Your first essay will explore a topic in The Picture of Dorian Gray and How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. You are required to use both texts–we don’t read in isolation and our prior reading experiences contribute to our appreciation for texts we subsequently read.
The aims of this essay will be for you to accomplish the following: 1) present an argument (with your own unique thesis) about these important literary texts; 2) back up that argument with evidence from the two primary texts; 3) offer your argument and evidence within a clear pattern of organization and convincing analysis; 4) provide equal, meaningful treatment of the texts in a logical comparison; and 5) write clearly, concisely, and correctly, including correct usage of Modern Language Association in-text citations for all quotes and specific references to the novels.
Please include a Works Cited page at the end of your essay.
You may use ADDITIONAL course reading materials in this essay. (In fact, if used meaningfully, this may make for a stronger essay.) And if you’re interested in ADDING texts to your discussion, by all means do so–just talk with me first!
The essay should be approximately 5 pages long (double spaced, with 1-inch margins and in a 12-point font). The final due date for the essay will be 11/22. Below are some suggestions as to literary and/or critical issues or themes. You may also devise your own topic; if you do so, please discuss your idea with me in advance so that I can ensure that your topic is sufficiently complex and suitably focused.
To get started:
Read the article titled “Reading and Responding to Literature.”
Respond to ONE of these three questions in your essay:
1. Memorable literary works are often innovative. How do The Picture of Dorian Gray and How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents similarly challenge societal norms and/or literary conventions, and how do they differ in what they’re trying to/what they do accomplish?
2. How do The Picture of Dorian Gray and How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents show relevance to concepts studied in other disciplines? Craft a nice thesis/conclusion that explains the significance of these comparisons to other disciplines.
3. Many scholars say that literature is valuable because of its universal truths (those which relate to human nature, in particular). How can a novel as imaginative as Dorian Gray (albeit oddly “real” in its imaginitiveness) and a novel as autobiographical as Garcia Girls approach a discussion of truths/reality? Why must we look at both of these texts to get a more comprehensive picture? (In other words, how can comparing these help you arrive at a universal truth of literature?)
From the customer: please include textual evidences and proper citations. Thank you!
