I have written this for an english class that I am taking so that I can get a better grade. I have attached the revision notes to the file and the essay instructions are below. I am having some problems with inflated language and being specific so those are the main issues but I have attached everything you need to work on it. If a lot of it needs to be rewritten that is perfectly fine.
Paper #2 gives you the opportunity to practice argumentative interpretation. This is the process of analyzing a work (anything—an essay, story, movie, painting….) for its implied or suggested meaning. The words “implied” and “suggested” are important here; many works state information or make claims on the surface, but they also leave clues as to a deeper meaning.
We’re going for that deeper meaning.
Accordingly, we’re going to distinguish between literal meaning, on one hand, and figurative meaning, on the other. Literal meaning consists of the points the author/creator clearly makes. Literal meaning is stated and does not require interpretation. If you provide the literal meaning of a text, you will be summarizing, and you all know that we want to avoid that.
When you delve beneath the literal level, you hit upon figurative or thematic meaning (a theme is an idea implied by a text, but not stated outright). To attain this deeper meaning, you look for clues, patterns, and what is implied “between the lines.” In other words, you sometimes write a paper on literature.
In Canvas, you’ll find two short horror stories, Shirley Jackson’s “The Summer People” and Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”. Your first task is to read them; your second task is to select which one you feel you can work with most effectively. Since we worked with horror films in the last paper, we’ll continue through Spring Break in that area. Perhaps you’ll want to link your Paper #2 back to Bantinaki, or you might want to sink Bantinaki to the bottom of the ocean and begin repressing any memory of her. It’s up to you.
Your third step will be to write an Outline of Paper #2, in which you will develop a thesis that pinpoints one of the story’s attitudes towards a certain theme and argues for this interpretation. A sample outline providing a possible thesis and possible topic sentences will be provided.
You are required to quote. I’d recommend quoting at least twice per paragraph, especially since we’re dealing with literature, and when doing so the author’s words are all we have. Keep in mind the possibilities you have when commenting on a quotation. Authors choose specific words for specific purposes, so explaining what the individual words/phrases of a quotation imply and how they contribute to an understanding of your theme/thesis will help you go in-depth with your
analysis.
Please also remember that everything we’ve discussed regarding introductions and conclusions still applies, as does all material in the Style/Grammar file and other files posted in Canvas.
You’ll hear more about this in the video, but for now here are some possible themes that you could use in Paper #2:
“The Summer People”
–Alienation (from family/community)
–The perils of growing old
–Dependence on consumerism for survival
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”
–Music, popular culture, and their impact on young people
–Family and community (or the lack thereof)
–The nature of evil in the world
Please note that Shirley Jackson (“The Summer People”) and Joyce Carol Oates (“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”) are both popular writers who are frequently assigned in English classes. Because of this, there are many documents available online about their works. To avoid cheating and violating ENMU’s academic honesty policy, I strongly encourage you to avoid these sites.
