We have read a number of short stories so far—and will read two more before Monday. Choose
exactly two of them (no more, no less), then compare and contrast them in terms of one (just
one!) narrative element we’ve addressed so far (or will address soon): plot, perspective, closure,
etc.
– Your comparing and contrasting should rely extensively on the analysis of evidence. In other
words, if you have a paragraph discussing closure in “Standard Loneliness Package,” much of
that paragraph will be made up of your interpretation of relevant citations from the text.
– Much of your essay will be taken up with this comparing and contrasting. But the entire essay
should be framed by a larger claim (aka—a thesis). This central claim should, more or less, take
the form of your answer to this question: What is the significance of the different ways these two
narratives approach the element you selected? As such, your comparing and contrasting should
ultimately be in service of proving this claim.
– Your claim will likely force you to discuss not just the “how” of each short story (closure,
perspective, etc.), but the “what” of each one as well (love, parenting, loss, etc.). For instance if
you argue that one short story provides closure, but the other does not, well, that’s a “how”
claim. In order to make a case for the significance of this, you’ll probably have to talk about
“what” the narratives are about as well (themes, issues, etc.).
– Don’t start by trying to formulate the final version of your main claim, though a rougher form
of it may be possible early on. What will likely be more productive is something like this: 1)
Write up some general ideas or hunches you have, based on your initial response to the stories,
our discussion about them, etc.; 2) Analyze the evidence you suspect you’ll use in the essay; 3)
Look over your analysis and see what big claim you can make about it. Some back and forth
between your general claim and close analysis will likely be necessary. This back and forth is a
central feature of (and reason for) The Process™, which is just about inescapable in a paper like
this.
I strongly recommend you going through The Process™ for writing this paper. Though
everyone’s process is different, yours might look something like: 1) Choose the stories you
want to spend more time with; 2) Reread them (or at least parts of them), mark them up, and
take notes; 3) Select the narrative element you want to focus on; 4) Make a list of all relevant
evidence; 5) Free write or brainstorm; 6) Start writing up some close readings (i.e. extended
analysis of evidence); 7) Formulate a tentative central claim; 8) Think about the structure of
your paper (and perhaps make an outline); 9) Write a first draft; 10) Give yourself a treat; 11)
Print out the first draft and read it as if you’ve never seen it before; 12) Come up with a plan
for making draft #2 better than draft #1; 13) Revise; 14) Line edit; 15) Repeat step #10.
In order to go through The Process™ effectively, you’ll want to spread out your work on this
essay into a few sessions over the course of a couple of days.
You don’t need to be an expert on the narrative element you’re writing about, but you should
feel pretty comfortable with it. If you need help clarifying the concept you’ve chosen, feel
free to email me. But you must do so by Friday at 6PM.
Once you’ve chosen your short stories and your narrative element, don’t second guess
yourself! You may get stuck, that’s normal. It doesn’t mean that if you chose different
stories or a different element that the whole essay would be a breeze.
900 words is not much. Keep your introduction very brief. Get into the details of your short
stories quickly and stay close to the texts throughout. Your conclusion can be longer, but
only if it is used to develop your main claim.
I am fully aware that this class only started four days ago, and that this paper is due in just
another four days. I am not expecting masterpieces. But I do expect you to put in some time
and effort here. I also expect you to produce an essay that is somewhat polished.
