EWRT1B sections 18 and 62: Essay 1 prompts

Here are the prompts for Essay 1. A pdf of this can also be found on the class site through MyPortal.

Winter 2015 Essay 1- Themes of narrative and identity in short fiction

We tell ourselves stories about who we are and how we should behave. Often we get these narratives from family members, friends, and culture. Sometimes these narratives give us strength. Yet other times these narratives create conflict. These connections between narrative and identity are what we are exploring in the stories for this class and are the concern of the first essay. Numbered below are a series of prompts that state different relationships between narrative and identity. Choose one of these and analyze this theme in at least two of our stories. I am looking for a logically structured, well-argued essay that has a clear thesis statement that names a strong connection between the stories you analyze. The evidence in your paper should come directly from the stories. Keep in mind that the prompt is just to get you started; feel free to sharpen your focus.

Literature and Its Writers has a lot of good advice about writing about literature. Pages 1623-1636 go into detail about how to generate ideas and the process of writing. Quick guidelines can be found on pages 1640-1641. If you want more explanation of what an analytical literature paper is, look on page 1644, and comparison and contrast is talked about on pages 1647-1651. Lastly, be sure to check out the common problems listed on pages 1637-1639.

For clarity, here is a list of the stories you can write about: “The Story of an Hour,” “A Rose for Emily,” “Sonny’s Blues,” “Two Kinds,” “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and “The Things They Carried.”

1. Many of our stories show characters who are unwilling to give up an old narrative, who refuse to change their stories about themselves and the world. How does this unwillingness  to change create conflict for the characters? Demonstrate this in at least two stories.
2. In many of the stories conflict arises when a character’s culture imposes an unwanted narrative upon the character, usually expressed by another character, such as a parent or spouse. How does this cultural narrative create conflict in the stories? Try to find a cultural narrative that is the same in the two stories you analyze.
3. Some of our stories concern a character who is struggling to create a new narrative and a new identity from that narrative. Why is this struggle difficult? What gets in the way of the character? Find a common answer in at least two of our stories.
4. A few of our stories show how people work together to create a narrative that helps them in some way. Why do the characters need to work together and how does having a common narrative help them? Demonstrate your answer in at least two stories.

Requirements: The paper should be 3-5 pages, typed, double-spaced, and in MLA style. See pages 1669-1674 in our book. You also must submit your paper to Turnitin and have an originality score below 20%. Failure to meet the requirements means failure to receive credit for the assignment.

Turnitin: This quarter, we will be using Turnitin to check papers for originality. I will set up accounts for each of you and when I do, you should receive an e-mail from Turnitin. Before the paper is due, submit an electronic copy to Turnitin. Be sure to also bring a hard copy to class. On the Turnitin site, if your paper receives an originality score of above 20%, then you need to go back through your paper and make sure you cited everything correctly. Then submit the paper again. The originality score must be below 20% for the paper to receive credit.

Due Tuesday, January 27th