Literary Essay. Write a three-page literary essay with an analytical thesis statement, using textual evidence (quotations from anthology).
See the materials in the Resources Module in Canvas to help you write your papers. There are hand-outs there on “How to Write and Revise a Thesis Statement,” “Developing Your Thesis,” “How to Quote” and “MLA Citation Quick Guide.”
Also, make sure you have watched Lecture 19 on James Baldwin, because that lecture is braided together with instructions on how to come up with an idea and turn it into an analytical thesis, use textual evidence, etc.
Choose one of the following options:
Allen Ginsberg: write about the symbolism of the city, the urban landscape, and its effect/reflection/symbolic reflection of the issues the narrator is describing, as afflicting “the best minds of my generation.”
Sandra Cisneros: compare/contrast the settings portrayed in this story: the Mexican hometown Cleófilas leaves versus her new home in America, with the titular creek out back.
Toni Morrison: what effect has being institutionalized in an orphanage had on Twyla and Roberta? They are very different in some ways, but how are they similar, or what are their shared concerns/issues, based on what we see at the end of the story?
Art Spiegelman: the portion we read of Maus consists of Vladek looking for safety for himself and his wife Anja. What does he show us about human nature in the portraits of the people who take him in and also those who turn him away?
Alison Bechdel: if this is a “coming-of-age” narrative for the college-aged Alison portrayed in this chapter, what does she realize about the adult world in this part of the chapter we read?
Viet Thanh Nguyen: compare and contrast the Vietnamese grocery store the narrator’s parents run (“New Saigon”) with the 7-Eleven pictured at the story’s conclusion. What does each store seem to symbolize or represent to the boy?
Details:
Do not use any secondary sources (things written about the works). This is not a research paper: you are writing about the text, using your own ideas and class lectures/notes. Don’t go online “just to get a few ideas.”
Do not use Generative AI (ChaptGPT, etc.) to write this paper. You need to write it yourself; to use such services constitutes plagiarism.
Do use details from our class lectures and your notes: it’s important for you to demonstrate that you understand not just the texts, but the historical/aesthetic context they were written in.
Use textual detail: quote from important moments in the text to prove or illustrate your points, and cite using parenthetical citation with page number (p. 102).
Consult the folder referenced above for information/instructions on how to write an analytical thesis statement and craft a strong introduction.
Ask for help or advice if you need it! You can ask questions via email, or set up an appointment for a Zoom meeting with the instructor if you are struggling with any aspect of writing this paper.
The Writing Center (Campbell Library) provides writing tutoring.
See Rubric for how this paper will be graded.
This assignment is worth 20% of the final grade, and is due by the end of Week.
Checklist to consult before uploading paper:
This essay should be at least three full pages (it can exceed the page limit), double-spaced, in Cambria or Calibri, 12-point font. It must be typed and submitted electronically in MS Word (.docx or .pdf) format.
Attach a Works Cited list, giving author’s name (last name first, then first name), title of work, and publication information if you have it; cite to Canvas URL if no publication information is available.
Pledge your work: on your Works Cited page, state that you have complied with Rowan’s expectations regarding Academic Integrity. Remember: if you plagiarize, you might fail this assignment or the entire course.
