Assignment: PROMPT FOR SHORT STORY RESPONSE
For the essay for the short story response students are required to select and write about the theme of one short story from the syllabus for this course. Students should come to a decision and make a claim about what they think is the theme of the story, which should consider literary elements like plot, character, conflict and point of view when creating support for the argument. Students should be able to explain how these literary elements shape the central theme of the story. Close examination of details and how they fit together result in greater understanding of the story. Readers must distinguish between the theme of the story and its subject. Many stories have the same subjects such as: death, fate, innocence,loneliness, prejudice, and disillusionment. Yet each story makes its own statement about the subject and expresses its own view of life.
According to The Norton Introduction to Literature Shorter Eleventh Edition the word, theme, is defined as:
At some point, a responsive reader of any story or novel will inevitably ask, Why does it all matter? What does it all mean? What's the point?When asked what a text means, a reader is inquiring, at least in part, about its theme-a general idea or insight conveyed by the work in its entirety...Yet theme is a fictional work's pointin the sense of its "essential meaning"(or meanings). And the experience of any work isn't complete unless readers grapple with the question of its theme. (Mays 334)
Below are some guiding questions. DO NOT ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS; just use them to help shape your opinion about the central theme of the story.
1. What is the main conflict of the story?
2. How was this conflict caused?
3. What characters are involved in the conflict?
4. What reaction do the characters in the story have in response to this conflict?
5. How might the different responses to the conflict be important?
6. Does the conflict get resolved? How? Why not?
7. How does the structure in which the story is told promote the conflict?
8. How does the setting of the story contribute to the conflict?
All papers in this class should follow MLA guidelines with 12 point Times New Roman font with 1 inch margins all around and a length of no less than three pages, double-spaced with 20 lines per page and no extra spaces between paragraphs. Your name should be in the upper-right hand corner of each page. On the first page in the upper right hand corner should be your name on the top line and the words,Short Story Response under it. The title should be centered with a double-space between it and the first line of the essay. There will be NO WORKS CITED because there should not be an outside source. That is plagiarism. This essay is to be YOUR OWN IDEAS AND WORDS. The introduction should be at least half a page and catch the reader's interest and give the reader any necessary information to understanding the thesis, which is ONLY ONE SENTENCE AND LISTS 3 POINTS TO BE SUPPORTED IN PARAGRAPHS 2, 3 AND 4. Paragraph 5 is the conclusion. UNDERLINE THE THESIS. The introduction should not be a summary or state the obvious, but catch the reader's attention.