the literary allusions? What is the role of nature and the natural world?
12. Discuss the role of setting in King’s Truth and Bright Water. What is the importance of the bridge and the description of the town and reservation in TBW? How does King employ the setting for purposes of symbolism—that is, how does the setting act symbolically in order to contribute to the greater meaning or themes of the TBW?
13. What is the role of art and the artist in Truth and Bright Water? Discuss the role of Munroe Swimmer, for instance.
14. What is the role or the importance of the inclusion of the popular culture references in TBW? And/or what is the role and the importance of the inclusion of the past (Rebecca, Trail of Tears, etc.) in King's novel?
15. Discuss the importance of the buffalo in TBW. Keep in mind Lum's assertion that "garbage [... is] the new buffalo."
16. Discuss the role of dogs -- both Soldier and The Cousins -- in TBW.
17. Examine the theme of restoration (re-storying) in TBW and/or in Jones's fiction.
-- A topic of your choice, which must first be approved by the instructor before beginning to write.