Instruction
I would like for you to come up with an original paper that makes use of ideas presented in one or more texts we have covered since essay #1 or will cover before the end of the semester (Steinbeck through Wallace--see syllabus for complete list). You can 1) concentrate on the texts themselves (explicating, interpreting) or 2) concentrate on any relevant issue(s) and use the texts as support. You should submit a short written proposal prior to the “draft.”
Research? You will be asked to reference three or four academic sources, preferably found through our college databases. The sources are intended to support your own original views and argument. Books, journals, essays, selected (academically strong) internet sites are all appropriate for source material. More information regarding research will be posted shortly.
Length of papers? Approx. 5-7 pages, including works cited page.
I prefer that you ultimately come up with an original topic, but here are some ideas to consider:
Historical analysis—investigate one or more works in historical context (i.e.
Ginsberg’s poetry and the Beat generation).
Psychological/psychoanalytical interpretation—analyze works/characters as
psychological studies (i.e., Plath’s and Sexton’s narrators, Sammy’s state of
mind).
Character analysis.
Gender analysis.
Cultural analysis (i.e., pop culture references in“Shiloh,” allusions in Ginsberg’s
poetry).
Compare/contrast—authors, texts, styles, themes.
Connect ideas from one or more texts to personal experience/personal ideology.
Write about an issue raised in one or more texts—marriage and relationships, madness,
race, death and dying, addiction, disconnectedness, violence, communication, etc.
Other issues raised in discussion, class links, weekly writings, etc.