This essay will be an analytical essay with a small research component in which you examine two stories. 1. You will choose 2 stories – After you choose 2 stories, you will develop a thesis statement that connects these two stories together. (The 2 stories do not need to be from the same unit, although they can be if you prefer). – Then you will compare and contrast the stories in order to support your thesis statement. Aspects of similarity to look for might be, but are certainly not limited to: plot, theme, point of view, tone, character, irony, symbolism, setting, time period etc. – The above stated aspects are also issues that may be discussed for differences that you may mention. 2. You must also use one source besides the two stories, which must be commentary or supplementary reading. This should not be a third story. You are welcome to choose from the commentaries and supplementary readings we do in any unit if they fit with the stories you choose. For example, we read this one during Unit 1 Jay Jacoby’s “Fortunato’s Premature Demise in ‘The Cask of Amontillado'”
https://www.eapoe.org/pstudies/ps1970/p1979203.htm
and this one during Unit 2 Charlotte Perkins Gilman “Why I Wrote The ‘Yellow Wallpaper”
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/theliteratureofprescription/education/materials/WhyIWroteYellowWallPaper.pdf
If neither of those (or the ones for the other units) fit, you can look on the internet for another one. Be sure to look for something scholarly though through the college library’s website and not someone’s random blog post or Wikedpedia.
3. The goal of this supplementary reading is to help support your thesis statement.
4. Guidelines You will write a well organized, focused, coherent analytical essay. Be sure to fully explain and support your opinions with specific examples from each story. Be sure to include your source (related commentary or supplementary reading from the textbook) as an integral part of your essay and do not just add it as aside. As with any other essay, you will need to have an introduction with a clear thesis statement, a conclusion as well as developed and supportive body paragraphs. Avoid having too much plot summary.
Your essay must be 4- 5 full pages double-spaced and typed in a normal size font (12 pt. Times New Roman). You will need to cite the two short stories that you focus on as well as your supplementary reading on a works cited page as well as include in text parenthetical MLA style documentation.
You can look online for how to do in text documentation and the the works cited page. Be sure to proofread for spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors as well.
stories:Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” (1927)
https://lirroaringtwenties.weebly.com/uploads/1/4/5/3/14539476/hemingway-hills-like-white-elephants.pdf
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” (1835) http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/YouGoo.shtml
Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” (1846) http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/CasAmo.shtml
Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace” (1884) http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/Neck.shtml
Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” (1966) http://brainstorm-services.com/wcu-2005/pdf/oates.pdf
David Brook’s “The Child in the Basement”
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/13/opinion/david-brooks-the-child-in-the-basement.html