| For the second essay of the semester, you are to focus on a short story of Ernest Hemingway's. As with your poetry essay, your purpose is to argue that your interpretation of the story is valid. To do this, create a thesis that states what you believe the central theme of a story is. That thesis will drive the remainder of the essay, and each paragraph should support it. Avoid a thesis that is obvious, and, of course, one that is factual. To make it easier for yourself, focus on one story. You may, however, make references to other stories in which you believe that the same--or a similar--theme appears, but be sure to maintain your focus on the one piece. Please don't write an essay discussing what we have already talked about in class. I'd prefer that you choose a story that we have not dealt with, or if you write on one we have discussed, then take a different approach to it.
Support your thesis by taking events and quotations from the story. Then analyze those events and quotations, but be careful of the trap of writing about fiction: that is, avoid a simple paraphrase or summary of the story. We've all read the stories; no one wants to hear you summarize it. Such an approach would be boring--and not be reflective of good critical thinking skills. Of course, limited summary is necessary for you to analyze, but be sure that for every sentence of summary you use, you should write two-to-three sentences of analysis. Document the quotations you take from the text according to the MLA format that we have discussed in class and that can be found in your Diana Hacker handbook or on my web site. In particular, reread pages 679-683 in your Hacker text. When you quote material, be sure to use in-text citations. For the stories, those citations will simply state in parenthesis the author's last name, the story, and the page reference. For instance, a reference to a story might appear in your in-text citation as follows: Reflecting his desire to lead a simple life, Harold Krebs observes the young women of the town and thinks that he wants no part of them, that "they were too complicated" (Hemingway, "Soldier's Home" 147). If you mention the author's name before the citation, then there's no need to repeat "Hemingway" in the parenthesis. For instance, Reflecting Hemingway's theme of the alienation a soldier experiences after a war, Harold Krebs observes the young women of the town and thinks "they were too complicated" ("Soldier's Home" 147). If you quote up to four lines, run those lines into your normal paragraph. If you quote five or more lines, then indent the quotation ten spaces from your left margin. Unless there is dialogue within the quotation, an indented quotation needs no quotation marks. The indentation alone tells the reader that you have quoted the material. One important caveat: Please do not devote your essay to Hemingway's personal life. There have been enough biographies written about him for us to read more than we want to know about him. Focus on analyzing the story you've chosen, not on how it reflects Hemingway's life. Check your syllabus for the due date for this essay. |