You will be writing a literary analysis essay, so follow the guidelines in the pdf, “How to Write Literary Analysis Essays” and the rubric for ENG 201 essays. For this essay, your main goal is to show where you see the stages of the heroine’s journey arc as developed by Victoria Lynn Schmidt in Radium Girls. Review Schmidt’s ideas here: https://heroinejourneys.com/heroine-journey-ii/. As you review them, try to match the stages to the plot and characters in the play. Choose 3 of these stages to write about, most likely from the beginning, middle and end of the play. This is Topic #1. If you prefer to do a more traditional analysis of the play, then you can do Topic #2. There is NO library research required for this essay! Just use the sources provided in the Weeks 13-16 folder and the Heroine Journeys Project website.
Topic #2: Usually when you write about plays/drama, you discuss its setting, characters, structure/plot, theme, and use of dramatic devices such as dramatic irony. For this essay, your goal is to provide literary analysis of one of these elements. You must use literary terms as shown in the guides below. Some possible topics to write about:
Grace’s character development from the beginning of the play to the end
The role of minor characters
The plot’s conflict, climax and resolution
The working-class speech (dialect) spoken by most of the factory girls
The setting of the factory
Characters in terms of the two sides of the court case
Here are two guides to writing about drama:
https://gallaudet.edu/student-success/tutorial-center/english-center/writing/guides-to-understanding-and-writing-different-types-of-literature/guide-to-drama/
https://writingcenter.tamu.edu/Students/Writing-Speaking-Guides/Alphabetical-List-of-Guides/Academic-Writing/Analysis/Analyzing-Plays
Reminders and Guidelines:
Title: Include the title of the story and the focus of your essay.
Schmidt’s Heroine’s Journey Stages and Radium Girls
A “Quest for Wholeness” in Radium Girls
Grace Fryer Finds Her Voice in Radium Girls
Management Vs. Workers in Radium Girls
Introduction:
Topic #1:
Begin with a general discussion of the heroine’s journey (it can be in relation to the hero’s journey)
Elaborate with some specifics about Schmidt’s arc
Conclude with a thesis statement that identifies which stages you discuss in your essay.
Avoid phrases such as “I will discuss” or “In my essay.”
Topic #2:
Begin with a general discussion of the play and various dramatic elements.
Elaborate on the one you discuss in your essay.
Conclude with a thesis statement that identifies what elements you discuss in your essay and how they contribute to the play’s theme or meaning, if applicable.
Body:
Organize it effectively and logically.
Your body paragraphs should be developed around a stage of the heroine’s journey or a specific point you are making, not the chronology of the story.
Make sure you have clear topic sentences.
Include a few quotations as your textual evidence but not plot summary.
Don’t forget quotation sandwiches.
Conclusion:
Try to create a strong conclusion that leaves us with something to think about.
Requirement: Present your own thoughts about your topic and Radium Girls in general.
You can discuss the long-lasting effects and contributions the girls made to science, law, workers’ rights, education, and society.
MLA Citations
Use this for your in-text citation:
If you mention the author’s name in your sentence, just use the page number: (27)
If you don’t mention the author’s name in your sentence: (Gregory 27)
Note: you don’t need to include p. or pg. or anything like that
Your Works Cited page should look like this. Include ALL the sources you actually use in your essay:
Works Cited
Gregory, D.W. Radium Girls: A Play in Two Acts. Woodstock, IL, Dramatic Publishing, 2003.
“Victoria Lynn Schmidt’s Heroine’s Journey Arc. The Heroine Journeys Project.
https://heroinejourneys.com/heroine-journey-ii/. Accessed on month/day, 2024.
