English 102: Essay #2, Making Connections Between Ideas 6-10 pages, Typed Mandatory Rough Draft Due

ue Tuesday April 3rd (3-10 pages) Final Draft Due Tuesday, May 8th Choose one of the following questions and write 6-10 page essay that analyzes the topic. Integrate at least five quotes into your essay. Be sure to use signal phrases when introducing your quotes. Points will be deducted if the quoted texts are not properly introduced and explicated. Do not use any outside sources for this assignment. I will post on our course website the ONLY sources you can use for this assignment. I will not grade any essay that uses sources other than those from the course website and from the class reading. 1. Love & Intimacy Choose three poems and/or stories from the semester and discuss how they deal with themes of love, intimacy, and desire. Your essay must include a clear thesis statement that explains the similarities and differences between the ways these works explore the theme of love. Be sure to include quotes in your essay. Follow the handout Quoting Poetry.

2. The Problem of Evil Why do people do bad things? Choose three works from the semester and analyze how they explore the theme of evil. What does each work suggest about the human capacity for evil? Do the works offer any hope for the human race? Distinguish between the different types of evil that the text explores. For instance, does the text explore individual or social evil? Are the characters actions aggressive or reactive? Do they base their bad decisions Suggested works: Maus, Tralala, Medea, The Lottery, Brownies. 3. Masculine/Feminine Discuss the theme of gender in relation to three or four works we have read this semester. How do the works explore gender codes and rules? Be sure in your introductory paragraph to establish the expected norms of male and/or female behavior. Then discuss the ways in which the characters challenge, accept, or express ambivalence to those norms. One option would be to look at the issue of masculinity in A& P, The Curse, and one of the poems by Charles Bukowski. What do these three works suggest about what it means to be a man? How do the characters in the stories accept or reject the codes of rules for male behavior? Another option would be to discuss the portrayal of women and the power relationships between men and women. Medea would be a great choice for this as would The Storm, Woman Hollering Creek, Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong, Theyre Not Your Husband, Tralala, Hooker, etc. 4. Making Connections Between Psychology and Literature

Research the criteria of one or more psychological disorders we have discussed (sociopath, psychopath, antisocial personal, post-traumatic stress) and analyze two or more character from our reading in relation to that description. How do the characters exhibit the traits of these disorders? I will post the descriptions for these disorders on the course blog. Some suggestions include Tralala, Medea, Seymour (from A Perfect Day for Bananafish), and Mary Ann Bell (from Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong). 5. Tragic Heroes Using Aristotles definition of tragedy and the tragic heros, discuss three of the following works as tragic narratives: Medea, Tralala, A Perfect Day for Bananafish, or Brad Carrigan, American. Focus particularly on your analysis of the central characters. How do they fit the criteria of tragic heroes? You must include a substantial discussion of Medea if you choose this option! You can analyze both Jason and Medea as potential tragic heroes.

6. American Dreamers Write a unified essay that traces how the American Dream is explored in three literary works, developing your definition of the American Dream as you move throughout the body of the paper. Define the American Dream in your introductory paragraph. How do the characters in each story or poem pursue their own version of the American Dream? Are they interested in power, money, respect, beauty, perfection, stability? In other words, what does the American Dream signify in each text, and what happens to the characters when they pursue their version of the American Dream? Does their pursuit lead to fulfillment or tragedy? What argument do you think each text is making about the American Dream? What are the benefits of the American Dream? What are the consequences? Suggested texts: Woman Hollering Creek, The Unforgetting, Tralala, Aurora, Sonnys Blues, A&P. 7. A Literary Education If you were to choose three works from this semester to teach a class, which three would you choose? Why would you teach them? How would you teach them? Each body paragraph should discuss a different work. Consider including supplementary materials such as discussion questions, handouts, and other educational tools. This is a great assignment to choose if you plan to become a teacher after graduation.