Winter 2022 ENGL 162 Second Analysis Purpose To argue for a queer interpretation of Call Me by Your Name, Angels in America or M. Butterfly using literary elements such as character, setting, etc.,...

Winter 2022 ENGL 162 Second Analysis

Purpose

To argue for a queer interpretation ofCall Me by Your Name, Angels in America or M. Butterflyusing literary elements such as character, setting, etc., and concepts from a literary criticism school of your choice.

Task

• Write a focused analysis using a queer lens


• The analysis must be both original and insightful
  
  
  • Provide your own original analysis of the work
  
  
  
  


• If you use outside sources, use them to build your points. Defend your position by responding to their ideas
  
  
  • Disagree and explain why
  
  
  • Agree and add more of your reasoned conclusions
  
  
  • Agree and disagree with outside sources and explain your position
  
  
  • Explain how the ideas in the sources inform your reading/interpretation of the play
  
  
  
  


• Use the text as evidence and examples
  
  
  • Focus on the elements of literature we've learned this quarter: character and characterization, narrator, setting, plot, theme, etc.
  
  
  • Use specific examples, scenes, etc.
  
  
  • Use concrete, descriptive language
  
  
  • Keep the evidence focused. Edit quotes to focus only on your point
  
  
  
  


• Make sure your argument reflects the complexity of the issues the text deals with or suggests
  
  
  • Consider the context surrounding the literature (time period and culture, historical events, themes, topics, etc.)
  
  
  • Add complexity to your topic and points by not focusing on obvious claims or by giving easy solutions to complex ideas. Instead, consider the richness in the themes.
  
  
  • Read between the lines.
  
  
  • Include more than your perspective on the issue. Enter the academic conversation!
  
  
  
  


• Focus on HOW and WHY rather than merely on describing or summarizing.

Thesis

Include a well-articulated statement that encapsulates your argument. Thesis must be: arguable and innovative. Help us see the text in a new way.

Length and Format

• 
  About 1,000 words (about 4 double-spaced pages), not including the Works Cited page
  


• Use MLA format: have a title (the same font as the rest of the paper), double-space your writing, 1” margins, 12-point standard font size, include a Works Cited page

Sources

You must use these types of sources:

• The text you are analyzing,


• 1 or more popular sources, such as magazine articles, podcasts or documentaries,


• 1 or more scholarly sources like journal articles or academic book chapter(s).
  
  
  • Your popular source must be authoritative and credible.
  
  
  • Use study guides and Wikipedia only for background information.
  
  
  
  

Quoting

When writing literary analyses, you have to follow guidelines set by the Modern Language Association or MLA. According to the MLA, this is how we format:

Source Material Titles

• Use italics with titles of long works, such as titles of novels, plays, short story collections, films:Angels in America
  
  


• Use quotation marks with shorter works or those contained in larger sources, such as short stories, a chapter in a book, etc.

Quoting or Paraphrasing

After quoting or paraphrasing material, type a parenthetical citation that includes:

• The time marker in hours, minutes, and seconds if referring to the movie or a recorded lecture. Ex: Orsino is overjoyed to see that Cesario is actually Viola (2:15:41).


• the author's last name and page number if referring to a printed source: reading. Ex: Celie opens her first letter to God by saying: "Dear God, I am have always been a good girl" (Walker 3).
  
  
  • If it's not a printed source, you can either type the paragraph number, as in (Walker para. 2) or type last name only: (Walker).
  
  
  
  

When quoting 1-3 lines of a text, do so within the paragraph:

• Poem: Ex: In her poem "Still I Rise," the speaker expresses her strength by saying, "Out of the huts of history’s shame / I rise" (Angelou 29-30). The numbers refer to the lines in the poem


• Ex: In the short story "This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona," the narrator seems hopeful for Victor, "Victor waved his arms to let Thomas know that the deal was good. It was a fair trade, and that was all Victor had ever wanted from his whole life" (Alexie 75).

When quoting 4 or more lines, set up the quote from the rest of the paragraph and include the parenthetical citation:

• Ex: In her poem "Still I Rise," the speaker explores her feelings this way,

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I’ll rise. (Angelou 21-24)

• Ex: At the end of "This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona," the narrator seems hopeful for Victor,

Victor waved his arms to let Thomas know that the deal was good. It was a fair trade,

and that was all Victor had ever wanted from his whole life. So Victor drove his father’s pickup

toward home while Thomas went into his house, closed the door behind him, and heard a new

story come to him in the silence afterwards. (Alexie 75)

Due Date

By 11:59pm on Sunday, March 6

Structure

Introduction:1 paragraph

• Introduce relevant background information (author, year of publication, protagonists, etc.)


• Give relevant information about your paper's topic.


• What the text is about--very brief summary of plot and theme


• End with your thesis


• Underline the thesis.

Body

• Develop your analysis


• Make logical claims


• Prove your points with ample and appropriate evidence from the text, your sources if any is used, and your reasoned conclusions


• Don't include plot summary in the body

Conclusion:1 paragraph

• End your analysis by restating your thesis


• Don't just mechanically repeat the points made in the essay


• Reflect on the relevance of the topic. This is a good place to give your argument a larger context and answer the so what? question.

Topic Suggestions

• Discuss a character. Like in life, characters have a variety of motivations and desires, which can sometimes conflict with ethical or moral responsibilities, like a belief, a desire for love or vengeance or a wish to rectify a wrong, etc. You could write about a character whose motivations or desire conflict with their ethical responsibilities. Focus on the moral dilemma the character experiences, how they struggle with their dilemma, not on whether you believe their actions are right or wrong.


• Discuss conflict. Sometimes characters conflict with their culture. They might feel isolated in their own communities due to their gender, sexual orientation, class, health, religion, and so much more. Discuss the character's alienation. What does it say about their society's assumptions, morality, and values? Consider issues regarding setting. How does the setting of the story connect with important themes in the work?


• Use the three pillars idea that Prof. Bowles discussed in relation toAngels in Americaand apply it toAngels in Americaor come up with pillars that you believe are fundamental in the understanding ofCall Me by Your NameorM. Butterfly.
  


• What is the role that irony plays in the work? Analyze examples of different types of irony present in the work and explain how they work in the text. Make sure not to list isolated instances of irony in the work, but instead find a common thread between them and make that explicit in the thesis.
  
  


• Discuss intersectionality in the text. Many times, characters find themselves in a power struggle hugely impacted by their many identities. Discuss these dynamics and how they affect the characters, conflicts or the work in general. For instance, the recurrent theme of "is it better to speak or to die" inCall Me by Your Nameaffects Oliver and Elio differently. Elio and Oliver are not only bisexual, but they have other identities and background that make this theme affect their decisions differently. Discuss some of those. You may also consider Mr. Perlman. How does this affect him? Another example is Song fromM. Butterfly.How do Song's identities influence our understanding of the work? How about Galimard's understanding of his place in the world? Of his relationship with Song? Of his masculinity? Would the play be different had Song being French or American?

Resources

We will have a peer review session in class. In addition, you can also have a zoom session with a tutor in the Writing and Reading Center (WRC) or send the WRC your essay online and get feedback that way. Schedule your appointment at the WRC by clicking this link:www.greenriver.mywconline.com.(Links to an external site.)

Let me know if you have any questions and start working on your essay as soon as possible!

Rubric