Developing Theme or Character Analysis in Literary Criticism

Write a typed, double spaced critical essay of no fewer than 1000 words (about 3 double-spaced pages), in which you demonstrate how an author of one of the stories we studied develops a theme or a character.  Discuss how the author uses literary devices and techniques to achieve this purpose (symbolism, irony, setting, characters, title, imagery, plot, etc.).  You are to consult no secondary sources for this assignment.

 

If you choose a thematic analysis, you are to hypothesize about a possible theme in one of the stories, and show how the author develops it.

 If you choose a character analysis, you are to hypothesize about the motivations, type(flat, round, static, dynamic), and importance of one of the characters in one of the stories.

 Type your word count at the bottom of the last page. (1000 words are required for a passing score.)  Submit only your final, complete draft to Blackboard by the due date.

 Include a MLA Works Cited page with documentation information for your primary source (the short story).

 Include MLA parenthetical citations in your essay when you quote from your story.

 -Ex. (Hawthorne 355).  Use the author’s last name only the first time you quote from his/her story.

Use a Times New Roman 12 point font.

Development Strategies:

Each body paragraph should deal with a single supporting point to be illustrated with several specific examples (quoted lines, words, and/or passages) from the story.  The supporting points must be chosen from the attached list, and they must be mentioned by name in the topic sentence of each body paragraph.

Ex. One strategy Poe uses in developing his theme is symbolism.

-After each example is given, explain its importance to your point and how it relates to your thesis.

-Don’t assume that the reader will understand your points and examples without your explanations.

-Use the present tense when describing events in the story.

Ex. In “Young Goodman Brown,” Faith attends the satanic ritual.

-Don’t simply summarize the story.  This is not a book report.  Discuss only those parts of the story that relate to your thesis, and show how they relate.  Assume that your reader has read the story, and provide specific examples (quotes) to support your assertions.

-Use only the third person point of view in your discussion. (no “I think,” “In my opinion,’ “When you read,” etc.)

-Avoid the informal “you.”  Be formal, natural, and clear in your writing style.

Development Strategies

-Avoid defining literary terms (symbolism, irony, foreshadowing, etc.).  Simply discuss the terms as they appear in the story.  Assume your reader knows what they mean.

-Include a thesis statement as the last sentence of the introduction.

Ex. (Thesis statement for a thematic analysis):

In “Young Goodman Brown,” Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the symbols of the _______________, _____________, and ______________ to suggest that all people contain elements of both good and evil.

Ex. (Thesis statement for a character analysis):

In “Young Goodman Brown,” Nathaniel Hawthorne uses ____________, _____________, and _____________ to develop Goodman Brown as a dynamic character who is unable to accept the reality of sin in the lives of others and himself.

Possible Topics for Critical Essay #1 (KC)

The following are not thesis statements.  They are questions to help you arrive at and develop your own thesis statement.)

"A Rose for Emily"

 -How does Faulkner demonstrate the results of an oppressive and prejudiced society upon an individual?

-How is Emily developed as a flat, static character who suffers oppression from a male dominated society?

-How is Emily developed as a flat, static character who refuses to let go of the past?

-How is the round, static narrator of “A Rose for Emily” developed as an oppressive and prejudiced character?

-How is Emily developed as a flat, static character obsessed with control?

-How is Emily developed as a flat, static character who desires respect more than anything else.

-Avoid the obvious.  Suggesting that Emily in “A Rose for Emily” is crazy or that Elisa in “The Chrysanthemums” likes flowers is neither insightful nor meaningful.  The questions are “Why?” and “To what end?”   Be creative and original.  “Tell me something I don’t know.”

“The Cask of Amontillado”

-How does Poe develop the theme that revenge may destroy the victim and the avenger?

-How does Poe develop the theme that revenge can/can’t be achieved with impunity?

-How does Poe develop the theme that pride is a destructive force?

-How is Montresor developed as a insecure, round, and static character racked by guilt?

-How is Montresor developed as a round and static character consumed by pride?

-How is Fortunato developed as a round and static character whose vanity and pride causes his undoing?

“A &P”

-How is Sammy developed as a round, dynamic character who learns a truth about adulthood?

-How does this story demonstrate the negative results of naïve thinking and acting?

Possible Topics for Critical Essay #1 (KC)

-How is Sammy developed as a round, dynamic character who learns to sympathize with others and realizes the sacrifices justice sometimes requires?

-How is Sammy developed as a round, dynamic character who learns to view women as more than sex objects?

-How is Sammy developed as a round but static character who deals with personal insecurities by objectifying others?

“The Story of an Hour”

-How is Mr. Mallard developed as a character throughout the story?

-How is Mrs. Mallard developed as a round, dynamic character that discovers something about herself?

-What historical commentary could the author be making through this story?

-How does Mrs. Mallard compare/contrast with her sister in the story?

-How does the author develop the theme of freedom in the story?

 “An Old Man with Enormous Wings”

-How does the author demonstrate the theme of otherness throughout the story?

-How does the author demonstrate the theme of bullying throughout the story?

-How are Palayo and Elisenda developed as characters throughout the story?

-How does the author inspire sympathy for the Angel?

“The Yellow Wallpaper”

-How is the author demonstrating and commenting on the commonly practiced “rest cure” in the story?

-To what extent is the narrator reliable?

-What are some of the problems with reading “The Yellow Wallpaper” as a feminist text? Does the narrator speak for all women? Can the men in the story be understood as repressed?

-How could “The Yellow Wallpaper” be read as a feminist text?

 “I Stand Here Ironing”

-What do you think of the narrator’s representation of herself as a mother? Do you agree that she had no other choice?

-What sort of commentary on post depression society is the author providing through the story?

-How is can this text be read from a feminist perspective? What are some of the problems with reading it that way?

-How is Emily’s character defined throughout the story? Would she have developed a talent for comedy, had she grown up in different conditions?

Formula for Paragraph Development

Introduction 

(Options listed below.  Choose one.  Do not provide a summary of the story in this paragraph.)

-Provide an important quote/passage from the story that relates to your thesis, and elaborate on it.

-Discuss the title and its implications to your thesis.

-Discuss the reader’s possible expectations about the story based on the title or its opening.

-Discuss the general type of story (genre).

-Discuss the value or importance of the story’s theme.

-Discuss possible initial reactions to reading the story.

-Elaborate upon the last few lines of the story, and discuss how they relate to your points.

-Discuss the value of the story and its themes to the reader/society.  How might it change opinions/viewpoints?

-Discuss how the story stands out from others like it.

-Discuss how the supporting points in your discussion make the story more effective.