I am requesting help in writing my three to four page essay. The era that I picked was Modernism (PPt attached). I choose a short story titled "A Night Among The Horses by Djuna Barnes and I am trying

ENGL 224 Final Assignment Option 2: Text and Primary Artifact Analysis

• Close Reading and Concepts in American Literature, 1867-Present • Due Sunday

• 20% of grade

• 3-4 double-spaced pages in 12 pt. Times New Roman or equivalent; 1-inch margins. Remember, I grade these on a computer! So I can very easily re-format your submission (even a pdf) to meet these requirements to ensure you’re reaching the page length

Description: During Week 6, we practiced analyzing primary artifacts to make a claim about what they reveal about the time period in which Oates and Kerouac wrote. For Option 2, you may select one primary artifact from any issue of Life magazine (databases linked below and on eLearn) to make an argument about the world in which any course text of your choice was produced. This assignment will require you to define a thesis and to support that thesis with evidence from the artifact and from the course text of your choice.

Process: Select one course text from our semester. Note the year in which it was published. Then, find that year in Life magazine’s publication, as it appears in the databases below. Select one artifact (advertisement, article, image, cartoon, cover image/captions, etc.) from one issue of Life magazine that you believe relates to the course text. Make an argument for what that artifact reveals about the world in which your course text was produced. In other words, make a claim for what the artifact tells you about the context of our course reading. You will have to do a bit of research/skimming through Life magazine in order to identify the artifact you believe to be most helpful and illuminating in relation to your text. It will help to re-read your selected course text first to try to pick up on some cues or clues about the time period, and then identify possible connections as you scroll through the year’s 12 issues of Life. Filling out the Primary Artifact Template from Week 6 may also help you gain a better understanding of your artifact, but your final product should be a polished, formal essay—not just a series of responses to template questions. You will also have to bring in direct evidence from the course text of your choice as you examine the context. Remember to make specific and direct connections between the artifact and the text, to show your thought process as you make an argument about the context.

(1) Select one course reading from the semester. Note the year of publication, and revisit the reading to see what new understanding or questions you have about this particular text. Try to envision an initial context for the piece, asking yourself what broader social, political, or cultural concerns the text might address. It may even help to revisit the lectures and slides for the week!

(2) With the databases listed on Week 7 of eLearn, find the issues of Life magazine that appeared during the year your text was publish. Spend some time scrolling through these issues. What are some recurring idea, products, issues, or themes that they raise? What surprises you about these issues?

(3) After thinking carefully about your text and about American “life” during the year in which it was produced, select one artifact from Life magazine that you can connect to your course reading. You may use the questions on the Template for Encountering Primary Artifacts to begin and organize your thought process but remember that your final product will be a formal essay.

(4) Build a thesis statement (appearing within the first paragraph of your paper) that makes a claim for the context in which your course reading was produced. For example, “Based on the ad for tires that appears in the March 1966 issue of Life magazine, the car was a middle class symbol of both physical and social mobility, but one that could also enable transgressive behavior, as seen in Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been.” [obviously you will think of something better!]

(5) Support your thesis throughout your paper with direct, specific evidence from the primary artifact and the course reading.

(6) Conclude by thinking about the larger significance of your argument. Do not just restate your thesis. What is the “so what?” of your paper?

Helpful Hints!

• Your paper should have a title.

• The attached rubric is your friend! Make sure you are aware of what “A” level work looks like before you begin your paper.

• You may have to take your paper through several drafts! Unlike Reading Responses, this is a polished, formal paper. It is not something you can complete the night before/day of the due date.

• You should not use any outside sources, beyond course materials. Remember that TurnItIn is turned on for all assignments and gives me a very detailed and accurate picture of unique (or notso-unique) work. Remind yourself of UC’s plagiarism policy (linked on syllabus) if you have to.

• When quoting from the text (and you should definitely do this!), use citation form “any visible expression of nature would surely be pelted with his jeers” (Crane 1059).

• Please let me know if you have any questions!