Reference no: EM132379349 , Length: word count:750

Essay - Resemblance Claims

Respond to the following prompt with a thesis-driven persuasive essay:

Main questions: In "A Late Encounter with the Enemy" and "In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd," in what significant ways are Máximo and General Sash similar and different, especially in terms of the way they deal with memories? Think about what they remember, how memories make them feel, and how their memories relate to larger histories. How do the characters' memories affect their present identities?

Optional, related questions (use if helpful): What do those similarities and differences tell us about the two characters? Do they mostly remember, forget, misremember, suppress incidents from their past? Some combination of these actions? Do they favor some memories and avoid others? Why? Do they have control over their memories? What kinds of feelings do their memories evoke?

Answer the questions from the prompt by writing a comparative essay that employs strong resemblance (compare/contrast) claims. You should analyze and interpret at least 2-3 significant moments (passages between a paragraph and page in length) in each story, and those moments should correspond to one another. For example, if in one paragraph you look at how General Sash focuses on one important, happy memory (say, the movie premiere), in the next paragraph you'd need to look at a scene where Máximo deals with an important, happy memory as well.

Suggest you start by creating an outline. Here's one suggested organization for the paper:

Introduction: Provide key contextual information, including the title and author of each of the stories. The introduction should end with a thesis statement that directly answers the main questions from this prompt.

Body paragraph 1: Look at a specific moment in ONE of the stories that is relevant to the question from this prompt. Begin your paragraph with an arguable topic sentence claim, then follow up with multiple pieces of specific evidence (including more than one quote) and warrants.

Body paragraph 2: Look at a corresponding moment in the OTHER short story. In this paragraph, you should not only analyze and interpret the moment in the story, you should also compare/contrast with the other story to make an argument about significant or interesting similarities and differences between the two.

Body paragraph 3: Go back to the first story and follow the same steps as with Para 1.

Body paragraph 4: Go back to the second story and follow the steps from Para 2.

(Add Paras 5 & 6, etc. as necessary.)

Conclusion: Review the most important takeaways from your argument: what did the similarities and differences you identified and discussed in the paper teach us about memory and identity, as they are depicted in the stories? Why are your findings important (what did the stories teach you about memory), and/or what further questions are still left after having made your argument?