American Literature 230-01

2010 FALL SEMESTER




Paper Assignments


Paper 1: Hawthorne

Short Writes: Franklin, Twain, O'Neill

Paper 2: Morrison

Focus/Organization

Avoid Plagiarism

MLA Documentation

Typing Directions


Paper 1: Hawthorne, "The Maypole of Merry Mount"


Length: 3 pages (typed, double-spaced).


Due Date: Wednesday, 9/13. Late papers will be downgraded.


Grading: 15% of final grade, based on substantive content; insight into your material; focus and organization; quality and appropriateness of your evidence; documentation (if needed); and grammar.


Topic: Discuss Hawthorne's "The Maypole of Merry Mount" as a revision of Bradford's chapter about Thomas Morton in Of Plymouth Plantation. How does Hawthorne's interpretation of the historical event advance a somewhat different view of American history and American identity? Which episodes, passages, and details in the texts support your reading? Although you will want to refer to both authors/texts, keep your main focus on Hawthorne's story.


Study Questions: These questions will hopefully help you understand the texts better, but they are not intended as an outline for your paper. For information on organizing your paper, see Focus and Organization.

How do the two narrators' viewpoints differ? How does the character of Hawthorne's Maypolers differ from Bradford's characterization of them? Are different characters emphasized in the two accounts? What are their motives in each version? Is either or both texts organized around a central change that occurs? What are Hawthorne's criticisms of the Puritans vs their self-image according to Bradford? To what extent does Hawthorne finally side with the Puritans? Why? What hope does Hawthorne hold out in the end? How does this interpretation differ from Bradford's overall reading of the early Puritan experience? How are the settings treated differently? How are the settings related (or not) to the main themes and conflicts? Which items are treated as symbols in Hawthorne but as objective facts in Bradford? Symbols of what?

NOTE: Remember that Hawthorne was writing a couple hundred years later than Bradford. This means that Hawthorne was a Victorian (19th Century), not a Puritan (17th Century) like Bradford was. In addition, Bradford was writing history (autobiography) while Hawthorne was writing historical fiction.


No outside research is needed for this assignment. However, if you consult any outside sources, you must refer to them in your paper and include the source on a separate "Works Cited" page, according to MLA Style, or you will have committed plagiarism. Consult your instructor or MLA Documentation (right-hand column) for more information.


See Avoiding Plagiarism and Typing Directions (right-hand column).



Three Short Writes: Franklin, Twain, O'Neill


Length: 250+ words each.


Due Date: Franklin 9/01; Twain 10/06; O'Neill 11/19.


Grading: 5% each; total 15% of final grade, based on substantive content; insight into your material; focus and organization; quality and appropriateness of your evidence; documentation (if needed); and grammar.


Franklin Short Write--due 9/03.
In about 250 (typed) words, write a short character analysis of Ben Franklin based on his Project of Arriving at Moral Perfection (pp. 284-92). Consider such things as his goal, how he proceeds, his problems and revisions, the outcome, his tone, how the speckled ax story relates to the project, etc. (Note: You do not need to cover all those categories.) What do we learn about the man’s major characteristics based on his own self-portrait in this matter?

Try not to over-simplify this character analysis. Although you are limited in word length, try to consider multiple traits that Franklin manifests and how they relate to each other as a whole.

For typing, use font 11 or 12 Times New Roman, one-inch margins, and double-spacing.



O'Neill Short Write--due 11/22.
O’Neill has referred to the Tyrone family as being “haunted” by the past. In about 250-300 (typed) words or 1.5 pages maximum, how is Mary haunted by the past? What are her “ghosts”? Consider such things as Mary’s girlhood aspirations and her marital frustrations. What loss or losses haunt her most? How does the past help explain her current problems?

For this assignment, you should consult the O’Neill hand-out and read the appropriate selections on Mary. Reviewing O’Neill’s biography might also help with the larger picture.

For typing, use font 11 or 12 Times New Roman, one-inch margins, and double-spacing.



Paper 2: Morrison, The Bluest Eye


Length: 5 pages (typed, double-spaced).


Due Date: Monday, 11/27. Late papers will be downgraded.


Grading: 25% of final grade, based on substantive content; insight into your material; focus and organization; quality and appropriateness of your evidence; documentation (if needed); and grammar.


Topic: Write a character analysis of one of the following: the narrator; one of Pecola's parents; or Soaphead.

More information will be posted here at a later date.


No outside research is needed for this assignment. However, if you consult any outside sources, you must refer to them in your paper and include the source on a separate "Works Cited" page, according to MLA Style, or you will have committed plagiarism. Consult your instructor or MLA Documentation (right-hand column) for more information.


See Avoiding Plagiarism and Typing Directions (right-hand column).



Focus and Organization

All essays, long or short, should include these three basic parts:


INTRODUCTION:

Introductions in short papers should be short--maybe 4-5 sentences long. Begin with some general statement about your topic, plus the author and title somewhere in the opening sentence (In "The May-pole of Merry Mount," Nathaniel Hawthorne presents . . . ). Perhaps provide some pertinent background, or explain how your topic will enrich our understanding of some aspect of the literary text, or briefly indicate some point of scholarly contention or divergent interpretations of the literary text or some aspect of it. Most of the introduction will be your own writing, but it is all right to include short paraphrases/quotations, properly cited, of course.


NOTE: Place your thesis statement at the end the introductory paragraph. Remember, your thesis is what the rest of the paper will be about. Do not phrase it as a question, but rather as an assertion--your overall conclusion about what your paper adds up to.


BODY OF PAPER:

Since you can't talk about everything at once, sub-divide your thesis/conclusion into 4-6 sub-points. Those sub-points will form the topic sentences--your own writing, what you have to say about that subject, the point you want to make in that paragraph.


NOTE: The topic sentence should be placed at the beginning of the body paragragh.


Each topic sentence should be followed by lots of specific details and examples and short quotations, etc., from your texts, as well as your explanation/analysis of that information.


NOTE: I hate skimpy paragraphs that are only 1-2 sentences long; put some meat on those bones--another 6-7 sentences of details and examples and explanations, please!)


For quotations, include a page number (in parenthesis) directly after the quote. The author's name may precede the quotation or be placed in the parenthesis with the page number. (I prefer the first option.) Avoid long quotations in short papers. It is often much more effective to work a quoted word or short phrase into your own sentence.


WRITING TIP: It is often effective to arrange your sub-points according to the Order of Climax--begin with your second-best sub-point followed by your weakest sub-point and then work your way up to your best sub-point at the end so that the paper finishes on a strong note. Whatever order you use, always end with your strongest material.


CONCLUSION:

Conclusions in short papers should be short--maybe 3-4 sentences long.


NOTE: Begin the concluding paragraph with a re-statement of your opening thesis/conclusion--but in language different than was used in the introduction.


In a couple more sentences, refer to your topic as a whole-- why it is significant and worth studying, for instance, or finally, what it all adds up to. In a short paper, do not repeat your sub-points--much too repetitious!



Avoiding Plagiarism

Remember these basic rules for avoiding plagiarism.


  • The language used for paraphrases/summaries should be very different than the original language used by your source.

  • The language used in quotations must be exactly the same as the original language used by your source.

  • Quotation marks must be used around all quotations. If you have a quote-within-a-quote, use a combination of double and single quote marks (see me for assistance).

  • Cite a source for ALL summarized/paraphrased/quoted material.


See MLA Documentation (right-hand column) and Typing Directions (right-hand column).



Course Syllabus.

Reading Schedule.

Nichols Home Page.




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