What you will write about . . . .
In this final essay you will incorporate a total of three articles, PLUS the short story of your choosing into your analysis of a specific aspect of the story. Your research should include Peer Reviewed Scholarly Articles ONLY and will provide you with a “lens” through which you can interpret some specific aspect of the story chosen. It is essential that the articles add to your interpretation and you must incorporate ideas from all three articles into the paper.
Please choose ONE of the following short stories as the main focus of your paper; see the “Choosing a Topic” Handout for more details:
“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” (Marquez)
“Vampires in the Lemon Grove” (Russell)
“The Things They Carried” (O’Brien)
Please be sure to single out only ONE facet of the story and analyze it throughout the story–do not “retell” the story. Instead, follow the thread of a single idea throughout the story in your interpretation; note that you do not need to tell the reader about everything that happens in the story, but you do need to evaluate your topic throughout the whole story. Be sure to “show” the reader by using specific examples—don’t “tell” about it. For example, you might compare common historical depictions of Angels with those given in Marquez’s story and then interpret events in the story in relationship with this departure from the traditional view.
here are the short stories along with suggested areas for your initial research:
“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”
Angels and. . .
Myth
Biblical
Folklore
Popular representations
In literature
Magical Realism
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, literature of
Literary Criticism
“Vampires in the Lemon Grove”
Vampires and. . .
Myths
Folklore
Historical origins
Popular Representations
In literature
Horror
Karen Russel, literature of
Literary Criticism
“The Things They Carried” and . . .
War
Vietnam War
Soldiers Experiences
Tim O’Brien, literature of
Literary Criticism
Psychology