The Good Negress

FOUNDATIONS IN COMMUNICATION, COMPOSITION & LEARNING SEMESTER 2, SPRING 2019

The Character Analysis Paper

First and foremost, it is important to recognize that this paper is, in essence, a specialized type of  argument paper. 

Therefore, it may be helpful at the beginning to recall these general observations about the  argument paper: ​As you write your argument paper, become “a person of goodwill.” You should  argue, or advance an idea, and then articulate evidence and reasons to support your argument.

There are several strategies for writing an argument/argumentative paper, but the organizational  structure outlined here is most straightforward, and is appropriate for your current assignment, as  specified below. One final point as you draft and review your draft: remember that ​Clarity is not  negotiable.​ If your sentences are not clear, if readers do not understand what you have written, you  must go back and clarify. There is no point in writing if your words are not understood.

Here is one of the main strategies for constructing a paper in which you argue a position:

1. Introduce the issue. State your thesis.  2. Provide a paragraph of relevant background information.  3. Give the first reason for your argument, and offer support for this reason from either the 

text you are considering or from research.  4. Give the second reason, with support from the text (or from research).  5. Give the third reason, with support from the text (or from research).  6. Acknowledge at least one opposing argument or consideration that differs from your 

argument. Take a moment to clearly refute (object to, with reason) the opposing  argument. Indicate how your reasoning prevails over the opposing position. 

7. Conclude with restating your thesis, by making a call to action, and/or by stating the broader  implications of your argument. 

8. List Works Cited.  What makes this particular assignment unique is its focus on a literary subject. In the section of the  Little Seagull Handbook ​(62-65) that focuses on ​Literary Analysis​, the writers list the following key  elements:

● An arguable thesis ● Careful attention to the language of the text ● Attention to patterns and themes ● A clear interpretation ● MLA style

Morgan State University

2-2019 / CHARACTER ANALYSIS PAPER ASSIGNMENT / p. 1​ of 5

FOUNDATIONS IN COMMUNICATION, COMPOSITION & LEARNING SEMESTER 2, SPRING 2019

The Character Analysis Paper Assignment

For this assignment, you will be developing a critical analysis of one of the characters in the novel  The Good Negress​. 

The set of discussion questions for the novel lists the following major characters:

● Denise Palms ● Granma’am ● Margarete ● Missus Pearson ● Missus James

● Luke edward ● David ● Big Jim ● Josephus Johnson

In your discussion, you will develop an argument regarding one of the characters in this list.  Develop specific claims about the role of this character in the novel, ​potentially​ including her or his  relationships with the other characters, the degree to which he or she changes over the course of the  novel, or what conflict(s)—with herself, with others, with society—the character faces and how  effectively she or he addresses that/those conflict(s). It is important to keep in mind for the purposes of this assignment that these characters are  fictional, not real people. It might be tempting to approach this subject from a more personal  perspective, but doing so runs the danger of engaging in a more superficial or informal discussion.  For this reason, avoid such considerations as whether you personally like the character, whether he  or she reminds you of a family member or friend of yours, and what differences you might see in the  world of the novel and the twenty-first century world in which you live. The point of this  assignment is to examine the choices that the author has made in her development of the character  you are discussing and how she or he functions, as a character, inside the imaginative world of the  novel.  In order to develop and support your argument, you will need to identify and discuss specific  moments from the novel. You will need therefore to make direct references to the text—through  quotations, summaries and paraphrases of specific passages—and you will need to utilize proper  parenthetical citations throughout your discussion and include a proper Works Cited page at the  end.  In addition to the outline and Works Cited page, your final essay should be a ​minimum​ of 1000 words  (roughly three to four pages) long. 

Morgan State University

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