500-600 words essay (You need to read the book)

Paper length: 500-600 words. (make every single one count!) *Quoted passages are to be included in this word count

Oyamada’s work is full of rich imagery and themes that help to create the world portrayed in The Factory. Choosing from one of the topics below, find a passage(s) from the text that relates to your chosen theme and do a close reading of what is going on in that passage. Based on your reading of the novel, connect your selected excerpt(s) to your interpretation of the novel as a whole. In your essay, you may analyze one longer passage (at least 4 lines or longer in length) or choose multiple shorter passages that all relate to the common theme. Your essay should only be on ONE of the themes below.

Remember, this is a close reading assignment. That means you shouldn’t be spending lots of words on summarizing plot, providing background on the author, or explaining the lead up and context for your passages. Rather, pay close attention to what’s going on in the passage: the language, tone, and the effect created.

Choose passages that relate to one of the topics or themes below: 1) Enclosures and contained spaces 2) Human to human communication, written or spoken (the forms they take, their presence or absence, their efficacy) 3) The animal world and crossing of borders 4) The purpose, value, or meaning of work 5) Tricks, illusions, strange occurrences, oddities, the surreal 6) The passage of time, seasons, cycles, and routines

Reminders: Papers should be in academic prose, and should be checked carefully for spelling, grammar, punctuation errors. Avoid generalizations or aphorisms, be as specific as possible by citing concrete passages from the text and referring directly to the language of each text. Do not summarize plot or explain events in the narrative. Citations can be Chicago style or MLA.

The essays should be well-reasoned, coherently organized, and display your ability to read the text closely. Your responses will be graded for clarity of ideas, evidence of careful reading, organization, and how well you support your central argument.

DO NOT use the quotes/passages from below:

• Looking down at my map, I was overwhelmed. The factory was a world of its own. Only four ways in and out. North, South, East, and West. Shouldn’t there be more? [p.19, Furufue]

• I didn’t know what to say. In that moment, I felt like I’d been tricked. But then I started to feel something else, something like relief -- it was as if the world made sense again.[6, Yoshiko Ushimatsu]

• [This job] was never something I wanted. Even now, it feels like someone’s playing a trick on me. But why? Who could possibly benefit from that? [10, Furufue]