The Other Paper: Literary Analysis

Put Simply:

Select a theme, character, conflict, or concept in one of the stories or poems read in class, and write a 4 page analysis of that idea. Use quotes to support your ideas, including at least one quote from a critic or scholar of the piece you chose.

In Detail:

We’ve spoken at length about many passages from Henry James’ Washington Square, and have identified a number of themes within James’ subtle, almost coy, and–as described by critics in James’ time–”clever” scenes. We’ve looked at how a text can be “unpacked”: that is, closely read from sentence to sentence, breaking down these moments bit by bit and examining them for the greater elements of narrative that they speak to.

As readers and scholars, your assignment is to engage a story or poem discussed in class on a deeper level. You are not simply proving that there is a theme in Washington Square, or that symbolism exists in “The Jolly Corner”- that is granted. You are going further and examining the impact of the symbolism, the impact of the theme. You are carefully analyzing the subtleties within a text. Also, as scholars, your assignment is to be familiar with some of the scholarship on the author you chose to write about. For our purposes you will not need to be a professional historian on your author. You will, however, be required to quote a scholarly work on your author.

Where to start:

The introduction to our edition of Washington Square is meant to serve as an introduction to new readers of James, and to provide those more acquainted with James with a general understanding of the scholarship surrounding Washington Square. It also includes some in-depth analysis of various themes within the book. This is an example of superior writing on literature, and a great place to search for ideas and inspiration.

Example prompts:

1) How does Catherine Sloper’s relationship with her father evolve, and what are the implications in the novel?

2) How does the classic theme of romance get treated by James?

3) Morris Townsend’s relationship with Aunt Penniman seems a sketch of Morris’ relationship to women. Explain this.

4) The Doctor’s meeting with Mrs. Montgomery illustrates the Doctor’s relationship to Catherine and perhaps the world at large. How does the scene create this impact?

5) How do long paragraphs in James resolve?

6) How does H.P. Lovecraft incite fear in his readers?

7) Why does Whitman’s “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” remain an important poem today?

Identify a theme in Whitman’s poems and expand on it.

So…requirements:

1) Formatting
Your paper should include, in the following order:

Title Page

Content of the Paper (4 pages).

References Page

The paper should be written in APA formatting (page numbers, title page, etc.) with APA-style documentation of sources. It should be in 12 pt, Times New Roman font, with 1” margins on all sides, and double-spaced. The body of your paper should be no less than 4 pages (not including title and reference page).

2) At LEAST three quotes from the text that support your thesis.

a) Remember, you are selecting longer quotes to unpack piece by piece. Do not, as I have warned against, quote and move on. Take your time writing about your quotes.

3) At LEAST one quote from some literary scholarship or critical text on the piece you have selected.

c) You MAY NOT use Wikipedia as a source.

Late Papers

Late papers will be marked down for each meeting that they are late, as discussed on the first day of class. If your paper is going to be late for good reason then please e-mail me to let me know BEFORE the due date to discuss an extension. Explanations on the day the paper is due, or the day after, are not needed. Simply hand in the paper at the next class meeting.

EMAILED PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED – NO EXCEPTIONS

Tips

-Take your time. This is your last paper, and counts for a large portion of your grade.

BE SPECIFIC. Select a specific idea (a specific relationship between characters, a specific character, a specific setting or scene) and create a concrete thesis.

REVISE! Egregious errors in spelling and grammar will effect a paper’s grade.

USE APA properly. At this point much attention has been given to this format, and it will effect your grade if you are way off format.

GOOD LUCK.

Reading For Wednesday – “The Screwfly Solution”

You can find the reading due for class Wednesday, April 29th, on the Sci-Fi Channel’s Website.

Click this link to read Raccoona Sheldon’s classic short story: “The Screwfly Solution.”

Critical Paper Assignment: Historical Perspective/Analysis

POST YOUR THESIS AS A COMMENT ON THIS ENTRY.

For the first paper your goal is to consider Old New York from a variety of perspectives. Just as Sante uses Dickens’ account of his travels through the Five Points in his Low Life to tell his readers about this neighborhood as well as tales from Asbury’s Gangs of New York and Jacob Riis’ photos, you will select a time, person, place, or event, and use multiple sources to write a historical account of it. You will be expected to use at least one text (and/or film) from class in your investigation, and to find at least two sources from your own research as well. At the due date for this paper, we will have read, written and discussed a variety of historical texts, fiction and even poetry. From Whitman’s “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” to Burrows and Wallace’s Gotham, and the novel Washington Square we have examined multiple perspectives of history and human themes- specifically the lifestyles of those living in Old New York (roughly 1840-1900).
You are welcome to use contemporary New York as a place of comparison, as well as current fiction and poetry to inform your paper (i.e. comparing current housing issues with those of Old New York, current gang activity with gang activity of the past).

Example prompts:

1) Does Whitman’s seemingly clairvoyant view from his view on the Brooklyn Ferry really relate to our current world? How? Talk about the poem and the world it was written in, then talk about today’s world.

2) How do our modern living condition issues compare to Old New York’s? (Riis, Gangs of New York, Low Life)

3) Describe, in the best accuracy, a typical night out for an Old New Yorker. That is, what were the leisure activities of the time? (Gotham, Low Life)

4) How do gangs (or gang life) in Old New York compare to today’s? (Gangs, Low Life, Gotham)

5) How did Old New York put out her fires? (This is a big, interesting question, as hinted at in Gangs of New York and spoken about at length in Sante’s Low Life).

6) Compare two or more writers’ perspectives of New York. How do they differ? Why? How could their lives and personal histories have affected their views?

Formatting
Your paper should include, in the following order:

1. Title Page

2. Content of the Paper

3. References Page

The paper should be written in APA formatting (page numbers, title page, etc.) with APA-style documentation of sources. It should be in 12 pt, Times New Roman font, with 1” margins on all sides, and double-spaced. The paper should be no less than 5 pages (including title and reference page).

Late Papers

Late papers will be reduced by one letter grade per class meeting after the paper is due.

Tips

- Sante’s Low Life and Burrows and Wallace’s Gotham are giant books of reference, and at least tangentially refer to multiple historical issues- they also include bibliographies that offer other places to look…

- BE SPECIFIC. Select a specific idea (fire-fighting, gang violence, housing, transportation) and create a concrete thesis.

- You can use any number of paper-structures to write this paper: Comparison/Contrast, Process Analysis, Literary Criticism, to write this paper. Consider which best suits the information you want to convey, and remember that these various approaches may be mixed, as in Sante and GOTHAM- where the writers analyze bits of literature (including plays, films, photographs, poems, stories) as well as historical narratives and other sources to create a total image.

- REVISE! Egregious errors in spelling and grammar will effect a paper’s grade.

Reading and the E-Reserve

For Monday, March 16th. We’re reading:

SECTION IV Burrows, Edwin G. & Wallace, Mike. (1999). GOTHAM: A History Of New York City To 1898. New York, New York: Oxford University Press. - “Life Above Bleecker”

E-Reserve Instructions:

1) Access the John Jay Library E-Reserve Website: http://eres.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/eres/courseindex.aspx?&page=instr

2) Search by Instructor, “Smith”

3) Select: ENG201/Composition II /English/Smith/

4) You will be prompted to enter a password. The password: newyork

5) A list of the scanned readings will appear. Use the syllabus to guide you to the proper reading.

6) You are strongly encouraged to print a copy of the reading. Printing out copies will allow you to follow along in class.

Also, the Syllabus is updated. Also, I added the question I’m going to ask you to write on in class for Monday. I’ve thought of it now, and figured I would disclose it to you now.

Thanks for a strong class today, in which you made many great comments on Gangs of New York. See you Monday!

Writing About the Image – Jacob Riis Assignment

We’ve spoken at some length now about writing about an image. I’ve compared our approach to a Reader Response (only of your response to a painting, photograph, or film, not a reading). I’ve also asked you to write about a Jacob Riis image to bring in for our next meeting. (Click the link to look at the “Fire escape” image).  Remember, I’ve asked that you quote from Sante’s Low Life in your writing. This elevates your response- you become less of a passive spectator and more of an active analyst, able to bring meaning, information, and thoughtful analysis to your response- which increases your scholarly authority, and makes you sound smarter (if they’re not one and the same).

A couple other (more detailed) things about writing on the image:

It can be empowering to write about an image. In the world we live in, the depth and power of an image can be taken for granted by those who do not study and learn an appreciation of it. As audience members- passive spectators enjoying a film purely for the experience, not seeking greater comprehension, we may say “We liked it” or “It was boring”. As SCHOLARS, however, we seek a greater understanding of the work, and bring our outside knowledge and understanding of things like context, theme, intention to bear on our writing. This empowers us, and allows us more confidence in studying the world.

Images are intimidating. As I’ve made mention (too) many times, I’m a writer myself, and remember vividly my first attempts at writing about images. Writing about images intimidated me. Why? Because I was not confident in my immediate emotional response to them- I thought that that instinctive, reader-response-style reaction was limited and uneducated. Because of the great, extensive histories of art that I was only vaguely familiar with, and because of the people around me who seemed so eerily capable of taking it all in and spitting it back out with ease (I went to an art school.) But that instinctive response that we first have, whether it be our excitement at the fantasy of a painting or disgust at the brutality of a journalistic image, is intended by the artist (whether the artists wishes for your specific response is left to be questioned, but the artist is certainly soliciting a response, or they wouldn’t have shown you the work- they would have burned it), and therefore that instinctive response is useful to how we write about the image.

Describing an Image is an Opportunity to show what you think of an image.

Let me show you: The following is a sculpture of an HP Lovecraft monster.

Dagon from SOTA TOYS

The grotesque, brutally shaped maw of the beast seems fashioned of exposed flesh tightly wrapped over black bone- as if the creature might be in constant pain, and the tentacles, shiny and reptilian on the tops and translucent and fatty on the bottom, curl and slither upon themselves to chilling effect.

The points of articulation are well-hidden beneath the expertly-rendered joints of this awesome model. The open-faced maw and beady eyes effectively capture Lovecraft’s uniquely weird take on monsters. The painting of the model- from the effect of translucency on the skin to the pink, bony, crab-like hands, reflects only the most expert in craftsmanship.

See? I took each description as an opportunity to evoke a similar response in my reader that I had- this is what writing is all about.

Start with the image. It may seem simple, but what do you see? What is in the foreground, the background? How does the artist compose the image, color the image, and why? Note that you start by taking in the image passively, as a spectator, then ask the scholarly question, Why? And this takes you into the realm of speculation, of research, and of writing, hopefully.