Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer:
Paper Instructions:



Choose one of the two prompts below as the focus of your essay:
1.    Choose one character from one of the following texts that treats another character as Other:
    The Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka)


Explain how that character treats or perceives others in the text as less human than him/her and explain what you believe motivates that character's treatment of the other character as fundamentally different. 
Questions to consider as you write:
•    Why does character A believe character B is less human than character A? 
•    How does character A demonstrate that s/he believes character B is less human? What specific actions, words, thoughts reinforce this idea?
•    What does character A seem to gain through his/her belief that s/he is more important or valuable than character B?

2.    At this point in our course, we have studied a wide range of writers who have written on a wide range of subjects. Many of these writers were persecuted for what they wrote: they were exiled, rejected by the church, and even killed (or threatened with death). This begs the question, then, why is literature so dangerous? Choose one text from the list above that you believe supports your position on this question (why is literature so dangerous?). Even if you do not believe that literature is dangerous or should be dangerous, powerful people and institutions have feared what the written word can do throughout time and across cultures around the world.

As you begin writing your analysis, it may help to consider the following questions:
•    Are there ways in which your text could threaten the political, religious, or social conventions of its culture?
•    Are there specific ideas/concepts in your chosen text that could influence the way that people think? 
•    How could fiction be dangerous? Technically, fiction is not “true” because it does not communicate entirely real events. Are there ways that fiction could be equally as dangerous or more dangerous than non-fiction?
•    Does your chosen text threaten a specific audience? In other words, even if you choose a text that was not widely distributed/circulated, would people in positions of power still have access to it and feel threatened by it?


Your essay should be specific and focused. The goal of literary analysis is to teach the reader/audience something new through your thorough explanation of your observations about specific passages. I expect your analysis to move beyond what was appropriate for ENG 101 and ENG 102. That means that your response should apply the grammatical/documentation knowledge and analytical skills developed in these courses, but your analysis should focus on more nuanced ideas. Repeating what I have already included in contextual information does not demonstrate your own analytical skills. In addition, remember that summarizing the literary work is not analysis. Assume that your reader is familiar with the text. If you need to provide context for a specific line or lines, do so in no more than two sentences. 
Be sure to include specific quotes from your chosen text to support and develop your claims. Whenever you quote from a text, remember to explain how that quote supports your position. Be aware that minor details/characters are often as interesting (or more interesting) than the obvious plot points! Think carefully about the texts that we have read before choosing a specific poet/poem. 
You should include a clear thesis statement that identifies the central point that you want to make about your chosen text. The thesis statement should appear at the end of the first paragraph and should be specific and arguable. This means that your thesis should not be a fact, question, quote, or statement of moral judgment (such as “Victor is a terrible person” or “Victor does the right thing”). If you are not sure what your thesis is until you write your conclusion, that is okay! You can always revise your thesis and adjust the body paragraphs as necessary before submitting your final draft.
Your introduction should be as specific as possible. Therefore, you should not begin with “Throughout all of literature” or “Since the dawn of time” since the entire history of human life on earth is far too much ground to cover in one paragraph. Instead, skip the generalizations and tell us only what we have to know for your thesis statement to make sense. If I am writing about the impact of the Spanish Civil War on Neruda’s poetry, I am going to begin by addressing the specific aspect of the war that impacts the specific poem that I am analyzing. I don’t need to give a full explanation of the war, Neruda’s life, or the history of Spain unless all of that will be addressed in my essay. Assume that the reader has a basic understanding of the text; therefore, you only need minimal summary so that the reader knows the exact moment in the text that you are addressing.
The conclusion of your essay should not summarize your argument or restate your thesis. The conclusion should indicate the significance of your argument. In other words, why does your argument matter? How could your insight change the way that certain characters are understood? Is the villain more sympathetic than most people (even literary critics) realize? Does your argument identify a new perspective on common experiences (oppression, mental illness, childhood, death, etc.)? Do your claims identify subtle ways that characters are influenced by their culture or subtle ways that they influence others? Excellent papers teach something new, so be bold with your arguments!
I am more than happy to review your drafts before the deadline. In order to receive feedback, you must email the draft to me no later than noon on the Friday before the analysis is due. That will give me time to read your draft and send you feedback in time for you to apply my feedback and submit the final copy. 

Additional Expectations & Guidelines:
•    Plagiarism (using any text without proper documentation, lacking in-text citation, and/or lacking a Works Cited page) results in an automatic failing grade and may be reported to the college.
•    You must save your document through Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) in order for Blackboard to accept the assignment and for you to receive full credit for the analysis. 
•    Every essay for this course must be formatted according to MLA guidelines. That means that your analysis must be doubles-spaced and typed in Times New Roman 12 pt. font with 1” margins. You will type a header at the top left corner of the first page, which will include the following information:
Your Name (First Last)
Instructor’s Name (Prof. Blass)
Course # and Section # (ex. ENG 209-W01)
Date Due (ex. 23 June 2019)
•    In the top right corner of every page, you should include your last name followed by the page number. After you insert the page number on the first page, Word will automatically add the page number to the rest of the document.
•    You will write in the third-person. That means that you will not use “I,” “we,” or “you” at any time.
•    You will write in the literary present tense. That means that any time you write about something that occurs within a literary work, you must use present tense (i.e. “The speaker claims that” instead of “The speaker claimed that”).
•    You will proofread your analysis for grammatical error, logical gaps in the development of your claims, and clarity of syntax and diction.
•    You create a title that is engaging, specific, and identifies your argument.
•    You will develop your own argument instead of simply repeating what we discussed in class.
•    You will cite all references to your primary source(s) (the literary work/s that you are analyzing) according to the 8th edition MLA guidelines, which can be found in your Bedford Handbook or at Owl at Purdue. You will list these sources in a Works Cited page. 
•    You will submit your essay on Blackboard by 11:59pm on the due date.