ENGL 102.008/.009
Fall 2005
-- Essay # 2 (Short Fiction) Assignment --

Dr. Nick Melczarek | anmelczarek@salisbury.edu | 410-546-6203 (66203)
Pick a topic from the list below and write a 1,500-word essay on that topic. Follow MLA-style formatting as you learned in ENGL 101 and as shown in the Writer's Resource, pp.230-42. Keep margins at 1" all around, use 12-point font (either Palatino or Times), and double-space. Type on only one side of each sheet. You do not need a cover sheet; at the top right of the first page use a single-spaced header including
Your Name
ENGL 102, Section#
Essay 2 Short Fiction (which draft)
Submission date

Example:
Nick Melczarek
ENGL 102.022
Essay 2 Short Fiction (rough draft)
February 17, 2005

Number all pages except page 1, in the top right-hand corner. You do not need a works cited page. Also give your paper a title that gives readers a clue of what your paper is about -- do not simply use "A Raisin in the Sun" or "Antigone" as your title, because those are already the titles of the stories. Centre your title on the first page on the line after your header, and begin your essay on the next line -- no big extra spaces. Staple your paper before you turn it in; papers not stapled will not be read.
TURN IN YOUR ESSAY ON TIME TO MY OFFICE (Holloway 344). PAPERS THAT DO NOT ADHERE TO THESE GUIDELINES WILL BE RETURNED UNREAD AND COUNTED LATE. PROOFREAD YOUR PAPER FOR BASIC ERRORS BEFORE YOU TURN IT IN. EXCESSIVE UNNECESSARY WRITING ERRORS WILL CAUSE A PAPER TO BE RETURNED TO YOU UNREAD.

Be sure to use literary terms that apply to your discussion (e.g. protagonist instead of main character, etc.) and use them in such a way that shows you understand the term. Be sure to quote and cite the stories to illustrate and support your argument, in MLA parenthetical format. No bloc quotations, though. Avod plot summary as well; papers that contain mostly plot summary will be returned unread.

TOPICS:--you may not use the Jewett story; that's for the Research Paper only

Topic 1: How does any one of the short story authors use any one of the following dramatic elements?

  • foreshadowing
  • ambivalence or ambiguity
  • allusion
  • connotation (See Bedford Glossary and the anthology for help with these terms.)

    Topic 2: How does the point of view influence our reading of any one of the stories? (pick one story as your focus; be sure to identify/define which p.o.v. you discuss, e.g. third-person limited, omniscient, first-person, first-person plural)

    Topic 3: Explore the theme of contradictory social expectations of women in "The Story of an Hour," "Girl," "A Rose for Emily" or "The Yellow Wall-paper." (expectations that contradict the reality that women face)

    Topic 4: Explore the theme of appearance versus reality in any one short story we read.
    -- variation -
    Explore the theme of alternate realities or alternate ways of thinking in "The Yellow Wall-paper" or "Young Goodman Brown."
    -- variation -
    Explore the interaction between setting and characters' mental state in "The Story of an Hour," "The Yellow Wall-paper" or "Young Goodman Brown."

    Topic 5: Explore the theme of the relation between community and the individual in any one short story we read.

    Topic 8: Pick a theme from either of the in-class note sheets, and show how any one short story presents that theme.

    • ROUGH DRAFT DUE OCTOBER 28, TO MY OFFICE BY 4 P.M

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