In this essay, you will write a critical analysis of a novel, novella, other pre-apporved work, or long short story that you have read for class. As you have done considerable writing on it for your midterm, Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN is the only work not eligible for your analysis essay. Also, there is a theme in Robert Louis Stevenson’s THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE that is also off limits: anything to do with the dual nature of man (good vs. evil, etc.). That topic has been beaten to death like poor old Sir Danvers Carew.
However, any other work from the syllabus is eligible. On rare occasions, I approve literary works and other works from popular culture outside of the class, but you must get my approval one month in advance of the deadline for the essay, and your annotated bibliography and working thesis statement must be on the pre-approved work. The analysis must apply a critical approach and make use of five scholarly articles, selected from your annotated bibliography, including at least two from peer-reviewed journals. For this assignment, you will write a critical analysis of approximately 1,300-to-1,600 words in length and in MLA format.
Some things to remember about the literary analysis essay:
Use the terminology–demonstrate your knowledge of your chosen approach by using terms commonly associated with the critical lens you’re applying. Some examples might include: canon, constructed, double-voice, exclusion, gender, Marxist, materialist, patriarchy, sex, and sexist.
Refer to specific passages and highlight the details– in a critical approach, you should focus on the details in the novel that touch directly or indirectly on the central idea or theme of your thesis. Select specific passages that illustrate or exemplify your argument, and spend some time discussing how this passage supports your overall reading of the text.
Have a Clearly Defined Thesis Statement– your thesis statement should convey the gist of your argument and clearly outline which critical lens you’re applying to the text.
Use Secondary Sources to Support– the scholarly articles you choose to use for this essay should support your clearly defined and original argument or should be used as springboards for disagreement. Be sure to embed secondary sources into your argument by summarizing, paraphrasing, or directly quoting the source. Remember to always cite your sources parenthetically and in the works cited page.
Link Each Point Back to the Thesis–link each point to the thesis statement; it is also important that you make links between paragraphs and main ideas in the body of your essay. Use transitional expressions such as: similarly, furthermore, additionally, clearly, obviously, etc.
