Choose ONE of the short fictions from those you have read so far to write a 5- to 7-page research essay incorporating analytical language derived from our readings in AAL (e.g. elements of fiction), as well as in-text quotes and paraphrases from researched sources.
“Orientation” by Daniel Orozco
“Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid
“How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life” by Jon Ronson [non-fiction; current events; opinion/analysis]
“A Visit of Charity” by Eudora Welty
"Araby" + "Counterparts" + "Eveline" by James Joyce
"A&P" by John Updike
"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner
“What We Talk about When We Talk about Love” by Raymond Carver
“Soldiers Home” + “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway
“Good Country People” + “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
“Jealous Husband Return in Form of Parrot” by Robert Olen Butler
"Two Kinds" by Amy Tan
Your essay should attempt to answer one or more of the following questions:
The theme, as you know from your reading, is the central idea or meaning and can be discerned by answering the following questions: “What did the author reveal about a particular subject related to the story about the behavior of human beings, about the conduct of society? (e.g. mother-daughter relationships, parenting, gender roles/stereotypes, the after-effects of war, science vs. faith, etc.),” “What is the author attempting to say by the way that he/she constructed the fiction?”
Focus on and then propose an overall theme and support the presence of this meaning (stated in a specific and focused thesis statement, perhaps using the thesis statement worksheet doc) by looking at any of the elements of fiction discussed in the chapters we have read so far. You may choose only one element of fiction to focus on or several, just be sure you are answering the questions above.
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