Essay : Literary Analysis
“Through our cumulative experience in reading, literature shapes our goals and values by clarifying our own identities – both positively, through acceptance of the admirable in human beings, and negatively, through rejection of the sinister. It enables us to develop perspectives on events occurring locally and globally, and thereby it gives us understanding and control. It is one of the shaping influences of life. It makes us human” (Roberts 3).
By reading literature and understanding the role it plays in culture (and the expression of culture), and by situating literature in historical, social, political, and ethical contexts, you are learning to analyze, interpret, and evaluate texts for ethical and logical uses of evidence. You are learning to develop a complex argument based on that evidence.
For this literary analysis essay, you may choose from any of the stories read for class up to this point, Here is a list:
"The Things They Carried"
"Everyday Use"
"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"
"Sonny's Blues"
“A Good Man is Hard to Find”
Think of the themes in these works, such as human capacity for violence and evil, good versus evil, appearance versus reality, the power of choice, innocence versus ignorance, weakness, hypocrisy, denial, guilt, role of parents, male/female relationships, gender stereotypes, social codes, faith, redemption, alienation, action versus inaction, ethical and moral behavior, personal responsibility to others, decisions versus and consequences...the list could go on and on!
Think about each author’s central purpose in his/her story and the ethical, emotional, and logical means used to advance that purpose. How do these means further the theme or central purpose of the story? How does the setting or the symbolism of the story further that theme? You may also consider the historical period, the social and economic conditions of the story, and/or the background of the author.
Requirements:
-500 to 600 words in length
this does not include the required Works Cited page
do not go over and do not go under word count - heavy points will be deducted for either
-formatted in accurate MLA 8th edition (formatting, citations, and documentation)
-Works Cited Page must be included as the last page of the document
-formal, academic writing style
-present tense and third person point-of-view
-no grammatic, punctuation, and/or sentence structure errors