Identifying Desire: Literary Analysis with Research
For this essay assignment, we will be incorporating all of the skills we have learned this semester in analysis, explication, schools of literary theory, and critical thinking. You will create a claim-based argument that analyzes the book: The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. You must include no less than two other sources of supporting material. The essay must include supporting quotes from the book as evidence to prove your thesis.
PROMPT: Feminist Analysis: Make an argument about the arc of one or two female characters in The History of Love. What do these female characters desire? By utilizing the concept of bildungsroman, what is the journey of self-discovery that these female characters embark upon and how is the outcome a result of the enforcement of traditional or expected gender roles of women in the respective societies reflected in the texts? To what extent do the texts question, challenge, uphold, or perpetuate the gender norms of the societies reflected in the texts? Why? So what?
External Source Requirements:
You must include two different (“different” meaning by two different authors and from different journals/magazines or books) scholarly, reliable, relevant sources that cover one or more of the following:
interpretation/analysis of the text or texts themselves (not a study guide, such as SparkNotes, or an individual’s personal blogsite, etc.)
the context(s), such as information about the historical context, author, laws, culture, etc. (not from Wikipedia or other open source materials)
the literary criticisms (readings that weren’t provided by me).
Note: Wikipedia, dictionaries, random quotations, and study aids, such as SparkNotes, do not count as scholarly research and should not be used.
Reminders about external source material:
Every time you use someone else’s ideas (even in your own words), you must identify what comes from the source and cite the source, or it’s plagiarism.
Every source you use must be cited both with a parenthetical in-text citation and a corresponding complete citation on the Works Cited page, and every source on the Works Cited page must be used and clearly identified in the body of your essay.
Other Requirements:
As part of your analysis, you must include no less than five literary devices that you examine as evidence to further your claims. These literary devices must be chosen from the devices shared with you on the white board this semester. Imagery, diction, and word choice will not be accepted as literary devices.
I will be looking for the following specific items in these essays:
Strong, arguable thesis statements that provide a road map for the rest of the essay.
Strong topic sentences that indicate the argument within each body paragraph.
Transitions between ideas and paragraphs.
ANALYSIS, NOT SUMMARY. Don’t just find an example of prolepsis – you must then argue WHY the author would have utilizes prolepsis as a means of supporting your overall argument.
Ample textual evidence that is integrated into your commentary (NO FLOATING QUOTES).
NO FALLACIES – don’t confuse author with narrator, don’t argue in a circle, don’t place value judgments on characters.
Correct format for both in-text citations and your Sources Cited page.