MLA format w/ Works Cited page, all saved as one Word Doc)
The paper should develop an argument that
focuses on one work of literature (that you did not write about for the
midterm exam essay) from the course and analyzes it in relation to at least two
(or more) secondary sources of context.
Most critical essays (like this final
paper) make an overall argument for why the piece of literature one chose to
write about is valuable or should be more widely read. To do this, you will
need to show and explain to us what the literature does and how it does it.
Since you don’t have the time or space to write about every possible
observation, you will want to focus your inquiry.
I would recommend
starting with a work that intrigued or pleased or confused or otherwise
interested you and develop a topic that is both specific enough to fully
explore and rich enough to generate valuable insights about the form, content,
or context of the work in question. Use your curiosity as a jumping-off point.
One useful strategy may involve posing a genuine question you have about the
text, for which you may or may not have an answer. Explore the answers that
other critics suggest, and from this, construct your own approach to the issues
raised by your reading and research.
What counts as context? Anything we can
read along with the primary text that illuminates our understanding of that
text. I would prefer peer-reviewed journal articles, such as those you would
find through databases available through the library: JSTOR, Project MUSE, etc. You may also use relevant book
chapters, interviews, and book reviews. Ask me if you’re not sure about using
something.
Your paper should have a clearly stated
thesis, and a clearly articulated structure, in which you support your thesis
with arguments based on textual analysis. As you begin work on your paper,
it may be helpful to begin by formulating a central thesis question – one that
can be answered through conducting a specific analysis of your chosen texts—
and the “answer” to this central thesis question will then become your thesis
statement.
Optional questions to answer that may focus
the analysis of your paper:
1.
If America is framed as a nation of immigrants and
American literature as an immigrant literature, how do works of Native American
or African-American literature fit into or challenge this framework?
2.
How do immigrant characters negotiate being American, for
example, as understood with J.W. Berry’s model of acculturation “in which
receiving-culture acquisition and heritage-culture retention are cast as
independent dimensions.[?] Within Berry’s model, these two dimensions intersect
to create four acculturation categories—assimilation (adopts the receiving
culture and discards the heritage culture), separation (rejects the receiving
culture and retains the heritage culture), integration (adopts the receiving
culture and retains the heritage culture), and marginalization (rejects both
the heritage and receiving cultures)” (Seth J. Schwartz, et alia. “Rethinking
the Concept of Acculturation”).
3.
How do particular characters (or the author/narrator)
resist or accept stereotypes American culture expects of them?
The Book that i want to do my paper on is “The Color of Water” By James Mcbride
