argumentative essay based on two short stories
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WritingEssaysaboutShortStoriesSpring2021.pptxWriting Essays about Literature
English Composition
Essay Structure
1. INTRODUCTION:
Engages the reader’s interest, introduces the topic, includes the Thesis Statement
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3. 2-3 BODY PARAGRAPHS:
Include:
A Topic Sentence
A Body with supporting details
(A Concluding Sentence)
4. Summary Paragraph 2
5. 2-3 Body paragraphs
6. CONCLUSION
Restates the Thesis
Summarizes the main points
Brings the essay to a close
2. Summary Paragraph
Thesis Statement
This is the main idea sentence which typically comes at the end of the Introduction.
Everything in the essay must be relevant to the thesis statement.
Thesis Statement
A Thesis Statement has 2 parts:
Subject - the topic
Controlling idea - what you say about the
subject
Miami is a fun place to be.
It controls everything within the essay.
Thesis Statements
These can either be:
Listing
Non-listing
Non-Listing
Miami is a fun place to be.
topic controlling idea
Thesis is concise
Works well with longer essays
Thesis Statement with Listing
Miami is a fun place to be because of the people, the nightlife, and the beaches.
topic
controlling idea
Three main points
Forces writer to plan the essay
Communicates the plan to the reader
Keeps the writer on track
Using Parallel Structure in a list
Miami is a fun place to be because of
the people, the nightlife and the beaches.
‘the ‘ noun ‘the’ + noun ‘the’ + noun
Thesis Statement with and without Parallel Structure
Miami is a fun place to be because of the people, the nightlife, and the beaches.
Miami is a fun place to be because of the people, there is great nightlife, and you can enjoy the beaches.
Avoid Overlap
Miami is a fun place to be because of the people, the nightlife, the clubs and bars, and the beaches.
Thesis statement with contrasting elements
Miami is hot and busy
Miami is fun – people, nightlife and beaches
Although Miami is a hot and busy city, it is fun because of the people, the nightlife and the beaches.
Miami is a hot and busy city, but it is fun because of the people, the nightlife, and the beaches.
Miami is a hot and busy city; nonetheless/however, it is fun because of the people, the nightlife, and the beaches.
Despite/Notwithstanding its heat and clamor, the people, nightlife, and beaches make Miami a fun place to be.
Despite being a hot and busy city, Miami is fun because of the people, the nightlife and the beaches.
Thesis Statement for a Literary Analysis Essay
Thesis on character without a list:
Louise and Calixta reveal themselves to be morally complex characters.
Thesis on character with a list (2-prong):
Louise and Calixta reveal themselves to be morally complex characters in their attitudes to husbands and wifely duties.
Thesis on character with a list (3-prong):
Louise and Calixta reveal themselves to be morally complex characters in their attitudes to husbands, wifely duties, and honesty.
Thesis Statement for a Literary Analysis Essay
Thesis on theme without a list:
“The Story of an Hour” and “The Storm” explore themes relating to marriage which remain relevant today.
Thesis on theme with a list (2-prong):
“The Story of an Hour” explores two themes relating to marriage which remain relevant today: love and loyalty.
Thesis on theme with a list (3-prong):
“The Story of an Hour” explores themes relating to marriage which remain relevant today: love, loyalty, and personal freedom.
Thesis Statement for a Literary Analysis Essay
Thesis on symbolism without a list:
In “The Story of an Hour” and “The Storm,” we see a range of symbols that signify the main characters’ states of mind.
Thesis on symbolism with a list (2-prong)
In “The Story of an Hour” and “The Storm,” we see symbols that include both natural phenomena and physical objects to signify the main characters’ states of mind.
Thesis on symbolism with a list (3-prong):
In “The Story of an Hour” and “The Storm,” the main characters’ states of mind are revealed through a range of symbols that include natural phenomena, space, and physical objects.
Writing Introductions
Funnel Method + thesis statement
Narrow-to-broad (Example) + thesis
Historical/General Background + thesis statement
Opposite Idea + thesis statement
One or More Questions + thesis statement
Quotation + thesis statement
Narrative + thesis statement
A Surprising or shocking opening
15
Historical/Biographical Introduction about Author
Kate Chopin was an American writer who lived in the second half of the nineteenth century. Employing themes such as patriarchy and female empowerment, Chopin has been viewed as an early feminist writer. Although she wrote two novels, she is mainly remembered for her short stories, of which “The Story of an Hour” and “The Storm” are particularly well-known. In them, she uses the two main characters, Louise and Calixta, to raise thought-provoking questions about gender. These two women reveal themselves to be forward-thinking characters in their attitudes to husbands, wifely duties, and honesty.
Narrative/Example
On October 12, 2012, a fifteen-year-old girl called Malala Yousafzai was traveling to school in Pakistan when a group of Taliban extremists burst onto the bus and shot her in the head as retribution for her activism and pursuit of education. In America, we shuddered in horror at this senseless act of brute patriarchal violence. We might forget, however, that a little more than a hundred years ago, American women were denied basic rights and that activists had to fight for the freedoms women enjoy today. One of these early activists was writer Kate Chopin, who created a series of female characters that struck out for freedom with varying degrees of intensity and success. Among these was Louise Mallard in “The Story of an Hour” and Calixta in “The Storm.” These two women reveal themselves to be forward-thinking characters in their attitudes to husbands, wifely duties, and honesty.
Opposite Idea
In the United States in the year 2021, we have grown used to powerful female protagonists in film and writing. We see women occupying positions of responsibility traditionally held by men and performing physical feats worthy of any hero. However, the path to this state of liberation has evolved over a long period of time. One of the early pioneers in American literature was author Kate Chopin who presented a series of female characters striking out against patriarchal society in the Victorian age. In “The Story of an Hour” and “The Storm,” we are introduced to Louise Mallard and Calixta, two women that raise thought-provoking questions about gender. These two women reveal themselves to be forward-thinking characters in their attitudes to husbands, wifely duties, and honesty.
Quotation
“How beautiful it is to live in a world with no walls.” This quotation, by the Saudi women’s rights activist Manal al-Sharif, expresses the joy of being in control of one’s own life. The ‘walls’ she mentions are both literal and metaphorical since they refer to the houses in which women in certain cultures remain trapped, yet they are also symbolic of any impediment that prevents us from spreading our wings as free individuals. Many American feminist writers have dealt with the theme of entrapment within traditional patriarchal communities, one of the earliest being Kate Chopin, who made it the centerpiece of her famous short stories “The Story of an Hour” in 1894 and “The Storm” in 1898. These stories concern the fortunes of Louise Mallard and Calixta, two women who reveal themselves to be morally complex characters in their attitudes to husbands, wifely duties, and honesty.
Questions
What happens when we attempt to confine the individual creative impulses of those near to us, those whom we may even profess to love? Do they thrive under our care and protection? Do they benefit from escaping the harsh realities that lurk in the outside world? Very rarely. In certain cases, confined spirits break free in an act of defiant rage; in others, they begin to die inside and become a shadow of what they might have been. In contrasting ways, conjugal entrapment is the fate of two characters in “The Story of an Hour” and “The Storm” by the American writer Kate Chopin, and in each case, the protagonist strikes out against the patriarchal systems that bind them. In so doing, these two women reveal themselves to be forward-thinking characters in their attitudes to husbands, wifely duties, and honesty.
But in the Introduction, don’t …
… jump straight in arguing your points!
… include a complicated, rambling thesis statement that extends for most of the introduction
“The Story of an Hour” paragraph: It has a topic sentence, main points, unity and coherence
Louise Mallard seems unhappy in her marriage. For example, she seems to feel little attraction to her husband, and the marriage itself appears lacking in passion. The sexual imagery in the section in which Louise realizes she is free suggests that she is a stranger to sensual pleasure. She also confesses that she had only loved her husband “sometimes.” Secondly, Louise does not own her life. When she says, “There would be no one to live for during those coming years,” we understand that until now, she has been living to serve her husband with little room for herself. In fact, his death, rather than casting Louise into sadness, fills her with exultation, which is conveyed when she repeats the word “Free!” When he finally returns, she is so disappointed that she falls down dead.
Paragraph Components
A Topic Sentence consisting of a subject and a main idea
One or more main points
Specific/minor details to exemplify the main point(s), illustrate or provide evidence for main points
Unity
Coherence
“The Story of an Hour” paragraph:
Louise Mallard seems unhappy in her marriage. For example, she seems to feel little attraction to her husband, and the marriage itself appears lacking in passion. The sexual imagery in the section in which Louise realizes she is free suggests that she is a stranger to sensual pleasure. She also confesses that she had only loved her husband “sometimes.” Secondly, Louise does not own her life. When she says, “There would be no one to live for during those coming years,” we understand that until now, she has been living to serve her husband with little room for herself. Critic Jennifer Hicks has argued that Chopin symbolically signals Louise’s determination to be her own person henceforth when she refuses to allow anyone to follow her into the bedroom after news of the death (2).
“The Story of an Hour” paragraph
Louise Mallard seems unhappy in her marriage. For example, she seems to feel little attraction to her husband, and the marriage itself appears lacking in passion. The sexual imagery in the section in which Louise realizes she is free suggests that she is a stranger to sensual pleasure. She also confesses that she had only loved her husband “sometimes.” Secondly, Louise does not own her life. When she says, “There would be no one to live for during those coming years,” we understand that until now, she has been living to serve her husband with little room for herself. In fact, his death, rather than casting Louise into sadness, fills her with exultation, which is conveyed when she repeats the word “Free!” When he finally returns, she is so disappointed that she falls down dead. Indeed, critic Jennifer Hicks has observed that the true nature of her death was “an instantaneous knowledge that her momentary glimpse into ‘a life she would live for herself’ … was not to be” (2).
