Essay #5: Literary Analysis
Type: Literary Analysis
Length: 2-3 pages
Research: The paper must contain quotes, paraphrases and citations from a primary source (short story). It may (but does not need to) contain secondary research as well. Use your best judgment.
Grading: This paper is worth 10% of your overall grade for the class
Audience: College-educated people of all ages (a formal, academic audience)
Purpose: This is designed to help you explore a symbol, theme or image from a short story of your choice. This will demonstrate your ability to intelligently and closely examine the individual components of a text to see how they are used by an author to make a larger point or message. This allows you draw bigger conclusions about the material you are reading and connect it to the world around you.
Major Due Dates:
5/8 First Draft Due in Class for Peer Review (bring a copy to class)
5/13 Final Draft Due in Class (submit in stapled packet with all process materials)
Remember, no late papers will be accepted.
Choices: You may choose what short story you would like to write about, as long as it is different from the story you chose for essay #4. You may decide to work with one of the texts we discussed as a class, or choose something different from our textbook. Choices from outside the textbook need to be approved by me.
Together we will read/discuss ?The Oval Portrait, ?Eveline? (p. 2), ?The Lottery? (p. 133), ?The Things They Carried? (p. 114), ?A Good Man is Hard to Find? (p. 183), ?Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? (p. 199), ?The Story of an Hour? (p. 236), ?Hills like White Elephants? (p. 276), ?Salvation? (p. 279), and ?An Ounce of Cure? (p. 312). Other popular and personal favorites from our textbook include ?Everyday Use? (p. 154), ?The Birthmark? (p. 215), ?The Yellow Wallpaper? (p. 238), ?A&P? (p. 440), ?Spunk? (p. 258), ?This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona? (p. 388), and ?Dead Men?s Path? (p. 309). Feel free to look around and pick a story that resonates with you.
Description: For this textual analysis, select a theme, image or symbol from the short story of your choice and show how it is explored by the author and its greater meaning within the novel. Why is it chosen for the story, i.e. what does it mean? Themes/ symbols/images should point to a larger meaning in a story.
After you select your theme/symbol, look at all of the passages that you can find that have to do with the symbol you selected. Ask yourself: why are all of these included? Why are they important to this author? What does he/she want me to learn and understand from these passages? How do they relate to each other? Does his/her use of this symbol/theme change throughout the story? And always, why? These questions should help you formulate your own conclusion about what the symbol/theme means in the story.
Remember to make your assertion/s about the symbol/theme in your introduction through a strong thesis statement (remember that a strong thesis statement is a provable opinion). Thus, your thesis will not be ?The symbol/theme of ____ is found in ?[the story]?? (who could argue with that?). Try instead, ?In ?[the story]?, the symbol/theme of _____ is used to _____.? That might help jumpstart your ideas. Then, use characters, quotes and situations from the short story to support that thesis. This will be your proof that your statement is correct!
You will need to include strong and copious quotes and examples from the primary text to support your thesis statement about the meaning of the symbol or the theme in the story. Each of your paragraphs will need a strong topic sentence so that the reader can follow your argument. Remember the 3 part topic sentence that we discussed in class. When you use quotes/paraphrases from the short story, they must be properly cited in the MLA style, with a Works Cited page included with the short story. You do not need to begin a new page for this works cited page if it only contains the one source. Also, remember to use effective quoting and paraphrasing techniques as we discussed in class. To develop a strong essay, stay focused on your chosen topic and integrate primary material throughout to prove your well-crafted thesis.
Sample Thesis Statements:
-In Joyce?s ?Eveline,? the frequent repetition of dust symbolizes Eveline?s stagnant life and unwillingness to change it.
-In ?The Things They Carried,? O?Brien uses the physical object of Martha?s photograph to show the emotional toll that the Vietnam War is having on the soldiers.
-Alexie uses stories in ?This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona? to bridge the gap between the Native past and future.
-?Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? contains a lot of death imagery throughout, such as shadows and flies, which Oates uses to symbolize Connie?s loss of innocence.
**POSSIBLE** Ideas for Symbols/Themes:
A color
A character
Names
Family
Belonging
Self-Reliance
Individuality
Stories
Photographs
Letters
Black Box
Flies
Animals
Cars
Ocean
Waterfall
Fire
Earth
Paper
Creation
Rebirth
Art
Music
Dance
Women
Community
Flowers
Dust
Guns
Etc.
.
A Note about Plagiarism: Using sources effectively without plagiarizing is one of the most things to learn this semester. Because of the importance of academic integrity here at Triton and in the greater academic community, any paper that shows evidence of plagiarism will receive an automatic 0. When in doubt, always cite your source!
Hints: There is not enough time left this semester to get behind! Don?t leave this until the last minute!
-Remember, no late essays will be accepted!
-Consider visiting the Academic Success Center to meet with a writing tutor to get another expert perspective on your essay.
-Find someone to help you proofread your paper before final submission.
-Ask questions and get help if you are ever confused. I am here to help you succeed, but it is up to you to seek it when needed
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