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Light/English 200

Literary Analysis

For this assignment, you will be taking a closer look at one of the three works we read/viewed this unit (Hemingway, Oates, or Avengers). You have two options for this essay. Regardless of which option you choose, you must support your argument using textual evidence. You also must make clear connections between your assertions and the evidence you provide. If you choose option 2, this paper should be written strictly in 3rd person (no I, me, my, we, you, yours, etc.).

Chapter 8 of Norton, “Analyzing a Text,” should be very helpful to you. In this chapter, we are reminded that the key features of a literary analysis are: an arguable thesis, careful attention to the language in the text, attention to patterns or themes, a clear interpretation, and MLA style.

Option 1: You have been hired by the Dayton City School System to make changes to the high school English curriculum. Currently, the high school English teacher, Mrs. Joyce, is using all the pieces we have read for Unit One. Due to time restrictions, she needs to eliminate one of the works. Pick one of the stories/movie we have read and write a letter to the board of education arguing for/against its inclusion in the high school curriculum. Some questions to consider: Is appropriate for the audience? What themes/morals are present in the story? Are these stories relevant to high schoolers? These are only options—you should feel free to examine the story from other perspectives, as well.

Option 2: Write a traditional literary analysis. Pick a work and make a focused argument about that work, supporting your argument with textual evidence. You could analyze the plot, a certain character, a theme, or a symbol. You may use the academic article(s) we read in class, but the argument should be your own.

Format

3-4 Pages

12 point Times New Roman

1’ Margins