Write a 500-750 word essay on one of the following topics.

I am using Big Two Hearted River by Ernest Hemingway.

Give historical perspective to one of the works covered in weeks 3 or 4. Develop a thesis that reflects how the work is a reflection of the time period in which it is written.

Write a critical analysis of one of the works from weeks 3 or 4. An overview of approaches can be found here, but many are quite straightforward. Psychological, gender, sociological, biographical, and historical are all approaches that many use naturally in viewing a work. However, if your interest lies elsewhere, feel free to choose another approach. Please include your choice of approach in the assignment submission text box.

Compare and contrast two poems by the same author. You can choose any of their other works for this comparison. Certainly feel free to explore works we haven't covered. Be sure that you have isolated a strong and debatable thesis on which to build the essay. Simply pointing out the differences is not analysis. Toward that end, you may want to focus on a specific element of the stories.

If there's an aspect of the stories from these two weeks that particularly interests you, you may choose your own topic, but you must run it by me first to be sure it is headed in an analytical direction.

Your essay should be formatted in MLA style, including double spacing throughout. All sources should be properly cited both in the text and on a works cited page. As with most academic writing, this essay should be written in third person. Please avoid both first person (I, we, our, etc.) and second person (you, your).