Here are some requirements on the paper. I have also attached an example essay. Thank you
State a truth or generalization or idea (your thesis) about society, life, human relationships, or anything and support it with illustrations from three works on the reading list. It is not enough to say, for example, that something is found in each work; you must make a statement about that something. Unsuitable would be a thesis attempt such as “Three works on our reading list portray relationships between children and parents.” More suitable would be something like “A mother’s neglect of one sibling in favor of another can produce psychological problems in the neglected one.” Unsuitable would be a thesis attempt such as, “Love occurs in many different forms.” More suitable would be something like “Secrecy in romantic love can limit the fulfillment of the love relationship.”
Just to emphasize: the thesis needs to be pretty specific, as indicated in the two “more suitable” examples in the assignment.
Once you have found your lead idea and chosen your examples, this essay may be the easiest to write of the first three. It’s a sort of classic demonstration: one generalization based on three observations that support it. It is a little like the scientific method whereby a theory arises from observation of a phenomenon in multiple samples. And unlike the comparative work you did in Essay 2, in Essay 3 you don’t have to do any comparison. And unlike my urging you to guard against mere summary of the work you wrote about in Essay 1, in Essay 3 you will do a little summarizing, except that the particulars in your summary will be selected for their effectiveness in supporting your thesis.
Another distinction in Essay 3 is that because the suggestive subject list in the assignment is universally broad (“or anything”), this is the one opportunity among these three essays to write about literary form rather than subject or theme. One example could be something like analyzing how setting can influence the meaning of a story; another could be something like the effect on meaning of having a speaker or narrator who is a character in the work through whose perspective or psyche we receive all the information in the work. There are all kinds of possibilities within the zone of “literary form.” Most students in my experience won’t choose this path, but a few have. You’re free not to, obviously.
There is an example of Essay 3 on Blackboard under “Course Documents.” Don’t forget to fulfill the guidelines on p. 4 and 5 of the Syllabus for writing about literature. If you have any trouble pinning down an idea, send me an email, but it should contain some of your ideas at least.
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ESSAYS • Essays 1-3 must be a minimum of 600 words; Essay 4 must be a minimum of 900 words • Essays 1, 2, and 3, which are literary essays, and Reading Journal entries must present at least 50% of supporting detail in the form of direct quotations from the texts (for our purposes it isn’t necessary to cite these quotations, by the way, although normally that convention would apply) • Titles of works under discussion must be punctuated properly throughout the essays (see footnotes 4 and 5 below)
Sharon Olds “The Blue Dress “
Anne Sexton “Pain for a Daughter”
Alice Munro “Boys and Girls”
Edith Wharton “Roman Fever”
James Dickey “The Leap”
Adrienne Rich “Trying to Talk with a Man”
Susan Glaspell “Trifles”
Alice Walker “Everyday Use”
Philip Roth “Conversion of the Jews”
William Faulkner “Barn Burning”
Raymond Carver “Cathedral”
Theodore Roethke “My Papa’s Waltz”
Tobias Wolff “The Rich Brother”