Literary Works

 

Writing assignment

This week, you will choose the topic you would like to explore, offer some information on what interests you about this topic,and supply a working thesis and key ideas you would like to develop.

 

Writing prompt

Characters do what they do because of their various motivations and desires. Often, their desires conflict with their ethical or moral responsibilities. For example, a personal belief, a love, a thirst for vengeance, a resolve to rectify a wrong, or some other ambition may cause a character to conflict with a moral obligation. Write about a literary work in which a character’s motivations/desire conflict with his/her ethical responsibilities.Remember that you are analyzing the literary text–not commenting on whether or not the behaviors are ethical or “right” in your opinion.Instead, you should focus on the moral dilemma the character experiences and analyze how he/she wrestles with this dilemma beyond what is obvious in the plot. What literary elements draw out this conflict?

 

Literary Works (choose one from either of the lists below):

Stories:

• “A Good Man is Hard to Find” (O’Connor, 1953)
• “The Blue Hotel” (Crane, 1898)
• “The Things They Carried” (O’Brien, 1990) – 5.4 in Journey into Literature
• “Greasy Lake” (Boyle, 1985)

Drama:

• Macbeth (Shakespeare, 1606) – Appendix B in Journey into Literature

 

Do worksheet

 

Proposal for final paper—Week 1

Once you have decided on an approved prompt and approved text(s), respond to the questions below.  Please be mindful of the word count and double-space all of your responses. You are to meet the minimum word requirement without going over the maximum number of words requested.

 

1. What is your chosen prompt for the literary analysis assignment?

(Use the space below to complete this section. Include the number and first sentence of the prompt you chose from the list of prompts.)

 

 

 

2. What interests you most about this prompt and why?

(Use the space below to complete this section. Your response must be 100 to 150 words.)

 

 

 

3. What text(s) will you write about? Why?

(Use the space below to complete this section. Your response must be 100 to 150 words.)

 

 

 

4. What is your working thesis? Keep in mind that “working thesis” means you can slightly modify your thesis for the draft and/or final essay.

(Use the space below to complete this section. Your thesis statement must be ONLY one to two sentences long.)

 

 

 

5. What are three key ideas that you will discuss in support of your thesis? (Write one — and only one — sentence for each point.

 

 

 

 

6. What questions/concerns do you have at this point about your project?

(Use the space below to complete this section. Your response must be 75 to 150 words long.)