Write an 800-1000 word essay evaluating a theme in one of the stories from our text and a similar theme in a poem from our text.
You can pick any story and poem as long as it is from our textbook.
With this essay, you are comparing and contrasting a similar theme and explaining how the theme is revealed in similar and different ways in the poem and in the story.
Once again, you will need to identify specific literary elements in both the poem and story and include quotes from the story and poem to support and illustrate the theme.
As with any essay assignment, you should consider your purpose and audience.
Your audience is your classmates and instructor. Assume that your audience has already read the story and the poem, so you want to avoid retelling the plot in your essay or defining literary terms. Instead, your goal is to show readers the unique insights you found by doing a close reading of the poem and the story.
Your purpose is to bring a better understanding of the story and the poem to your readers.
As we discussed, the theme is the overall meaning found in a work of literature. It’s possible for a story to have more than one theme.
Pick a story to analyze.
Pick a poem that has a similar theme. Remember, there may be some differences, and you will discuss this in your essay.
**Please DO NOT pick the same poem you wrote about for the first essay assignment. Pick a different poem (it can be the same author if you wish).
Next, consider the ways the theme is revealed in both works. What literary elements are used? For example, you might want to consider the story’s narration, point of view, character analysis, imagery, plot, or other elements.
Craft a thesis statement that states the specific similar theme and why the theme is significant.
Submit your thesis statement for review in Module Three by Sunday.
Craft an essay with at least five paragraphs (an introduction, three supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion). It can be longer. Make sure you balance your analysis on both the story and the poem.
Consider the following as you craft your work:
The introduction should include something to draw your readers in. Consider ways you can introduce the material. The last sentence of your introduction should be your thesis statement.
Your body paragraphs should include direct quotes from the story and the poem to illustrate your points. Make sure you use the MLA style for in-text citations. Also, make sure you explain how the literary elements relate back to the theme.
Write a concluding paragraph that brings together your ideas and reasserts the claim from your thesis statement.
Create a Works Cited page and use the MLA style for your source.
This is a close reading of a story and a poem, so I’d like you to do the analysis.
You do not need to find sources other than the story and poem.
Heres an Example thesis: Although Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Ibsen’s A Doll House both explore the subjugation of married women in the late nineteenth century, the authors use characterization and point of view in distinct ways to portray different outcomes: a descent into madness in the case of Gilman’s protagonist and a greater sense of individuation in the case of Ibsen’s Nora.
*The short stories to chose from are “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates, and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
THE POEMS TO CHOSE FROM*
“On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer” by John Keats
“My Father’s ‘Norton Introduction to Literature,’ Third edition (1981)” by Hai-Dang Phan
“Bells for John Whiteside’s Daughter” by John Crowe Ransom
“The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus
“Sacred Objects” by Ada Limón
“Quarantine” by Eavan Boland
“The Ruined Maid” by Thomas Hardy
“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth
“In Quarantine, I Reflect on the Death of Ophelia” by Elisa Gonzalez
“On Being Brought From Africa to America” by Phillis Wheatley
“The Sky is Low—The Clouds are Mean” by Emily Dickinson
“Divorce” by Billy Collins
“Nebraska” by Bruce Springsteen
“A Letter from Phillis Wheatley” by Robert Hayden
“Head, Heart” by Lydia Davis
“On Her Loving Two Equally” by Aphra Behn
