The topic above is not what the essay should be about, it is simply a title. The short stories chosen are “Sonny’s Blues” and “Going to Meet the Man” by James Baldwin. Instruction should be uploaded below.
Instruction (if the upload failed):
Length: 1,500 words minimum, excluding the text on the works cited page. There is no maximum word or page count.
Title: The title you choose for this essay cannot be the title of either primary source (FYI: the primary sources are the short stories you chose) or Research Paper. Any other title is acceptable.
Sources: This assignment will exhibit a familiarity with research methods and MLA format for including outside information alongside your own text. Your essay must include a works cited page as the final page of your essay. The essay and works cited page must contain a minimum of 7 entries: 2 primary sources AND 5 secondary sources. List the sources in alphabetical order on the works cited page. Do not number the entries.
The sources you find in the library must be ones ABOUT the short stories you chose. You probably will not find a source written about both stories, so search for information about one story, and then search for information about the other story. You might find use in a biography of the author. Since you are writing about two short stories written by the same author, a biography of the author might help you discuss the theme of his/her works.
Any essay that does not contain cited evidence from each of the seven sources will be severely penalized. Any essay that does not contain a works cited page will be deducted 10 points.
Instructions: First, choose two short stories written by one author from the list I provided (you cannot choose an author who does not appear on this list). All of your work for the research paper will revolve around these two short stories. In your research paper, you will discuss the common theme in the two short stories. Do not simply compare and contrast the short stories.
In this paper you will discuss the common theme found in the two short stories, and to do so, you will discuss/analyze how three or four literary elements (style, setting, character, irony, climax, symbolism, point of view, etc.) help show this theme throughout each story; do not choose plot as one of the terms. For example: determine two short stories by one author that have a similar theme. Then, decide which literary concepts in each work help “show” this theme. You might find that character, setting, and symbol all help show this theme. You can then find library research to help support your ideas. In your essay, you can write a section of your paper about how the characters help show the theme in each work, another section about how the setting helps show the theme in each work, and a final section about how the symbols help show the theme. If you are confused, read the example research paper I posted in this folder.
I posted a list of common themes in literature in this folder. I also briefly stated a theme(s) that the authors use in their writing on the list of authors to choose from.
All of your ideas need to be backed up with evidence from the primary and secondary sources. You are required to use evidence from both primary sources AND each of the five secondary sources in your paper. Your paper should have an average of two to three documented quoted passages (primary and/or secondary) per typed page. Your paper should exhibit a 60:40 balance of documented support passages—favoring the PRIMARY texts.
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A Note of Warning: you are not to write about an issue in this essay–you are not to present an argument in this essay. For example: if you choose to discuss Hemingway’s “Hills like White Elephants,” you cannot discuss your opinion on abortion since the story is about a woman contemplating terminating her pregnancy. This has nothing to do with theme. If your research paper is nothing but an argument or about your position on an issue, it will not receive any grade higher than a 0.
