Looking for a help in Introduction to World Literature class essay (Close Reading assignment). There are 3 topics to choose from. I've attached all information available. Close reading assignment shou

Close Reading Instructions

You will have three “close reading” assignments throughout the semester. For each one of these assignments, I will give you three different passages to choose from. These will be selected from your readings in the syllabus (not cumulative).

You will choose ONE of the passages and write a 500-word “close reading” paper.

When are the close readings due?

See the course schedule

How can I view the Grading Rubric?
   1. To view the grading grading rubric access the assignment and click the cog icon
        appearing in the upper right of the screen
   2. Then select 'Show rubric from the drop dopwn menu

What is close reading?

According to the Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary theory, close reading is the “detailed, balanced, and rigorous critical examination of a text to discover its meanings and to assess its effects” (142). It focuses on individual words, sentences, and tone in a text in order to understand the message in a passage in comparison to the totality of the text.

What is the goal of this assignment?

The skill called “close reading” is fundamental for interpreting literature. "Reading closely" means developing a deep understanding and a precise interpretation of a literary passage that is based first and foremost on the words themselves. But a close reading does not stop there; rather, it embraces larger themes and ideas evoked and/or implied by the passage itself. In CMLIT 010, you will develop this “close reading” skill which is how you should read literature. This skill, later in life, will give you the tools to interpret news, films, commercials, newspaper articles and anything that basically uses words and sentences in the world.

The close reading assignments are designed to prepare you for your final assignment “Text analysis,” which will involve close reading, as well as other skills and information you will learn in CMLIT 010.

How to do a Close Reading

1. Take a pencil/pen. Underline the words that catch your attention (repetitions, different uses of words etc.)

2. On a separate piece of paper, write down the words you underlined as a list. In your list, look for patterns (similarity, contrasts, metaphors, similes).

3. Based on your list, generate why/how questions.

4. Go back to the text for more evidence/answers to your questions.

5. Generate a "thesis" (an argument about the patterns you found). 

6. Structure evidence, organize your thoughts.

7. Write essay.

How will I be graded?

• Literal content (1 point)
  Briefly describe the skeletal contents of the passage in one or two sentences. Answer the journalist's questions (Who? What? When? Where? Why?) in order to establish character/s, plot, and setting as it relates to this passage.

• Word Analysis (2.5 points)
  Are there any repetitions in this passage? What can be the reason for repetitions? Are there any words that sound strange to you? Is there a word that means more than one thing? Can they be symbols or metaphors for something else? Close read at least two words from the passage in terms of different usage/symbols/metaphors. Is there a significant sound or rhythm in the passage? Is there rhyme? If there are, what can be the reason why the author/poet used these? (Treat each word as important. Look up any words you do not know, that you think are used in unfamiliar ways, or that might have more than one meaning. Use www.dictionary.com (Links to an external site.))

• Passage tone analysis (0.5 points)
  What is the tone of the passage? How does it elucidate the entire passage? Is the tone one of irony? Sentimental? Serious? Humorous? Ironic?

• Narrator’s voice analysis (0.5 point)
  What is the speaker’s (as distinct from the narrator’s and author’s) attitude towards his or her subject and hearers? How is this reflected in the tone? What does the passage reveal about the speaker? Who is the narrator? What is the relationship between the narrator and the speaker? Is there more than one speaker?

• Originality, coherence, completeness, spelling (0.5 points)
  Do you have any other original ideas? Write your narrative in the form of a coherent paragraph(s) in 500-words, and make sure to spell-check. 

Where can I get more information?

• http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/s/a/sam50/closeread.htm  (Links to an external site.)

• http://theliterarylink.com/closereading.html (Links to an external site.)

Is There an Example of Close Reading?

Below is a close reading example (by Devin Starplier). Devin's recent essay is a good example of close reading of the given passage from "Schehrazade's Sister." My comments ARE NOTED BY NUMBERS - [1] ... AND ARE IN CAPS.

The selection from A Sister to Scheherazade basically is describing a power struggle between men (the sultan) and women (the sister and Scheherazade) taking place by Scheherazade needing to be protected from the sultan. [1] This power struggle is depicted from multiple methods such as repetition and word choice [2] however I contend the text is not merely showcasing a power struggle between one man and one woman but is arguing that women have more of a place/role in society than thought would currently indicate. [3]

[1] THESIS STATEMENT IS CLEAR AND ORIGINAL, BASED ON A CLOSE READING OF THE GIVEN PASSAGE.
[2] BREIFLY LISTS THE LITERARY DEVICES THE PASSAGE USES TO MANIFEST THE POWER THEME.
[3] EXPLAINS THE THESIS STATEMENT FURTHER.
What makes this introduction good: 1) has a strong thesis statement. 2) brief and to the point 3) gives a brief list of what the essay will talk about throughout the essay.

Assia Djebar builds up the female presence by her repetition [4] of female-related terms and pronouns such as sister, woman, she, and her while minimizing the male presence (i.e. the lack of masculine pronouns). It becomes even more evident by the first placement of a paragraph denoting a man’s role as the beginning point since it was the third paragraph. “The master lies in the centre of the bed…(p.1153)” however what is telling is that Djebar makes a point to quickly reinsert a female presence “the man interposed between woman listing to woman. A current flows from the story teller above to the woman…(p.1153).” The author stresses that a man’s presence is entirely reliant on a woman. She did this by not giving one whole entirely male-related sentence in the selection. As a result of this abundance of feminine terms and lack of masculine terms the text strives to create a feeling of ‘warped’ imbalance (i.e. traditional thought would expect more of an abundance of male terms as opposed to feminine ones) to encourage the readers to think about the text more closely (i.e. why does the text appear to be reluctant to add in more direct male references, etc.).

[4] STARTS TO EXPLAIN WHAT IT PROMISED TO EXPLAIN IN THE INTRODUCTION: LITERARY DEVICE OF REPETITION. IT DOES NOT ONLY STATE WHAT THE REPETITION IS OR JUST THE THE FACT THAT THERE IS A REPETITION, BUT EXPLAINSHOW IT PROVES THE THESIS STATEMENT OF THE ESSAY: REPETITION OF CERTAIN WORDS MINIMIZES MALE PRESENCE IN THE PASSAGE. OVERALL THE PARAGRAPH IS COHERENT AND CONTROLLED BECAUSE IT TALKS ABOUT ONLT IONE IDEA - REPETITION.

This feeling of ‘warped’ imbalance helps Djebar’s word choices [5] highlight the plight of women against the current thought that women didn’t do much by relying on other stereotypes. “The sultan’s bride…(p.1153);” the choice of sultan (and therefore setting the location) would invoke the image of an Arabian royal and from that image the Orientalist generalization and what that entails such as a male-dominated society. Such a reaction would go contrary to the overall abundant presence of women and the relatively lacking presence of men in the text furthering the sense of something is unnatural (as in not “normal”). Without this created tone of a ‘distorted’ reality by the text“…taboo to the polygamist…(p.1153)” would almost be overlooked.

[5]SECOND ASPECT OF THE PASSAGE: WORD CHOICE

Polygamy is “marriage in which a spouse of either sex may have more than one mate at the same time (dictionary.com).” The text didn’t have “polygynist (from polygyny which means ‘a male has more than one wife (dictionary.com)’)” it had polygamist. A term that specifically indicates an equality of sorts between the sexes since both men and women (in the case of women: it would be called polyandry) could have more than one spouse; yet that would go against the male-dominated mentality one would expect from the region (as thought of by the term ‘sultan’). This apparent contradiction unfolds even more when one considers the women are the more active characters in the text (“a woman prepares…she will render…she brings…the sister waits…she utters…etc. (p.1153)”) while the man merely “lies in the centre of the bed (p.1153).” The resulting tone of the passage created a sense of irony [6] (i.e. for such an allegedly male-dominated place, women are doing much more work). Furthermore the use of the word ‘taboo’ would invoke the feeling that something was going against the mainstream notions. This elicits the response that the perception of a highly active male-dominated society is wrong. In other words taboo coupled with polygamist (being used to stand for a male dominant perspective) would indicate that it is “taboo” in a way to think of men being the solely active members of society.

[6] EXPLAINS WHY THE TONE OF THE PASSAGE IS IRONY. GRACEFULLY CONNECTS THIS TO THE GENERAL THESIS OF THRE ESSAY.

Additionally the phrase “with fixed eyes” in conjunction with the rest of the line “interposed between (two women)…(p.1153)” creates the feeling of entrapment. [7] In a way creating a boundary between two different perspectives where the sultan (standing in for society) with “fixed” eyes cannot see beyond what was already in his sight (i.e. assumptions). The positioning of the sultan between two women is very telling. The text wants people to realize at one point in time men were ‘dominant’ however it doesn’t mean it is ‘fixed (i.e. forever going to be that way).’

[7] CLOSE READS A SPECIFIC PHRASE "WITH FIXED EYES" AND LINKS THIS WITH THE OVERALL THESIS OF THE ESSAY.

In conclusion it ties back to the ‘distorted (in the sense that women are more prominent in a perceived primarily male dominated society)’ reality impression to create a paradoxical feel to the text to encourage people (particularly society) to reconsider their perspective that women do not have much importance (i.e. role) in society. This is why I contend that the passage strives to create an image of women being more active in society in comparison to men to showcase that the current thought is wrong by means of its word choice, tone, syntax, and repetition. That woman has a role in society and what happened at one point in history doesn’t equate to forever being that way. [8]

[8] ENDS WITH A CONCLUSION THAT RESTATES THE THESIS AND TIES TOGETHER ALL THE IDEAS IN THE ESSAY. WHAT THIS ESSAY DOES: 1) CONTROLS ALL CLOSE READING WITH A THESIS, WHICH MAKES IT COHERENT. 2) DIGS DEEP INTO PHRASES AND WORDS IN THE PASSAGE BEYOND GIVING A GENERAL SENSE OF THE PLOT. 

Works Cited:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/polygyny (Links to an external site.) 
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/polygamy?s=t (Links to an external site.)