essay3

Requirements

Your paper must include:

· an opening that gets the reader interested, provides necessary information, and a thesis statement that reflects the focus and scope of your paper and includes your overall claim.

· several well-organized and developed body paragraphs that provide clear topic sentences, credible support, and thoughtful analysis.

· integrate quotes and/or paraphrases from Adua

· integrate quotes and/or paraphrases from two additional research sources

· a conclusion that sums up your analysis and offers the reader something interesting to reflect on.

· a works cited page

Your paper must be:

· in MLA format

· free of any major grammatical errors and typos

· a current example of your writing (no rehashed papers or parts of papers

· completely your own work (no plagiarism)

· 1600-2000 words in length (5-6 pages)

Introduction

The novel Adua by Igiaba Scego offers an example of a family’s experiences, pressed against a backdrop of colonialism and the years that follow, linking two countries (Somalia and Italy) with stories of war (Zoppe/1930s), exploitation (Adua/1970s), and asylum (Ahmed/present day).

Literary theories help to situate and focus interpretation of a text and work to provide a more in-depth and nuanced analysis. Consider them as various perspectives through which you can view and interpret information, and while you can draw on several literary theories to inform your understanding of a text, you will be asked to select one literary theory to drive your analysis of Adua.

Essay Prompt

Compose an interpretive analysis of the novel Adua through the lens of a particular literary theory (see note under "Literary Theory" below). 

Research Requirement

You are required to synthesize analysis of Adua with at least two other sources. These sources must add depth and complexity to your argument.

This unit focuses on reading, thinking, researching, and writing about the contemporary novel Adua by Igiaba Scego. Given that fiction can lend itself to a variety of fields of study, from psychology to history to sociology and philosophy, among others, anchoring our research in a particular discipline or with an intentional interdisciplinary focus can lead us to a more in-depth and insightful analysis of the novel. Literary theories help us focus our research and discussion and, when applied with intention, can reveal underlining and real-world perspectives and experiences that speak to larger events and social phenomenon that we wound not otherwise know or take note of. 

Thesis Statement Examples 

To get you started with deciding on the focus of your essay and generating ideas, I've provided a list of example thesis statements crafted by students in previous semesters below. 

Example 1

· Title: Overcoming the Past

· Thesis: Zoppe and Adua have each been greatly affected by imperialism and war, the loss of a mother or spouse, growing up in perhaps cruel households, and have had a lack of control of their own lives. There are psychological reasons why humans develop the way they do, and Adua and Zoppe are examples of lasting trauma, illness, and growth.

Example 2

· Title: Colonialism's Destructive Legacy

· Thesis: Scego uses the depiction of sexual violence, racism, and the loss of cultural identity in the narrative of Adua’s and Zoppe’s experiences, to exhibit the injustices created by Italian colonialism.

Example 3

· Title: Literature Through the Lens of a Reader: How Text is Dynamic

· Thesis: As the story progresses, the reader’s perception and interpretation of Zoppe changes drastically and demonstrates that the active-reading phenomenon is psychologically unique to the reader. 

Example 4

· Title: The Translation of a Woman's Life

· Thesis: Throughout Adua, women are portrayed as minorities as their roles express their repression and underrepresentation as they forcefully endure painful procedures, arranged marriages, and sexual abuse, but Adua becomes one of the few women to break these stereotypical standards.

Example 5

· Title: The Influence of War on the Past and Present

· Thesis: The war’s impact on Adua and Zoppe changed their reliance on the past, their views of authority, and their compassion for others.

Note that these thesis statements suggest the literary theories of focus by reason of their content and do not state the names of theories outright; this is exemplar practice because above all readers want to know your point of view and not necessarily your theory of interest that helped you craft it. Also note that these thesis examples reflect just a handful of literary theories covered in class and definitely not all of them.