Week 1 Writing Assignment

Creative writing in response to literature is a way for students to respond to literature in a personal way. Creative writing provides a way for students to practice critical thinking and develop a stronger understanding of literary criticism while showing creativity and a bit of their own personalities. For this creative writing assignment, you will do a character analysis to allow you to get inside the mind of one of the characters.

"Rip Van Winkle" and "Young Goodman Brown" are told as third-person narratives, not as first-person narratives. The difference is that a third-person narrative presents the characters to us in the words of a narrator rather than from the words of the characters themselves. The story contains descriptions such as “Rip Van Winkle did this” or “Young Goodman Brown said that,” but it’s not as if the characters themselves are telling everything from their perspective. Of course, sometimes they speak in the story, but they do not get to tell the story or what they thinking or feeling. It is up to the reader to determine what the characters might be thinking or feeling. 

For this assignment, choose one of the following options:

(A) Imagine you are Rip Van Winkle's daughter, Judith, writing a journal entry after her father reappears after 20 years. Try to get into the mind of Judith. Be imaginative and creative. Pretend you are Judith and have just seen your father after he has been missing for 20 years. You will not be retelling the plot of the story; you will be Judith reflecting on the events of the day. In this journal entry you can put down whatever thoughts she might have using absolute frankness and honesty.  

OR

(B) Imagine you are Young Goodman Brown writing a journal entry the day after the events described in the story. Try to get into the mind of Goodman Brown. Be imaginative and creative. Pretend you are Goodman Brown and have just experienced the events described in the story. You will not be retelling the plot of the story; you will be Goodman Brown interpreting and reflecting on the events of the day. In this journal entry you can put down whatever thoughts Goodman Brown might have using absolute frankness and honesty.