Part 1
Goal
Write a reading response es.say about Tom Moylan’s analysis of Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
Instructions
Respond to the following questions in an es.say of at least 750 words:
In the chapter “Octavia Butler’s Parables”Links to an external site. in Scraps of the Untainted Sky: Science Fiction, Utopia, Dystopia, Tom Moylan writes, “[T]he dystopia of 2027 clearly is negated by the journey of Lauren and her friends away from their corrupt world and positively opposed by the utopian enclave of the Earthseed community” (237). In parts I and II of his chapter, which focus on Parable of the Sower, how does Moylan support this claim? (For example, what are some passages from Butler’s novel that Moylan quotes and analyses to try persuade you as a reader that his argument is valid?)
Do you agree with Moylan’s interpretation? That is, do you agree that, through their journey north, Lauren and her friends construct a utopian alternative to the dystopian world they attempt to escape? Explain your response. (You may use parts or all of your discussion post in your response.)
For full credit, please support your claims with . . .
At least two direct quotations:
One or more from the primary text, that is, from Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower (Links to an external site.) and
One or more from the secondary text: Tom Moylan’s chapter “Octavia Butler’s Parables”Links to an external site. in Scraps of the Untainted Sky: Science Fiction, Utopia, Dystopia
Analysis/interpretation of these quotations
MLA
Remember that you must correctly cite any print or web source that you quote or paraphrase. Submitting the words or ideas of someone else without proper citation is considered plagiarism.
Part 2
Goals
Conduct research on a particular chosen topic in Octavia E. Butler’s novel Parable of the Sower
Compose an analytical and interpretive ess.ay that uses sufficient particulars, including quoted material, from the primary text and at least five secondary sources to support a unified argument
Write a clear and coherent es.say free from major errors in mechanics and grammar
Document your sources correctly according to MLA guidelines
Instructions
Write a 1750-2500 word research ess.ay on a particular topic of your choice in Parable of the Sower.
Based on your research of secondary sources, write a specific and arguable thesis statement that presents your central argument about the novel.
Develop and support your thesis by discussing quotations from the novel and from at least five secondary sources. (The five sources can include the five sources from your Annotated Bibliography, but this is not mandatory.) The sources should preferably be articles from academic (i.e., scholarly) journals or full-length academic texts (or chapters/articles in full-length texts). However, articles from newspapers and magazines are also acceptable. I highly recommend searching for all sources through the library catalog (Links to an external site.) or databasesLinks to an external site..
I recommend the following databases, which focus on academic texts:
JSTORLinks to an external site.
Project MUSELinks to an external site.
Avoid using popular search engines like Google unless you have a good sense of how to judge whether a search result is credible or not.
You may ask a PCC librarian for research assistance 24/7.
Include a Works Cited page with bibliographic citations for your primary and secondary sources listed in alphabetical order. (Annotations do not need to be included on the Works Cited page.)
Title
Come up with your own creative and specific title for the ess.ay. Use the titles of secondary texts as examples, such as the title, “Violence and/or Nonviolence in the Success of the Civil Rights Movement: The Malcolm X–Martin Luther King, Jr. Nexus” by August H. Nimtz. Note that Byerman uses a catchy title (“Violence and/or Nonviolence in the Success of the Civil Rights Movement”) and a more specific subtitle (“The Malcolm X–Martin Luther King, Jr. Nexus”).
According to MLA format, your own title should be in a normal 12-point font with no underline, italics, bold, or quotation marks (except for titles of works within your title, such as the title of the chapter “Octavia Butler’s Parables,” which would be in quotation marks, or titles of full-length texts like Scraps of the Untainted Sky: Science Fiction, Utopia, Dystopia or Parable of the Sower, which would be italicized).
Thesis
The thesis statement (which can be longer than one sentence) should . . .
Be arguable: a claim with which someone could agree or disagree
Be specific: state both your claim (what you believe) and your reasons (why you believe it)
Supporting your Thesis
The strength of your pa.per will depend on how well you support your thesis and topic statements. The e.ssay should include analysis of multiple quotations from the primary text and from at least five secondary texts. Furthermore, each body paragraph (not including the introduction or conclusion) should include at least one quoted passage from the primary or a secondary text. In order to ensure that this textual evidence is well integrated into your ess.ay, you should introduce (with a signal phrase), closely analyze, and correctly cite the quotation. It should be clear how exactly the textual evidence supports your thesis and topic statements.
Organization
Your thesis and topic statements should make arguable claims about specific aspects of the texts. Your ess.ay should also include logical and smooth transitions between paragraphs, and the conclusion should not simply repeat your thesis or topic statements. Instead, in the conclusion, briefly examine the wider significance of the texts themselves and/or your critique of them.
MLA
Remember that you must correctly cite any print or web source that you quote or paraphrase. Submitting the words or ideas of someone else without proper citation is considered plagiarism.
