From the syllabus: “Determine the role setting plays in a story, explaining your interpretation with evidence from the primary text.”
Apply your newfound knowledge of literary analysis and elements of fiction to examine a short story from class. Explain how the story’s setting(s) contribute to its theme and/or complement other elements of fiction present in the text.
Your second essay requires you to interpret a narrative by examining the story’s setting and explaining how it functions within the text. Your assignment is to explain to your readers what the setting of Convenience Store Woman or Bartleby the Scrivener contributes to its story.
Choose one of these stories and identify the components of the setting, state the setting’s role in the work, and explain how it is established in the text. Your detailed analysis might reveal something to your readers regarding the story’s theme. Additionally or alternatively, you might provide examples from the story where setting helps establish mood, symbolism, or character. For example, a student might argue that Bartleby’s story taking place on Wall Street suggests that the class mobility is impossible. The scrivener’s surroundings–the screens, stone walls, (ostensibly) wealth, and/or even Bartleby’s desk–help reiterate the different spheres of power in which the wealthy and poor operate.
In addition to providing textual evidence from the primary source, you must support your analysis with credible secondary sources. Synthesize into your argument the ideas of others: think critically about them, analyze their value, then use these ideas to support your own thesis. Demonstrate the authority and value of these sources within your essay itself. A minimum of three (3) quality secondary sources—in addition to the primary source—are required, including:
At least one (1) academic (or peer-reviewed) source, such as a journal article or textbook
At least one (1) popular source, such as a news periodical or book review
One additional source of your own choosing
Explain to the reader the credentials of those you incorporate into your essay, and provide context for their inclusion in your work. If you have questions about what constitutes an academic or popular source, please don’t hesitate to bring them to me.
Additional Notes/Rubric
100 points | 1,250-word minimum | Due Friday, April 5 @ 5pm.
This assignment will remain open until Friday, April 12 @ 5pm. There are no penalties or reductions in score for an essay submitted over the weekend, but any late essay submitted outside of this 55-hour window (after Sunday, April 7 @ 11:59pm) is subject to a 10% reduction in score per day late and may not include detailed feedback.
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This analytic essay should:
open with an introduction that [1] catches the reader’s attention, [2] provides a context for understanding the essay (the text, its author, and your stance on the piece), and [3] culminates in an explicit thesis statement that makes a claim about the setting
expound on the thesis by
supporting with logic your interpretive stance of the work’s setting
identifying in the primary text evidence which illustrates or otherwise supports your interpretation
incorporating credible support for your argument from your research
organize those examples and research in paragraphs where you explain their connection to your thesis, providing details that help the reader understand your position
conclude satisfactorily, with what might be a lesson learned, or concluding argument, but is never a summation of the whole essay
mention the title and author(s) or creator(s) of any referenced work (including MLA documentation–9th ed.)
adhere to the Written Assignment Formatting GuidelinesLinks to an external site. (pdf via Drive)
This analytic essay should avoid:
Long or block quotes
Second-person pronouns and references to the reader
Over-reliance on plot summary
Over-reliance on web material, reviews, and/or the encyclopedia or dictionary
Analysis focused on The Source (author) or The Receiver (reader)
Ask yourself the following questions for essay development (though you needn’t answer each of these):
What role does the setting play in this story?
Is the setting symbolic of a particular idea in the story?
How does the story’s setting affect its characters?
Are any characters in conflict with the setting?
Do any elements of the setting contribute to the story’s mood?
How is the plot developed against the story’s setting
NOTE FROM CUSTOMER: Hi, I have attatched the rubric and sample essay. Please cite in MLA 9th Edition. Dont make any of the wording TOO complicated. Make it a 12th grade senior level. Thanks. Need it by the 5th. WIll revise and submit that sunday
