essay

Choose ONE of these options—

OPTION 1 (Character Analysis):

Assignment: Choose THREE different characters from three different works—one short story, one poem, and one play—COVERED IN CLASS. Comparison and contrast should certainly play a part. Using CITED examples and quotes from the chosen works, analyze the character(s) keeping the following criteria (not necessarily ALL of them) in mind:

· point of view

· roundness (vs. flatness)

· dynamism (vs. stasis—i.e., dynamic vs. static)

· involvement

· the limits/biases of their perspective (mental state, physical state, gender, race, etc.)

· setting (not just place, but time/history)

· symbolism/representation

Be especially sure to keep in mind how the author goes about bringing such details/revelations about a given character STYLISTICALLY.

OPTION 2 (The Gothic and Its Influence):

What is the typical gothic subject matter? The dark. The horrible. The grotesque. The mysterious…

In a nutshell, the persistence, threat, and resurfacing of PAST sins—that is, how they are hidden (“buried”) and perpetuated in the present (which often fools itself into thinking the influence of those past sins is dead, gone, and can no longer touch them).

How does this tend to manifest itself? Perversion, insanity, murder, sadism (persecution, torture), grotesquerie.

Keep in mind that gothic works have proven to be strongly and arguably universally influential in literature and others arts; works that might be considered less obviously gothic or not gothic at all often still utilize the tropes (thematic and stylistic patterns) of the Gothic.

Assignment: Compare the style and approach of how THREE different works COVERED IN CLASS that could be considered Gothic. Make sure that ONE of the works could arguably be a less obvious example than the other

GRADING RUBRIC

for CLASS ESSAYS

Content: (points indicate DEDUCTIONS)

Adequate length (points are deducted fractionally, depending on how far the essay falls short of the length, before any other point deduction is even considered)

Unclear thesis statement (10 points)

Extensive plot summary (20 points)

Poor organization, focus, and/or paragraphing (10 points)

“Padding” (10 points)

Nonexistent conclusion (10 points)

Weak and/or repetitive conclusion (5 points)

Missing quotes WITH citations (10 points)

No Works Cited page (10 points)

Style: (points indicate DEDUCTIONS)

Grammar/mechanics (2 points per incident, or 10 points if consistent/rampant)

Repetition (2 points per incident, or 10 points if consistent/rampant)

Word choice (2 points per incident, or 10 points if consistent/rampant)

Spelling (2 points per incident, or 10 points if consistent/rampant)

Punctuation (1 point per incident, or 5 points if consistent or rampant)

MLA format: (according to example provided in the syllabus) first-page header, last- name pagination (at the header, or half-inch, top margin), double-spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, parenthetical page citation (5 points)

The works:

“Araby” (296); “Dead Men’s Path” (187)

3/15 “Rite of Passage” (395); “Do not go gentle into that good night” (506)

3/20 “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” (229)

3/22 “The Lottery” (235)

3/27 “The Yellow Wall-Paper” (260)

(Note: Wednesday, 3/28/2018, is the last day to withdraw from a class without a grade

penalty.)

3/29 Easter Break

4/3 “We Wear the Mask” (507); “Medusa” (543); “Facing It” (530)

4/5 El Santo Americano (1017-1022)

4/10 “A Good Man is Hard to Find” (336)

4/12 “Because I could not stop for Death” (577); “Annabel Lee” (609); “Ozymandias” (614); “The Emperor of Ice-Cream” (615)

4/17 “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” (307)

4/19 “London” (422); “Leda and the Swan” (472); Trifles (633-645)

4/24 peer review of Final Essay; review for Final Exam

4/26 last day of classes; Final Essay due; review for Final Exam (continued)