Write a comparative, critical essay analyzing two short stories, based on their personal responses to the texts and their own questions as critical readers.

Upon successful completion of this assignment, students will be able to

• Write personal responses in reading fiction
• Move from response writing to writing a critical essay
• Use analysis of themes in two stories about work to find deeper meaning in each and
• Write academically using literary texts as primary sources

Description:

Students are to write a comparative, critical essay analyzing two short stories, based on their personal responses to the texts and their own questions as critical readers.

Instructions:

1. Read the four short stories listed below:

• A & P by John Updike
• ABC Antidote by Ishmael Beah
• A Doctor’s Visit by Anton Chekhov
• Some Women by Alice Munro

2. Write a formal essay (1000 words, +/- 100 words) comparing the themes of entrapment in any two of the stories.

• The essay should contain a title page, introduction (thesis statement), a body with careful and logical organization of arguments and observations, and a conclusion.
• Use APA style in formatting your essay.
• Support your observations with quotations from the stories. Do not cite or incorporate secondary sources; this is YOUR analysis, not a summary of someone else’s.

3. The essay is to be based on your careful reading of the stories, your personal response and critical thinking about them, with the intent to discover deeper meaning in exploring and comparing these themes in two rather than in reading only one story.

 Suggested ways to approach this assignment:

• After reading all four stories, choose the two that appeal to you most, or about which you see an interesting possible comparison.
• Use free writing or mind mapping or even brief notes to explore your responses and reactions to the stories.
• Do not censor your first responses; let your feelings and thoughts flow.
• Compose a list of questions about each story.
• Write a first draft of the essay, answering your own questions, if possible, and indicate where you have difficulty answering the questions. This is at the heart of your analysis.
• Continue to revise, with at least two more drafts, adding quotations from the stories and details of characterization, plot, and theme.
• Write a final draft in which you mostly eliminate the pronoun I in your writing but make your own judgements about the stories clear.
• Indicate in the conclusion to the essay which story you prefer and why. Also state why you would (or would not) recommend this story about workplace to another reader.
• (Re)write your introduction last, as it needs to reflect the body of your work.
• As you reread your last draft, be sure the thesis statement or main controlling idea in the essay is clear.