Length:
Essays will be a minimum of 750 words and a maximum of 1000 words. If you need to go slightly over this limit, that’s fine. Essays must be in 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, and in MLA format.
Other specifications:
*Include a clearly written thesis that directly answers the question somewhere in your introductory paragraph. Consult the notes on writing essays in the Course Documents section and your textbook for more info on writing a thesis.
*Make sure you stick to the topic you select. To help yourself stay on track, create an outline of your answer before you begin writing your essay. Check your outlined answer against the question asked, then follow that outline to make sure you don't stray off topic.
*Use examples and direct quotes from the text to support your points. Strive to include at least one or two direct quotes (phrases and/or sentences) per page of your essay. See info on handling quotes correctly on p. 1766-1768 of your textbook. Do not, under any circumstances, use block quotes in your essay. If there is a block of text you want to use, reevaluate it and ask yourself which part of the text best supports the point you are trying to make, then use only that bit.
*Do not summarize the story. Assume your reader is familiar with the details of the text. This is one of the biggest errors beginning students in literature courses make. Summarizing or retelling the events from the story instead of providing analysis will be detrimental to your grade.
*Write in third person, present tense.
*Titles of short stories should be in quotes.
*Do not use outside sources. This should be entirely your own thinking, backed up with directly quoted examples from the stories.
*Consult the tips for taking essay exams and for writing essays, located in the Course Documents section, before and while you work on this exam.
Choose ONE of the following topics:
1. Both Hawthorne and O'Connor share an interest in the nature of sin and redemption. Contrast how O'Connor's "Revelation" and Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" approach this theme. Focus in particular on the issue of self-righteousness.
2. Show how either Oates' story OR Neihardt's story are good examples of either Realism or Naturalism.
3. In both “Revelation” and “Young Goodman Brown” the main characters (Mrs. Turpin and Goodman Brown) come to some sort of “realization.” Some critics argue that they have grown spiritually, as well as emotionally. Others argue that this is not the case, that both are still lost at the end of their stories as to their true personality and Christianity. Take a stand on this issue, and discuss both stories. Are these stories bildungsromans (in other words, do the characters experience personal growth, either spiritually, emotionally, or mentally (or a combination of all three)?
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