Assignment: Literary Essay

Instructions:

1. Choose one of the options listed towards the end of this document to write about.

2. Your paper should be typed, 12 pt. letter size, double spaced, with a minimum length of about 750 words, 3 pages, plus Works Cited page.

3. 3rd person viewpoint throughout. Instead of first person, "I think Heathcliff..." just write "Heathcliff was..."

4. Minimum Sources: the work itself and at least one or more sources.

Must include both in-text citations and a Works Cited Page.

5. Value: 100 Pts.

6. Upload your final draft as a word document file into D2L. I will not grade a paper that has not been uploaded. The space closes permanently three days after its due date.

7. Deadline: Your paper must be uploaded into D2L by 11:30 p.m. Monday, April 17th.

The MLA Paper Heading should be formatted as follows:

Essay Title (original please, not the title of the work)

- Remember to support your thesis and opinions with specific examples.

--Quoted, as well as critical information that did not originate with you, must be attributed to its source using MLA citations and a Works Cited page.

--Plot summaries are common knowledge and do not need to be cited.

--Basic author biographical information (such as birthdates, work, etc.) are common knowledge and do not need to be cited.

-- Use the Writing Center, librarians for MLA help, or contact me for some assistance if necessary

Essay Options (Choose one)

(Note: you may make a variation on the assignments. For example: writing about revenge on just one of the works listed. Some of the stories we will be doing next week. You may read it in advance for this paper)

1. Write an analysis of "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin (published in 1889) as a feminist document. Look up information on the principles espoused by early feminists such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and others to support your analysis, and how those principles are reflected in the text of the story.

2. Write an essay on Zora Neale Hurst's "Sweat" and how race affected the actions and circumstances of the characters in the story. Research and include information on how life was for African-Americans in 1926 Florida and Hurst's own childhood in Eatonville, Florida.

3. Write a psychology-focused essay in which you examine the mental states of Heathcliff and Cathy from Wuthering Heights or Antoinette from Wide Sargasso Sea. You should look up and use as sources some psychology articles that describe mental illnesses and conditions and then use examples from the movie and/or text to support your conclusions on the mental states of these characters. If they lived in modern times what treatments might have been available?

4. Write an essay on how the society and times (1770s through early 1800s) of Cathy and Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights affected their behavior and life choices. Do research on and examine the British Class structure of the time and how inheritance, gender and ethnicity made a difference in the outcome of their doomed loves story.

5. Write a gender focused essay on how the 19th century societies they lived in affected the male behaviors of Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, and/or Nicolas and Henry in A Whisper of Angels. Read up on societal expectations of men from those time periods, and use an article from the Gender book to make your points. Would living in modern times change their behaviors or not?

6. Compare and Contrast how marriage is presented in Kate Chopin's two stories, "The Story of an Hour" and "The Storm". Read up on Chopin's life and marriage, and use one of the articles on marriage in our anthology book to reflect on what the author might have been trying to say about the institution of marriage.

7. Write an essay which examines the theme of revenge in Wuthering Heights, and/or A Whisper of Angels, and/or "Sweat". Research the psychology of revenge and examine how it plagues or plays out with one major character in each work. Explore how the characters outcomes might have been different if they had learned to "forgive".

8. Examine the ideas of one or more religious philosophies and how they may be represented in the representation of soulmates explored in Wuthering Heights, A Whisper of Angels, and "Annabelle Lee".

9. Examine the works Wuthering Heights , and "Annabelle Lee" as Gothic literature. What are the basic conventions of Gothic literature? How are Gothic traditions found in these works?

10. Emancipation from slavery occurred in 1838 in Jamaica. The storyline in A Wide Sargasso Sea takes place shortly afterwards. How do the racial issues in the society and country affect the character's experiences and actions? Choose one or more for your paper: Antoinette, Christophe, Amelie, and Edward. Add some research about the time period and the society of the time.