Reference no: EM132382751
Essay 3 : Literary Analysis
Essay Instructions: Literary Analysis
Instructions for the Literary Analysis Essay
Literary Analysis
In this essay you should combine your practice responding and analyzing short stories with support derived from research. So far, in the discussion boards, we have practiced primarily formal analysis. Now I want you to practice "joining the conversation." In this essay you will write a literary analysis that incorporates the ideas of others. The trick is to accurately present ideas and interpretations gathered from your research while adding to the conversation by presenting your own ideas and analysis.
You will be evaluated, in part, on how well you use external sources. I want to see that you can quote, paraphrase and summarize without plagiarizing. Remember, any unique idea must be credited, even if you put it in your own words.
Choose one of the approaches explained in the "Approaches to Literary Analysis" located at the bottom of this document. Each approach will require research, and that research should provide the context in which you present your own ideas and support your thesis. Be sure to properly document your research. Review the links in the "Writing about Literature" tab as these will help guide you.
While I am asking you to conduct outside research, do not lose sight of the primary text to which you are responding---the story! Your research should support your interpretations of the story. Be sure that your thesis is relevant to the story and that you quote generously from the story.
Purpose: critical analysis, writing from sources
Length: 5 pages, approx 1500 words
Documentation: Minimum of 5 sources required. Documented in MLA format. (Note: review the material in "finding and evaluating sources" to help you choose relevant and trustworthy sources.)
Choose from the following short stories, all located in the folder located in this unit.
A Perfect Day for a Bananafish
The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber
The Wall
The Swimmer
The Lesson
At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers
The Bound Man
The Birthmark
For Esme... with Love and Squalor
Below are some examples. I do not require you to choose one of these topics. They are just here to give you an idea of the type of approaches that will work for this essay.
1. Philosophical analysis: How do the stories by Jean Paul Sartre and Albert Camus reflect the philosophy of existentialism?
2. Socio/cultural analysis: What opinion about marriage and gender roles does Hemingway advance in "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber"?
3. Historical analysis: What social dilemmas faced by African Americans in the 1960s might have inspired Toni Cade Bambara to write "The Lesson"?
4. Biographical analysis: What events in Salman Rushdie's life might have influenced the events in "At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers"?
5. Psychological analysis: How is John Cheever's "The Swimmer" a metaphor for the psychology of addiction?