In this assignment, you will write a relatively brief (4-6 pages, double spaced) paper on one of the following topics. The questions are intentionally open-ended as to allow for your creativity in answering them, but you should focus your thoughts specifically towards addressing the specific demands of one of the choices below:A good paper will do all of the following:
- Compare Maus with another book or film representation of the Holocaust in terms of at least one of the following: characterization, plot development, author's/narrator's attitude toward the subject matter, objectivity of presentation, visual representations vs. verbal presentation, etc.
- Calvino and Lightman both use the physical world (and the scientific understanding thereof) as a starting point for stories that are clearly fantasy. Discuss both the similarities and differences in the narrative techniques they use in creating their story collections. Some possible characteristics to choose from: narrative framing (how are the stories ostensibly told to us, the readers?), symbolism, connections between individual stories in the books, character development, irony, level of realism (is the entire story a fantasy or do some things respond the way they would in the "real" world?), authorial intent (why does the author seem to be telling the stories he is?)
- Corpus Christi sparked a great deal of controversy because of its retelling of the story of Jesus Christ, which critics claimed (among other things) was historically inaccurate. McNally is obviously not interested in historical accuracy, though, so his intentions in changing the details of this well-known story must lie elsewhere. To get at the root of this question, compare the way McNally changes important parts of Jesus's biography in Corpus Christi to another book or film in which a historical figure is portrayed in a manner different from that which is generally accepted. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt in choosing the book or film that you wish to compare C. C. with, but make sure it treats a historical figure and not a fictional character. I've got a ton of examples I can give you, if you'd like, but try to come up with something on your own first.
- Discuss The Puttermesser Papers and either Cosmicomics or Einstein's Dreams in terms of whether or not they are novels made up of shorter works (i.e., the stories are essntially just chapters) or whether they are simply collections of individual stories that feature the same (or similar sets of characters and or settings). Your answer need not be the same for both books. What assumptions about the nature of a novel and/or a short story do you have and how do the books you've chosen meet and/or fail to meet those assumptions? If you find one work to be a novel and one to be a collection of stories, give specific examples from the text that demonstrate the difference to you. If you find both to belong to the same category, what would need to be different to change that perception for you?
This paper is due at the start of class on Friday, October 27. I'm happy to receive papers via e-mail (although please send them as attachments in Microsoft Word format, don't simply paste them into the text of the e-mail...I'll be happy to show you how to do this if you don't know how...).
- Outline the significant characteristics of the story that you will be discussing in a concise, informative thesis that allows the reader to form expectations about what will follow.
- Use specific examples from the texts (either in cited paraphrase or in direct quotation) to support any claims made about the method or intent of the author. Each point you are making should include 1) your interpretations of a particular aspect of the book or film; 2) A quote from the book or film that you feel supports this interpretation; and 3) some discussion of how and why you think this quote supports your interpretation. DO NOT NEGLECT ANY ONE OF THESE THREE PARTS.
- Focus on the details of the works you've chosen to analyze rather than on your personal reaction to them. You may certainly include details of your own impression if you find them important, but realize that responses can be very inconsistent among different readers and you, therefore, should not posit your own reading as the norm. Remember, you are not writing a review, you are attempting to make a logical connection.
- Avoid extensive plot summary in favor of analysis of the way in which the various parts of the story come together to create a unique whole. Your paper should not simply retell the story but try to explain how the writer made the story be what you believe it to be.
Your paper should follow the MLA style of citation as well as the class style guidelines.
For this assignment, you will be demonstrating your skills at making connections between a number of different works that we have read in class this semester. This paper will require you to deal with at least two of the books/plays or at least four of the poems on the syllabus in comparison with each other. (If you want to work with a comparison using both poetry and prose, come see me and we'll work something out...). As with all comparisons, you should focus on both the similarities between the works you've chosen as well as important differences, choosing your details with an eye towards explaining how thematically, stylistically or culturally different works fit into the larger conventions of the fiction genre.Your goal in this paper is essentially a very simple one--to say something about a number of separate works of literature in comparison that sheds light on each of them in a relatively unique way. This type of writing must have a clear, strong, analytical thesis, with strong paragraphs and transitions that back up that thesis. The goal is to say something interesting, relevant, and applicable about the texts: how they should be read, what a reader should believe about them, what can be learned from them when they are read from a particular perspective. Some plot summary (or extensive quotation in the case of poetry) is occasionally necessary but should never make up the bulk of your paper. You may assume for the purposes of this paper that your audience has read whichever works you chooses to discuss and can therefore focus not on wholesale rehashing of plot, but on close examination of specific passages that demonstrate the individual points you're trying to make.
Some things to consider as you think about what you want to write:
This paper should be at least six full pages in length (and should probably be no more than ten at the very most). In mid-November, you'll need to turn in a brief (about a full page in length) proposal in which you give me some idea of what topic and what works you want to write about. We will schedule a time to talk about your proposal either in my office or via e-mail before Wednesday, November 22. Feel free to discuss these proposals with me well in advance, as I'll be glad to give you some suggestions for getting started. Also feel free to use the works we will not have covered yet by the time your proposal is due (although this means, of course, that you probably should have read them before you give me your proposal...).
- Be precise in formulating your ideas about the books you're working with. You don't want to try to compare every aspect of two 300-page novels, so choose one or two aspects (characterization, narration, use of language, plot development, organization, theme, authorial intent, politics/"attitude", etc.) and develop your idea fully from those angles instead.
- Don't try to reproduce your personal response to the works you read. Instead, try to demonstrate to the reader of your paper how looking at the works you've chosen from the perspective outlined in your paper can assist in understanding them better. Your argument should use persuasive logical arguments, supported with examples from the texts that illustrate your claims. Do not make unqualified assumptions about other readers' responses based solely upon your own reaction.
- Allow yourself the opportunity to look at what other people have written about the works you've chosen. While it's not absolutely necessary to the creation of an effective paper for this assignment, looking at some criticism of the books may help you gain a better understanding of unfamiliar or difficult portions. Use (and cite) other critics in your work to help support your readings of the texts. You shouldn't simply be restating what another critic has already said (that doesn't add to understanding, it merely repeats it...)
- You can certainly use something that came up in class discussion or on the online forum as a starting point for your paper, but it should not be a rehash of what's already been said in either of those places either. If you use an idea from class or from the forum, attribute it, even if it is your own, and then expand on it in detail in your paper.
The final paper is due at the start of class on Friday, December 8. Note that this is less than a week before the final exam. I cannot give extensions on this paper under any circumstances. If a medical or personal emergency comes up (and these are the only scenarios I'll even consider allowing an extension for), we'll deal with it on a case by basis. I cannot accurately evaluate thirty-five papers in less than a week, so I've got to have them on the 1st, that's all there is to it.
Your paper should follow the MLA style of citation as well as the class style guidelines.