>ESSAY DUE DATE: December 18th 2020 MINIMUM LENGTH: 3-4 pages double-spaced Times New Roman 12 font (minimum 750 words) ASSIGNMENT: For this essay you should utilize Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys for your analysis. Do not consult secondary souAlternatively you may also choose your own prompt as long as A) It pertains to literary technique and B) You have it approved by me. Go through the novel and take note of how the author uses narrative character setting symbolism other elements to convey ideas. As you write your analysis employ as many of the literary terms introduced in class. Be sure to include the following techniques terms elements and/or tools. Some of those the literary terms that you will need to be familiar with to analyze these texts: Construct a thesis that indicates a) your focus and b) the relation of that focus to the book as a whole. For example a thesis for “A Good Man is Hard to Find” might be: Characterization and irony help convey O’Connor’s theme that perhaps men should first be good men themselves rather than judging others. For “The Storm” a thesis might be: “The symbolic meanings of the storm are clear but what is less clear is to whom those meanings should be applied and thus the characterization and irony in the story correlates directly to the title of the work.” Though not as obvious as the first thesis the second thesis would focus on narrative/POV and characterization. Also note that there is some latitude in assigning meaning to a short story. What I see as the major theme may be different than what you see. The important criterion to keep in mind is: Can you prove it? Therefore you need a thesis because you are arguing for your interpretation of the story. The thesis should not be so obvious that your reader will say “so what?” Don’t settle for trite generalizations. Instead make a statement which indicates thought and depth and which requires support and proof. Your goal should be to illuminate for the readers some point that they might not have noticed upon first reading the story. Find evidence in the text to support your thesis and organize the rest of your essay around these quotations and examples. Do not rely on generalizations about or paraphrases of the story to convince your reader but provide specific evidence and discuss the importance of that evidence for your thesis. Please note: you should not insert huge chunks of quotes in your paper and count that against your minimum page length. Roughly 80% of the paper should be your own words and thoughts. Don’t just end your essay conclude it. Sum up reinforce your argument so that the readers see that your evidence does support your thesis. (WITHOUT INTRODUCING ANY NEW IDEAS) FORMAT AND CONVENTIONS: 1) The titles of books are italicized in academic essays. 2) Follow direct quotations with the author’s name (not the title) and page numbers from your text in parentheses. Close the quotation marks before the citation; put the end punctuation after it. For example: “Thus she passed from generation to generation—dear inescapable impervious tranquil perverse” (Faulkner 31). 3) Always write about literature in the present tense. 4) Your essay should be analytical thus you should not waste too much of your time with plot summary. 5) Your paper should be typed double–spaced 12 point font. In the upper left-hand corner of your first page include: Your last name and page number 6) Your essay should have a creative title. Not just ‘Essay 2’ or ‘Short Story Analysis.’ Use a creative and informative title or else have the decency to make it funny like “Essay 2: The Fellowship of the Essay” It is important to write succinctly. DO NOT JUST RE-TELL THE STORY. DO NOT risk plagiarism – if you use information from a textbook then you must cite that information correctly – the Norton Anthology discusses how to write a paper including how to document outside sources; Do not write a plot outline—this assignment is to analyze: what is the author “saying” to the reader. What literary techniques and conventions does he or she use to say it? What is the “point” of the story? Does it show us anything worthwhile about people or about life? Keep your discussion focused on analyzing how the literature works within the story.