Essay Topics for Paper 1

A printed copy of this paper is due at the beginning of class on Friday, 2/3. I will ask you some questions in class, intended to help you revise the essay; the revised version is due via Moodle by 11:55 PM on the same day. I will comment on these electronically using Word's Comment feature, so if you don't use Microsoft Word, talk to me before the essay is due and we'll make alternate arrangements.

For this assignment, you must write a short (4-6 page) essay, tightly focused around a single specific argument about one of the stories or the novel we have read in the fiction section of the class. Back up your claims with specific evidence from the text. Your goal should be to explain what and/or how the story means (a broad definition of criticism, but not all-inclusive: you should not, for example, focus your paper around such issues as the text's literary merit, your own views on the ideas and issues raised in the text, the characters in the text if they were real people, etc.). All aspects of the paper will factor into my grading, but primarily I will grade on thesis and structure, argumentation, interpretation, and mechanics and style. (See the "Grading Scale for Paper 1" for specific examples of how each criterion will be applied.)

Use of secondary sources is not forbidden, but I don't recommend them for this paper. Do cite all sources, including the story you are writing about, in correct MLA parenthetical style. See the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers for detailed instructions in using this style. In the 7th edition, see especially the guidelines for overall paper format in chapter 4, the general guidelines for citations in section 5.2, the description of basic Works Cited format in 5.3.2 (especially the sample first entry), the basic citation format for a book in 5.5.1-5.5.2, and the format for a work from an anthology in 5.5.3. If you use secondary sources or a second primary source, you will need to look up the specific formats for those as well).

Select one of the following. You may assume that your reader does not need an explanation of literary terms such as reliable narrator, genre, conventions, embedded narratives, and the like, but you should also assume that your reader is not as familiar with the story or novel as you are and will need to have the passages you use as evidence carefully explained.

As noted above, your goal should be to offer and defend an interpretation of the text. If you choose one of the topics which asks you to apply a narratological concept to a story, don't just show how the concept applies or does not apply to the story; use that concept to make a point about the story's meaning. Your paper must offer an original argument, so be sure to go well beyond our class discussion of these topics to make an original contribution of your own.

  1. "The Zebra Storyteller" shares some of the conventions of the fable, but it is different from most fables in various ways as well. How do the intertextual connections between "The Zebra Storyteller" and fables contribute to the meaning of the story? (You might begin by looking up "fable" in A Glossary of Literary Terms. Examples of traditional fables can be found on the Internet, if you're looking for something with which to compare the story.)
  2. "Happy Endings" is in part a story about fiction writing, but it is also a story about issues such as relationships and gender roles. What's the connection between fiction and relationships and/or between fiction and gender roles?
  3. We have noted in class that the narrator's tone in "Happy Endings" makes a difference to its meaning: for example, whether we take the tone of "stimulating and challenging" to be ironic or merely neutral makes a difference to what attitude we take to the idealized marriage described in A. In general, tone suggests a set of values. Explain how the narrator's tone shapes the meaning of the story with respect to a specific issue. (If you choose this topic, I recommend that you look up "tone" in the Glossary of Literary Terms. One place to start: who or what does the narrator poke fun at, and why?)
  4. "A Rose for Emily" is in part about the passing of an historical era, but it is also a story about one woman who has been psychologically warped by her personal history. What's Faulkner's point in connecting these two narrative arcs?
  5. Although the narrator of "A Rose for Emily" usually seems to be speaking on behalf of the community as a whole, there are a number of places in the story where the narrator refers to something "the men" or "the women" do or say. How are men and women portrayed in such passages? Should we take the narrator's assumptions about men and women to be reliable (that is, in accord with the author's views) or not? Either way, what is Faulkner's point in making these distinctions?
  6. What is the point of the embedded narrative of Justine's trial in Frankenstein? (Justine is introduced on pages 39-41; the trial extends from 50-58).
  7. Frankenstein is filled with strange doublings of all kinds: similar things happen to pairs or multitudes of characters (Frankenstein/Walton, Frankenstein/the monster, Walton/the monster, Elizabeth/Mrs. Frankenstein/Justine, etc.), and curious parallels are drawn between what would seem to be very different characters (such as the monster and Elizabeth). Explain the meaning of one of these doublings.
  8. What is the function of nature imagery in Frankenstein? OR What does the novel say about nature? (If you address the first question, you will probably be showing how the many representations of nature in the novel serve to make a point about some issue other than nature itself; I take the second question to be self-explanatory).
  9. Pick one incident in or aspect of the ending of novel—basically, anything in Walton’s closing frame—and explain how it should influence our understanding of one of the major themes of the novel. Among the things you might choose are Frankensteins' address to the crew (has he learned what his own tale was supposed to teach?), Walton's decision to turn back (why does he seem to see this as a failure, rather than the logical lesson of Frankensteins' tale), the monster's conversation with Walton, or the ultimate fate of the monster.
  10. Develop your own original argument about one of the stories (or the novel) we have read in this portion of the class. If you choose this option, you MUST clear your topic with me in advance.